We had a great turn out on the night.  I think it was largely due to the terrible weather we’ve had in Sydney over the last month.  Now it seems to be past us, everyone was quite keen to get their classics out for a drive.   In winter, numbers are generally lower, but not this time.  On the drive we had:

• 108:  280SE 3.5
• 107: 450SLC, 380SLC, 500SL
• 116: 280SE
• 126: 380SEC
• 124: 300E, 300CE, 300TE
• Modern: E400

It was an impressive line up, and was probably only missing a W123 to complete some of the most popular classics in the club.    I took my 1990 300TE.  I don’t use the 124 on that many club events because it gets a lot of use via the logbook as a family car.  However, the car was hit in the rear last week by a careless P-plater, so I had it out to do the insurance assessment earlier in the day.

It seems it is the season for destroying W124 rear bumper bars, as the owner of the E400 suffered a similar fate earlier this week on his 300E.  A Harley Davidson in his case.  The 450SLC was a new acquisition for one of our regulars and what a nice car it is.  It is in Icon Gold – one of the best colours from the 70s, and the interior is immaculate.  The 380SLC also made its debut on one of these drives, quite a rare car in Australia.

Our route started at Windsor McDonalds.  From there, we drove North along the first section of the Putty Road, before turning onto Bull Ridge Road.  This took us down to the Sackville Ferry.  We manage to fill the Ferry, along with a single Range Rover.

After the Sackville Ferry, we headed up towards Wisemans Ferry Road and then down the Old Northern Road to Dural McDonalds.  These roads are all great to drive on, and being night time were deserted.

At Dural McDonalds, most of us were keen to get a snack or a Sundae, but McDonalds have changed their police and their so called open 24 hour locations seem to be drive through only.  Since none of our party were savages that eat in the car, McDonalds lost out on around $100 worth of sales.

It was a good drive and great to get out after all the bad weather.   The owner of the 280SE 3.5 had recently had his drivers seat re-done and fitted a new compensating spring to his rear axle.  He remarked how much better the handling was and more comfortable his car was to drive.  That sounds like a win.

We also tried some new more powerful walkie talkies.  A few of us plan to use these for an upcoming road trip.  While our last set gave us an effective range of 1km on flat ground, we seem to be able to get 2km out of the new ones, which is great.  It means the person at the back can communicate with the person at the front without a relay.

Next month is old Pacific Highway.

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Our route was a new one,  starting at Windsor McDonalds, then heading north to Sackville Ferry.   After crossing the ferry, we turned onto River road, which skirts the southern bank of the Hawkesbury river.   River road is very windy and narrow and much of it is only wide enough to fit one car, even though it is a two way road.   In addition, there are sections where the edge of the road has crumbled away, and instead of fixing it, they have just made it single lane.

After River Road, we then turned onto the old Northern Road for a while, before taking a detour along Wisemans Ferry Road and Cattai Ridge road.   Our final destination was Dural McDonalds.

This was originally to be our July route, but the road was damaged in a storm and closed for a few weeks.

Considering the weather, we had a pretty good turn out of six cars.   A W108 280SE 3.5, W123 300D, my old W116 280SE, a W124 300E and 300TE and my 560SEL.  Its great to see the older cars out on a drive like this.   It was particularly impressive to see the W108 do a windy road like this in the rain.  The main issue being keeping the windows defogged.   Unlike the later cars, the A/C is not fully integrated on a W108.  You can’t point it at the windscreen.   Doing a rainy night drive in this part of Sydney is pretty normal for the 280SE, having done a few in my ownership.

I had originally planned to take my Citroen DS on this drive.  However, given the weather, I took the 560SEL – defogging the windows the main concern on the Citroen.   Having done the test drive in the DS a few months back, I realized how useful the lights that follow the corners are on such a windy road!   The 560SEL did well, but its not as nimble as some of the other cars I own.

The finishing point was McDonalds in Dural.  Like a lot of McDonalds, it advertises 24 hours but it really isn’t.  They were closing at around 12:15 – 12:30.   I think the drive through may have been open, but that is totally useless.

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The route chosen was one of the better ones for a car club event in a while.   It started at the Glenorie bakery going north up the Old Northern Road.   At Maroota, the convoy turned off onto Wisemans Ferry road.   The best part of the drive was through river road in Lower Portland.   This was a twisty section with no traffic and the 560SEC was the best choice for this type of driving.   After river road, the convoy crossed the river via the Sackville Ferry then proceeded through Wilberforce until the dinner destination.

Most of the cars on this run were moderns, but there were two R107s and a lovely 220SE cabriolet.   The 220SE showed that these cars handle a lot better than most would expect by keeping up with the convoy.   It was great to see this car out and about, as mine is normally the only one when I bring it.

The new wheels and tyres have transformed the 560SEC.   The wheel wobble is gone, there is no more tyre rubbing and the handling and noise are a lot better.   The true test of a tyre is after 10,000km, but so far I am happy with these tyres on the 560SEC.    This is actually the second time in a few weeks the 560SEC has utilized the Sackville Ferry, as it formed part of the route back from Bathurst.

With all the servicing I am doing, the 560SEC is driving better and better.   I’m pretty sure the smoke issue is valve stem seals, so I will have to attend to these in the new year.    As a timely reminder on security for older cars, I heard that one member had his W123 stolen today.   Unfortunately the car is probably already in a container or being broken up for spares.

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