The Mercules

24/05/2026

POV: Katherine drives the sh*tbox one time….. and breaks it three weeks before we rally 🫠

21/05/2026

Next month we hit the road for Sh*tbox Rally as The Mercules and we need YOUR help building the ultimate rally playlist!

We’ll be spending 7 days and around 4,000km crossing the country in — so we want our friends and family to add their favourite songs to keep us awake, laughing and singing terribly the whole way 🙌🏼

Drop your:
🎵 Road trip anthems
🎵 Guilty pleasures
🎵 Aussie classics
🎵 Absolute bangers
🎵 Songs that remind you of us

Add your songs to the playlist and help soundtrack Team Mercules’ adventure while we raise money for Cancer Council ❤️

Click on the link to join our Spotify playlist as a collaborator and drop in your songs or add them to the comments and we can do it for you!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0Otj3ODOqIQzZDul3arjj2?si=xnP7BYRWQEWqwBjZhtcGZg&pt=a5c363eaed2b205e04fd8580cce48a79&pi=8cHSaU4zQTi7d

Playlist · Katherine Elizabeth

18/05/2026

Huge day on the tools with some great mates.

We got our two way radio installed, engine mounts done, transmission mount done, replaced a banana’d trailing arm, few other little bits and pieces.

Of course we had to go for the obligatory “test drive” too and came across the local sporting car club doing a khanacross. Tried to have a go, alas no long sleeves or helmet. Looked like fun, If the Mercules survives the rally, it might have a second career as a proper rally/race car.

Thanks heaps to Marcus, Mark, Joel and Craig for your help this weekend.

As you can see, we did have a few sh*tboxes in the yard to choose from 🤣

16/05/2026

Dropped the Mercules into JAX Tyres & Auto Bowen Hills for fresh tyres…
Left with a complimentary broken bonnet latch 😅

Good news though: the new tyres are roadworthy.
Bad news: the bonnet now identifies as “optional”.

Nothing a tactical zip tie can’t fix before rally day

15/05/2026

Turns out we may have over shot a little & missed the mark on where the sponsor sticker was supposed to sit vs where I sanded.
And I may have been a little too enthusiastic with the sanding disc 💁‍♀️

But now she’s official! Fonzie Abbott is on the Sh*tbox! A huge thankyou for becoming part of the chaos that is The Mercules ahead of Sh*tbox Rally Winter 2026

14/05/2026

Not ideal a month out from the rally. Thankfully the stereo packed it in now and not on day 1.
Sh*tbox Rally

10/05/2026

Katherine “t(r)esting” whilst shopping for a rally mattress like it’s a five-star resort… because after 4,000km in a $1,000 Mercedes, lumbar support becomes a personality trait.

07/05/2026

Many of you have asked & I’ve given a few of you the wrong information…. (Whoops!) But now we’re back on track.

Now to try and get the car back on track 😵‍💫😅

Six weeks to go until we take off from Mildura on our rally adventures!

For anybody who would still like to donate to our Cancer Council Australia fundraising you can do so here for our Sh*tbox Rally team The Mercules -> https://winter2026.sh*tboxrally.com.au/mercules/donate?utm_source=offline&utm_medium=QR

Or for our Lunchbox Rally team The Rainbow Exhaust (5 months to go!) here -> https://2026.lunchboxrally.com.au/rainbow-exhaust

30/04/2026

Productive day until it wasn’t 💁‍♀️
In other news… SEVEN WEEKS UNTIL WE RALLY!!

Sh*tbox Rally

22/04/2026

The Mercules stopped in at Little Uncle Bakery- New Farm for some Fonzie Abbott coffee and delicious Báhn mì before getting stuck into fixing the diesel leak. It did not disappoint! 🤤
Sh*tbox Rally

21/04/2026

THE MERCULES: OIL CHANGE DAY. Even legends need a little TLC 💪 Sh*tbox Rally