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Shout out for support for a fellow member - Jim B. aka cascade

37K views 276 replies 81 participants last post by  mclare 
#1 · (Edited)
UPDATE 5/20/15: Jim has left us to go hit the highways to Heaven. Bless his heart. See link

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I was informed not too long ago that Jim's efforts to fight the massive brain tumor that hit November 2014 with aggressive chemotherapy is not faring so well. The tumor was 95% removed back in November, with a good prognosis for chemotherapy for the remaining 5%. However, the tumor has grown back so aggressively that it is overcoming the chemo efforts.

The part of the brain where the tumor affects is the motor area. As a result, Jim is unable to walk without assistance of a walker, and as a result, he cannot drive.

His health is deteriorating quickly as I write this. The effects of nausea from chemo coupled with the aggressive tumor affecting his brain are not leaving a good feeling within.

I wanted to create a thread for Jim to read, where each of us would write about some of the great moments we had. I don't want this to turn into a "my prayers are with you" thread, but rather something for us all to chime in on our times and experiences together.

We all know driving his E420 (The Red Plum) the 560 SEC (and most recently the DINAN-modded BMW 535i) was the lifeblood that kept him going.

His wife, Charla is an beautiful and amazing person, Jim found 'the one' just at the nick of time.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I'll start with my first memoir:

I first met Jim back in 2009 when I had made a deal with chadahar for a '89 560SEL (Sylvia). Jim came along, with Justin (iwrock) and Derek (dieselbenz?). I recall while Charlie and Justin came to greet me, Jim stayed aback, studiously checking out my '89 560SEC at the time. We introduced ourselves, shook hands.

Bear you, this was back when member mclare suffered his 560SEC fire under the fuse panel. Jim went a beeline straight for the fuse panel of my 560 and sure enough found a pack of leaves under the fuse panel. This is when he told me this was a big "no-no", and I later learned why.

Charlie took the 560SEL away, and from that moment, Jim and I exchanged emails and formed a spectacular friendship that over the years, would be virtually a roller coaster through all things Benz. We traveled places to look at cars for other members, even buying cars, made a few discoveries along the way, and I saw him through quite a few things in his life, as he did mine too.

During my marital split in 2012, Jim was a true friend.

One of my favorite moments is the time we went on a "duel" pitting my '84 500SEC AMG vs his '91 560SEC, which took us way past triple digit speeds, in which made Jim and Justin (iwrock) a true believer of the way a real tuned AMG drove.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w126-s-se-sec-sel-sd/1430336-amg-w126-coupes-street-race-shoot.html

His 560SEC remains under repair for the wiring work. I will update on that in a separate thread.

Feel free to chime in with anything you'd like to say.
 

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#2 ·
I'm sorry to hear this. I always enjoy posting with him. Over on PeachParts I always look forward to reading what he has to say, even in the political form. Even if his opinion is different than mine I know I can have a two sided discussion.

-Jason
 
#3 ·
Wow, I am very sorry to hear this, while not knowing him personally, I have followed many of his threads closely and he was very willing to help and answer questions, in a quick and easy to understand manner. His car is still one of my favorites on this forum. I wish you all the best Jim!
 
#4 ·
Jim is one of my best friends. When I posted a message on MBCoupes.com in 1999 that I was moving to The Bay Area and could use some guidance, he popped right up with an offer to help, and he's been a friend ever since then. I worked on his SEC many times and, with Bondavi, was part of the group convincing him to get the SEC repaired rather than trashed after last year's small engine fire.

He had watched/helped me lower several SEC's by putting in H&R springs, using my $30 spring compressor. When he wanted me to do his car, he brought along a brand new Snap-On spring compressor and when we were done, gave it to me. I still use it, a dozen years later.

This is Jim & Charla (in the middle) at a casino here in Vegas, last July.
 

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#5 ·
Very sorry to hear about the condition of Jim. Always read about his postings regarding his cars & knowledge on it. Our prayers will be with him to improve.. Wish you better health.
 
#6 ·
I met Jim at a GTG in Oakland (organized by JOE55) several years back.

He was very kind and gracious to drive to the bay area in the 560 (very nice ride, so that probably made the drive easier!).

Jim is the kind of guy everyone should know, and be lucky enough to have as a friend.

I do continue to wish him the very best.
 
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#7 ·
Never had the chance to meet Jim, but I sure wish I did. He seems very knowledgeable about W126s and seems to know a lot of people in the business and I think CheckCodes hit the nail in the head saying Jim is the kind of person everybody should should know and have as a friend.

I have always enjoyed his postings and couple of my favorite ones are the one where he did the repo of the SEC from an ex-girlfirend and the story and pics of his visit to the warehouse full of old AMG bits in CA.

All the best to you, Jim! :thumbsup:
 
#8 ·
Jim,

I know you recall our first meeting many years ago (pre-internet!) at a Mercedes Benz Club event at Lake Sonoma.

That meeting is where I first saw your SEC and fell in love with that model. When you took me for a ride up to Sutro Tower shortly thereafter, I was hooked and began my search. With your assistance I was eventually able to find one of my own.

