The 2023 British car show was finally on in Sydney, the first since 2019. The 2020 and 2021 shows were lost to Covid and the 2022 show to wet fields. The 2023 show was still at the Kings School in Parramatta, but not on the same day as the school fete like normal. It felt like a summer day today, with temperatures of around...
I’ve known the automatic transmission in my 560SEC was weak for a few years now. It was exhibiting a lot of the symptoms of wear that these 722.3 transmissions do when they are wearing. When it was cold, there was a lot of resistance in reverse. It would also occasionally bang into a lower gear or shift erratically. Once it warmed up, it...
Editors Note: This is part three in a series by Nick Gruzevskis about living with a Ford BF MK2 Falcon Futura Wagon. Part 1 introduces the car and part 2 is a six month update. One of the things I’ve noticed about using an LPG equipped car as a daily driver, is how rare it is to see other LPG vehicles filling...
My 250SE has been suffering from poor running issues for almost two years now. It started not long after I got the car back from being repaired from the impact with the Kangaroo. Despite a lot of work to try and rectify these issues, they are still plaguing the car. The challenge is that these are intermittent problems, and so hard to diagnose. I...
Today was the Monthly St Ives Auto Brunch cars and coffee event. The event is held in St Ives showground. Since I last attended, they have moved from being spread over some of the side roads and fields to the main showground. This is a huge improvement. The main showground is plenty big enough for all the cars that want to attend,...
For August, the monthly MBNSW night drive was back up north. The route started in Windsor, taking the putty road up to Bull Ridge road, across to the Sackville Ferry, up to the top of Wisemans Ferry road, then to Dural McDonalds down the Old Northern Road. These are all really nice driving roads, with little traffic at night. While the night before...
by Nick Gruzevskis · Published August 29, 2023 · Last modified September 15, 2024
The German Auto Show has grown into one of the larger Victorian car shows, showcasing the main German marques, but also some of the lesser-known brands that have ceased manufacturing, such as NSU and Borgward. The first show was held in 2016 at the Royal Institute for the Blind and continued at the same venue up to 2019. Initially the event was limited to...
The Shannons Eastern Creek car show is always one of the biggest events in the calendar for the Sydney car scene. I’ve been going for years, but this is only my second time displaying a car. This year I took my 1987 Mercedes 560SEC and brought my three children along with me. Last year I took my 250SE. When you display a car,...
by Nick Gruzevskis · Published August 13, 2023 · Last modified September 15, 2024
Owning more than a few classic cars can often be problematic, as minor maintenance jobs are often deferred. My 450SE (Claudia) had been on top of the hoist for a few months without being driven. I think she was prompting me to use her as a thick layer of dust had formed. When getting her off the hoist, I noticed I fair bit of...
This week my 450SLC has been in the workshop having a major service. This was the first time since the big trip to Adelaide last year. There were a few things to sort out, but one of the major ones was having new engine mounts fitted. These were noted as collapsed when I had the car checked over before the trip to...
Today I went to a cars and coffee event organized by the Mercedes-Benz club. It was a bit different to normal, as the theme was ‘Bring your other car’. The idea was that many club members probably own a car that is not a Mercedes, and that there would be interest in showing those cars off. I thought there would be some interesting cars...
Last night was the monthly MBCNSW Night drive. We didn’t do one in June, primarily because that week coincided with the week most of Sydney seemed to have the flu, so most people cancelled due to illness. We were back again for July, doing a route from Engadine to Campbelltown via Picton Road. This drive was a bit of a combination of...
I recently sold my 1979 Mercedes 280SE at the Shannons May 2023 auction. I’ve bought a couple of cars at auction, but never sold one before. This article covers my experience selling the car, why I chose and auction and why I chose Shannons. Originally I started by trying to sell my 280SE privately. However, I had the issue that I have a...
When I purchased my 300TE, I noticed two things that slightly concerned me. The first was that I only had one key for the car. The second was that the ignition barrel was slightly sticky. There are key blanks available for Mercedes of this era at locksmiths, but the only key I had for the car was a copy. I didn’t feel like a...
Today was my first ever observation rally. After having gone to car events regularly for well over a decade, I had surprisingly never attended one. The premise is that you and your navigator follow along a set of directions and get points for correctly deciphering the clues. Today, the MBCNSW was running one, dubbed The Amazing Rally. I thought it would be...
Note: This is part two in a series by Nick Gruzevskis about owning a Ford BF MK2 Falcon Futura Wagon. Part 1 is available here. What could go wrong owning a 16-year-old Australian designed and manufactured vehicle? It’s now been close to six months since we picked up our 2007 Octane Metallic Ford BF MK2 Futura Wagon, affectionately known as ‘Lister of Smeg’, because...
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