Fangio and the 6.9
- Thread starter Oversize
- Start date
- Thread Starter
- #103
Part of the article published in the latest MBCV edition of ATB:
Well this story had many twists and turns along the way, so I hope I don’t miss anything during the next few articles. Of course the best place to start is at the very beginning…
Part 1 – The Journey Begins.
So I’ve mentioned before that I was a Mercedes Benz Technician with Silver Star Motors in Doncaster. Back in 1988 all of the crew would almost fall over each other competing for the opportunity to work on a hero model if one happened to be brought into the workshop for attention. Everyone knew that if it was a major service they’d get to ride shotgun in the car during the test drive when the work was completed. Of course one of those few iconic models was the 450SEL 6.9. Even 10 years after it was released in Australia, we were all captivated by the legend and excited to witness the technology that was incorporated into each vehicle. The thought of actually driving one was far beyond out-of-reach.
But things change as you get older and what was once unimaginable can become reality. And so it was in 2003, long after I had left my full time mechanic days behind. After several years of research I had decided that the most logical and fulfilling way to achieve my automotive dream was to combine my much loved 1957 Buick with the technological wizardry of a 6.9 I did toy with the idea of using a W140 600SEL as a donor vehicle and even test drove one for sale. It had plenty of power and technology; however the drive was figuratively and literally insulated, if not boring. For something to be the new heart and soul of the Buick, I needed the donor vehicle to be raw and engaging. Only a big V8 would be suitable and I wanted the biggest.
Being in a very unique role at that time, I was perfectly positioned to analyze and compare many aspects of the conversion including wheelbases, track, power, weight, suspension, brakes, EPA requirements and all the legalities that can often halt such a project in its tracks. The Road Safety (Vehicle) Regulations, Vehicle Standards Information, Vehicle Standards Bulletins and the Australian Design Rules (to name a few), were regularly referenced. I determined it could be done and I was determined to see it through.
Once I determined my goal, I began scouring the ‘Trading Post’ each and every Thursday for an ideal donor. I had a new house with a decent garage and the Buick was now safely tucked away inside. It’s hard to believe that it was over 20 years ago (almost to the day as I write) that the project started to get real. 6.9s were never commonplace, but occasionally one would pop up amongst all those tiny paragraphs that I’d become well versed in scanning within minutes of opening. Most of the time they were well above my price range, but one day I got lucky.
After a year or so of constantly looking, I discovered an ad that looked promising. Full of excitement, I headed into the big smoke and a used car dealer called St ElBright Motors, 2 Brighton Road (cnr Chapel Street), St Kilda. The car yard has long since disappeared and it’s now a trendy bar and restaurant called ‘Trinity StKilda’. It was not exactly around the corner, since I was living in Sunbury at the time. I’d built a new house in the Jackson’s Hill estate only a couple of years earlier. At one stage I was a Strapp Ford mobile mechanic and ended up completing some warranty work all the way out passed the airport in a town called Sunbury. I instantly fell in love with the place and this location becomes far more significant (even ironic), later in the story. Indeed you could almost call it destiny, if you believe in that sort of thing…
So I arrive at the car dealer and quickly look around before the inevitable happens and I get approached by a pushy salesman. And there she was languishing down the side of the lot. Despite many misgivings about the car groveling on the ground (like many neglected 6.9s), her looking like she’d been through a flood (complete with more than a little water on the rear floors), a rather nasty oil leak on start up, from what I determined to be a left rocker cover gasket and the fact I could only pay for the damn thing on credit card; I pulled the trigger!
The car was supplied with the original maintenance book (which was getting on the mouldy side of seeing the inside of a bin), but for some reason I kept it along with the old registration label, that’d been previously removed. Of course the number plates were nowhere to be seen, since they were selling it unregistered. None of this was a concern to me, since it was just a donor and parts car.
On 13/04/2003 I remember signing a document with big red letters saying I was forfeiting my rights to a cooling off period and that I was buying a car with no registration, or warranty. I thought to myself at the time that I would probably regret this transaction and sure enough it didn’t take long. I had the car towed home to the delight of my wife; not!
