Sunday, October 6, 2013

French Car Day, Perth 2013


Having already committed to attending the Rotary Club Car Show - and not having a French car - I had no expectation that I'd see the French Car Show this year. But I met up with fellow SIVA member, Paul B, at the Rotary show and we decided to pop over for a quick visit. In SIVA there is a large French car contingent. It was a good decision as there was an impressive turnout at Supreme Court Gardens and some exceptional machines on display. Thanks Paul! http://frenchandfantastic.com.au/

Renault 8s  http://www.rcca.org.au/

Renault 4CV

The 2CV in the foreground has been converted into an electric car.

Renault Caravelle - the French competitor to the VW Karmann Ghia

Renault Alpine

Renault Gordini


1963 Citroen DS

Later model Citroen DS'


1952 Citroen Traction Avant

Unrestored interior


Flat out on the 2CV section.  http://www.2cv.com.au/forum.php

Vietnamese restored Traction Avant cabriolet. The car is a mix of pre and post-war Traction Avant components.  It's not particularly authentic but it's still a magnificent machine.


http://www.citroenwa.com/

1964 Simca Aronde P60 and a Simca Vedette. Simca-Aronde is not a well known marque outside French car circles, but Simca's were once quite a popular car in Australia and were even manufactured in South Australia during the 1960s. Simca were bought by the GM group and their South Australian facilities were given over to GM's Chrysler operation in the 1970s.

The star of the day - a Panhard Dyna Z. This is one of two known in Western Australia and has only recently been discovered. It's in a bit of a state, but nothing that cannot be restored.  Here's link to Shannon's club webpage about the car.  http://www.shannons.com.au/club/enthusiasts/Dynaz/garage/1959-panhard-dyna-z/

Like a gaping frog's mouth. The Dyna Z was powered by a two-cylinder air-cooled boxer engine of only 850cc and performed surprisingly successful in rallying.  In this they were in the the same category as DKW and Saab during the late 50s and early 60s. http://www.citroenet.org.uk/panhard-et-levassor/panhard-04.html


The interior is complete, if a little worn


Another star - a 1913 Mors. Mors was the company that Andre Citroen first worked for. In 1908 he took over the management of the company. In 1925 Mors was purchased outright by and wound up.

Rotary Car Show, Wesley College. 2013


Despite forecasts of rain, Sunday 6 October 2013 turned out to be glorious spring day. Consequently there was a terrific turnout for the 2nd Como Rotary Car Show. 179 cars attended. Here's a selection of some of the highlights.

I got to park the DKW with the Porsche section. Neat!



Gorgeous Porsche 356

The Mercedes-Benz Club were out in force http://www.mbccwa.org.au/

A pair of Mercedes-Benz 220s.

Stylish interior.

NSU's ground breaking Ro80 rotary engined car. Unfortunately the Wankel rotary engine was the car's weak point and after some years of trouble and poor performance they began to break down. Once the engine failed, the car was basically unrepairable, consequently very few Ro80's remain on the road. However, in the 1980s Mazda developed a successful rotary engine, allowing some NSU's to be saved by transplanting in a Mazda engine (which is approximately the same size as the original NSU engine). There are several others scattered around in Western Australia but this is the only one registered for the road.  It is now powered by a Mazda rotary engine.

The NSU's Mazda engine. The engine is surprisingly small for such a large car. But then Auto-Union, who owned NSU, had long experience of manufacturing cars with small, economical engines.

Lotus sportster

Jaguar E racer



French 1925 Amilcar

A couple of Bentley's

MG TCs


1930 Vauxhall T Type Hurlingham


A couple of blower Bentleys. The black Bentley caught fire during an interstate rally in 2003 and was burnt down to the chassis. A heroic restoration managed to get the car back on the road and in the magnificent condition you see it now.

The owner of this 1920s Fiat had a nice set of photos showing the terrible condition it was found. It took three years to restore the car, then the car was almost totally destroyed when a fire swept through his garage. Everything past the firewall was burnt out. Although many people suggested the car was beyond saving, he set about re-restoring the car. It took 18 months full-time effort to complete restoration of the car. It highlights how robust old cars can be and that nothing really is impossible if you're determined (and have a lot of time to spare!)

Plymouth

Rileys

MG TF and Austin-Healy


1948 Lincoln. An amazing machine

1946 Buick and 1950 Holden 48-215


Plymouth Belvedere - aka "Christine"

Jaguars



1951 Bristol Brougham

Facel-Vega - quite a rare French car... why wasn't at the French Car Festival??
Ferrari's

1965 De Tomaso Vallelunga. One of only 2 right hand drive Vallelunga's built. This one features a Lotus engine in the back seat. It would be a very noisy ride!

Mustangs

Valiant Club

Mustang Club

Photos from the Rotary Club - http://comorotarycarshow.com/2013-cars-2/