Porsche Show

Another car show at Wrigley Reserve at Glenelg; on Sunday was the Porsche Club of SA's Annual Show.













53 years hence - the convertible on the left is a 1956 Porsche 356 Speedster and on the right a current model Porsche Boxster.

The beautifully restored and maintained Speedster was one of about 4000 built between 1955 1n 1958. This particular vehicle was found in Arizona in poor condition in 1996.

Interested in owning a Porsche? There were several classic models for sale at the Show or you could settle for a new one - the Boxster is priced from $118,000.

Minis and Mokes

Yet another club activity at Glenelg last Sunday; the annual "Mini Meet" was held at Wigley Reserve by the Mini Club of SA.

Although I did not own one, I well remember these vehicles in their heyday; not only as a popular passenger vehicle but also the sportier Cooper and Cooper S versions that were used for rallying.

Based on the Mini the Moke was a popular recreational utility vehicle. Between 1966 and 1981 Mokes were built in Australia; 26,000 of them. Many were exported.

Classic Adelaide Rally

Today I drove to a vantage spot in the southern Adelaide Hills to watch the second stage of this year's Classic Adelaide Rally. This event, in its twelfth year, attracted over 200 entrants from all states of Australia and some from overseas.

On each day there are several closed road special stages where the cars in some categories are timed; the remaining driving each day is under touring conditions where cars drive along with the general public.

The Classic Adelaide Rally is held over four days (19th - 23rd November). The vehicles, which must have been build prior to 1990, travel over 1000 kilometres. The field includes classic makes like Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Jaguar, BMW, Lotus, Alfa Romeo, MG, Bugatti, Austin-Healey and Aston Martin. Also are Australian vehicles, Fords and Holdens, and others from Asia and America.

Bay to Birdwood Requests

I have had a couple of requests for particular vehicles; one from a regular blogger and the other from one of the entrants.

This is a British built Armstrong Siddeley. It was spotted by Aileni in the background of a photo I posted on Monday. Aileni owned a 1947 Armstrong Siddeley Typhoon.

This is a Morgan 3 wheeler. The request was from Warren and Cheryl. The photo is very much cropped from the image below.

Another British car manufacturer, The Morgan Motor Company was founded by H.S.F Morgan in 1910 and is still building cars today; the latest prototype being a fuel cell-powered electric vehicle; the Morgan LIFEcar (Lightweight Fuel Efficient Car).

More Bay to Birdwood

There were over 1200 vehicles and I clicked away until my 2 Gb memory card was full; about 400 photos. Here are a few to show the variety of vehicles taking part in the rally.










Military vehicles










Utility vehicles










Large and small










Beautifully restored and not quite .....

Bay to Birdwood

Yesterday was the annual Bay to Birdwood car rally. Cars travel from West Beach, through Glenelg (The Bay) to finish at The National Motor Museum at Birdwood; a distance of 72 km.

As the procession of about 1200 vehicles travelled the route they were admired and cheered on by an estimated 100,000 or more people. This year's event was open to vintage (pre December 1955) vehicles.










These photos were taken on Anzac Highway which links Glenelg and Adelaide City.

2008 Variety Bash on show

The Variety Bash entrants are varied. There are male and female teams, and all chose a theme and dressed the part.

Here's a slide show of the cars I managed to photograph.



Awards are given in categories such as 

• Outright Winners – the team that epitomises the spirit of the Bash
• Best Fun Theme
• Best Presented Vehicle
• Ultimate Bribing and Cheating Award
• Highest Point Scorers – the team that scored the most brownie points for the week
• Mobile Workshop Hard Luck Award – the team that saw more of the mobile workshops and less of the Bash than anyone
• Stuffed Compass Award – the team that managed to be the most geographically displaced.

A lot of fun while doing something really worthwhile for the community!

2008 Variety Bash

Today saw the return to Adelaide of this year's bash vehicles, after an eight day tour in outback SA. Norwood Parade came alive just after 1 pm when the vehicles drove down the street. Family, friends and the general public were there to cheer them on for a job well done.

Variety, the children's charity, was formed in 1928 in Pittsburg, USA. Variety SA, which started in 1983, has distributed in excess of 27 million dollars to assist children in need.

This year the bash raised in excess of two million dollars. Car 222 (photographed) was last year's biggest fund-raiser.

You can read more about Variety SA on their website.

ABC Wednesdays - H for Holden

"If you can't afford a Ford buy a Holden" - I remember hearing this said while I was growing up. This quote epitomises the rivalry between Ford enthusiasts and their Holden counterparts. The rivalry continues today, especially at the top end of Australian saloon car racing; the V8 Supercar series.

The photo above shows a 1954 FJ Holden; the cute young girl in the car is my wife!

The Holden car was designed and built in Australia; part of the American General Motors group. Throughout its life it has been a favourite for Australian families as it was "designed for Australian conditions". The first Holden was built in 1948; sixty good years and going strong.

The major Holden manufacturing plant in Australia is at Elizabeth, a northern suburb of Adelaide.

This is a current VE model Holden.

To find out more about ABC Wednesdays and see links to other participants' sites go to mrs nesbitts place