So what does one do when you buy a car on credit without telling the wife? Well divorce wasn’t appealing at that point, so I went and found another part time job to pay for all my insanity! I spent a couple of years with the RACV to fund my crazy idea. Why didn’t I tell my wife BEFORE I bought the car? Well, I thought there’s no way in hell I’d be able to convince her that any of my plans were financially wise, or even plausible. I was even struggling to convince myself that I had skills to complete the major undertaking. Then there was the fact that two old cars would be taking up all the garage space, while the ‘valuable’ daily cars were parked outside in the harsh Australian weather. Why didn’t I save up for the car first? Paying a mortgage for a new house on my wages at the time, didn’t exactly leave much left over…. I shouldn’t have been attempting such an endeavor, but I figured if you don’t try you’ve failed already.
Despite funding restrictions, I went to work quickly on replacing the rocker cover gasket and replacing the fuel pump and filter. I had the Warm-Up Regulator (WUR) reconditioned at Ken Aires in North Melbourne to correct a hard starting issue when cold. Of course a service was in order, where I completed the rather complex task of changing the oil and filter. I was lucky being able to complete most of the work myself, thus saving the often biggest expense being labor. I remember filming a video of the hydropneumatic suspension in the back yard, since the garage was designed with drive-through access. One day I got cocky and careless and intended to reverse the car from the back lawn into the garage. Thinking I had more room, I reversed straight into the corner of the house!! Fortunately it was at low speed and the house was undamaged. Just a slight dint to the rear bumper, but I kick myself for that to this day.
Well this story had many twists and turns along the way, so I hope I don’t miss anything during the next few articles. Of course the best place to start is at the very beginning…
Part 1 – The Journey Begins.
So I’ve mentioned before that I was a Mercedes Benz Technician with Silver Star Motors in Doncaster. Back in 1988 all of the crew would almost fall over each other competing for the opportunity to work on a hero model if one happened to be brought into the workshop for attention. Everyone knew that if it was a major service they’d get to ride shotgun in the car during the test drive when the work was completed. Of course one of those few iconic models was the 450SEL 6.9. Even 10 years after it was released in Australia, we were all captivated by the legend and excited to witness the technology that was incorporated into each vehicle. The thought of actually driving one was far beyond out-of-reach.
But things change as you get older and what was once unimaginable can become reality. And so it was in 2003, long after I had left my full time mechanic days behind. After several years of research I had decided that the most logical and fulfilling way to achieve my automotive dream was to combine my much loved 1957 Buick with the technological wizardry of a 6.9 I did toy with the idea of using a W140 600SEL as a donor vehicle and even test drove one for sale. It had plenty of power and technology; however the drive was figuratively and literally insulated, if not boring. For something to be the new heart and soul of the Buick, I needed the donor vehicle to be raw and engaging. Only a big V8 would be suitable and I wanted the biggest.
Being in a very unique role at that time, I was perfectly positioned to analyze and compare many aspects of the conversion including wheelbases, track, power, weight, suspension, brakes, EPA requirements and all the legalities that can often halt such a project in its tracks. The Road Safety (Vehicle) Regulations, Vehicle Standards Information, Vehicle Standards Bulletins and the Australian Design Rules (to name a few), were regularly referenced. I determined it could be done and I was determined to see it through.
Once I determined my goal, I began scouring the ‘Trading Post’ each and every Thursday for an ideal donor. I had a new house with a decent garage and the Buick was now safely tucked away inside. It’s hard to believe that it was over 20 years ago (almost to the day as I write) that the project started to get real. 6.9s were never commonplace, but occasionally one would pop up amongst all those tiny paragraphs that I’d become well versed in scanning within minutes of opening. Most of the time they were well above my price range, but one day I got lucky.
After a year or so of constantly looking, I discovered an ad that looked promising. Full of excitement, I headed into the big smoke and a used car dealer called St ElBright Motors, 2 Brighton Road (cnr Chapel Street), St Kilda. The car yard has long since disappeared and it’s now a trendy bar and restaurant called ‘Trinity StKilda’. It was not exactly around the corner, since I was living in Sunbury at the time. I’d built a new house in the Jackson’s Hill estate only a couple of years earlier. At one stage I was a Strapp Ford mobile mechanic and ended up completing some warranty work all the way out passed the airport in a town called Sunbury. I instantly fell in love with the place and this location becomes far more significant (even ironic), later in the story. Indeed you could almost call it destiny, if you believe in that sort of thing…
So I arrive at the car dealer and quickly look around before the inevitable happens and I get approached by a pushy salesman. And there she was languishing down the side of the lot. Despite many misgivings about the car groveling on the ground (like many neglected 6.9s), her looking like she’d been through a flood (complete with more than a little water on the rear floors), a rather nasty oil leak on start up, from what I determined to be a left rocker cover gasket and the fact I could only pay for the damn thing on credit card; I pulled the trigger!
