National Motoring Heritage Day 2021

Today was National Motoring Heritage Day.   National Motoring Heritage Day is celebrated on the 3rd Sunday of each May, with 2021 being the 15th year of this event.   The basic premise is multiple car related events all around the country to showcase our rich motoring heritage.      The Mercedes-Benz club combined this with a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 107 chassis.

The 107 was released in 1971, first as the R107 SL, and then quickly followed my the C107 SLC.   The SLC carried on until 1981 when it was replaced by the W126 based SEC models.   The R107 continued until 1089 and was finally replaced by the R129.    On the drive today, we had at least 20 107 models in a convey which was an impressive sight.

The event consisted of a drive through the southern highlands and then joining the car show at Berry Showground.   There were over 800 cars in attendance at the Berry event, which was quite impressive.   The theme was Aussie assembled cars, but there was something for everyone there.      I’ve wanted to go to this show for a couple of years but I was never able to make it.

It was an easy choice to bring my 450SLC along on this event given the 107 theme.    The extended drive allowed me to verify that there was no more A/C condensate leaking onto the floor.  I still have a few more things to sort out on the car, but it was good to get it out on extended drive.   I managed to park my car next to a rare 300SL Roadster.   Probably the cylinder head alone is worth a lot more than my whole car.

I had my 4 year old Son with me, so I couldn’t spend too much time at the event without boring him senseless.   Still, I was able to browse the event field and see some of the interesting cars on offer.   There were some interesting Jags, two great looking Bentleys and much more.     I’m always impressed with how strong some of the regional clubs are in terms of the number of interesting cars on display.