Mothers? Day dawned shrouded in fog following some light overnight rain. The wet roads and heavy skies weren?t that inviting, but somewhere in excess of 50 sporting and classic cars and their owners ignored the conditions and made the early morning trip into Warragul for our monthly gathering. The hardcore enthusiasts threw caution to the wind, rugged up and arrived roofless, scoffing at the softies in their insulated, climate-controlled coupes and sedans. For the English contingent, it must have felt just like home, because they turned out in large numbers ? roofs on or off, it didn?t seem to matter. A couple of beautifully restored Triumphs, a white TR3A and a Mk.4 Spitfire, drew plenty of well-deserved attention, as did Ed Denovan?s TR6 and Steve Braha?s Stag. It was terrific to see the three big Healeys of Bill Petschack, Bill Aitken and Denis Varley ? all with their roofs off of course, There was also a pride of Jags, a couple of Bricks and MGs plus the odd Riley and Trevor Batt?s Escort which took on a ?stand-in? role when Trevor?s recently acquired Thunderbird succumbed to carburettor problems earlier in the morning.
Three Boxsters ? all with soft tops erected (sensible Germans, unlike those crazy English sports car people) dominated the models from mainland Europe, but there were a couple of Beetles, a Kombi, topless spiders from Alfa and Fiat, a couple of nice Mercs, a GTi, a GTV, Peter Walker?s supercharged V8 Simca Vadette and even a mid-engined Audi R8.
The Japanese contingent continues to grow lager, with the ever-popular MX5 and WRX models leading the charge. This month there were a couple of Nissan Z-cars, an RX7, a Mighty Boy and a very rare, front-wheel-drive, rotary-engined Mazda Luce R130 coupe from 1969, which exhibits many of the characteristics of NSU?s Ro 80.
No new Mustangs this month, but a couple of classic versions belonging to Henny Schreyer, and Vinnie and Sharon Vorkapic appealed to many. There was also a black, single spinner Customline from around 1954, and Richard Rowley managed to find a long enough parking space to fit his be-winged Chrysler Saratoga. Aussie specials included a couple of Chargers, an EH ute, HK Brougham, HR and Falcon sedans, and Peter Waghorn?s ZC Fairlaine 500. A real crowd puller was an Aussie Ford GT40 replica, resplendent in the Gulf Oil Racing Team colours of blue and orange whilst another kit car, the Californian Meyers Manx Beach Buggy, seemed particularly out of place given the prevailing weather conditions.
Locky Fowler’s walking, talking, video commentary of this month’s event can be vewed by clicking on the following link.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/AYXRsu5NohiQiZ6E9
