noy91
Active Member
Last weekend I spent a very enjoyable few days with the classic car section of the East India, and thought I'd give it a brief write up and, more importantly, share a few pictures.
This was the first such event at the Club, previous years having seen only a brief meet in St James's Square followed by lunch. Eventual turnout was 17 cars and 32 people, with an impressive date range from the early 1920s to 2005 (the cars that is, not the people!), with my CL55 bringing up the rear and a trio of Bentley's in the vanguard.
We assembled on Saturday at the History on Wheels museum in Eton Wick (History On Wheels ~ Motoring, Militaria, Memories), and after a good look round the car park and an exchange of pleasantries we were treated to a private tour of the museum which contains a mix of military and civilian vehicles from the '20s to '70s, including a good number of motorcycles and associated memorabilia. The collection started when the founder - a historical advisor for film and TV - chose to take payment for the Battle of Britain in the form of the vehicles used. It includes a number of very rare, early halftracks, a number of C3I vans and staff cars, plus the trucks from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and the 'Allo 'Allo staff car and armoured car. Also of interest were MacArthur's Philippine Cadillacs (absolutely mint) and a French tankette later adapted as a construction work caddy.
After a first-rate walnut cake and some coffee we were issued with a roadbook using Tulip diagrams (Navigation - Tulips), which was a first for me but actually blissfully simple to use and really quite fun. Good for involving the passenger as well. Following the roadbook, we meandered via Windsor Great Park to a paddock at Runnymede, parking up in a half crescent for photos and taking a walk to the JFK memorial and the Magna Carta stone.
The roadbook then took us via the A30 and A4 into central London, culminating with a drive up the red road of a flag draped Mall being a particular highlight. Arriving in St. James's Square bags were dropped and the cars parked in something approaching a wagon circle in the little park within the Square.
The initial plan was for each owner to then give a brief talk their car before adjourning for dinner, but this was postponed till after breakfast on Sunday, which proved most enlightening, especially to hear some of the practical aspects of owning such vehicles. What really struck me was just how usable the old Bentley's were - one had done two tours of South Africa, crossed North America, Australia and New Zealand and does annual tours through France. Similarly, Doug with the Blower from Beaulieu has done over 75,000 miles in it, including runs from Scotland to Hampshire in a single leg (except for fuel stops at 8mpg...), and being stopped doing 108 in Glasgow.
An interesting snippet from the after dinner speech was that more Bentley's finish the Peking to Paris than start it - they are flown in mid-route as replacements for more delicate machines, making Ettore Bugatti's comment that they were the "world's fastest lorries" seem a little less derogatory!
Merc wise, the black 190SL in the pictures is a first rate restoration / conversion of a screenless racer with some late-model cams, so not original, but much more drivable and aesthetically first rate.
The 450SE is one of only a handful of short wheelbase 450s in the UK - actually far rarer than the 6.9 - and owned by the current keeper for over 20 years. Was struck by how well proportioned it looked in the flesh and not 'heavy' as it can in some pictures.
The 280CE was an interesting example, having been owned by an Italian and being a five speed manual, which is apparently not an easy box to drive smoothly, but given that the owner takes it skiing annually and also goes back and forth to Poland the higher ratio was valued. Has a turn of pace on the road that belies its official 0-60 time as well.
Of the others, the two Rollers were beautiful, especially their woodwork, and having recently seen the marquetry at the Goodwood factory recently, think they were and remain above all others in this respect. The Alvis was the surprise favourite however, combining one of my favourite interiors from any classic with commodious accommodation - and with its Harvey Bailey pack at least - surprisingly 'modern' in its handling.
I wasn't sure what the reaction to the CL would be as it was by far the most modern, not to mention modified, (I was allowed to bring it on the basis of it being 'interesting'), but its lines met almost universal praise and its pace raised eyebrows to the extent that at least one other participant is seriously considering making one his daily drive.
Anyway, enough of my ramblings, the official photographs are here: Classic Car Weekend October 2014 - Phil McCarthy Photography | SmugMug
These were taken on my phone before I realised I was short of pixels and talent: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4sex3abybmtg0eq/AAD-3ZfjzQ7-l9BOSVk4-2u6a?dl=0
On a final note, I was somehow roped into organising next year's event, and we would be more than happy for non-members with 'old' or 'interesting' cars to attend, especially non-Mercs, just to keep the variety up. As a guide, this year was £90 up front for four courses with unlimited champers, wine and port, about £70 for accommodation, plus fuel and anything you spend at the bar (£2 pints). Drop me a PM if interested, will likely be early to mid-October with a similar format of a relevant museum visit followed by a roadbook drive with a stop or two and then dinner at the EI.
