Classic Jalopy Blog

Ad of the week: Fiat 1100 0

Ad of the week: Fiat 1100

This is a really odd ad for the Fiat 1100.    The text covers some of its features, but the picture and the reference to the tolls is bizarre.    Obviously they are implying it is so fuel efficient that tolls won’t be a problem.   The car does come across as a bit disposable with the ‘always have at least one fiat’ slogan. The...

Ad of the week: Mercedes 230SL 0

Ad of the week: Mercedes 230SL

This is a great Ad for the Mercedes 230SL W113 depicting it as a temptress preying on well heeled men.   It would been seen as Sexist today but I think it is rather clever and fits in well with the car. Meet Mercedes (230SL). She has designs on men with money. Men of whatever age or means might do well to stay out...

Ad of the week:  Jaguar Mk2 3.8 0

Ad of the week: Jaguar Mk2 3.8

This ad show the Mk2 Jaguar 3.8 Sedan for the US market.  It is a rather odd ad in that it depicts the car in some kind of storm, but the car is so small you can hardly see it.   The Styling and performance are the two big buying reasons for the 3.8 mk2 and this ad doesn’t really accentuate either of them....

The new Gosford Car Museum 3

The new Gosford Car Museum

The Gosford Car museum just opened, and Australia now has a classic car museum to rival some of the museums of the world.    Having been to some great Museums around the world, this one certainly holds its own.   I was able to accompany the RROC and explore the museum.  Plenty of the cars on the drive up would have fit right into the collection. What...

Rolls Royce Club drive to the Gosford Car Musem 1

Rolls Royce Club drive to the Gosford Car Musem

Today I was fortunate enough to join the Rolls Royce club for their drive to the new Gosford Car Museum.    I am not a member of the club but was invited by a friend who is.   I had wanted to visit the new museum since it opened a few weeks ago and a drive up the old pacific highway with some Rolls...

Ad of the week:  Citroen DS Aerodynamic Styling 0

Ad of the week: Citroen DS Aerodynamic Styling

This Citroen Ad from 1963 covers a key selling point of the DS which was that its Aerodynamic Styling allows it to have a fairly small engine giving good fuel consumption but still allowing a 100mph top speed.   This shows a 2nd nose DS and shows various streamlining features that allow this performance and fuel consumption. Citroen’s Aerodynamic Styling Pays Off How Citroen...

2010 Arthritis Auto Show – Columbus Ohio 0

2010 Arthritis Auto Show – Columbus Ohio

In July 2010 I went to the Arthritis Auto show in Columbus Ohio.   As I understand it this show raises money for the Arthritis foundation and there was a really great selection of cars on display.   I was living in Detroit, Michigan at the time and so it was about a four hour drive each way, but well worth it.   I...

2016 Shannons Sydney Late Autumn Classic Auction 0

2016 Shannons Sydney Late Autumn Classic Auction

The 2016 Shannons Sydney Late Autumn auction is to be held on Monday so I went to the viewing day to see the cars offered for sale. Even though nothing really grabbed my at this auction it is always well worth going and taking a look around.    Much of the stock were muscle cars, some Aussie some American. The cars that did interest...

450SLC Repaint completed 0

450SLC Repaint completed

The 450SLC is complete and I picked it up over the weekend.    What a difference from the faded original paint at the front of the car – it is like having a new one. The respray took place over three weeks (Week 1, Week 2, Week 3).  In addition, rust was cut out, and the air cleaner was re-painted.

450SLC Repaint part 3 1

450SLC Repaint part 3

The 450SLC is now completed.   Last week the actual spraying was done, and this week the car was polished, re-assembled and checked.    I do my final inspection and collect the car this weekend. In addition to having the car re-sprayed, I had the air cleaner resprayed in black and the chrome arch covers removed as they can attract rust.    The brackets that...

450SLC Repaint part 2 2

450SLC Repaint part 2

Another week has gone by at the panel beaters on the 450SLC and the car is getting much closer to completion.  Last week was mostly rust repair and preparation, this week completed the preparation and started the actual re-spray. Where components could be reasonably removed, they were to ensure that they were painted correctly.   The 450SLC is 906G which is Grey/Blue metallic.  ...

450SLC Repaint part 1 2

450SLC Repaint part 1

My 450SLC has now spent a week at the panel beaters having rust removed and being prepared for paint. The starting point was the chassis rail on the drivers side.  This is as very common W107 rust spot. This was welded and then painted. From there, work moved to the boot where both sides were rusting and there was some rust starting in the...

Old performance cars to Oberon 3

Old performance cars to Oberon

Old performance cars are not particularly fast by modern standards.   They are surpassed by a garden variety hatchback in performance.   But while they might not be particularly fast, they are a lot of fun to drive on a winding country road.    Today I met up with some of the members of the Topklasse forum for a drive to Oberon.   I...

Fixing Leaks from the Traction Avant oil cap 2

Fixing Leaks from the Traction Avant oil cap

The Traction Avant has a fairly large oil cap that at least on my car is a loose fit.  Underneath it there is a metal plate with holes in it which let the oil drain into the engine when filling and presumably stop the oil from splashing out. Unfortunately on my car, these holes had been significantly enlarged and that means oil was dribbling...

450SLC Rust 1

450SLC Rust

The big Achilles heel in the R/C107 chassis is its propensity to rust.   They are pretty much bullet proof mechanically, but the rust proofing from the factory was poor and there are a lot of areas where they can and do rust, even in climates such as Australia that are not prone to it.    Once the rust gets to a point, the...

Book Review: Rover P5 & P5B: The Complete Story 0

Book Review: Rover P5 & P5B: The Complete Story

I am a fan of the Rover P5, but I don’t have the time, room or funds to purchase one.   So the solution is to buy a book! I purchased this book:  Rover P5 & P5B:  The Complete Story by James Taylor and overall I am happy with the purchase. The book does a good job of covering the events that led up...

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