Progress....

[c107]

New place looks great.
And those cars look well stripped - good that you were able to save all the good parts off them.

 

[Styria]

Well Mark, I admire your resolve and determination with your new move. I probably get a bit confused, but is there any Mercedes models that are used as a daily driver, or one that is on Club Plates ? By the look of things, I can see two 6.9s (any progress), or have you concentrated on the full hydraulic 560 ? Unless I am mistaken, I can also see the 420SE that you bought off me some years ago - am I right ?

I really like the look of those premises - clean, tidy and spacious - just what you want. Good luck with everything. BTW, what area are you located in ? Far from Melbourne CBD ? Good luck with everything. Regards Styria

N.B. I must really mean it - third time. Good luck with everything. wow, wow, wow...shaking head.

 

[Oversize]

I’ve moved all my stuff, all the cars, or both a total of 7 times in the past 11 years!! I won’t be doing it again unless it’s into my own place.

I have decided on a 2 year plan, since I need a time limit in order to gather enough motivation & energy to make good progress. I will hold myself to this goal since I’m not getting any younger!

 

[Oversize]

Well Mark, I admire your resolve and determination with your new move. I probably get a bit confused, but is there any Mercedes models that are used as a daily driver, or one that is on Club Plates ? By the look of things, I can see two 6.9s (any progress), or have you concentrated on the full hydraulic 560 ? Unless I am mistaken, I can also see the 420SE that you bought off me some years ago - am I right ?

I really like the look of those premises - clean, tidy and spacious - just what you want. Good luck with everything. BTW, what area are you located in ? Far from Melbourne CBD ? Good luck with everything. Regards Styria

N.B. I must really mean it - third time. Good luck with everything. wow, wow, wow...shaking head.

Nothing on club plates or rego yet! Once I’ve settled in that will be a priority, if not the highest one. I’m now focussed on selling what I definitely don’t need, getting organised & making Slingshot Dynamics a very successful business.

Unfortunately very little progress on the cars I want to keep, since I’m trying to consolidate. It’s sad to think that the last time I enjoyed actually driving one was 2018!

 

[Styria]

Well Mark my boy, you've got time on your side. I used to be in your position, with time on my hands (to plan), but I wasn't aware of it at the time, nor would I have known how to best use it - and please, let me assure you, there is nothing critical in any way. I am just talking of my targets I missed, and I am still trying to catch up. I am getting there, believe it or not. Regards Styria

 

[Oversize]

Pix of a 420 that recently when to scrap metal after I relieved it of all the parts that might be useful. Seems like the water pump was completely seized due to lack of use & incorrect coolant or lack of maintenance. Due to a blockage in the valley drains even the inlet manifold plenum was corroded since it’s been sitting in water for years!! Unfortunately a boat anchor now.....

 

[Oversize]

Looks like I’m on the move again, with an end of lease looming in September 2023. It’s amazing how quickly 2 years passes! Lots of consolidation to be conducted & I’ll be containerising 4 cars & garaging one to keep until I’ve tested the inlet & exhaust manifolds thoroughly via Slingshot Dynamics (see other posts). Fortunately ending the lease will save me lots of money that I can pour into a mortgage & the remaining projects. If successful I’ll buy my own factory in a couple of years.

I’ll be crazy busy up until then madly eliminating excess parts or vehicles that i don’t need or that aren’t part of the long term plan.

I probably should update my signature too....

 

[Oversize]

Well some hard decisions had to be made in the last week or so....

I've decided I'm not getting any younger and if I want to enjoy any cars at all I need to take some drastic measures NOW. I spent a good few hours the other day just pressure washing the green 420SEL and the next day the 'ol body was complaining I'd worked it too hard! The after affects of COVID haven't helped either.

I figured it's not realistic for me to retain very large projects since my funds are limited and so is my time and current storage prospects. And spreading my interests across a range of cars in the past has dictated that I should seek, purchase and store a whole range of spares for the 'just in case'.

Having so many cars has resulted in me being unable to devote sufficient time to any of them as individual vehicles, which can have disastrous consequences as seen with Red Bull. I can't be sure I'm not at least partly to blame for the manifold corrosion which is now being addressed.

I'm also faced with moving things twice again from the warehouse to containers and then finally to our own home (hopefully). So moving everything two more times is far beyond my energy levels.

Lastly I've taken an objective look at each project and done some very rough cost and time estimates, coming to the sad conclusion that many are beyond my realistic opportunities. Good tradespeople are becoming harder to find and they are costing a fortune for their expertise (rightly so), however they are often dragging their heels with reasonable timelines. For example my manifold project (which I was hoping would eventually fund some of my projects), is taking far longer than it should due to fabricator delays. So much so that I'm considering other construction techniques.

