About 12 years ago I received a call from someone who told
me his friend was selling a Gullwing with only 35,000 original
miles and would I be interested. "Sure" I said "where is it?", In an
old stone barn in Connecticut was his reply. I arrived in front of a
100 year old barn and there was a man in his 70's who looked as
if he just finished teaching a philosophy class at Yale. As I walked
into the barn I was startled to see a 1956 Gullwing taken apart
with sections of paint stripped and the seats, hood, trunklid and
fender flares taken off and sitting outside the car. "What
happened?" I asked. He told me he had bought the car in 1962
and a year later decided he wanted to restore the car and make it
perfect however after a few months he got distracted and put it
aside. I then asked why a Porsche Speedster that was completely
taken apart was sitting next to it. He told me he had started
restoring it however other things distracted him and he never got
back to it. After negotiating a price for both cars and I was about
ready to leave. He then asked me "Do you want to buy a 1972
Ford pickup truck with just 200 miles on it.
" "Sure" I said as he
had me follow him into a larger barn and there was this new
truck the front nose up in the air on 2 jacks and the engine sitting
next to it. "What's wrong with it?" I asked- "Well I did not like
the quality of the metal surrounding the engine compartment so
I decided to replace it with a better quality metal but never got
around to finishing it". He then took me down some stairs and
there were 12 European sports cars all dusty and all taken apart.
I did not ask why. My brain needed time to adjust to this new
reality. My Gullwing went to Paul Russel, a renowned 300SL
restorer, and I told him to just make the car mechanically perfect
and "No Cosmetics". After 2 years Paul had all his mechanics
drive it and he told them this is how a new 300SL should feel.
The car has not been washed since 1962. By the way the 1954
Speedster is now in concourse condition and is the 22nd ever
made. It is always waxed and shimy. Both cars have totally
matching numbers and factory colors.