The car was supplied with the original maintenance book (which was getting on the mouldy side of seeing the inside of a bin), but for some reason I kept it along with the old registration label, that’d been previously removed. Of course the number plates were nowhere to be seen, since they were selling it unregistered. None of this was a concern to me, since it was just a donor and parts car.
On 13/04/2003 I remember signing a document with big red letters saying I was forfeiting my rights to a cooling off period and that I was buying a car with no registration, or warranty. I thought to myself at the time that I would probably regret this transaction and sure enough it didn’t take long. I had the car towed home to the delight of my wife; not!
So what does one do when you buy a car on credit without telling the wife? Well divorce wasn’t appealing at that point, so I went and found another part time job to pay for all my insanity! I spent a couple of years with the RACV to fund my crazy idea. Why didn’t I tell my wife BEFORE I bought the car? Well, I thought there’s no way in hell I’d be able to convince her that any of my plans were financially wise, or even plausible. I was even struggling to convince myself that I had skills to complete the major undertaking. Then there was the fact that two old cars would be taking up all the garage space, while the ‘valuable’ daily cars were parked outside in the harsh Australian weather. Why didn’t I save up for the car first? Paying a mortgage for a new house on my wages at the time, didn’t exactly leave much left over…. I shouldn’t have been attempting such an endeavor, but I figured if you don’t try you’ve failed already.
Despite funding restrictions, I went to work quickly on replacing the rocker cover gasket and replacing the fuel pump and filter. I had the Warm-Up Regulator (WUR) reconditioned at Ken Aires in North Melbourne to correct a hard starting issue when cold. Of course a service was in order, where I completed the rather complex task of changing the oil and filter. I was lucky being able to complete most of the work myself, thus saving the often biggest expense being labor. I remember filming a video of the hydropneumatic suspension in the back yard, since the garage was designed with drive-through access. One day I got cocky and careless and intended to reverse the car from the back lawn into the garage. Thinking I had more room, I reversed straight into the corner of the house!! Fortunately it was at low speed and the house was undamaged. Just a slight dint to the rear bumper, but I kick myself for that to this day.
- Thread Starter
- #104
I replaced the centre section of the exhaust due to an annoying hole and had a twin system fabricated, similar to what was originally fitted. I should’ve researched the factory pipe diameter before I contracted the work and clarified what I wanted before the work commenced. As a result, the pipes fitted were too small. Now after years of experience, research and number crunching, if I had my time over, the design would be very different.
Being a bit of a clean freak, I just had to reverse decades of abuse. After obtaining an Unregistered Vehicle Permit, I proceeded straight to my local car wash and one of the hand wash bays. Of course I wasn’t satisfied to just give it a quick once over, so I brought my trusty trolley jack to access those hard to reach areas. Feeling much better about not having to work on a filthy car, I took her for a test drive around the Victoria University campus at the top of Jacksons Hill. Taking a hard right turn and putting my foot down was a rookie error, since it was the first time I’d actually driven a 6.9. Unknowingly I unleashed a hidden monster on the unsuspecting tarmac and I found myself drifting completely sideways, as if I’d suddenly landed of an ice rink and been rear-ended by a freight train!
Totally un-cool and right near my quiet suburban neighborhood, I quietly crept back home and quickly drove into the garage and closed the roller door! So there I was hiding myself and the psycho car inside, all the while hoping my neighbors didn’t see me and realize I was the moron involved…
After 6 months or so, storage became an even bigger issue than putting a 25 year old car on plastic. Without options and backed into a corner, it seemed keeping the car was becoming untenable. I eventually relented and advertised the car for sale. Fortunately for me, Sunbury was rather remote at that point and there were few prospective buyers willing to make the trip for a car that wasn’t even registered.
