Grand Prix weekend in Melbourne and the weather couldn?t have been better. Some participants experienced a bit of fog in the valleys as they drove in, but it soon burnt off to reveal a beautiful autumnal morning. It was a terrific day for convertibles, and they responded appropriately.
As usual, we had cars from near and far. Two early arrivals, one in a Cobra, the other in a Healey had made the journey from Tarwin Lower and Healesville respectively. The drive across the hills to Warragul, with little or no early morning traffic, is apparently just part of the fun. Of course, we had our regulars from the Latrobe Valley and surrounds as well as several from the outer eastern metro area and the Dandenongs. With the end of Daylight Saving, it?s now a little easier to rise and get an early start for the day. Perhaps that?s why there were more than a dozen cars already in place when your correspondent arrived at around 7:30 in the morning.
With Jaguars, Healeys, Minis, MGs, Triumphs, Morrie Minors, an Escort, a Riley, a Marcos and a Lotus; the classic British contingent were out in force this month and made up a goodly proportion of the 70 to 80 cars on display. John Fowler trailered in his latest acquisition, a Mini 850 van which was restored 20 years ago, but then left sitting in a shed unused. No doubt we will see it on Club plates, participating in events under its own power in the not too distant future. Hayden Fowler has sold his red Bugeye and replaced it with a massive blue Jaguar 420G limo which made its Brekky Club debut this month ? Just the thing you need with petrol prices soaring 😊. Another few British debutants were a fawn/beige Morris Minor Ute, a white Mk.1 Escort Mexico 1600 and a very rare Triumph GTR4 Dove coupe, all looking immaculate.
From across the Channel we had one Frenchie in the form of a bright yellow Renault 12 which appeared to have been recently painted and was fitted with a rollcage. From Germany we had several Porsches and BMWs, a couple of Mercs, a VW Polo and a tidy orange Beetle, whilst several Alfa Romeos contributed some Italian flair.
The Americans were represented by Richard Rowley and Trevor Batt in their Thunderbirds with support from Stan Hodgson in the ?94 Mustang convertible. There were plenty of Aussie classics on show as well, with Paul Montagnat?s Mk.7 Bolwell, Glenn Campbell?s Charger and Falcon GTs from Andy Thorpe and Gus Luke. Richard Kaden brought along his Maloo, there were several Falcon and Commodore sedans as well as Peter Waghorn?s green LTD and Bob Russell?s early S-type Valiant.
Mazda MX5s made up the bulk of our Japanese contingent with a range of models from the early NA series to new member Rod Styles? late model ND Retractable Fastback variant. There was also an early RX7, a WRX and the utilitarian Subaru Brumby to satisfy our oriental enthusiasts.
It was a terrific morning with a spectacular range of makes and models on display. No doubt I?ve left out several cars which deserved special mention, so apologies to those concerned.
Steve
