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Tuebears · 02-08-2008, 11:41 AM

I grew up around a Benz and a migty Benz it was. My dad was a lover of all things mechanical and we had an interesting collection of what we called antique (know known as classic) cars along with our daily drivers. He tore them apart and "tinkered" late into the night on various projects. When we was in his 40s he began to "sniff around the Star" . Im sure he wrestled with the concept of owning a German can for much longer than that. Being a WWII veteran he had a struggle accepting anything German but I believe the engineering won him over. Knowing him as I grew to later, He probably was making this decision to buy a Benz for years. He was agonizingly slow at closing the deal. One afternoon we went for a ride to chase down a car he saw advertised in the paper. That happened most Saturdays but this time it was a Benz that sat in the driveway. It was a 66 250 euro version...I know now from a vivid recollection of those "wierd" headlights.. My dad seemed delighted in the car expecially the fact that the English language was useless around it...everything in German..I dont know why that appealed to him..perhaps he felt like he'd just captured sone German heavy ordinance..
The car came hime with us but not for long. Before the year was out he had parked the 66 at the curb beside our local Benz dealer and was closing a deal on something altogether amazing. Later that week he took delivery on perhaps the greated automobile Ive ever ridden in mush driven. a 1970 6.3 SEL. From that point on my understanding of what makes a car great was measured against the 6.3. He drove and maintained it until religiously. I rode in it several times but never was allowed to drive it. As I grew up, started my own life and moved away that 6.3 was never far from my heart. He put it in storage and left it there for almost 20 years, never failing to start it weekly and run it through the gears. Mercedes ownership was a goal of mine but the realities of a family edged it out every time. Finally a few years ago I had set aside a small amout of money that was not already spent and I fouind my first benz! Its a euro(imagine that) 1981 500 SEL. There is something about those euro benz's..despite its age it runs like a cruise missle..so for me its inbred I guess. As a footnote, my Dad passed away two years ago and left me his 6.3. I just got it back from the shop with a nice new coat of paint..I gotta feeling he's smiling somewhere.

02-08-2008, 11:41 AM	#83 (permalink)
Tuebears BenzWorld Newbie Date registered: Feb 2008 Posts: 1	Tradition I grew up around a Benz and a migty Benz it was. My dad was a lover of all things mechanical and we had an interesting collection of what we called antique (know known as classic) cars along with our daily drivers. He tore them apart and "tinkered" late into the night on various projects. When we was in his 40s he began to "sniff around the Star" . Im sure he wrestled with the concept of owning a German can for much longer than that. Being a WWII veteran he had a struggle accepting anything German but I believe the engineering won him over. Knowing him as I grew to later, He probably was making this decision to buy a Benz for years. He was agonizingly slow at closing the deal. One afternoon we went for a ride to chase down a car he saw advertised in the paper. That happened most Saturdays but this time it was a Benz that sat in the driveway. It was a 66 250 euro version...I know now from a vivid recollection of those "wierd" headlights.. My dad seemed delighted in the car expecially the fact that the English language was useless around it...everything in German..I dont know why that appealed to him..perhaps he felt like he'd just captured sone German heavy ordinance.. The car came hime with us but not for long. Before the year was out he had parked the 66 at the curb beside our local Benz dealer and was closing a deal on something altogether amazing. Later that week he took delivery on perhaps the greated automobile Ive ever ridden in mush driven. a 1970 6.3 SEL. From that point on my understanding of what makes a car great was measured against the 6.3. He drove and maintained it until religiously. I rode in it several times but never was allowed to drive it. As I grew up, started my own life and moved away that 6.3 was never far from my heart. He put it in storage and left it there for almost 20 years, never failing to start it weekly and run it through the gears. Mercedes ownership was a goal of mine but the realities of a family edged it out every time. Finally a few years ago I had set aside a small amout of money that was not already spent and I fouind my first benz! Its a euro(imagine that) 1981 500 SEL. There is something about those euro benz's..despite its age it runs like a cruise missle..so for me its inbred I guess. As a footnote, my Dad passed away two years ago and left me his 6.3. I just got it back from the shop with a nice new coat of paint..I gotta feeling he's smiling somewhere.