The only constant of our garage is new acquisitions, we never seem to be able to slim the fleet down. The latest addition was considered necessary when my daughter (Jessica) came to grief with her 2005 CLK320 on a concrete wall at Eastland Shopping Centre, Ringwood. Given we are insured for market value, we weren’t confident that it would be repaired. Once we got...
After owning my 450SLC for over 20 years, there has really only been one thing that has disappointed me about the car. That is the performance of the A/C. I don’t think it was ever optimized for the Australian climate even when new. When you add in the use of R134A gas, plus aging components, on the days you really need it, it can’t...
Today was the 2024 ACT German Car Show. I always enjoy this event, so was keen to go again this year. I had originally planned to bring my 1977 450SLC. However, it wasn’t back from the workshop due to a leak from the A/C. In its place, I took my 1987 560SEC, same as last year. Unlike last year, there was a fairly...
Over the last week or so, I’ve been dealing with the algae in the fuel tank of my 240D. In the last update, after changing the fuel filters, I added the Penrite Diesel Biocide. I was already noticing after about 30 kilometers the pre-filter was looking quite dirty and the car was down on power. It seemed that some of the algae was...
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of using my friend Justin Tan’s 1995 Toyota Comfort for a few days. This is the short-wheelbase version of what we know as the Crown Comfort. It is a commercial grade purpose-built fleet vehicle, and is unashamedly so. Justin’s car is an ex-driver-instructor car from Japan and has some subtle clues of its previous career such...
Today was the big annual British car show. For years, this show has been held at the Kings School. This year the show was at a new venue – Hawkesbury Showground. I’ve always regarded the annual British car show as the best car show on the Sydney calendar so I was curious how the new venue was going affect that. The Kings school had...
Earlier this month I went to the St Ives Auto Brunch Event. Unlike the August event, the weather was excellent and I didn’t make the mistake of getting there so early. I took my Jaguar E-Type this time. It was a lovely morning to drive a convertible. I spent more time talking to people I knew than taking photos, so I only snapped a...
Yesterday, I posted an update on my 240D showing how I had changed the petrol filters. A friend pointed out that my filter was full of algae. My 240D was from a deceased estate and it’s condition and mileage make me think it didn’t get a lot of use in recent years. Algae seems more prevalent in cars that have sat around for a...
Since I purchased my 240D, I had planned to use ‘Diesel Purge’ to clean the injectors and injection pump. The car runs well, but it is a bit rough at idle and I figured this would probably help. This was part of my plan to clean the fuel system for the entire car. I have a suspicion that the strainer in the bottom of...