Classic Cars and Coffee - Sunday 7 June 2026

Back in April 2026, Shelly and I set out for the second Warren-Blackwood Heritage Rally in Bridgetown. I had opted to take the Tatra down as the DKW did not enjoy the hilly country around Bridgetown so much. I had the car serviced to make sure she was in a fit state for the journey.

One of the things I was keen to resolve was sorting out 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 jury-rigged a 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.

However, one hour out of Fremantle - PING! The clutch pedal dropped to the floor and would not return to position. Fortunately I was in the process of changing gears through a round-about and was slipping into neutral at the time, which allowed me to coast to halt. I could not however get the car into any gear. Once again RAC came to the rescue and had the car towed home. https://rac.com.au/car-motoring/roadside-assistance

So, the Tatra's clutch needed to be investigated. It took a while to get a spot in my mechanic friend's schedule - there certainly is a shortage of mechanics who will work on classic cars and bikes. I had her trucked away at the end of May. To our surprise, the issue was not with the clutch rod or the previous repair. In the end the engine had to come out and the connection in the bell housing investigated. 

Fortunately the whole drive train can be wheeled out the back of the car. The problem was that the clutch activator in the bell housing had jammed against a lubrication nipple. It seems the spring we used to keep the rod in alignment was too tight, pushing the rod hard against the clutch lever. The springs were adjusted and the engine refitted and it was job done.

What better time to take the Tatra for a test run than Classic Cars and Coffee. Rain and storms were forecast, which I think resulted in a lower attendance. At least I could park centrally instead of being forced to the outskirts. The weather was absolutely fine however, great for a car show in the morning. 

Two rear engine legends - Tatraplan and Fiat 500.

Citroen CX

Landrover and a 1947 Willys (that has been badly modified). The Willys will soon be restored to original military spec.

And more Landrover action

"Put a tiger in your tank"

1947 Cadillac (I think?)

I think this was an Austin Seven converted into a racer

Big Bentley

Mercedes-Benz 

1968 Datsun Bluebird. My first car was one of these. It was brush-painted in tan household paint, but was a great little car. Japanese reliability with body by Pininfarina. 

Austin-Healey

Hillman Imp by DJ Ferraz

Something very interesting and different - Ferret armoured car

Photo by DJ Ferraz

Coffee and Armoured Cars

Although it was quieter than usual, it was still very busy

Distinguished Gentlemen's Ride Perth - May 2026

The Distinguished Gentlemen's ride is a worldwide charity event that raises money for men's mental and physical health. Several members of the KBG attended this year, some doing the full ride, others just the start.

The rendezvous point was Form Cafe in Claremont, near the showground along the railway line.

We had a good turnout with 9 bikes at the start.

First thing to do is grab a coffee and then stand around talking about bikes.

Star of the show was Jim's 1951 Moto Guzzi Galletto step-thru motorcycle. I call it a motorcycle rather than a scooter as it's certainly something different. It introduced many technical features that would not be adopted for decades. https://www.oldbikemag.com.au/moto-guzzi-galletto-something-crow/

And then we set off. We rode through the pleasant riverside suburbs of Crawley, round Mounts Bay Road and then in to Elizabeth Quay, this year's starting point.  

We were among the last to arrive. 

Wayne's Norton

1951 Moto Guzzi Galletto. Regardless of what the linked article says, these were only built for 2 years - 1950 and 1951. 

Dusan's Jawa 350

My 1958 Ariel Leader

Richard's 1940s BSA outfit with 2 seater enclosed sidecar.

My favourite - a Honda Motocompo. These folding scooters were sold as transport for a "drive your car home" service in the 1980s and 1990s. If you were a little 'under the weather' and couldn't drive your car home and you subscribed to the service, a driver would ride out on their Motocompo and drive you and your car home. The Motocompo would be folded up and put in the boot. Then they would ride it home again. Ahh, the days before Uber.

Vintage bikes are actually rare at DGR now. It used to be a vintage only event once. If I remember rightly, this was a 1938 BSA.

The other side of the BSA.

Craig's VBB Vespa

Richard's 1967 Honda CB77 Superhawk

A quite nice Royal Enfield

Scooter crew

Coffee and motorcycles

The bikes start queuing to set off

From here to the horizon....

Very unusual - Douglas 

"And they're away!" There were hundreds of bikes - literally!

Previous years:
DGR 2019 - https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2019/09/distinguished-gentlemens-ride-perth-2019.html
DGR 2023 - https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2019/09/distinguished-gentlemens-ride-perth-2019.html
DGR 2025 - https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2025/05/distinguished-gentlemens-ride-perth-2025.html

Warren-Blackwood Heritage Rally - April 2026

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