A solution presented itself soon thereafter and I quickly withdrew the car from sale. Another permit and I drove the car to the In-Laws at a rural property in Woodend. I was fortunate they had some space in one of their sheds, however that ended when my Brother-In-Law needed the space for his new boat…. A mate had a rural property in Donnybrook with some shed space and so I drove the car once again. Of course that didn’t last as long as I’d liked, so the car was once again without a home. However the next place would be a little different.
Being desperate and considering all options, I threw the net out to various connections and networks that I’d developed over the years. After pulling some strings and offering a compelling argument, the car was provided (on-loan) as a training aid and display at the Vehicle Safety Testing School, within the Victoria Police complex in Dawson Street, Brunswick. The connections to later in this story continue…. The school provided training for the police on identification of vehicle defects and issue Defect Notices (AKA ‘Canaries’). The building was originally a hat factory and is now of historic significance. I mentioned in a previous article that during the drive to Dawson Street I was travelling down the Tullamarine Freeway and thought to myself, how could anyone possibly need more power than this car?? To quote a line from a movie about an infamous sinking ship, the car made me feel like I was, “King of the World”! Yes I was clearly falling in love with the car.
The car was safely stored there on blocks for about 5 years, until I received a call from the Officer in Charge, while I was on holiday. I was told they were renovating part of the complex and the car needed to be moved out of the way ASAP. I put several warning signs on the car when it was first moved there; all stating it had unique suspension, do not move and I included my contact details just in case it got in the way. Despite all this, several idiots had already moved the car before I arrived the next day. Of course they had no clue what they were doing and some of the floor was dinted as a result. I was understandably furious and immediately moved the car out.
They offered to fix the damage, however I wasn’t going to let their contracted panel shop near the car since they also had no clue about Mercedes technology from the late 70s. In hindsight and after many years experience, I would’ve blocked the car up in a different manner; however a ‘lesson’ in the hydropneumatic suspension system will have to wait for another time.
Moving the car coincided with a relationship crisis and not-so-strangely I found myself single and renting a home in the not-so-desirable suburb of Delahey. Two old cars plus a daily vehicle, suddenly turned into five and a daily! Thus started an accumulation of cars and moving houses, which continued for many more years than I’d like to count.
Being a bit of a clean freak, I just had to reverse decades of abuse. After obtaining an Unregistered Vehicle Permit, I proceeded straight to my local car wash and one of the hand wash bays. Of course I wasn’t satisfied to just give it a quick once over, so I brought my trusty trolley jack to access those hard to reach areas. Feeling much better about not having to work on a filthy car, I took her for a test drive around the Victoria University campus at the top of Jacksons Hill. Taking a hard right turn and putting my foot down was a rookie error, since it was the first time I’d actually driven a 6.9. Unknowingly I unleashed a hidden monster on the unsuspecting tarmac and I found myself drifting completely sideways, as if I’d suddenly landed of an ice rink and been rear-ended by a freight train!
Totally un-cool and right near my quiet suburban neighborhood, I quietly crept back home and quickly drove into the garage and closed the roller door! So there I was hiding myself and the psycho car inside, all the while hoping my neighbors didn’t see me and realize I was the moron involved…
After 6 months or so, storage became an even bigger issue than putting a 25 year old car on plastic. Without options and backed into a corner, it seemed keeping the car was becoming untenable. I eventually relented and advertised the car for sale. Fortunately for me, Sunbury was rather remote at that point and there were few prospective buyers willing to make the trip for a car that wasn’t even registered.
A solution presented itself soon thereafter and I quickly withdrew the car from sale. Another permit and I drove the car to the In-Laws at a rural property in Woodend. I was fortunate they had some space in one of their sheds, however that ended when my Brother-In-Law needed the space for his new boat…. A mate had a rural property in Donnybrook with some shed space and so I drove the car once again. Of course that didn’t last as long as I’d liked, so the car was once again without a home. However the next place would be a little different.