This was the first such event at the Club, previous years having seen only a brief meet in St James's Square followed by lunch. Eventual turnout was 17 cars and 32 people, with an impressive date range from the early 1920s to 2005 (the cars that is, not the people!), with my CL55 bringing up the rear and a trio of Bentley's in the vanguard.
We assembled on Saturday at the History on Wheels museum in Eton Wick (History On Wheels ~ Motoring, Militaria, Memories), and after a good look round the car park and an exchange of pleasantries we were treated to a private tour of the museum which contains a mix of military and civilian vehicles from the '20s to '70s, including a good number of motorcycles and associated memorabilia. The collection started when the founder - a historical advisor for film and TV - chose to take payment for the Battle of Britain in the form of the vehicles used. It includes a number of very rare, early halftracks, a number of C3I vans and staff cars, plus the trucks from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and the 'Allo 'Allo staff car and armoured car. Also of interest were MacArthur's Philippine Cadillacs (absolutely mint) and a French tankette later adapted as a construction work caddy.
After a first-rate walnut cake and some coffee we were issued with a roadbook using Tulip diagrams (Navigation - Tulips), which was a first for me but actually blissfully simple to use and really quite fun. Good for involving the passenger as well. Following the roadbook, we meandered via Windsor Great Park to a paddock at Runnymede, parking up in a half crescent for photos and taking a walk to the JFK memorial and the Magna Carta stone.
The roadbook then took us via the A30 and A4 into central London, culminating with a drive up the red road of a flag draped Mall being a particular highlight. Arriving in St. James's Square bags were dropped and the cars parked in something approaching a wagon circle in the little park within the Square.
The initial plan was for each owner to then give a brief talk their car before adjourning for dinner, but this was postponed till after breakfast on Sunday, which proved most enlightening, especially to hear some of the practical aspects of owning such vehicles. What really struck me was just how usable the old Bentley's were - one had done two tours of South Africa, crossed North America, Australia and New Zealand and does annual tours through France. Similarly, Doug with the Blower from Beaulieu has done over 75,000 miles in it, including runs from Scotland to Hampshire in a single leg (except for fuel stops at 8mpg...), and being stopped doing 108 in Glasgow.
An interesting snippet from the after dinner speech was that more Bentley's finish the Peking to Paris than start it - they are flown in mid-route as replacements for more delicate machines, making Ettore Bugatti's comment that they were the "world's fastest lorries" seem a little less derogatory!
Merc wise, the black 190SL in the pictures is a first rate restoration / conversion of a screenless racer with some late-model cams, so not original, but much more drivable and aesthetically first rate.
The 450SE is one of only a handful of short wheelbase 450s in the UK - actually far rarer than the 6.9 - and owned by the current keeper for over 20 years. Was struck by how well proportioned it looked in the flesh and not 'heavy' as it can in some pictures.
The 280CE was an interesting example, having been owned by an Italian and being a five speed manual, which is apparently not an easy box to drive smoothly, but given that the owner takes it skiing annually and also goes back and forth to Poland the higher ratio was valued. Has a turn of pace on the road that belies its official 0-60 time as well.
Of the others, the two Rollers were beautiful, especially their woodwork, and having recently seen the marquetry at the Goodwood factory recently, think they were and remain above all others in this respect. The Alvis was the surprise favourite however, combining one of my favourite interiors from any classic with commodious accommodation - and with its Harvey Bailey pack at least - surprisingly 'modern' in its handling.
I wasn't sure what the reaction to the CL would be as it was by far the most modern, not to mention modified, (I was allowed to bring it on the basis of it being 'interesting'), but its lines met almost universal praise and its pace raised eyebrows to the extent that at least one other participant is seriously considering making one his daily drive.
Anyway, enough of my ramblings, the official photographs are here: Classic Car Weekend October 2014 - Phil McCarthy Photography | SmugMug
These were taken on my phone before I realised I was short of pixels and talent: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4sex3abybmtg0eq/AAD-3ZfjzQ7-l9BOSVk4-2u6a?dl=0
On a final note, I was somehow roped into organising next year's event, and we would be more than happy for non-members with 'old' or 'interesting' cars to attend, especially non-Mercs, just to keep the variety up. As a guide, this year was £90 up front for four courses with unlimited champers, wine and port, about £70 for accommodation, plus fuel and anything you spend at the bar (£2 pints). Drop me a PM if interested, will likely be early to mid-October with a similar format of a relevant museum visit followed by a roadbook drive with a stop or two and then dinner at the EI.
