MBCNSW Cars and Coffee – May 2022

Last year the MBCNSW was planning a Paul Bracq day.   That event had to be cancelled due to COVID.   I had heard it was supposed to happen this year, so I put the date in my calendar as I was every keen on attending this event.  I am a big fan of the cars of Paul Bracq.  In the end, the event turned into a cars and coffee event in Bicentennial Park.   Since I had already reserved the date, I planned to go along anyway and take my 250SE Cabriolet.

A few things got in the way of that.  Firstly, my 250SE having sticky rear brake calipers, putting it out of service until repaired.   Secondly, the constant rain in Sydney this year has continued, leading to a very wet day.   While I would have preferred the Bracq day, given the weather I doubt all the Pagodas, W108s, W111 Coupes and Cabriolets and other Bracq cars would have come.    Given that, it was probably better they ran a MBCNSW cars and coffee.

Despite the weather, the turn out was reasonably good.   The venue is centrally located in Sydney, making it easy for most members to attend.   Some members brought along their modern cars, but a lot still brought out the classics, which is great to see.   These cars need to be driven and this year has not provided many opportunities.

Two of the highlights for me were a multi best in show 280CE C114.   That car was immaculate, despite having more than 300k on the clock.   A real nut and bolt restoration.   The other was the white 220SE Cabriolet.   That car is the only other W111 than mine that is a regular at club events.    There are plenty of other cars in the club, but they are rarely sighted at events.

I took my 560SEC.    It was the only SEC at the event, and one of three 126 cars.   The other two being 420SELs, a very popular model in the club.    Two door 124 models were also popular, with two rare cabriolets and two 300CE-24 coupes.

As is usual with these events, there was a good crowd around any car that had its bonnet open.   As well as the immaculate engine bay of the C114, we also examined the W123 300D, the C123 280CE and one of the 300CE-24s.   I suspect if there was another MBCNSW cars and coffee on a nice day, there would be a larger turn out.