Being desperate and considering all options, I threw the net out to various connections and networks that I’d developed over the years. After pulling some strings and offering a compelling argument, the car was provided (on-loan) as a training aid and display at the Vehicle Safety Testing School, within the Victoria Police complex in Dawson Street, Brunswick. The connections to later in this story continue…. The school provided training for the police on identification of vehicle defects and issue Defect Notices (AKA ‘Canaries’). The building was originally a hat factory and is now of historic significance. I mentioned in a previous article that during the drive to Dawson Street I was travelling down the Tullamarine Freeway and thought to myself, how could anyone possibly need more power than this car?? To quote a line from a movie about an infamous sinking ship, the car made me feel like I was, “King of the World”! Yes I was clearly falling in love with the car.
The car was safely stored there on blocks for about 5 years, until I received a call from the Officer in Charge, while I was on holiday. I was told they were renovating part of the complex and the car needed to be moved out of the way ASAP. I put several warning signs on the car when it was first moved there; all stating it had unique suspension, do not move and I included my contact details just in case it got in the way. Despite all this, several idiots had already moved the car before I arrived the next day. Of course they had no clue what they were doing and some of the floor was dinted as a result. I was understandably furious and immediately moved the car out.
They offered to fix the damage, however I wasn’t going to let their contracted panel shop near the car since they also had no clue about Mercedes technology from the late 70s. In hindsight and after many years experience, I would’ve blocked the car up in a different manner; however a ‘lesson’ in the hydropneumatic suspension system will have to wait for another time.
Moving the car coincided with a relationship crisis and not-so-strangely I found myself single and renting a home in the not-so-desirable suburb of Delahey. Two old cars plus a daily vehicle, suddenly turned into five and a daily! Thus started an accumulation of cars and moving houses, which continued for many more years than I’d like to count.
- Thread Starter
- #106
Skye’s first public owner was Saverio Valmorbida who was CEO of Corval Group PL as recorded in the service books. Google searches reveal they were one of the largest importers of food products to support the ‘new’ Melbourne Italian communities in the 50s. They were once importers of Lavazza coffee & still import Moro olive oil & Sirena tuna. In 2013 the company was valued at $500M...
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Great 'detective' work Mark 
- Thread Starter
- #110
I’ve just looks at the dates & realised I’ve had Skye for 20 years!!! It took 10 years to discover some historical significance, then a further 5 to discover none other than Fangio was linked to the car. Time flys! 
- Thread Starter
- #111
Here's a couple of pix from when I nearly sold the car! I'd been looking for these for ages and found them on an old USB. I recently checked some more history of my time with her and discovered I found it through an ad in the Age and not the Trading Post...
- Thread Starter
- #112
As published in the July edition of MBCV's ATB. You may notice the free plug 
:
Part 2 - The Plot Thickens
It is strange how something seemingly insignificant can suddenly and completely change your plans. It is truly perplexing how these things can somehow steer you back onto the correct path; as if the universe had planned it all along. And so it was….
Moving into Delahey and I accumulated several more Benzes. Being single meant I could entertain any stupid thought that entered my head. I’d had my eye on several 6.9s dotted around the country for quite a while and I decided it was time to start collecting. If not for restorable vehicles, I’d use them for parts. I tried to justify the purchases to myself, my family and friends with the idea of starting a wedding-car business.
I was fortunate to have a double garage in the back yard where I stored the Buick, tools and well, junk. There was also a double carport where I parked my daily AU2 Fairmont Ghia V8, plus a newly acquired blue coloured Euro 6.9 fitted with Centra wheels from WA. I was paying to store a silver and rusty 6.9, plus another newly acquired red/orange 6.9 fitted with AMG Pentas off - site. I found yet another 6.9 in light blue languishing outside a repair shop in North Melbourne. Unfortunately that meant I had to store it outside in the weather since I’d run out of undercover parking space. And so began the purchase of many, many traps and bungy cords….
After the debarkle that occurred to the donor 6.9 at the police complex, I brought it home and parked it in front of the North Melbourne 6.9. It was fitting that they were both the same colour and parked nose to tail in the back yard!
Being worried about my personal situation, it wasn’t long before I was involved in another serious relationship. This was after I’d gone to all the effort of adding extra lighting to the garage, plus a 15A power outlet for my air compressor. Of course that meant packing things up again when we bought a rural property in Gisborne South.
