With 2023 at a close, time for another fleet update. Like last year, I will cover the highlights and lowlights for each car, major worked performed, how much I used them and plans for the future. In 2023 I managed to drive my classics almost 18,000km. Classics need regular use or they deteriorate badly, so I’m glad I was able to drive them so...
Citroen / Jaguar / Mercedes / Misc
by admin · Published December 19, 2022 · Last modified September 15, 2024
With yet another year almost finished, time for an update on the Classic Jalopy fleet. Similar to last year, I will go over what I did with each car, any issues, and future plans. As with last year, I don’t own (or desire) a modern car, so these cars are used as a combination of hobby and everyday transport. Last year I had a...
Citroen / Jaguar / Mercedes / Misc
by admin · Published December 23, 2021 · Last modified September 22, 2024
With the year coming to a close it felt like a good idea to do a 2021 fleet update. A bit of a summary of any issues I had with each car, how much I used it and any future plans. I don’t own a modern car, so these cars not only get used as a hobby, but as everyday transport – regardless...
A couple of months ago a friend showed me his BM2 Battery Monitor installed on his 420SEL. It is a bluetooth enabled battery monitor that connects to a phone app. The app lets you monitor the battery in real time, run some tests and download history from the battery monitor device. I already have various battery testers which are useful for standalone battery...
The most recent post about the W126 cowl covers was the 500th post on this website. I started the site in May of 2013 when I was doing a lot of work on my Citroen DS. I had recently purchased the car and was fixing some of the problems with the car, installing a new radio and later re-upholstering it. At that time I...
After using blank plates as a way of attaching NSW Historic Plates on the 450SLC and the 560SEC, the adapter I fabricated for the 250SE was looking rather shoddy. I made it myself out of aluminium. I used thin aluminium to make it easier to cut. The thin aluminium bent easily and now had creases. I liked how using the blank German plate filled...
It was just announced that the NSW 60 day logbook ‘trial’ has been made permanent. This is great news as its a really good system. The two minor drawbacks – the amount of paperwork and the size of the plates. The plates are tiny and really ugly. They are so small that they don’t line up with the mounting holes of nearly any car. ...
Today, I was reading an excellent article on Curbside Classic about the legendary Paul Bracq. Bracq had a long career with Mercedes Benz, BMW, Peugeot. He also worked at an independent styling house. Part one covers his time at Mercedes-Benz and part two the rest of his career. I highly recommend this article. Bracq was responsible for one of Mercedes-Benz most elegant designs of...
The online communities for collector cars are now on their third iteration. They started mostly as email lists, moved to forums and are increasingly moving to social media. This is not a good thing. The car forums and lists built a real sense of community and there was a lot of effort that went into many postings. Indeed, some individuals spent a lot of...
NSW has a great historic registration system. It allows for classics to be used for 60 days on a logbook for a drastically reduced fee. For unknown reasons the plates issued are tiny plates with purple numerals. The plates are so small they are not wide enough for the mounting holes on most cars. As these plates don’t end up...
As you go to car shows and car club events, you realize that there are many more big car collections out there than you would expect. Not just celebrities like Jay Leno, but people who live in the same city as you who have extensive and interesting car collections. Friends of mine think I am nuts owning 5 cars, but it is...
I’ve now moved two cars onto the new 60 day logbook trial with the RMS, and the cost savings are well worth it! The cost of full registration is just a bit above $1,000 if you assume a green slip of over $500 and the Rego of a little under $500. The cost of the new rego is around $150 including...
I was down at the RMS today, putting my Traction on the new trial for a logbook style registration scheme in NSW. I really had been dreading putting the traction on the old historic scheme, but with so many cars I just couldn’t justify them all on full rego, despite how bad the old scheme was. Under the new rules, you get to...
After becoming cynical from the normal spin and lobby group driven policy from Governments, I was very happy to see two very commonsense announcements from NSW Government minister Duncan Gay today. A trial for improvements to the NSW Conditional Registration scheme (Club Rego) A study to investigate higher speed limits on sections of the Hume and Pacific Highways The trial for improvements to NSW...
There have been some rather amusing columns written over the last few weeks that the departure of Jeremy Clarkson somehow paves the way for a ‘kinder, gentler’ (read more PC) Top Gear. More reviews on affordable cars; more eco friendly; no off colour comments. What a lot of rubbish. Nobody wants to watch a programme like that. How many teenage boys have a poster...
Today I read a report from the NSW Council of Motor Clubs about their stance on historic registration. (It was published in the Magazine of the Jaguar Drivers Club of Australia). Basically their stance is to support the status quo (with minor amendments for street rods) and so NSW continues to have the worst historic registration system in the country. Obviously the final...
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