I have immensely enjoyed our friendship over the years. The meals we've shared, our road trip home from picking up your car in LA, visiting with you and Charla in your home.

I'm sorry you are experiencing this health issue. I hold out hope for the best but also look forward to our eventual and certain reunion in the future.

Sincerely,

Mike
 
#9 ·
The very first person to reach ou to me after joining this forum was jim. Not just to say hi but to actually invite me to meet him personally

I had an sl600 at the time and he had a loaner w126 sedan from topline in Burlingame as his car was being serviced . We took that sl600 on several power runs up my block and had a great time talking all thing Mercedes

I saw him again a few years later in Irvine at the Mercedes classic center for a tech session. I wish you the best jim and I'm pulling for you!!
 
#12 ·
I know its meant well, but i don't agree with the 'moment of silence' thread title about our friend Jim.
I feel it should be a 'shout out for life.'

Jim and I spoke on the phone on Sunday.


This was Jim's post after some of us met in 2007
I was in Tarzana to be as close as possible to the shop working on my car.

What a car culture. I have never seen so many new Mercedes cars in one place. There is a reason they are called "Beverly Hills Volkswagens"

Hummers, Murcielagos, Ferraris, Phantoms, Arnage convertibles, Porsches,
all over the place.

Almost all the nice cars have heavily tinted windows. I was told the celebs, rock singers, and actors and actresses, like to drive their own cars and not be bothered by autograph hounds, paparrazi (sp)j but the public in LA copies the practice, and tints their car windows too, to look "cool"

That included all windows, and tinting the fronts is illegal, in California, and a ticketable violation in California, but since everyone does it in Los Angeles, the Police never bother.

I can't remember all the bars teutone took me, and he drove me, in my car, to them, but I do remember most of them were in Sherman Oaks.

One was the Pineapple Inn, off Ventura Blvd. and Van Nuys Blvd

Another one was the Casa Vega, which has expensive drinks but a LOT of celebs hang out there. It is on Ventura Bvd. in Sherman Oaks and you would never know if you saw it why it is special.

An acting school is next door, so when it is summer and the weather is good,
the young ladies from there come in when the classes let out, and it is incredible. Nothing was going on when I was there, but I saw enough local talent there to absolutely believe that what I was told was absolutely true.

If teutone sees this thread, I am sure he can complete the list.
At one neighborhood dive bar we went to, FAR off the tourist track, some drunk hippie/bearded/biker type put his arm over my shoulder and asked me to dance.

To diffuse that, I laughed and said, "Only if you lead", so he went away.

Then someone told me the guy was "Grizzly Adams" some famous TV star, but I don't watch TV and I did not know who he was or what he did....

So it is evidently true these celeb types like to hang out in obscure neighborhood places where they can relax without being bothered by fans

We also went to a Jazz Club, but teutone would remember it, I drank quite a bit myself, and don't. I paid dearly for the last night, as I am not a drinker, and couldn't sleep, puked at 4am, and had a horrible 700 mile drive home the next day, I was feeling kind of ill.

But it was worth it, a good vacation
The semi biker bar mentioned is Pat's, on Riverside in Studio City, and the Biker looking dude who asked him to dance was a blitzed out of his mind Dan Haggerty. Macho Grizzly Adams wearing eye shadow, I kid you not. That was too funny.
I think the jazz club also used to be one of BNZ's favorite places

I seem to remember it was the time Aussie Ross aka 420 SE was part of this particular pub crawl, during his L.A. visit. But could have been a different pub tour. We did have a few drink, and there were many of those pub tours.

After our initial 2007 meeting, Jim came to visit L.A. frequently, and we both liked Ireland 32's pubs house band '29 mules.'
Good times, and I hope there will be more for Jim.
We'll have to pick more civilized places to visit, after all Jim is a married man now.


 
#13 ·
insidious disease. Godspeed!
 
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#15 ·
I am sorry to read this post. I saw and spoke with Jim and his wife back last August at Legends of the Autobahn. It is sad to see how this illness cancer runs so fast. My mother died of cancer in 1996 very quick after seeing the doctor.

My best wishes to Jim and hope the best for him in the future.

K.
 
#18 ·
I too am one who has never met Jim in person but whenever there was a post from him I'd read it because of his knowledge of our cars and him wanting to give away that knowledge to anyone just for the asking
 
#19 ·
Sad to hear this news
Jim's posts have always entertained me over the years - especially when he cooked his brakes on a fast run out in the hills/back roads with a bunch of guys driving some serious cars.

And the greatest thread of all when he had to retrieve (repo) his silver 560SEC from another county - now that was pure entertainment
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/off...posession-1990-smoke-1990-sec.html?highlight=

And his trip to Atlanta to meet the legendary Jono
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w12...ets-jhodg5ck-amg-east-atlanta.html?highlight=

And the big meet - street racers (that was a great story)
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w12...iminal-street-racers-duke-out.html?highlight=

Jim has certainly made sure he lived life to its fullest and ventured to many places and taken many great pics along the way which he always shared with the forum much to our delight with the many great threads he posted up over the years.
 
