Classic Jalopy Blog

300SE poor hot starts 2

300SE poor hot starts

The 300SE has been suffering from poor hot starts.   It required a lot of cranking before it fired.   On a K-Jet car, this is normally caused by a faulty fuel accumulator.   From what I understand it’s the job of the fuel accumulator to hold fuel pressure after the car is switched off.   I also planned to change the fuel filter as I didn’t know...

2017 Sydney German Car Show 1

2017 Sydney German Car Show

The Sydney German Car Show 2017 was held today and as usual it did not disappoint.    A great selection of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, VW and Audi’s were on display.   The only downside was that aside from the Micro cars, there was no representation from the niche German cars.    There was also only one pre-war car.   This event has really grown...

My Mercedes Collection 0

My Mercedes Collection

My Mercedes collection after giving them a quick wash.   A representative from the 60s, 70s and 80s.

250SE Minor Improvements 0

250SE Minor Improvements

I had a couple of small jobs on the 250SE I had been meaning to do for months.   Since the car is to be displayed at the German Car show, it seemed like a good time to do them. One of the hubcaps was in poor condition.  I had another set of used hubcaps painted almost a year ago now.   However, I...

2017 ACT German Car Show 0

2017 ACT German Car Show

This weekend I was down in Canberra.  Since the 2017 ACT German Car Show was on, I stopped by.   Unfortunately, I was only able to stay for 10 minutes as I had assumed it was held in the regular location near the national library.   Turns out it had moved to Pialligo Estate, near the Airport.   Perhaps not as picturesque a venue, but...

Mounting NSW Historic plates 7

Mounting NSW Historic plates

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...

2011 British Car Show 0

2011 British Car Show

The 2017 British Car Show was the 37th such event.   The first one I attended was the 2011 British Car show.   This website did not exist in 2011, so the photos were never posted.     Its interesting to see many of the same cars are still attending the show.   Many of these are now sporting classic registration as NSW has...

2017 British Car Day 1

2017 British Car Day

The annual British car display day at the Kings School is not be missed.  Over 1500 classic British cars, trucks and commercial vehicles.  The weather was lovely so the turnout was excellent.  Last year, the show had to be postponed due to a sodden field. Not only is the display quite a sight, but its one of the few times of the year you’ll...

DS Paint Complete 0

DS Paint Complete

The paintwork on the DS is now complete and the car is ready to be re-assembled. I have the car back in my warehouse.     To re-assemble I need to: Re-fit the four door cards, rear seats and carpets Polish the boot hinges, fit the boot, C pillar trims etc Polish and re-assemble the rear bumper Re-fit the lights and rear number plate...

DS final adjustment 0

DS final adjustment

The DS should be ready to be collected next week.   All the panels are back on including the NOS bonnet. The front of the car looks pretty much as it should now.   Just minor adjustments for panel fit left.    The painted wheels also make a massive difference. The rear wings are also now done and adjusted.   I’ll be doing the...

300SE head gasket – worth fixing? 1

300SE head gasket – worth fixing?

Recently on the 300SE I had to make a decision if I would fix the head gasket or junk the car.   To do the repair right was going to cost pretty much what I paid for the car.   I had also spent pretty decent money doing the water pump only a few months before.   To add to that I probably had...

DS Paint almost complete 0

DS Paint almost complete

The new DS paint is almost complete and it looks amazing!   The car is completely transformed with a professional paint job and a nice colour.    In addition, the wheels are sporting their correct grey. I’m really happy with the decision to change the colour and to have the back of the car done.   Its not going to be cheap, but there...

NOS C Pillar trims for the DS 0

NOS C Pillar trims for the DS

Despite having no luck with the normal European suppliers, I was able to source much better C Pillar trims for the DS locally through the Aussie Frogs Forum.    The DS C Pillar trims are a key part of the design, and fit in under the indicator trumpet.  As my car is a DS21 Comfort, the trims with the ‘thick’ corrugations are correct.  ...

Paint starts on the Citroen DS 0

Paint starts on the Citroen DS

The painting is starting on the Citroen and its looking great!  I’m really happy with the colour, Rouge Massena.   It looks much nicer than the Rio Red that it was painted previously.   Its a lovely deep shade of red that really suits the DS. So far, the roof is painted as is the underside of the bonnet and valence.  They will be...

My DS will be painted Rouge Massena 3

My DS will be painted Rouge Massena

I have landed on a colour.   My DS will be Rouge Massena.   I prefer this colour to the Rouge Carmin for such a big car.   It is less ‘pink’ in the sun and the darker red will look rather classy.   Generally I prefer to keep cars original, but in this case it wasn’t really a good option.    My DS...

Citroen DS crash repair, pt 5 0

Citroen DS crash repair, pt 5

The DS is now repaired and is in the process of preparation for paint.   Not only did work need to be done to fix the damage from the crash, but previous repairs had to be put right too.    The paint that was previously on the car was not well prepared.   The car was not rusty, but there was minor surface rust...

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