Newsletter No.080 NSW number plates, 300's.
Newsletter Number 80
6th September 2004
Welcome. This newsletter we have some history on NSW number plates, a brief run down on the 300 series from the 50's, more specials and the other usual articles. Hope you enjoy it.
Thanks John Green.
Number plates.
Back in Newsletter 73 we reported very briefly on the history of number plates in New South Wales. This followed some pictures of a 130H in the previous newsletter. Here is a more in depth look at NSW number plates:
The original issue plates were straight numerical series starting with No 1 on 9th March 1910 and stopping 31 Dec 1937 at 274-000. In 1937 a series of white on black alpha-numeric plates were introduced being two letters and three numbers
In 1951 when the two letter three number series had been issued a new series being black on yellow with three letters and three numbers. AAA-000 to ZZZ-999 ( this series has just finished the new format is AA-00-BB)
In 1972 the department decided to charge a fee and allow you to order combinations – your initials etc. Thus people ordered their initials JG-000 , JG-999. JSG-000 Most triple 000’s were gone as by this point those in the know had got the plates with a bribe. These are much sort after today.Interestingly only a front plate was required for cars or bikes until Jan 1924 – The plates until then had printed on them ‘front of car only”
The first numeral series plates were black on white but reversed at some early stage – probably to distinguish from motorbike plates.
There are only about seven motorbike numerics on issue.
Thanks to Martin Kass from Kass Cars who provided this information. Martin is both a number plate collector and trader and can help you find a personalised NSW plate if you are interested. You can e-mail him here.
Just as an interesting aside you have been able to buy three digit number plates in the ACT, for some time, from the ACT Government. Last month the last three plates were sold, so these will no doubt become very collectable like the NSW numeric plates are. A limited supply of four and five digit plates are still available in the ACT.
Mercedes-Benz Club Concours's.
Don't forget the two Concours' s coming up. This weekend in the NSW club event and the ACT club event is on the 26th of the Month. The following was sent to OZVETS mailing list by the Concours director of the NSW club:
The Mercedes-Benz Club of NSW is holding its annual Concours d'Elegance on Sunday 12 September 2004 at Silverwater Park, Silverwater, NSW. This is the highlight of the club's calendar and sure to be a great day out. Whilst I realise that most list members are spread far and wide, if you happen to be around, you would be more than welcome. If you want more information you can contact me or go to the club's website: http://www.mbcnsw.org.au/
Regards, Mark Ravagnani 0411 739 694
And here is a shortened version of the details for the ACT club Concours:
Sunday, 26th September 2004 is the date for the 29th Annual Concours d' Elegance of the Mercedes - Benz Club of the ACT. As in recent years, the event will be an integral part of the Shannon's German Autofest.
The pre-Concours dinner on Saturday, 25th September 2004 will be held in the Wellington Room at the Rydge’s Capital Hill , cnr National Circuit and Canberra Ave, Forrest (tel. 02 6295 3144). Cost will be $50 per person for a 3 course banquet (sit down). Drinks are an additional cost and are payable as you order. Registration and pre-dinner drinks from 7pm. After a welcoming speech, the entrée will be served at 7:45pm. Gentlemen will be comfortable in a jacket. Payment in advance to the Treasurer should be made on the accompanying booking form and RSVP by the 15th of September. Enquiries to Anne Maddern on 02 6288 1892. If you require a vegetarian meal, please let Anne know in advance. If you want to stay at Rydges, they have a special rate including a full breakfast - $169 for 1, $181 for 2, $220 for 3, but you must mention the Mercedes-Benz Concours to get this rate when you book.
After last year’s stunning success, this year the Concours is once again being held on the Rond Terraces overlooking Lake Burley Griffin, located lake-side at the junction of Parkes Way and Anzac Parade, a major ceremonial road in Canberra with the Australian War Memorial at the far end. The venue will only be accessible from the road to Blundell’s Cottage which runs off Constitution Avenue. Signs will be erected and maps supplied to aid you in finding the venue. Representatives from the various Clubs will be on site at the entrance gate near Blundell’s Cottage to guide you to the display area. We will have the same position as last year, but for those new to the area, the MB Club will be situated on the upper terrace right of centre. The High Court, the National Gallery, the National Library, Parliament House and the new Federation Place are all visible from the Rond Terraces, and Floriade is just 200 metres away. This area is a little bigger than the previous display area of Section 34 and has proved to be a better venue in many ways.
