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Participating in a classic car event with my 1982 Mercedes W123

29th July 2023, 13:45 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

There was a 1971 Matra M530LX, a very rare car. Although its engine was used in many other Ford cars, the owner said that the spare parts availability was really poor.

BHPian Jeroen recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Last Saturday I participated with my 1982 Mercedes W123 in the Oldtimerday in Coevorden. I thought I would share some images. It was a very interesting turnout of cars, tractors, and bikes (350!), but also it was held in the centre of a little town, on the market square and adjoining streets. Which also gives a good impression of how some of these events are held here. No entrance fee or cost associated with participants of the public!

I had never been to this event before. Not because I had not heard of it. You would be very hard pressed not to hear about this event. Because the organisation is very very active on social media and also visits other classic car shows to hand out flyers and promote their event.

This year I knew I would have plenty of time to go and see it. I mean honestly, with retirement comes plenty of time to only do stuff one likes!

Coevorden is quite a bit of a drive from where we live, about 180 km. Unfortunately, one of the main highways had been closed due to maintenance, which they tend to do over the weekend. Makes sense, but it did add another 20 minutes to my drive up there.

The organisation, all volunteers, a core team of about 10, was on top of everything. I enrolled about 5 months ago. On the form, I had said I would be bringing my Alfa Romeo Spider. Unfortunately, the Spider wasn’t ready yet, so it became the W123. I contacted them to let them know. No problem. I had contacted them earlier as I was after their promotion posters. To put up behind one of our home windows and to put up in my garage of course. On all my emails they responded promptly and efficiently.

About 24 hours prior to the Saturday a final mail went out to all participants with practical details about where to park your car, collect your goodies, what time the various tours start and so on.

When I drove into Coevorden multiple signposts directed me to my parking spot. The organisation makes a parking plan. Some clubs join and they always like their member cars to be together. Some brands were put together, American cars together and so on.

I arrived relatively late, as they had requested everybody to park their car by 10.00am at the latest. The detour due to roadworks meant I arrived at about 09.45.

You might be surprised that everything about this event is handled by volunteers, not a cop or any other official in sight!

My Mercedes W123 is not a small car by any stretch of the imagination. But it got absolutely dwarfed by these Americans!!

These sort of events with classic cars taking over a city centre are quite popular here in the Netherlands. The local shopkeepers tend to like it because it draws in the crowds, so they often do a bit of sponsorship.

On this particular one, participation was free of any cost. Upon arrival, you walk over to a little market stall, where a number of volunteers check of your name against a list and hand you a bag with various things.

Here are the contents of the bag:

It had a lunch voucher, the tour description and a car information form. Each owner was requested to fill out the car information form and put it behind the front window.

So I filled out the form, put it behind the front window and started walking around. Lots to see!!

Coevorden is what we call a “Vestingstad”. A fortified city/town. We have dozens of these all over the Netherlands. They tend to be lovely old towns with lots to see and do. Coevorden, unfortunately, was a bit disappointing in this respect.

A few images that give you some idea of the little town and how all these oldtimers fit into it!

The little yachts you see moored here are also very Dutch. Many people own one and use it for sailing around the Dutch canals and rivers during the summer holidays.

OK, some cars! A bit hidden, but the yellow/mustard colour car is a Trabant. They still have a very loyal following. Not particularly large, but very dedicated to “their” brand.

When I arrived. Initially, next to me was an old Opel Kadett. An immensely popular car in its time. This is a rare coupe version and it was for sale. The owner moved his Opel soon after this image, to join some other Opel owners and the American carriers moved in on my little W123.

Various VW Beetles and buggies. In Dutch, the Beetle is known as the kever, which means uh, beetle!

There were a number of classic tractors about.

This is a very rare car, a 1971 Matra M530LX. All fiberglass body and a Ford V4, 1700 CC. I chatted with the owner. Although the engine was used in many other Ford cars, (Eg. Taunus, Capri) he said spare parts availability was really poor. Apparently, the warehouse in Germany burned down, which meant just about the complete stock of decent spares was wiped out overnight. Shame.

At these sorts of events, there will always be some market stalls selling things like model cars, T-shirt with car logos etc.

One of the interesting things about this event is that during the day, cars and tractors and bikes keep arriving and leaving again. Especially in the afternoon, when there were separate tours for the tractors, bikes and cars. So it is a continuous coming and going of cars, making their way, carefully, across the streets.

Here is a Peugeot, 2 Alfa Romeos (Sur and GTV), Fiat 500 and a Volvo PV544. In the Netherlands, the Volvo is referred to as “Katterug” (the back of a cat)

A better image of the Katterug, as it really deserves some more attention. This one was in immaculate condition. They were made in various versions between 1958 and 1965. They were never imported into the Netherlands, but even better, they were assembled in the Netherlands! It has, pretty common in those days, a two stroke engine. Did very well in Rallying too.

Have a look at the immaculate engine bay on the Alfa GTV. Notice the air mass meter? It's the same one as in my Spider. (Bosch)

Cars don’t get more Dutch than the DAF. DAF itself was acquired by Volvo. As a brand, it still exists in the truck/engine world of course. But the owner and inventor of DAF, Huub van Doormen is also the inventor of the variable transmission. The belts at the very heart of the CVT are still being produced today in the Netherlands for various car manufacturers and applications.

Two very nice Italian sport cars. The Fiat 124 Spider and the Fiat 850 Coupe. My sister Renate first car was a white Fiat 850 Coupe.

This guy had brought his very nice Mazda RX7. It sports a Wankelengine and he also brought an opened up version. Which drew a lot of attention. The guy was still trying to convince everybody that stopped to look at his car/engine model that a Wankel engine is a superior design compared to a conventional engine design. As so often, this is another case where theory and practice just don’t line up.

A street full of oldtimers, notably a number of Opel Ascona’s.

A lovely Fiat. This one came from Germany. The German border is not too far from here.

A classic car show always has a number of MGs and Triumphs. Here is an MGB and a TR6.

I don’t know what it is, but nobody makes wooden dashboards like the Britts. Look at this, lovely!!

A 1936 Austin 10 Sherborne. Lovely little car, in very good condition.

One of my favourites, a Mercedes Benz Pagoda 280. Some experts believe the value of these Pagodas is going to crash in the next 5 years or so. Me and my wallet will be ready when it happens!

Another Triumph, a TR4

These days just about all Saabs are considered classics, just about. Saabs were bought exclusively by GPs (doctors) and architects. You would have thought those guys could buy something a bit more flashy. But apparently, it was the non flashy of the Saab that appealed to them. Well, they got plenty of that. Of course, not a bad car at all. And Saab pioneered some important car stuff. But it never got rid of this GP/Architect reputation.