A link to the Auburn Cord Deusenberg meet-up at Motorclassica
Welcome to what has fast become a great car show since it was first held in 2010, and the perfect venue for a CC meet-up. After the recent Auburn meet, I thought it was a nice touch to find this 1929 Cord L-29, which is a recent arrival from the States. Keep reading to see some of the cars that Don Andreina, AVL and I got to enjoy at this incredible gathering of automotive art.
1929 Cord L29
Needless to say this is a beautiful car, and the lower body line allowed by the front-wheel drive makes for an impressive profile.
The northern entrance of the Melbourne Exhibition Building
A few people commented on the building itself, which is perhaps too far from the curb (100 metres) but has a fascinating history of its own. It was originally built in 1880 for the Melbourne International Exposition and approximately four times the size, although the extra portions were only ever intended to be temporary.
The original 1880 Exhibition Building, from a history display inside
This building was the home of Australia’s first national Parliament, and held basketball, weightlifting, wrestling, and fencing during the 1956 Olympics. In more recent years it held the Melbourne Motor Show. The building is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Fun fact, it has only had the “Royal” title since 1984.
1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300MM spider
I’ll start with covering our picks of the show. As a life-long Alfa Romeo fan, Don was very excited to see this 1938 6C 2300MM that has just finished a restoration, or more correctly a re-creation on a genuine chassis and engine by Historic & Vintage Restorations of the eastern suburb of Blackburn. These guys do amazing work, as they typically build the aluminium bodies from scratch.
1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300MM spider engine
The MM of course stands for Mille Miglia, as with more sporting body work that is one of the races these Alfas were very successful in. They were powered by a supercharged 2.3L(ci) 6-cylinder engine, note the blower below and the finned intake as a primitive form of intercooling. The car had torsion-bar suspended swing axles at all four corners.
1954 Bentley Continental R
The car Don was looking forward to seeing was this 1954 Bentley Continental R, which was to be auctioned during the show. It is a truly extraordinary car, being a smaller, more aerodynamic aluminium body with a tuned engine. With a top speed of 120 mph in was the fastest four-seat car of the day, so you can see how the name referred to continent-crossing abilities. Later Continentals were a pale imitation, being ‘normal’ re-bodies without anything like the same focus on aerodynamics or light weight.
1954 Bentley Continental R
This car was originally sold in this very building at the 1955 Motor Show for the towering price of £8,900 (or the cost of two nice houses), and was the only example sold in Australia although more have been brought in through the years. It has been repainted from the original yellow in 1970, but is otherwise original and in beautiful condition. Not hard to see why it sold for AUD $1.06 million (US$930k today).
1937 Packard 120 convertible
I had a pretty hard time playing the “which car would I take home” game as there were so many tempting options, but I thought this 1937 Packard 120 roadster would be an interesting prospect because l like this era Packard, and a roadster instead of the usual sedan would open up a range of experiences.
1954 Bristol 404
My other favourite was also a 1954 British fastback – the Bristol 404. While it shares the BMW derived 2-litre six, the styling is radically different from the iconic 401/403 ‘Aerodyne’ cars with the most prominent feature being the grille and hood scoop inspired by the engine air intakes of Bristol aeroplanes. Only 52 were built of which only around 10 remain! Perhaps some were scrapped after timber framing to some of the body rotted, perhaps a concession to the low-volume nature of the car compared to Bristols’ usual “Superleggera” metal tube construction.
I didn’t get the chance to ask AVL what his favourite cars were – please chime in below and chances are I got a photo of them.
Mustangs at Motorclassica
I will leave the Maseratis marking the brand’s centenary for another post, but thought I would mention the one disappointing aspect of an otherwise mind-numbingly good show, which was the Mustang display, and that was only because there were too many high end collectible Mustangs! That does sound a bit crazy, and perhaps it may be the CC influence but only 2 of the 10 were non-Shelby or Boss cars, 3 if you count the “Eleanor”.
1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1
To be fair finding post-1973 Mustangs would be a challenge (perhaps we should count the 1967 Eleanor as a 2000s-era car?) but perhaps one of the local 1983 Group A touring car racers might have been available for example. A couple of the cars did have quite the story behind them too such as the Mach 1 above that was one of the original Texas Motor Speedway pace cars.
1936 Cord 810 Sportsmans convertible
That will have to do for now, although I have only scratched the surface. I’ll close on another high point and link back to the Auburn meet, while I put together a few more posts to do some type of justice this incredible array of cars. Don suggested that we try again next year, so that with some more notice hopefully a few more down under CC-ers will be able to join us for a look at the cars and a dinner in nearby Lygon Street.