So considering all of the above, I have decided that I'm better to focus on only 2 cars. I'm keeping 'Dora' and 'Midnight Express' only. I will retain a 560SEL and 300SEL for supporting parts in the short term. I decided on Dora due to her very interesting and unique options and Midnight as she'll be used as my development vehicle. In doing so this means I will be selling ALL of my W116 fleet and very sadly my 1957 Buick (Titanic), which has been in my family since the early 70s.

I will be keeping a 450, 6.9 and M119 engine for future development. I will be building a custom engine stand to dyno them at progressive stages of modification.

I am sad it has come to this, but I cannot continue to keep my head in the clouds and living for the future. I'm fed up with watching the world go by from the sidelines and must start enjoying each and every precious moment. I'll be busy sorting, selling, packing and moving until October when I think I'll deserve a well earned rest. After that I'll re-focus on getting Dora on the road and Midnight onto a dyno.

 

[c107]

Big decision!
The biggest part of the enjoyment of owning these cars is using them as the engineers who designed them intended, so I can totally understanding cutting the fleet down to a manageable size.
That said, are you sure you want to not have a single 6.9 in your fleet? As you've been talking about downsizing for a while, I kind of assumed you would want to keep your favourite 560 and your favourite 6.9.

Regardless, I'm glad you're keeping Dora 2. That is a special car and worth putting focused effort and time into it.

 

[Oversize]

Believe me this wasn’t an easy (life changing) decision by any stretch!!

FYI a rough cost estimate on the Buick restoration & registration was close to $100k AUD. So unless I become a millionaire that’s never going to happen!

Don’t worry I’ll still be here...

 

[Oversize]

Big decision!
The biggest part of the enjoyment of owning these cars is using them as the engineers who designed them intended, so I can totally understanding cutting the fleet down to a manageable size.
That said, are you sure you want to not have a single 6.9 in your fleet? As you've been talking about downsizing for a while, I kind of assumed you would want to keep your favourite 560 and your favourite 6.9.

Regardless, I'm glad you're keeping Dora 2. That is a special car and worth putting focused effort and time into it.

Yes I agree that was an option. However I need funds to buy a house so keeping all the good ones negates that goal.

My preferred option was to keep the Buick, ‘Moby’ (which was less valuable & more suited to modification), plus Dora & Midnight for development. However storage limitations have restricted me to only 2.

It may be that one day in the future I’ll buy another 6.9 but for now I have to shelve that idea.

 

[Patrick_R]

Some tough decisions, but best for you in the long run for sure.

 

[Oversize]

I don’t think I posted the inside of the Gisborne South barn before, so I here’s a pic taken on 27/02/2019. The collection was still building at that point... I was certainly traumatised by the two burglaries that occurred & it can make you realise that perhaps there’s too much to lose to put all that at risk.

 

[Oversize]

Warehouse clearance Sunday 10th September 2023! Not exactly sure how I acquired so much stuff, but the volume has significantly increased in just the last 13 years…. It’s time to finally get things more organised, so I can actually enjoy the cars I’ve chosen to keep. Despite this decision, the manifold project will continue until completion.

I’m selling all but 2 cars (keeping Dora & Midnight - 560SELs). The cars & larger parts will be sold on various platforms prior to the clearance sale, leaving the remaining parts to be sold on the day.

Hopefully I might see you there? PM for details.

Yes this will result in me not owning a 6.9 but I can no longer support a factory lease or other storage fees and I’m not able to move it all once again. If circumstances change in the future, I’ll buy another 6.9

I’ll be very busy over the next few weeks so l’ve taken leave until it’s all sorted out.

 

[Oversize]

 

[Oversize]

If anyone needs W140 parts let me know & I’ll try to save them….

 

[Oversize]

Or wheels…

 

[Oversize]

Well after at least 6 months of self inflicted pain & suffering, I finally moved out on 18/12/2023! Very close now to being debt free & no longer paying a lease for storing all my stuff, for the first time in at least a decade!!!

 

[Styria]

Well Mark, what a move. Are you actually able to supply all of us with any details regarding the sale of various items, in addition to the cars. I can feel for you, and the feeling of (painless) freedom you must now be enjoying. I guess one could say "Bring on 2024". Best of luck and best wishes with everything, whatever that may happen to be. Regards Styria

 

[Oversize]

I’ll post a lot of before & during pix shortly