#20 ·
I've only spoken to Jim once, and it was years ago and about Barry Taylor's stash - Jim was not only helpful, but extremely knowledgeable.

Jim, the world has always needed good souls to balance out the bad ones, and you are certainly a good one. Thanks for all you've done to make the world a better place.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Some of you asked me over text what the "extent" is with Jim's situation.

The basics of it is he went for 6 weeks straight worth of chemotherapy in hopes for eradicating the remaining 5% of the tumor. But this is not the case - the tumor is proliferating.

HOWEVER there is hope! They are currently looking into a "Hail Mary" last recourse of chemotherapy, I believe localized at the tumor site.

So, to repeat what teutone said..... a scream for life itself! I will keep you updated.

Mind you, Jim had converted his modern DD car from MB to BMW some time ago after a less-than-inspirational 2011 E350 Sport. He had a grey 2013 BMW 535i M-Sport that he racked up a full 40k miles in just a year and half, which at the time the cancer hit, he swapped it for a cream white 2015 535i, and had the full-boat DINAN treatment done to it. Full boat brake, suspension, 364hp engine upgrades, just like they would do to an AMG back in the day.

In full spirit, Jim wanted to ride shotgun while I drove.
 

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#22 ·
The night of January 9th, 2009 was the first and only time I met Jim B in person. We had dinner along with some other forum members at his hotel in Southern California. Much like on the forum, his stories and jokes made him the center of attention. He is the kind of guy you immediately bond with. The following day we all met at a large get together starting at the Mercedes Classic Center in Irvine followed by a drive up Angeles Crest. I was fortunate to be sitting next across from him at lunch as well. Here's a few photos from that day.













It was such an honor to meet him, and keep in touch with in the following years. I learned of Jim's illness in December when I could not reach him for a few weeks. I wanted to send him some 1991 Benz dealership literature, and after some snooping found out what was going on. Such a shame. Finally got to speak with him for a long time over the phone, and he was happy, no matter how things went with his cancer. He said he lived a great life and was satisfied if this was it, but still had big plans for the future with his new wife. Really inspiring...

I do hope he has enough time to finish the repairs on his SEC and do alot more things on the bucket list. Get well, Jim.
 
#23 ·
The man. The car. Jim and his 560SEC go hand in hand together.

I wanted to paraphrase the current state of the SEC by an earlier post:

Let me elaborate on what happened.

Jim's SEC was taken into an indie's shop locally, where it was given the pre-smog normal tuneup treatment. The car was increasingly not running too well, hard to start, and had less and less power. At the indie's it was discovered the 2-3 year old cats had plugged up almost completely to the point it was suffocating the engine.

Said indie had the bright idea of removing the small pipe between the EGR valve (Jim mistakenly thought the ETA, which was ok) and the left bank exhaust manifold. This would allow the car to breathe out its exhaust, and make the trek to the muffler shop, some 25 miles away.

So, the bill paid for, the indie sent Jim off, giving him forewarning about the removed EGR pipe, handing him the piece and sending him off, with me following.

Now for those of you that know tri-Y's, they have the EGR pipe leading into a 90-degree angle to the top of the manifold.

Jim drove out, and then we hit the highway about 10 miles later. As we drove up the slight upgrade up the foothill mountains on I-80 towards Auburn, I noticed some white smoke popping up out of the SEC's fenders. The driver's side amber side marker was hanging out of the car, I caught Jim's attention and told him to PULL OVER.

Once I ran up, there was some smoke coming out from the hood, and a hot spot on the hood, half dollar side spot where the paint lifted, and burn mark surrounding it. I immediately knew it was the EGR valve and the insanely hot air jet streaming onto the hood.

We could NOT get the hood to open, since by this time the heat generated by the (small) fire and slight lapping of flames melted the hood release cable, the driver's side marker out of its socket, and the wiring around the EZL/ABS unit was melted. Fortunately because the car was stopped, turned off, the fire extinguished itself. Jim had the car flatbedded to the muffler shop that was only 5 minutes away, and they completed the new cat replacement job. But the car would not start (not surprisingly).

We got the hood open. FORTUNATELY the engine was OK, zero burn or issues there at all. The fire was isolated to the drivers side between the engine and the ABS unit. I think the foam hood pad did its job, the one I installed for Jim a few years back, which had fallen in pieces onto the affected area. If you were to look at the car, the main damage was the hood section itself where the hot air jet hit, and the wiring/vacuum/plastic on the LF fenderwell area ahead of the fuse panel (which was unaffected).

So the main thing is...dumb advice by the "trusted" indie, and burned wiring that is pretty much not sectioned out from the rest of the car, requiring some intensive work to replace.

Indie took the car back to do goodwill repairs, tail in between legs, had it for over a year with an aborted attempt at rewiring, when Jim took the car back and got it to the right hands.

Soon the 560SEC will live again!

 
#24 · (Edited)
Some pics of that night. As you see the damage is pretty minor relatively wise.

The point of this post is...it WILL be SAVED.
 

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