A very cool show! And, how great is it that folks in other parts of the world can come together to see at least a couple of the same cars as we saw in Indiana.
I guess it should not be surprising that ACD cars are thought highly enough of that they are revered halfway around the world as well as in their own backyard.
The shot of that Bently from the second floor balcony is simply beautiful. I also love the shots of those classic era cars on the beautiful hardwood floors of your exposition hall, which is also a mighty cool venue for a show. Thanks for bringing the rest of us along.
Quite the show, indeed! Not only what you have tantalized us with, but even the cars in the background. The beautiful thing about this being in Australia is the much broader spectrum of cars than what would be found in the U.S. – finding a Bristol or Alfa-Romeo here might be even harder than it is there!
I will second JP that it is terrific how persons with interests such as ours are able to meet and share experiences.
Thanks for the coverage, what a great show!
That overhead view of the Bentley R-Type Continental by Mulliner……..sensuous! Whew!
Nice cars on show Packards that model in sedan are common here I saw 3 last Sunday as I drove around town thats the problem with living in the Art Deco capital. That Bentley is beautiful and they were quite the weapon in their day Bristols are rare in any model, great show maybe there should be a CC meet here during Art Deco weekend when 30s cars like these are everywhere on the streets
Nice one John. So that Alfa was a recreation? I was so overcome by it I didn’t read the description card. Still my favourite from the show. That is a great shot of the Bentley, mine were crap and shot at ground level surrounded by people. I might have to use yours for my John Blatchley article.
Probably the correct term would be “rebody” since it is a genuine chassis & running gear. All of those 1920s/30s Alfa Romeos are just incredible. Mike Simcoe does not own the car, he was the driving force in producing the drawings for the construction of the new body. See the link to HVR’s facebook page below, there is a magazine story that goes into a lot of detail on how the car was built.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.551208884900487.1073741828.448706565150720&type=1&l=468b734933
Excellent, the building is fully corresponding with the cars !
Regarding that Alfa Romeo recreation, a very rich man nearby has a stunning collection of racers and touring cars from the thirties. No recreations, the real thing. The best part of it is that he drives them anywhere, anytime.
Here’s his Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Touring Le Mans Spider:
Source: http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/galcar/35956/Alfa-Romeo-8C-2300-Touring-Le-Mans-Spider.html
And his 8C 2900A Botticella. I recognize the spot, it’s parked in front of his private museum.
Source: http://www.autogespot.nl/klassiekergespot-spot-van-de-week-alfa-romeo-8c-2900-a-botticella
JPC, ACD cars are highly regarded but not often seen. I will have to do a little write up on one I saw earlier in the year.
Jason – anything in the background take your fancy? There is a very active Bristol club locally in addtion to the Alfa club who had a display outside at the show.
Don (& everyone) it is worth a look at HVR’s webpage to see more info on the car plus some exquisite photos of the car in bare aluminium. It is so perfectly finished it almost doesnt look like bare metal.
Yes, the car behind the Bristol (Rolls?), the vehicle on the lift in the same picture, and the green one behind the black Cord.
Seeing some of the American cars in the background (such as the ’53ish Ford beside the black Cord and a Chrysler behind the orange Mustang) is more than what I expected to be there representing North America.
I need to read a lot more about European cars as that Bristol is a beauty.
On the lift is a Holden Panelvan the closed commercial version of the Monaro recently featured.
Yes that is a Rolls Royce Phantom, I didn’t check the card to see what year etc but it appears to be a Phantom III (1936-39, 7.3L V12), the same car used by Auric Goldfinger in the Bond movie.
The second is a 1952 Ford Courier sedan delivery with surely the best restoration ever done on one of those – passed in at the auction though. The Chrysler is a 1947 Town & Country. I’ll have to do a selection of American cars because there were some absolute beauties! Would you believe there were two Boss 429 Mustangs?!
Ironically I didn’t take a photo of the Holden panelvan, it was a sponsor/trader stand and not on display.
Just think, you could have a Ford, a Cord, and an Accord in your garage…
I’ll just go away now.
And this, a Fort. 50% discount !
I could look at the Bentley for ages,unlike the new ones.The Bristol always interested me,though I’ve always preferred the Chrysler powered cars.
Cool! The cars are great, but that building is equally amazing. Thanks for the tour!