While many artefacts and collectibles can claim to be time capsules it is only those that are designed to be driven or flown that truly qualify as time machines.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Over the past few years I've had the pleasure of meeting a lot of members of the ACT's classic car owning community [including early Holden aficionado Mick Gentleman] and having a chat about the two wheelers, four wheelers and even three wheelers that float their boat.
While I've come across some genuinely exotic machinery, including Lagondas, Aston Martins, a Lamborghini and one or two Maseratis, the cars that are most loved are often quite ordinary. They have been bought because they take their owner back to a place and a time when they were younger, often thinner and with hair and life was spread out ahead of them like chicken sandwiches on a picnic rug.
Grown men [and women] can become teary and emotional when you ask what it is they like about their early Volkswagen campervan, immaculate P76, beautifully restored HQ Premier, mint Wolseley 6/90, well worn Peugot 403, cherished DS Citroen or well-tuned Datsun 1600.
For John and Sandra Green it is Mercedes and the couple have managed to turn their pleasure into a highly successful business since establishing MB Spares in Fyshwick back in the early 1990s.
The 300b featured here is just one of dozens of cars they have owned over the years and, unlike most, it isn't going anywhere [in a metaphorical sense, it still drives quite well].
Once they are beyond using it John and Sandra will pass it down to the next generation.
In the meantime it will be one of the many vehicles on display at the Patrick White Lawns next to the National Library on Sunday, September 20, from 10am as part of the Mercedes Benz Club ACT's 40th Concours d'Elegance and display day.
