Newsletter No.022 mbz.org, Shannons 2001 tour, Winter, Jokes.
M.B Spares & Service 14 Lyell st Fyshwick ACT 2609 Ph (02) 6239 1099
14 Lyell st Fyshwick ACT 2609 Ph (02) 6239 1099
Supporting Australia's Classic Mercedes-Benz Owners
Newsletter Number 22
Hello and welcome to another newsletter.
Sandra and I have been away at a conference in Thailand and have come back with some great ideas to further improve our business. Amongst other things, we will be having a look back through our records and starting a "Five Year Club" for customers who have been with us for over 5 years. We will also soon be introducing a better system of customer reporting for when you have you cars serviced with us. Stay tuned for more developments.
John Green.
Any questions? Or you want to get off the list? E-mail us here.
Site of the week.
Have a look here, it is a site I have been watching grow for some time now, it contains a huge amount of MB information that is easy to navigate through. It is run by Richard Sexton, one of the main players on the MB Veterans Mailing List. There are literally hours of reading in there for you. Richard also runs these MB lists. If you need an education join the "Banned " list for a few days.
Shannons 2001 Tour
The motoring event of the century has been and gone. To say it was amazing would be an understatment! Starting on Anzac day and finishing on the following Sunday it was a five day celebration of the the first century of Australian Motoring. The range of Mercedes-Benz models that attended was a bit disappointing, but none the less very good. The models that attended included:
1960 220Sb, driven all the way from Darwin in a convoy with other NT attendies.
1962 319D van, fitted with a Holden red motor but still a Mercedes at heart.
1972 280SE 3.5
1967 250SE coupe, the blue and white one you have seen in a lot of my pictures.
1983 380SL, the youngest car on the rally.
1958 220S
1961 190SL
1961 220Sb
1963 220Sb , Australian assembled model.
1975 280E
1970 250CE
1675 230.6
1976 309D campervan, what a way to travel.
1965 220Sb UTE, yes a ute not genuine but a real credit to its owner.
1953 220
1954 300b, my car second from the right in the picture.
There were 1300 cars ranging from an Australian made 1899 steam car to a 1983 Mercedes 380SL that attended. On the Saturday they arranged all 1300 of them on the lawns of our Old Parliament house (just down the road from the new one) in perfect chronological order. I am told that it was the largest gathering of classic cars organised in such a fashon, ever. This was no mean feat of organization! I did the rally in my 1954 300b and was one of 15 Mercedes-benz that attended.
There were some amazing cars there. It was very interesting to see how the Australian car buying public changed their tastes over the years. Nearly all of the pre 2nd world war cars are of US design and manufacture, where as immediately after the war, English cars started to take over as our preferred form of transport.
Some of the cars that I will remember for a long time included:
An "America Le france" this was based on a design for the Mercedes Simplex in the 1920's. It has a massive 14.5lt engine and made a wonderfull noise. There were massive 1930's Daimlers with there lounge room style interiors and dozens of Austin 7's.
A huge group drove all the way from Perth in Western Australia to attend the rally including 3 of the Austin 7's. One had to have an engine swap done half way, but eventually made it. They cruised at 35mph for 10 days to get here. One chap I met towed a 1920's Morris truck all the way from Darwin to attend. He travelled down with one of the 220Sb's.
It was an amazing few days.
Winter is coming.
Winter is back and for our customers here in Canberra it is time to check your antifreeze. We have a gauge that instantl;y measures the freezing point of the coolant in your radiator. We will check this for any of our regular customer for free. Just call in and ask for a coolant check. If you live in any other cold place in the world, you should get it checked each autumn to avoid the winter blues.
Cars for Sale.
The 230E and 380SEL have both found new homes and we have taken a deposit on the A160. We haven't bought any new ones to replace these yet as we have been away. One of our customers from Sydney is contemplating parting with his 190E 2.5-16. For anybody who knows these cars, they will understand that this is very rare car especially in RHD format. It has an excellent and interesting history with only one other previous owner. It has more options than I could list here and is in stunning condition. The owner has not set a price yet and wants to sell it to a collector not a hoon. Please contact me direct if you or somebody you know may be interested. Here is a picture of it:
Here are some of our cars:
Have a look here for a full list of our cars for sale.
A160 Classic sedan 1999 model.
Excellent condition. Has travelled only 25000kms. Excellent fuel consumption. Avant Garde Alloys. CD player. Quad air bags. ABS with brake assist. Still under MB warranty. Look here for more pictures of this car. $28990.00AUDMore details 450SLC Coupe 1978 model. 
Excellent V8 coupe, excellent mechanical condition White with brown velour interior, 15" Alloy wheelsPOAMore details
190E Sedan 1983 model.
Very early version of the 190E sedan, sunroof, electric windows, C180 15" alloys with new tyres, Grey with excellent condition tan MB-tex interior. Reduced to $9990.00 More details
300E Sedan 1987 model.
Brown metallic with cream leather, cruise control, electric windows, climate control, alloy wheels, ABS, the lot. Vehicle has travelled 268000kms but due to an inocent mistake has a speedo that reads 188000kms! has had a recent full head service and is excellent mechanical condition. It is priced well below average market price. $16990.00 More details
Joke of the week.
You might like to memorise this, it might come in handy one day.
A police officer pulls a guy over for speeding and has the following exchange:
Officer: May I see your driver's license?
Driver: I don't have one. I had it suspended when I got my 5th DUI.
Officer: May I see the owner's card for this vehicle?
Driver: It's not my car. I stole it.
Officer: The car is stolen?
Driver: That's right. But come to think of it, I think I saw the owner's
card in the glove box when I was putting my gun in there.
Officer: There's a gun in the glove box? Driver: Yes sir. That's where I put it after I shot and killed the woman who owns this car and stuffed her in the trunk.
Officer: There's a BODY in the TRUNK?!?!?
Driver: Yes, sir.
Hearing this, the officer immediately called his captain. The car was quickly surrounded by police, and the captain approached the driver to handle the tense situation.
Captain: Sir, can I see your license?
Driver: Sure. Here it is. It was valid.
Captain: Who's car is this?
Driver: It's mine, officer. Here's the owner's card.
The driver owned the car.
Captain: Could you slowly open your glove box so I can see if there's a gun in it?
Driver: Yes, sir, but there's no gun in it.
Sure enough, there was nothing in the glove box.
Captain: Would you mind opening your trunk? I was told you said there's a body in it.
Driver: No problem.
Trunk is opened; no body.
Captain: I don't understand it. The officer who stopped you said you told him you didn't have a license, stole the car, had a gun in the glove box, and that there was a dead body in the trunk.
Driver: Yeah, I'll bet the lying s.o.b. told you I was speeding, too
So that's it for another newsletter. Hope you liked what you saw. If you have any ideas or want to contribute any articles, pictures or other material please e-mail me here. Also don't forget that you can check out the old newsletters here
Thanks, John Green.
