This year the NSW Mercedes-Benz Club concours and the German car show were combined into a single event. Overall this seemed to work reasonably well as they opened up additional paddocks and it meant one of the best turnouts of Benz’s for some years. For some reason the turnout for the other German makes was rather poor, and perhaps they were assuming...
This weeks ad has a great photo of the W111 Coupe. While this car is a 220SE, it looks very similar to the 250SE that I used to have – this car has a red interior and mine had a red wine coloured one, but they look similar. It also wears the zoll plate for European delivery programme. This Mercedes-Benz Invites You...
The 280CE came back for a visit this week complaining of groaning power steering. Turned out that the belt was slipping once the wheel got toward full lock. On further inspection, the belt had become too loose – not because it was stretched, but because the bolt that allows the belt adjustment had lost its threads in the critical area and it...
This weeks ad is a well known Jaguar ad focusing on both the engineering and design elements. Most specifically it addresses the Jaguar IRS, which was very advanced for it’s time. Jaguar used it up until the 90s! It is an early ad because it shows the outside bonnet latches and a different position than normal for the reversing light. The picture...
This weeks ad a great summary summary of all the safety features of the DS and a nice cutaway. These days they try and sell cars with lifestyle shots, but this ad delves deep into some of the technical features. The Citroen… a safe car you should look into. Safety “No Spoke” steering wheel. Rugged hemi head engine, built to maintain high cruising...
The Jaguar Compact Saloons were a highly successful range of cars that lasted from the mid 50s right through to the end of the 60s. They gave Jaguar the production volume to stay relevant and with their world beating sports cars of the same era are still somewhat responsible for the reputation Jaguar has today. Despite these being the cheapest cars in Jaguar’s range,...
This is a great ad for the 300SL roadster. It would probably be seen as Sexist today but it tries to cover the softer personality of the 300SL in roadster form but still the maintenance of the Gullwing’s performance. The Velvet Glove or Male Fist caption and some of the wording in the ad invokes powerful imagery. Unlike most of the...
The British car show has such a selection of cars that its hard to pick favorites, but these represent the standout cars for me on the day. Healey Elliott I found this to be a really striking car and not one I had seen before. Apparently it has the 2.5 liter Riley engine and was capable of 100mph, quite a feat at the...
In my view, the British car show is probably the pick of the Sydney car shows each year. It might not be as big as the Eastern Creek show, but it has a broader range of really interesting cars, and there is always something new you’ve never seen before. This year the new one for me was a 1948 Healey Elliott. Quite...
This weeks Ad is a Pennzoil ad that ties their engine oil to the high performance XK engine and its over inflated performance specs. Still the ad had a great cutaway of the engine and the triple carburettor setup. The Jaguar E-Type had a lot of suppliers trying to associate with it during the early 60s. This is the power plant built for...
Today I started troubleshooting a potential engine issue in my Traction Avant. When the engine is hot, it will sometimes smoke out of the valve cover and there is a single pulse of black exhaust like it is being caused by one cylinder. My first test was to check the compression of the engine, quite easy on a traction engine as the spark...
This weeks ad is interesting that it tries to take the biggest weakness of the DS – the engine and try and turn it into a strength. I prefer the other ads that focus on its real strengths like the economy, suspension etc. In sales trying to turn a weakness into a strength can work well, but not sure if this approach...
Late August means its time again for the 2016 Shannons Eastern Creek car show, which is organized by the CMC and sponsored by Shannons. It’s probably the biggest car show in Australia and has a small selection of cars from each club affiliated with the CMC. Normally the selection is more everyday enthusiast cars rather than high end, but it is nice...
I went to look at an 2006 E350 W211 Estate today and had learned on the Topklasse forum that the M272 engine manufactured from 2005-2007 suffers from a potential defect. From what I understand as this engine is a 90 degree V6, there were additional components required to make it run smoothly and these and the timing gear can suffer from premature wear....
In 1955 direct fuel injection was a big deal, and I believe the 300SL was the first production car to have it. It certainly provided fearsome performance out of only 3 liters. This weeks ad focuses on the 300SL and in particular the direct fuel injection.
I had the opportunity for a short visit to the Peterson Museum, after my flight out of Los Angeles was canceled. I had always wanted to go to see the museum after seeing a few of the cars featured on Jay Leno’s Garage (for example Steve McQueen’s XKSS). The museum has two parts, the public exhibits over three floors and three basements with...
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