1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing (Unrestored)

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 1960 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 shiny. Both cars have totally matching numbers and factory colors.