Event date: 10 December 2023

Some pretext .... Two days after my first try day at Broadford my beloved Red ZM was damaged while parked outside a coffee shop.  I was devastated, especially as I had completed the drive day without sustaining any damage. 

To try and make a positive out of a very negative experience I decided to focus on really lifting the car while keeping it to original spec. 

To make the money go further I took on as much work as I could.  I ordered parts through my friend's panel shop and organised for them to do a couple of repairs in addition to painting the new front bar and RH guard and re-painting the remainder of the car.  I disassembled the car including bars, bonnets, guards, doors and boot lid.  Doors, bonnet and original guard were stripped back to bare metal.  While disassembling the car I removed the guard liners and thoroughly cleaned them ready for reassembly and resprayed all the fixing screws for the bars and liners.  After painting I assembled and gapped the lights and panels.  During assembly I cleaned and polished every component to within an inch of its life.  While off the road for nearly 5 months I sourced several pieces of interior trim to clean up the interior.  Given I want to enjoy driving the car, especially at club events, I had the front of the car wrapped for paint protection before I could gather any stone chips.  The final process was to apply Sonax ceramic coating to the whole car.  Just prior to the Cruden Farm event I removed all the wheels and again thoroughly cleaned the wheels, hubs, callipers and guard liners.  A good detail of the interior and under the bonnet and my car was ready for its first big outing since being damaged.

The weather had not been good, so it was with a prayer to the weather gods that Wendy and I headed off to Cruden Farm.  Fortunately, apart from some minor mist the rain held off.  In true BMWDCM style the event was well run and supported with many immaculately turned-out BMWs and a few fine examples of other marques.  Coffee and a good donation to the Childrens Hospital for a couple of egg and bacon rolls was of first order.  We then bought some raffle tickets to support the fund raising for such a worthy cause.  While catching up with some club friends we started checking out the cars.  The Show 'n Shine competition was going obviously going to be of a very high standard.  There was a row of very nice 8 series and some very clean three series including the sublime Alpina.  Contrasting some of the older cars were a number of pocket rocket M2s.  In the row where I was parked was Lawernce's always impeccable M3 and right next to my car Albion's V8 M3.  I did not envy the task of the judges as it was obvious that club members had put much work into presenting their cars.  The whole event was enhanced by the beautiful backdrop of the Cruden Farm grounds and gardens.

While checking out the gardens I was taken by surprise to see Spiderman emerge from the greenery.  He was eagerly pursued by Jo and an excited little girl.  Despite his superpowers he was unable to out manoeuvrer his pursuers.

We had ordered picnic hampers and like last year they were delicious. After enjoying our lunch with club friends, we gathered for the raffle draw and the results of the Show 'n Shine judging.  There seemed to be a million raffle prises donated by club sponsors for winning members to choose from.  I hope that we raised a good amount for the Royal Children's Hospital.  Speaking of children, a man in a Red suit and accompanied by a helper in green was also sighted handing out presents to the club members' children.  While Santa didn't give me a gift, I felt like all my Christmas had come early when it was announced that I had received the After 2000 category Best in Class Show 'n Shine award, especially given the quality of the other entries.  The Before 2000 category was taken out by an Alpina.  The non-BMW category went to Steve Garth's very neat Toyota Supra with the people's choice going to Jeff Palmer's restored "barn find" MGB GT V8.  I voted for the MG, a fine example of the marque and very well presented.  All worthy winners in a first-class field.

Again, another well organised and executed club event.  Thanks to the committee for their dedication and hard work throughout the year.  Now my car is back on the road I look forward to participating in club events in 2024. 

As you read this, I hope you have had a great festive season, and all club members have a safe and prosperous 2024.

Kent Perdrisat | Member #951
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne

Fortunately the rain held off which enabled everyone to enjoy the day in comfort.

Approximately 80 vehicles attended the event, with 16 entered for the actual competition over three classes, plus the People's Choice award.

The winners were:

• Pre 2000- Paul Caruso, 1982 Alpina C1 2.3 E21
• Post 2000- Kent Perdrisat, 2006 Z4 Roadster E85
• Non-BMW- Stephen Garth, 1985 Toyota Supra MA61

I was fortunate to take the People's Choice award with my 1975 MGB GT V8. 

I acquired this vehicle several years ago, after it had been languishing unused for ten years in a private garage in Mt Eliza.  The car required some body work,  also minor engine work, however it was overall in very good condition.  The car is a genuine factory V8, and is one of only 1839 built with the chrome bumper, with approximately 80 currently registered in Australia.  The engine is a Rover V8 with a capacity of 3.5 litres.

It was great to see so many BMWs at one event, along with quite a few other marques in attendance.

Another excellent BMWDCM event;  thanks to Jo, Graeme, Lawrence and the numerous helpers on the day.

Jeff Palmer | Member #682
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne