2024 Shannons Eastern Creek Car Show
The show at Eastern Creek has long been a fixture in the classic car scene in Sydney. It is a great location for a big car event, with the track, grandstand and plenty of places to display the cars. I’ve been going for many years, and have always enjoyed the day.
Displaying a car is worth it if you plan to go. Entry is free for your passengers and you get to do a parade lap on the track. In prior years this was a lot of fun, but last year the lap was so painfully slow that I probably could have pushed the car faster. My kids were in the back and telling me we went faster in the traffic jam to get into the complex. Not knowing if there would be a repeat of this, I took the most appropriate car for the day, my 1981 Mercedes 240D. With 71hp, it was the only choice.
The 240D proved to be a good choice. While speed wasn’t farcical like last time, it was still pretty slow. On most of the track we could do about 60km/h and on the straight 80. At least in the 240D, I was actually using the performance of the car and had my foot to the floor coming out of the corners. So for the future, the best idea is to bring the slowest car you own.
I also took my kids along this year and they enjoyed it more. Last year the traffic getting into the event was chaotic. This time, it flowed much faster. They still funned everyone into one entrance, but it moved a lot faster. The also enjoyed the ride in the bus from the Sydney Bus Museum.
Like last year, the event was far smaller than in previous years. I had hoped last year was an aberration, but it seems not. The clubs have far more tickets than in prior years, and I know people who would have loved to come, but could not get them. There are large areas that used to be used, that are totally closed off. While this is still a good event, I feel the organizers are starting to strangle it. The huge number of different cars were one of the principal things that made this event good.
Our club had a decent display given the lack of tickets. There was a bit of confusion as to where we are actually supposed to park, but given the lower numbers, it didn’t matter all that much. For once, W116’s actually outnumbered the W126.
It was a good day out in the 240D, although on the way home I had another issue with almost running out of fuel, when there was actually plenty in there. My current theory is that either the strainer, or the little hole that lets fuel into the swirl pot from the rest of the tank is blocked. I will have to remove the strainer and see.
