Last year, in May 2025, Shelly and I attended the second Warren-Blackwood Heritage Rally in Bridgetown. It was a great experience so we decided to attend in 2026. This time I opted to take the Tatra down so in the month prior I had her serviced to make sure she was in a fit state for the journey.
https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2025/05/warren-blackwood-heritage-rally-may-2025.html
One of the things I was keen to resolve was to sort a problem with the clutch. When I was filming the segment for the RAC "In my Garage" there was a moment when the clutch pedal dropped to the floor and did not spring back. It was captured on the video and appears in the last five minutes of the segment. Anyway, I fixed the clutch pedal with a jury-rigged spring that kept tension on the pedal but I knew that was only a temporary repair. When the guys had the car on a hoist, they looked at the pedal box and found nothing wrong, so then checked the connection at the clutch end. There they found evidence of many old repairs and noted the clutch rod was badly bent. They straightened the rod and set it back in its correct position. I subsequently test drove the Tatra several times and noted the clutch was working properly and gears were shifting well.
And then..... one hour out of Fremantle - PING! The clutch pedal dropped to the floor and would not return to position. Fortunately we were in the process of changing gears through a round-about and were slipping into neutral. I could not change into any gear. We did manage to get a push from other drivers to get the car onto the road verge. RAC once again came to the rescue and had the car towed home. Don't leave home without it - https://rac.com.au/car-motoring/roadside-assistance
Fortunately we have other cars. We quickly transferred to Shelly's 1962 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia and set off three hours later than planned.
Back on the road!!
We had originally planned to arrive in Bridgetown about 1pm, but with all the rigmarole, we arrived at 5pm. Just enough time to go for a drink and have some dinner with other club members.
Next morning we were up at the rendezvous by the Blackwood River at 8am.
1926 Bentley Speed Six. Pretty impressive stuff
The Bentley was certainly the best car of the day - and fast. It quickly overtook the lead car and set a blistering pace.
Morris' and Mini's
Citroen DS
Holden Kingswood and Volvo 1800
Gavin and his Volvo
Jaguar E-Type
The countryside. We're trailing the Volvo 1800 at this point.
Bridgetown is surrounded by winding tree-lined roads. Excellent classic driving landscape
After a tour through the hills around Bridgetown and Nannup we gathered at Greystones, on the scarp overlooking Bridgetown for coffee and photos.
My friend Wayne's Volvo 1800 wagon.
It is a little nerve wracking to park in the back row as the hill slips away rather precipitously. Shelly let me park the car on my own.
A few Holdens
Holden 48-215 and EK
I didn't manage to identify this pre-war motorcycle.
The Bentley - rightly - had pride of place at the front
Bentley draws a lot of attention
The iconic Holden FJ
Greystones
Massey-Ferguson tractor
View from the porch at Greystones
The last two standing - a VW Type 3 ute and our Karmann Ghia.
A fun day out in the country
Sunrise from Greystones
We headed homeward about 12pm and visited Dardanup Heritage Park on the way. It is absolutely worth a visit, see here: https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2026/04/dardanup-heritage-park-2026.html
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