Economy Run To Milang

from Classic Marque September 2022

Marque Restorations

Economy runs date back to the very beginning of the club. They were taken seriously back then. We even used to put each car on a weighbridge and calculate fuel economy based on the weight and engine capacity of each car. We also used to tape up the fuel caps. This was serious stuff.

The economy run to Milang was a lot less complicated. The weather on Saturday was miserable and the forecast wasn’t particularly good for the Sunday, but it turned out a lovely day without a drop of rain. A couple of cars ran into problems and never made it to the starting line. The rest all fuelled up at Crafers and then we all gathered in the bus carpark. That was supposed to be a simple task, but a few went inside the petrol station for coffee and the rest followed and stayed there. We eventually managed to pry them out and were underway. All the cars headed down the freeway to the Monarto turnoff and headed South to Langhorn Creek and then on to Strathalbyn where we refuelled the cars after roughly 93 kms of travel. Milang does have a petrol station but it is not open on Sundays, so hence the detour to Strathalbyn. One car was playing up and took a short cut to Milang, but the rest arrived safely at Milang Regatta Club where members enjoyed a barbecue (thanks to Steve Weeks), salads and desserts, all next to the comfort of a lovely wood fire and a few wines.

After lunch, The Commodore of the Milang Regatta Club, Chris Francis, provided an interesting overview regarding the history of the Milang Regatta Club (second oldest in Australia) and the new premises, which were made possible through the generosity of the Freemasons.

He also gave a talk and detailed the treacherous conditions that frequently prevail at Lake Alexandrina, unfortunately costing one life per year on average. After the food was consumed, we tallied up the results and 3 members received a $100 fuel voucher each. The most economical Compact Jaguar was Richard & Dianne Chuck in their 2.4 litre Mark 1, who managed to average 7.5 litres per 100km. The most economical car was Michael Pringle in his Daimler SP250 V8 who achieved 5.4 litres per 100km. Given that SP250’s weigh roughly 940 kg compared to say a 2.4 Mark 1 that weigh as half as much again (1,440 kg), it would have been a close contest if weight was taken into account.

The least efficient prize was given to Phil Prior in his Triple SU 4.2 litre XJ-C at 10.4 litres per 100km, which in all fairness was still pretty good. Most Jaguars averaged between 8.0 and 9.0 litres per 100km. A number of members took up the offer to inspect the rescue boats that were on display. The Commodore kindly gave members a run down on the special rescue equipment on board, which they all reported was very interesting and informative.

After a few more wines, we all headed home on a more direct route.

A big thank you to all those that helped and especially the Milang Regatta Club and its volunteers.

We must do it again sometime. It was a lot of fun.