But just to add extra layers of difficulty, we threw in a short holiday to the USA, followed by 12 months house sitting to help some friends, which drastically shrunk into only 6 months! So that meant we were forced to experience what I like to call, ‘panic packing’, which is unfortunately a term I’ve used several times since then…
In Gisborne South we were fortunate to have a barn which I converted into my workshop. I even removed all the electrical ‘extras’ from the Delahey shed and had them re-installed in the barn. I blocked up the eves that were allowing birds into the barn and installed roof vents to keep it cool in the heat of summer. Having the extra space meant I could indulge even further and managed to ‘acquire’ a few other cars featuring a silver star. Combined with all the maintenance that comes with an older and somewhat run down property and the accumulation of additional ‘project’ cars, it resulted in little time to focus on any one vehicle. I positioned the two light blue 6.9s together in the barn and there they just gathered dust.
Strangely I did find the time to join a couple of on-line forums, which enhanced my knowledge of the vehicles I was accumulating. One of the forums was called ‘W116.org’, which is perhaps rather familiar to many reading this story. The other forum and my favorite to this day, is ‘Topklasse.org’. There’s something friendly and like home that is hard to explain. I joined in April 2010. I became attached to the donor 6.9 and even named it ‘Skye’, since it was a light blue (sky) colour. To be accurate the colour code was 906 and called ‘Grey Blue Metallic’.
Spreading myself too thinly and neglecting the things that mattered the most, resulted in yet another relationship failure and the daunting task of moving everything again.
After constantly searching for a suitable location, I struck gold with a property in Riddells Creek, which had a double garage attached to the house, a pergola (that I’d assigned for 2 cars), a detached double garage behind the first, another pergola for yet another car and to top it all off and massive four-car shed in the backyard, plus an attached workshop!! It was truly heaven for a car nut where I could realistically store 11 cars under cover! Total madness… Clearly this was a large property on perhaps 3 acres, which had the added bonus of an in-ground pool. Of course this resulted in even less time to devote to each car, since much of my time was spend maintaining the grounds and making sure the pool wasn’t full of leaves and turning green. I had to learn how to maintain the pool without any instructions provided, but I am happy to say I did quite well considering there was no pool cover and it was surrounded by deciduous trees… Add into the mix a new girlfriend who lived all the way down in Point Cook, plus a little fur - ball to look after and car maintenance wasn’t top of my priority list. Through it all I did manage to strip a couple of cars, removing engines, transmissions and smaller parts.
I even managed to cut up a whole W116, to be used as rust repair sections on various other cars! That ‘little’ endeavor taught me a lot about how these vehicles were constructed and the true quality that is Mercedes Benz. I finally sold more cars than I bought, so the ‘herd’ was slowly dwindling. Of course not as quickly, or as significantly as my girlfriend would’ve liked!
After about 12months I received the news from my landlord that every tenant dreads. The owner had decided to lease the property to a relative and I had to vacate. It was fortunate that by that time the relationship with my girlfriend had become even stronger and this prompted me to move to Point Cook. Of course all these vehicles wouldn’t fit into a regular residence in a Melbourne suburb; in fact (not surprisingly) I struggled to find anywhere to house my enormous collection. Evermore desperate, I bit the bullet and leased a factory in Melton from a relatively new and wealthy friend. With lots of space for parking undercover, a workshop and a secure parking area outside, things were looking up despite moving all the cars and equipment several times. An office area was a bonus and with the assistance of the landlord, we even installed a hoist! No more groveling around on the ground under a car was welcome news after moving so much stuff, so many times. However the rent and additional fees were slowly killing my finances and I could see the outcome wasn’t going to end well. An opportunity presented itself and I was offered the lease on a large barn, positioned on a rural property back in Gisborne South. A friend had inherited the property and it had just become vacant. I jumped at the chance since it was significantly cheaper than the Melton lease, so I moved EVERYTHING yet again… Fortunately ‘Skye’ was once again afforded undercover parking at this location. However, good fortune was not to last with my latest move. On paper the numbers added up far better, however I missed a couple of vital elements before making the decision to leave the Melton factory. Once again I was backed into a corner and I had to proceed; more on this in the next edition.
