Today was the annual Wheels car show in Queanbeyan.   This is one of the biggest multiple marque car show in the Canberra area and is akin to the Eastern Creek show in Sydney.   I joined the Mercedes-Benz Club of the ACT as part of their display.

MBCACT always puts on a special display for this show and Wheels 2024 was no different.   The goal was to show the different Generations of the S class (and predecessors) and the E class (and predecessors).   I wasn’t able to go last year, but the theme was AMG cars.   In 2022, I took my 450SLC and the theme was a car from each year from the 50s to today.

In order to show the different generations of the S-Class, I was asked to bring my W111 Cabriolet.  This was a great opportunity to take the car on a longer trip now its running properly.  Of course, less than a week after I agreed to show the car, the power steering pully disintegrated, but I managed to get a used pully and have it installed in time.

On the drive there, the engine ran perfectly, but the ride wasn’t all that good.  I think it may be related to the tyres, perhaps they have flat spots.    They are 8 years old now, so its time for a change.

As in 2022, the show was good.  MBCACT was allocated a much smaller area this year, although there was actually plenty of room at the showground.   Probably something that can be addressed for next year.

There are some nice cars in the MBCACT and this year was no different.   I had a very original 230S W111 on one side of my car and an immaculate 280S W108 on the other.    The 230S is still with the original family.    Having all the S-classes lined up allowed for the different design features to be observed from one generation to the next.   It was intresting to see that the W116 still had tiny vestigial fins.  Kind of like the vestigial legs of a whale.

The rest of Wheels 2024 was also very good.  There was a lot of variety.  For example, it was quite cool to see a Stanley Steamer puffing around the showground.    A bit smaller than in 2022, but that probably had to do with the weather.  While the morning of the show was hot and sunny, the day before had been stormy and storms were forecast for the afternoon.

On the way back, the rain was torrential.   All the modern SUVs were pulling over onto the shoulder, and few seemed to understand how to operate their rear fog light.    The W111 Cabriolet just kept going, albeit at about 50km for long stretches.