26 Oct Oily Rag Run 2017 Event
OILY RAGS TO RICHES
The fourth annual Oily Rag Run, one of the country’s most original classic car events, took place on Sunday 22 October and was another great success. The brainchild of FMM’s consultant engineer Dickon Daggitt, the run is for 50-years-or-older unrestored vehicles and after a coffee and croissant breakfast at the museum’s Deli, 18 cars, a motorcycle and a scooter were flagged away from the start by FMM curator Wayne Harley to enjoy a 125-km scenic route taking in Klapmuts and Windmeul before passing through the Perdeberg towards the West Coast then down towards Durbanville and Milnerton before joining Marine Drive into Cape Town and the finish at C&W’s showrooms in the Gardens.
The event always manages to attract an eclectic mix of vehicles and this year was no exception. Entrants were Brian Wallace 1914 New Hudson, Wilfred Tarantaal and Michael van Graan 1924 Rugby, Colin Greyvensteyn and Megan Woodward 1926 Lancia Lambda, Michelle Hambly-Grobler and Henry Muller 1928 Dodge, Richard and Phillippa Middelmann 1934 Ford Fordor, Stefan Klein and Harry Boulanger 1935 Chevrolet pick-up, Peter Truter and Graeme Wares 1936 Armstrong Siddeley 17 Long, Wenstley Wicomb and Elton Botha 1936 Ford Fordor, Paul and Peter Weddepohl 1937 Austin Ruby, Alex and Mel Stewart 1947 MG TC, Hilton Franz and Ceri Prenter 1948 Chevrolet, Andre and Sue Grewe 1949/50 Hillman Minx, Murray and Mike Bampfield-Duggan 1951 Riley 2,5 RMB, Nick and Sandra Middelmann 1953 Austin Champ, Alex Dunford 1958 Vespa, Magdaleen Wepener and Karin Ras VW Beetle, Val and Toeks Cross 1964 VW Beetle, Derek Hulse and Rodney Green 1964 Volvo 122S, Di Dugmore and Hazel Walton 1967 Ford F250 and Craig and Veronica Browne 1967 Jaguar S-Type.
This year a new feature was a cruise bus provided by RockStarCars. The classic 35-seater Bedford collected VIP guests at C&W, transported them to FMM for breakfast and the start, followed the route including meeting the crews at the half-way lemonade rest stop, before returning to C&W.
During the early part of the route, drivers and riders had to negotiate the hazard of a very drawn out procession of bicycles but thankfully all passed by safely. There was a casualty of a mechanical kind not long after the start when the Klein/Boulanger Chevrolet pick-up overheated and was forced to retire. It was collected and trailered to the finish by the Run’s back-up crew of Lorenzo Farella and Deon de Waal. The only other non-finisher was the Greyvensteyn/Woodward Lancia, which succumbed to a cracked wheel hub not far after the rest stop.
Eighteen entrants reached the finish including the three FMM entries of Tarentaal/van Graan, Wicomb/Botha and Wepener/Rass. Lunch was served to the accompaniment of some superb Django Reinhardt/Stefan Grapelli style jazz by the Hot Club Cape Town trio. During the meal, the prizegiving took place and Brian Wallace with his 1914 New Hudson motorcycle was declared the winner while the Middlemann’s 1934 Ford Fordor was once again voted the deserving recipient of the C&W Skorokoro Shield awarded to the ‘most oily rag car’ (ie, the tattiest…)