On 11th May 2013 a relatively unassuming post by another member on ‘Toplasse.org’ changed my intentions for ‘Skye’ forever. Hopefully without over stating, it eventually changed history as it was known at that point. The post feature some original advertising material for the W116 when it was first released. Within the material was an article from the ‘Australian Financial Review’ about the release of the 6.9 (dated 14/09/1978) and a picture of a particular vehicle. I instantly recognized the registration number proudly fitted to the shiny front bumper, but had to double check regardless. Sure enough, within the pages of ‘Skye’s’ maintenance books (that I nearly threw out all those years ago), was the very same registration number, ‘AGM199’. I was chuffed that I’d discovered an original picture of my car and that she could be seen in her prime, being featured in a newspaper article distributed around the whole country. I thought it doesn’t get much better than this, but that was just the beginning. I wanted to know more about the picture and started to analyze the background. And that’s when things really got interesting….
:Part 2 - The Plot Thickens
It is strange how something seemingly insignificant can suddenly and completely change your plans. It is truly perplexing how these things can somehow steer you back onto the correct path; as if the universe had planned it all along. And so it was….
Moving into Delahey and I accumulated several more Benzes. Being single meant I could entertain any stupid thought that entered my head. I’d had my eye on several 6.9s dotted around the country for quite a while and I decided it was time to start collecting. If not for restorable vehicles, I’d use them for parts. I tried to justify the purchases to myself, my family and friends with the idea of starting a wedding-car business.
I was fortunate to have a double garage in the back yard where I stored the Buick, tools and well, junk. There was also a double carport where I parked my daily AU2 Fairmont Ghia V8, plus a newly acquired blue coloured Euro 6.9 fitted with Centra wheels from WA. I was paying to store a silver and rusty 6.9, plus another newly acquired red/orange 6.9 fitted with AMG Pentas off - site. I found yet another 6.9 in light blue languishing outside a repair shop in North Melbourne. Unfortunately that meant I had to store it outside in the weather since I’d run out of undercover parking space. And so began the purchase of many, many traps and bungy cords….
After the debarkle that occurred to the donor 6.9 at the police complex, I brought it home and parked it in front of the North Melbourne 6.9. It was fitting that they were both the same colour and parked nose to tail in the back yard!
Being worried about my personal situation, it wasn’t long before I was involved in another serious relationship. This was after I’d gone to all the effort of adding extra lighting to the garage, plus a 15A power outlet for my air compressor. Of course that meant packing things up again when we bought a rural property in Gisborne South.
But just to add extra layers of difficulty, we threw in a short holiday to the USA, followed by 12 months house sitting to help some friends, which drastically shrunk into only 6 months! So that meant we were forced to experience what I like to call, ‘panic packing’, which is unfortunately a term I’ve used several times since then…
In Gisborne South we were fortunate to have a barn which I converted into my workshop. I even removed all the electrical ‘extras’ from the Delahey shed and had them re-installed in the barn. I blocked up the eves that were allowing birds into the barn and installed roof vents to keep it cool in the heat of summer. Having the extra space meant I could indulge even further and managed to ‘acquire’ a few other cars featuring a silver star. Combined with all the maintenance that comes with an older and somewhat run down property and the accumulation of additional ‘project’ cars, it resulted in little time to focus on any one vehicle. I positioned the two light blue 6.9s together in the barn and there they just gathered dust.
Strangely I did find the time to join a couple of on-line forums, which enhanced my knowledge of the vehicles I was accumulating. One of the forums was called ‘W116.org’, which is perhaps rather familiar to many reading this story. The other forum and my favorite to this day, is ‘Topklasse.org’. There’s something friendly and like home that is hard to explain. I joined in April 2010. I became attached to the donor 6.9 and even named it ‘Skye’, since it was a light blue (sky) colour. To be accurate the colour code was 906 and called ‘Grey Blue Metallic’.
Spreading myself too thinly and neglecting the things that mattered the most, resulted in yet another relationship failure and the daunting task of moving everything again.
