Last year we had a drive that started from Krispy Kreme Penrith.  It was quite popular, as a few people bought a box of doughnuts to take home for the family.    This seemed like a good place to start this drive, as it was on the Mulgoa road exit of the M4.    Our destination was the ever popular Chubby Buns burger truck in Campbelltown.    Given we were starting at a doughnut shop and finishing at a burger truck, it seemed obvious to dub this run the Heart Attack Run.

The weather in Sydney on the day was an absolute stinker.   38C and almost 100% humidity.    It had been hot and humid all week, in keeping with a pretty unpleasant summer here in Sydney.    Probably based on the weather, we had five people come on the run.   As with most of these drives, the W124 was the most popular option, with three cars.   A 1986 230E, 1990 300TE and 1991 300E.   In contrast, we had a brand new demonstrator Mercedes EQE Electric SUV.   One of our club members is an automotive journalist and had this car on test.

I took my 1977 450SLC.   At first, the heat was so bad, that the air conditioning struggled to keep the cabin cool, but as the night progressed it worked better and better.

We met up at Krispy Kreme, but this time nobody was particularly interested in doughnuts.  I guess nobody wanted a heart attack after all.  After after a short drive through some heavy traffic areas in Penrith, we entered the back roads in the area.  While they are a bit bumpy in places, it was a nice relaxing drive with very little traffic.     Most of the drive was quite good, although the approach to chubby buns was a bit convoluted.   We had the odd drop of rain due to the humidity, and some quiet entertaining lightening in the distance, but no actual bad weather.

While nobody was all that interested in doughnuts, the Chubby Buns burger truck was a big hit with everyone.    It was great to get out of the house and do this drive after sweltering in my home office all day.

The post MBCNSW February 2024 Night Drive – Heart Attack Run appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

We met in Windsor near the Harry’s Cafe de Wheels.   Despite its reputation for being a late night eatery, it was closed.   The competition was open though.   We managed to fill up this fast food parking lot with classic Mercedes.  We even attracted a fair number of onlookers.   At least at the starting point, we had:

• W111 – My 250SE Cabriolet
• W108 – 280SE & 3 x 280SE 3.5
• W116 – 450SE
• W126 – 380SEL limo and 380SEC
• W124 – 300E x 2, 300E 2.6 & 230E
• Modern – A35 AMG

It was quiet an impressive line up.  We’ve never had so many of the old cars before.  At the assembly point somebody could smell fuel from the W108 280SE.    When you have a group of car enthusiast and a bonnet is open, it it like bees to a pot of honey.    So it was when the 280SE bonnet was open to check for a fuel leak.

Once it was time to go, a couple of the cars (A 280SE 3.5 and the 280SE W108) peeled off and the rest of the group started the drive.   Our ultimate destination was the Chubby Buns Burger truck in Campbelltown.    From Windsor, we started down the Northern Road, went through Penrith and then took the back roads through Mulgoa road, Silverdale road, then into Campbelltown via Cobbitty.

The first 20 minutes of the drive was a bit nothing, so I next time I would find a starting point close to the M4 where Mulgoa road branches off.   From there the drive was a lot of fun – hardly any traffic and good roads.   A bit bumpy like a lot of semi-rural Sydney roads.

For this drive, I was near the back, and I was able to witness the amazing sight of a full size limo keep up with a pretty decent pace on windy back roads.  It would have been hilarious to see how any passengers got on in the back – especially if they had to ensure they didn’t spill the Champagne.

I took my 250SE, and while it was great to get it out, some of the issues where it will hesitate and stutter like its not getting enough fuel then be fine again have come back.   My mechanic thinks we may have to send the fuel injection pump off to be refurbished.   Last time I took it on a long drive it was a lot better, but it appears that was an isolated incident.

When we got to Chubby Buns we pretty much filled up the entire adjacent (closed) service station with classics.    Due to the limo, the lady working there asked us if we had come from a wedding!

Overall it was a really enjoyable drive, and a good send off too.

The post MBCNSW May 2023 Night Drive – Mulgoa Road appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

The history of how this area of South Western Sydney came to be known as The Cowpastures is rather interesting.    When the first fleet arrived in 1788, they brought a small herd of cows and a couple of bulls.    The cattle escaped five months later and would not be seen until 1795 when they were discovered on the fertile Nepean floodplain, having taken over pastures previously used by the Dharawal people.   The area would thereafter be known as the Cowpastures.

It had been a lovely day in Sydney for a change, so we had nine cars at our start point at McDonalds M4 West.   Two 450SLCs and an R107 500SL, a C123 280CE, two C126 SECs (my 560SEC and a 380SEC), a 300E and a modern SLK32 and SL350.

We tried a different approach this time with a designated car at the rear that knew the route well.     That seemed to work well at the end when traffic lights close to the destination meant the last three cars got separated the chase car (me) was able to go ahead of them and lead the way.     We also lost one car to a wrong turn which was remedied by waiting for 10 mins or so on a wide shoulder on Mulgoa road.

The final destination was the Chubby buns burger truck at Hoxton park.   For a city of over five million people, there is very little open after about 11pm that is not a bar or a club, or so inner city there is no parking for 10 elderly German cars.   The Chubby Buns burger trucks are open very late making it an ideal ending point for the drive.    The Hoxton park location (there are a few) is on the site of a carwash by day.    That provides plenty of parking at night.   There are apparently a few car club groups that use the venue.

The food from the Chubby Buns burger truck is quite good.   The serves are ample.   The prices are not cheap, but they are decent value for money for what you’re getting.    This is now my third time at the venue, as we had a couple of drives prior to fine tune the route.

These semi-rural routes seem to work the best for the night drives.  Much easier to keep the group together and enjoy a relaxing drive.

I took my 560SEC on this drive.  It was the first long drive since I had the uprated A/C condenser fitted, the steering box resealed and the Becker 1402 installation finalized.   The car performed really well and I am very happy with the Becker upgrade to the car.  The A/C is also very cold.   I’m waiting for a 35+ day to really test it properly.   On the open road its also noticeable how much more power this car has than an Australian 560SEC.   Especially above 3500RPM.

Next month is back to Bilpin.

The post MBCNSW October 2022 Night Drive – Mulgoa Road appeared first on Classic Jalopy.