To help with the smooth organisation of the event, we ask that our local and interstate friends alike declare their intention to enter the Concours or to display their car by filling out the enclosed registration form and sending it back no later than 12th September to the Concours Director, Peter Mulquiney. Please include the $10 per vehicle entry fee. Those competing or displaying are asked to arrive between 8.30 - 9.30 am.
Cars for dismantling.
Once again here is a list of recent cars that have come in to be dismantled:
W123 230E 81 model. You have not seen rust until you have seen this car. It was traded at a Mercedes-Benz dealer in Sydney and was reported to us to be the maids run around car from one of the houses that sits in the cliffs on the North Shore in Sydney. Certainly no good panels on this however it has a full set of books and is in perfect mechanical condition. Very good engine, auto transmission and suspension.
W116 450SEL 76 model. Terrible looking car but virtually rust free. Electric windows, sunroof, cruise control and central locking most of which don't work. It does however have a good k-jetronic injected engine and auto.
W108 280SE 3.5 1971 model. Almost too good to wreck. The car has a great body and is good mechanically but need a new paint job. IT is silver (sort of ) with Blue M.B tex. We will hold off wrecking this car for a few weeks to see if we can sell it as a going concern. It is still registered in NSW and drives quite well. Price will be $1990.00. Ring us on 1300 787 300 or e-mail me if you are interested.
So if you need any bits for your 230E, 280SE 3.5 or 450SEL give us a ring on 1300 787 300 or e-mail the spares department.
What the?
Well we had a better response this time to the very sad picture in the "What the" from last newsletter. Here are the two answers we received:
Rod Garnett said, "Isn't that a 300D Ardenhour? I never know how to spell that?"
Maurício G. Anderson said, "The picture is that of an Adenauer 300sd. Isn't it? "
Close but not quite! The car in question is a 300b. There are four different types of the 300 series from the 50's and early 60's. Each one after the original version has a lower case letter after the number to show which version it is. This letter is not displayed on the boot sign. For some reason there was never a 300a! Here is a brief run down on the differences between them:
300, Introduced to the public at the 1951 Frankfurt Motor show the 300 was Mercedes-Benz's first return the pre war glory days for producing outstanding luxury machines capable of great speed and with outstanding handling (for there day). It was built from November 1951 till march 1954. This model is distinguished by having no front 1/4 vent windows and very small indicator lenses on the front.
300b, The 300b introduced in 1954 was a much nicer car to drive, the engine compression was raised from 6.4:1 to 7.5:1 which lifted the engines power output by 10hp(DIN), it also had other innovations like power boosted brakes! The size of the brake drums was also increased. These look the same a 300 but has the front 1/4 vent windows.
300c, The 300c was a further update in September of 1955 and was built until July 1957. These were externally distinguished from a 300b by the larger rear window. The
300d. The 300d was the final version. It was a completely different body shape but still built on the same chassis except that it was 100mm longer in the wheel base.. It featured a fuel injected engine that produced 160hp(DIN) and automatic transmission. The engine was similar to the engine fitted to the famous Gullwing .
And finally for the very observant did you notice the W100 600 on the top of the second pile?
Specials
Here are this weeks specials:
W108/109 early style speedo cables $45.00. Suits all up 1969
W108/109 bonnet release cables $45.00
W114/115 L/H flouted tail lamp lense 73-76 version $45.00, not the flat style.
W114/115 front and rear windscreen seals $75.00 each.
W116 R/H front indicator lense $30.00, that's less than a used assembly
W107 SL boot star $ 50.00, SL only not the SLC
W123 L/H mirror assy $195.00, that's new one for the price of a used one!
W124 early bonnets sound deadning pads $35.00. These are the early version that only covered the rear of the bonnet.
Also don't forget our other specials listed here!
Restoration opportunity.
Two newsletters ago I mentioned the W111 250SE Coupe that we have sitting in our workshop that is part restored and needs to be sold. The interest in it was enormous. However when we finally worked out the price and posted it in the last newsletter the interest dropped off! To be honest I am not that surprised. This car is not for the faint hearted but does represent unbelievable value to someone who has been considering restoring one of these classic 60's coupes. My estimate is that the owner has invested somewhere on the wrong side of $40000.00 in this car to date. However the price we are looking for is $24500.00. When this car is completed it will be worth somewhere around $40000.00 so it is also a rare chance to spend money on a classic car and not loose that much (if any) If you were about to start restoring one of these you can get a big discount on your first years expenditure! So if you are interested please ring me on 0419 295458 or email me.
Joke of the week.
1. Two antennas meet on a roof, fall in love and get married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent.
2. Two hydrogen atoms walk into a bar. One says, "I've lost my electron. "The other says, "Are you sure?" The first replies, "Yes, I'm
positive..."
