Return of The Night Drive! 28/11/09

[''DELILAH'']

Yes Members, due to popular demand, the night drive is back!

So many members have requested the Bridge to Bridge drive that we must give the members what they want!

Meet at the Canada Bay Club for dinner at 6.30pm in Wings Chinese restaurant (1st floor) and in the car park at 7.30pm for ‘Start your engines!’

We will then cross several of Sydney's bridges, as we go out to the ocean at the Northern beaches and back across the Harbour Bridge, returning to the club for coffee and debrief before departing for home.

Contact Vince Thompson events@mbcnsw.org.au or m 0411 773 440

[SEL_69L]

Could you let us know of the exact route the drive is intended to take?  I just may be able to come on the night, but for a number of reasons, I am considering the drive in the exactly opposite direction, i.e. from Canada Bay into the city, over the Harbour Bridge and on from there. You should pass me coming from the opposite direction!  I know that may sound silly, but it reminds me of Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, where one competitor flew backwards, heading for Scotland!

[''DELILAH'']

OK, but this is no competition, just a leisurely night cruise, the clockwise route is:

Lyons rd to Vic Rd

turn left, over Gladesville Bridge, keep right

follow River rd right up to Pacific Hwy at Crows Nest, cross Pac Hwy into Falcon St,

stay on Falcon St which runs into Military Rd

hang left at Spit Junction, go down the hill, smile at the speed camera and cross Spit Bridge,

hang sharp left at the top of the hill, into Sydney Rd, proceed to roundabout and turn right into Frenchs Forest Rd, this leads into Clontarf st and eventually Wakehurst Parkway, follow the road to Warringah Rd,

cross Warringah Rd, follow Wakehurst Parkway down past Oxford Falls, right thru to Pittwater Rd,  

turn left onto Pittwater Rd and then left again into Mona Vale rd, follow MVR up past Bahai Temple, right thru to Forest Way,

turn left at Forest Way, follow right thru to Warringah Rd,

turn right and head over Roseville Bridge,

keep left and at the top of the hill veer left into Eastern Valley Way

follow thru to Sailors Bay Rd, turn left, then right,

pass over Northbridge, go up the hill and veer left onto access ramp to Harbour bridge,

take Western Distributor and Anzac Bridge exit,

turn right at Victoria Rd, continue up to Lyons Rd and turn left and return to the club.

I'll have a half please!

Cheers

[Simon]

Could you let us know of the exact route the drive is intended to take?  I just may be able to come on the night, but for a number of reasons, I am considering the drive in the exactly opposite direction, i.e. from Canada Bay into the city, over the Harbour Bridge and on from there. You should pass me coming from the opposite direction!  I know that may sound silly, but it reminds me of Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, where one competitor flew backwards, heading for Scotland!

Are you going to have a coffee and a cake at the club before you leave and then a Chinese supper when you get back?

[SEL_69L]

Ta!

[Mathew]

Got to hand it to you Vince, it seems the temperature for the evening will sit at 27 degrees for Sydney excellent work old chap, should make for a great evening for cabriolets. See you there the kids are looking forward to it.
Cheers Mat

[Mathew]

A scorching hot day made for a beautiful warm evening to cruise the streets of Sydney with the roof firmly tucked away in the boot.

[260ebenz]

Looks to have been a great night and enjoyed by all in attendance.

Cheers.

[styria]

It was an excellent drive that ended just far too quickly.    Many streets and areas I knew virtually from the back of my hand, except for the Sailors Bay Road and Northbridge region.    That bridge at Cammeray - what a jewel of a landmark. The Comenarra Parkway, used to be my test track in the days when  I had my Office at Hornsby, and there were dealers in the Waitara area such as James Sutherland Mercedes Benz, as well as W.R. Shuetrim that would sell quality second hand cars, such Jaguars (oops !), Citroens etc.

The last uphill approaching  Fox Valley Road was the 'killer' - the idea was to tackle it in top gear without slowing down on the preceding down hill and sharp left hand sweeper. The King of that stretch - the semi five speed Citroen DS23 automatic - 2.3 litres and accelerating hard in top gear.

Thanks for putting on the event - nice drive, nice people to share company with. Gleaming Beauty (my 6.9) arrived back at the club fifteen minutes before Paul and Karen with their 116 - 280S (SE ?). Regards   Styria

N.B. I did not speed !   

[SEL_69L]

I used to do exactly the same sort of test on exactly the same piece of road (Commenarra parkway approach uphill to Fox Valley Road), that Styria has mentioned. I used to start the climb up the hill at the legal speed limit, which was 60 km/hr. The speed of the car would slowly decay from that point.

Many years ago, before ownership of a Mercedes, vehicles compared, which I have also owned, include:
1.)  Morris Major 1498cc OHV,  2.) Morris Oxford ute 1950 948cc sidevalve, 3.)  Morris Nomad 1500cc OHC, 4.) Holden Torana 1750cc OHC. 5.) Holden Commodore, 6.) Nissan Skyline.

The first four were 4cyl manuals, and required gear change to stop loss of torque below which the engine would labour too much. What I would compare was the speed maintained at the top of the hill.

I would do the same for the auto Commodore and the Skyline, but because the gears were changed for me, perhaps the comparisons were less valid. All you can do in these conditions is hold a constant throttle, and watch the road speed and the rev. counter.

Perhaps I should compare the auto cars to the 6.9, which I now own. Because of the torque in the 6.9, I suspect that there would be no decay in speed at all.