PG Hits Harry's

Photography by Igor Amedov

A drive out to Harry’s Café de Wheels on any given Saturday night is a trip that will rarely disappoint, although some meets are bigger than others.

It is usually the meets centred around fundraising for a good cause that draw the best mix of beasts so when the NSW Muscle Car Association invited Performance Garage down to Harry’s over the weekend to support the Cancer Council’s Relay For Life, we weren’t going to miss it for the world.

Hamo would be rolling up in his gorgeous ‘68 Camaro as always so I wanted to think of a way to one-up him. Herman from Down Under Muscle Cars was happy to help, providing a 2009 SS Camaro for the night.

The car was a real head turner and having the two Chevs parked nose to tail rekindled the age old debate of new vs old.

Of course this debate never gets too heated at Harry’s, with enthusiasts of all flavours welcomed with open arms.

A small donation of $10 was all that the Cancer Council asked of the 300+ cars in attendance and many notes were passed through the wound down windows of a wide variety of vehicles.

Take Andrew’s Rolls Royce for example. From the outside it looks like a complete stocker but underneath that popped bonnet you will find a twin-turbo SBC cranking out a lazy 500hp, making it right at home in the holy land of Harry’s.

Entering your car wasn’t the only way to donate either and with a cause as good as the Cancer Council behind the event, the generosity was really flowing.

Joe from Rax Racing brought out his mental methanol-slurping Cortina drag car and realising the crowd-pulling power it had, quickly set up his own enjoyable system of donation. $5 would get you some time in the passenger seat as Joe fired up the 410ci SBC that provided a glorious backing track for the event.

People were really getting creative with how to get funds raised and yours truly even jumped on board, handing out current issues of The Aussie Muscle Enthusiast and the yet to be released Street Fords in exchange for a small donation. In the end the combined efforts of the enthusiasts in attendance raised a stellar $3406. See, we aren’t all hoons!

Without the support of the numerous clubs and individual entrants in attendance though, this wouldn’t have been possible. The HSV Owners Club of NSW were one of many to turn up in force and I managed to catch up with their president Tony for a quick chat.

As you can see in the video they had some interesting cars and one that particularly caught my eye was the stretch Clubsport R8. Check out the interior!

At its heart though, Harry’s has always been a meet and the individuals who turn up in often unexpectedly wild rides are what make it really worthwhile.

The parade of pristine street cars seemed to be never ending and I found myself standing for hours just absorbing the atmosphere.

The constant cruising acts as a backdrop that seems to stimulate conversation about all things cars, with both sides of the road filled with flocks of likeminded enthusiasts.

Of course if you get tired of talking there is no shortage of killer cars with their bonnets popped, offering sights that will surely shut you up for at least a little while.

As I weaved my way through the cars, I found myself gobsmacked at the smorgasbord of tough streeters that would happily park side by side when elsewhere, they would be mortal enemies.

Classic rivalries were set aside all for charity and it cemented for me the fact that at Harry’s, all enthusiasts are equal.

The entire Performance Garage team had a great time supporting the Cancer Council and judging by the vibe, so did everyone else! Check out the video below for some footage I got walking around the event.

After such a great meet, I imagine that the traditional last Saturday of the month meet this weekend will have a strong crowd so I would suggest you get there!