3. A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, "I'll serve you but don't start anything."
4. A sandwich walks into a bar. The bartender says, "Sorry we don't serve food in here."
5. A dyslexic man walks into a bra.
6. A man walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm and says: "A beer please, and one for the road."
7. Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?"
8. "Doc, I can't stop singing 'The Green, Green Grass of Home.'" "That sounds like Tom Jones Syndrome." "Is it common?" "It's Not Unusual."
9. Two cows standing next to each other in a field. Daisy says to Dolly, "I was artificially inseminated this morning." "I don't believe
you," said Dolly. "It's true, no bull!" exclaimed Daisy.
10. An invisible man marries an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either.
11. Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.
12. A man takes his Rottweiler to the vet and says, "My dog's cross-eyed, is there any thing you can do for him?" "Well," says the
vet, "let's have a look at him." So he picks the dog up and examines his eyes. Finally, he says, "I'm going to have to put him down." "What?
Because he's cross-eyed?" "No, because he's really heavy."
13. Apparently, one in five people in the world are Chinese. And there are five people in my family, so it must be one of them. It's either
my mom or my dad or maybe my older brother Calvin or my younger brother Hop-Sing-Lee. But I'm pretty sure it's Calvin.
14. I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn't find any.
15. I went to the butcher's the other day to bet him 50 bucks that he couldn't reach the meat off the top shelf. He said, "No, the steaks
are too high."
16. A man woke up in a hospital after a serious accident. He shouted, "Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my legs!" The doctor replied, "I know
you can't - I've cut off your arms!"
17. I went to a seafood disco last week and pulled a mussel.
18. Two Inuit sitting in a kayak were chilly; but when they lit a fire in the craft, it sank, proving that you can't have your kayak and heat
it too.
19. What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.
20. Two termites walk into a bar. One asks, "Is the bar tender here?"
Links of the week.
Ok, here is a series of 300 links for you:
Click here to see Stuart lambs excellent restoration of a 300, have a read it has an amazing history as it was originally sold to a company in Nairobi!
Click here for the International 300 Adenauer club.
Click here for to see a 300b that is for sale. Note the smaller rear window.
Click here to see a 300c, note the larger rear window.
Click here to see the 300d that we have for sale.
Click here to see a 300c station wagon made by Binz that was sold recently.
And finally click here to see another shot of the 300c wagon by Binz, this is a Binz factory shot comparing it to a W210 300 wagon.
Last week in the links list we mentioned the 280SE that one of out customers wants to sell. This is a really great car and would suit anybody looking for a practical Classic Mercedes-Benz. It is super original and has an interior that would be hard to recreate even if you had an old tied interior fully restored. Have a look at this page for some more pictures of it.
The injection pump on the 300d has been overhauled and by the time you get this will be back in the car. We have also relined the front brakes and overhauled the wheel cylinders. Once the pump is back in the car and it is tuned up the car will be ready to be detailed and sold!! We are considering selling the car by tender and will announce the details in the next newsletter.
Since the last newsletter we have had a W210 E320 come and go for under $40000.00. It had only traveled 115000kms and was one of the first V6 models. All of a sudden these and the first of the ML's have become very affordable cars. We have an immaculate 1997 update C180 coming next week that has only done 70000kms, price will be $24500.00
Sadly we need to report that the E320 coupe has gone but not the way we had wanted it to. It was sent to Sydney for a prospective buyer who was hit by a lady who ran a red light. The car has been written off, however it would appear that it also saved the drivers life as he escaped with only minor injuries (the impact was on the drivers side)
New into stock is a 1988 230TE wagon and a 1988 190E 2.6. Two weekends ago I took the 230TE to Sydney with my daughter and three friends with the back full to the roof. It went like a charm and returned 32mpg or 11.2km per liter depending on which language you speak. The 190E 2.6 has only traveled 172000kms and is great to drive with the 6 cylinder engine.
And finally we have a client with a super rare 280SE 3.5 cabriolet for sale. There were only ever 7 of these imported into Australia in the very early 70's and this is one of them. It has recently had over $70000 spent on the body work and is a real show stopper. Price is $165000.00 E-mail me if you are interested in this car.
Click here to see all the cars for sale.
Cars we have sold:
E320 1997 model 115000kms
E320 coupe 1994 model with only 117000kms
New arrivals for sale:
Also in stock we have:
260E 1989 model only 123000kms
C200 1996 model 176000kms Rare manual transmission!
Collection of three factory Stretch Mercedes-Benz's
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.