After constantly searching for a suitable location, I struck gold with a property in Riddells Creek, which had a double garage attached to the house, a pergola (that I’d assigned for 2 cars), a detached double garage behind the first, another pergola for yet another car and to top it all off and massive four-car shed in the backyard, plus an attached workshop!! It was truly heaven for a car nut where I could realistically store 11 cars under cover! Total madness… Clearly this was a large property on perhaps 3 acres, which had the added bonus of an in-ground pool. Of course this resulted in even less time to devote to each car, since much of my time was spend maintaining the grounds and making sure the pool wasn’t full of leaves and turning green. I had to learn how to maintain the pool without any instructions provided, but I am happy to say I did quite well considering there was no pool cover and it was surrounded by deciduous trees… Add into the mix a new girlfriend who lived all the way down in Point Cook, plus a little fur - ball to look after and car maintenance wasn’t top of my priority list. Through it all I did manage to strip a couple of cars, removing engines, transmissions and smaller parts.
I even managed to cut up a whole W116, to be used as rust repair sections on various other cars! That ‘little’ endeavor taught me a lot about how these vehicles were constructed and the true quality that is Mercedes Benz. I finally sold more cars than I bought, so the ‘herd’ was slowly dwindling. Of course not as quickly, or as significantly as my girlfriend would’ve liked!
After about 12months I received the news from my landlord that every tenant dreads. The owner had decided to lease the property to a relative and I had to vacate. It was fortunate that by that time the relationship with my girlfriend had become even stronger and this prompted me to move to Point Cook. Of course all these vehicles wouldn’t fit into a regular residence in a Melbourne suburb; in fact (not surprisingly) I struggled to find anywhere to house my enormous collection. Evermore desperate, I bit the bullet and leased a factory in Melton from a relatively new and wealthy friend. With lots of space for parking undercover, a workshop and a secure parking area outside, things were looking up despite moving all the cars and equipment several times. An office area was a bonus and with the assistance of the landlord, we even installed a hoist! No more groveling around on the ground under a car was welcome news after moving so much stuff, so many times. However the rent and additional fees were slowly killing my finances and I could see the outcome wasn’t going to end well. An opportunity presented itself and I was offered the lease on a large barn, positioned on a rural property back in Gisborne South. A friend had inherited the property and it had just become vacant. I jumped at the chance since it was significantly cheaper than the Melton lease, so I moved EVERYTHING yet again… Fortunately ‘Skye’ was once again afforded undercover parking at this location. However, good fortune was not to last with my latest move. On paper the numbers added up far better, however I missed a couple of vital elements before making the decision to leave the Melton factory. Once again I was backed into a corner and I had to proceed; more on this in the next edition.
On 11th May 2013 a relatively unassuming post by another member on ‘Toplasse.org’ changed my intentions for ‘Skye’ forever. Hopefully without over stating, it eventually changed history as it was known at that point. The post feature some original advertising material for the W116 when it was first released. Within the material was an article from the ‘Australian Financial Review’ about the release of the 6.9 (dated 14/09/1978) and a picture of a particular vehicle. I instantly recognized the registration number proudly fitted to the shiny front bumper, but had to double check regardless. Sure enough, within the pages of ‘Skye’s’ maintenance books (that I nearly threw out all those years ago), was the very same registration number, ‘AGM199’. I was chuffed that I’d discovered an original picture of my car and that she could be seen in her prime, being featured in a newspaper article distributed around the whole country. I thought it doesn’t get much better than this, but that was just the beginning. I wanted to know more about the picture and started to analyze the background. And that’s when things really got interesting….
HaHa, I was there when the photo was taken at the St Andrews pub!
I believe it went to WA after the shannons Auction
- Thread Starter
- #118
The fuel tank might be toast… I couldn’t even blow through the strainer!! When I first got the car 20ish years ago I replaced the pump & filter without cleaning the tank & realised my mistake when the new pump started making weird noises not long afterward. I definitely won’t do that again! I’m starting to wonder if a tank should be cleaned every 10 years??
- Thread Starter
- #119
FYI the fuel pump relay isn’t located in the position depicted in this pic. I’m not sure if Skyes was relocated or a slightly different version but it’s the relay at the front of the fuse box or top left in the pic. I discovered this since there’s no active 86a socket in the top rear plug.
I think it depends on how much they are used. If the car is in constant use and getting regular fresh fuel, then I you probably don't need to clean. But once it sits, after a few years the tank probably needs to come out.
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