October Run Report
Motor Museum ~ Social Run
Saturday 13th October, 2007
A small group gathered at the Hill Rd Ferry Wharf for our October Social Run, on what was a perfect day for a ferry ride. We boarded the Dawn Fraser River Cat at 10:20am for the trip to Darling Harbour, which was a remarkably quick and smooth ride (well, except when the driver clipped the wharf as we took off from one of the stops!)
On arriving at Darling Harbour we made our way to Harris Street to visit the Motor Museum. We soon arrived at our destination only to find that the Motor Museum was no longer there! (Don't believe everything you read on the Internet!). Not to be deterred, we decided if we couldn't go to the Museum to see old cars we would go to the Motor Show to see some new ones.
We walked back to Darling Harbour and grabbed a bite to eat in the food court (choosing to pass the $10 sandwiches at the Harbourside Cafe) and then went on to the Motor Show. We checked out the latest offerings from a variety of manufacturers, starting with Holden where we picked up our Holden showbags and got posters signed by Nathan Pretty.
We all know how much our President wanted to attend this run, but couldn’t due to prior commitments, but don’t worry Alan – we got you a Ford showbag as a consolation prize! We would’ve got you a “NavMan” girl too, but they wouldn’t be in it, so we had to settle for getting a photo of them with the boys. Sorry, we tried!
After a few hours, we'd covered everything we wanted to see at the Motor Show and headed out, passing by the Shannons Auction Exhibition on our way, which featured a 1972 GTR XU1 for $85,000 - $100,000. We then made our way back to the ferry wharf, and with a bit of time to spare we decided to indulge in an ale/wine/spirit or two while we waited.
It was soon time to board the Shane Gould River Cat for the return journey home, which saw us arrive back just before 6pm. We returned to our cars and headed to our dinner destination, the Rosehill Bowling Club (though Peter and Sandy were keen to head across the road to Hooters instead!). We paid our money and headed to the buffet to load up our plates, choosing from a huge selection of food, including a seafood smorgasbord. We were all full before we could sample all the options, but still managed to find enough space to fit in some dessert. With everyone sufficiently full, we decided to call it a day and head for home. Despite the small group and the change in plans, a great time was had by all - thanks to those who came out for the day and made it the enjoyable day that it was.
Bathurst ~ Club Run
Motor Museum & Mt Panorama
Sunday 21st October, 2007
A warm day was forecast as our group gathered at Maccas Eastern Creek for our run to Bathurst and the motorMuseum and Mout Panorama – and what a group it turned out to be. 17 cars in total. Made up of 9 Toranas from the STC, 3 Toranas from Canberra, a WB Statesman and HD Holden from the Lions Pride club, a WRX, Comodore SV6 and Comodore ute.
Heading off on schedule we made our way to Lithgow for a brief stop to stretch our legs and to meet up with the members from Canberra. From there it was an easy drive to Raglan just outside of Bathurst to regroup before heading through to Mt Panorama for a couple of “leisurely” laps of the racing circuit before going to the motor museum.
All of Tims hard work in rebuilding his Torana’s to improve its performance seemed to pay off and he let loose on the mountain and after a few quick laps his brakes were putting out more smoke than the tyres! He let the car cool down as we all enjoyed the discounted entry to the museum to view the movie presentation and the cars on display. The new Peter Brock wing was well put together and all seemed to enjoy the display of mountain’s favourite driver.
It was then up to the top of the mountain for a social BBQ. The cooks again did an excellent job in satisfying the hunger needs of the group but the most popular people were those spraying the aeroguard. Flies were so thick that at one stage we nearly lost sight David in a swarm.
After an enjoyable lunch it was time for the obligatory photos. One of the group and then to satisfy those with the movie cameras we had a parade lap of all the cars over the top of the mountain and then down to the start finish line for a group shot of all the cars. This was a little difficult as our cars were set up three abreast on the line and other passing traffic had to negotiate the grass verges to pass us. All went well and other traffic did not seem to mind too much as the sight of all the Toranas made for a good sight.
The as the day wore on people started to head off home in different directions satisfied with another excellent run organised by the Runs Committee of the club. Well done to all those who attended for making it another exciting day out with friends.
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| Most of the Group |
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Row 1: Views at the museum
Row 2: Tims hot brakes and the cooks
Row 3: On the start line and Tims antics
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