Newsletter No.064 MBCACT Concours, have you ever wondered
Newsletter Number 64
8th October 2003
Hello and welcome to another newsletter.
Hello again. Yes, I know this newsletter is a bit late! Things are rather hectic in the Green family at the moment. Sandra was due to have our third child last Saturday but as of Wednesday the 8th there is still no action. Also occupying my time has been the Mercedes-Benz club of the ACT Concours held on the 28th of September. I have been the clubs chief Judge at their annual Concours for the last 14 years. See below for a brief report.
Also in this newsletter is a brief history of locally produced Mercedes-Benz's, some funnies and cars for sale both here and in America.
Thanks, John Green.
Mercedes-Benz Club of the ACT 28th Annual Concours
Last weekend the Mercedes-Benz Club of the ACT ran their 28th annual Concours. This event is held annually as part of the the Shannons German Autofest. I am in the process of doing a full page for this on the club website. Here are a few pictures from the day:
The Outright winner was a beautiful 190SL belonging to Wayne Fitzgerald from the Victorian Mercedes-Benz Club.
Here is a Mercedes-Benz you don't see every day. It is a 1962 319 van.
And a shot of my 450SLC with our company delivery van in the background.
Funny of the week.
Morris, the loudmouth mechanic, was removing the cylinder heads from the motor of a car when he spotted a famous heart surgeon who was standing off to the side, waiting for the service manager to come take a look at his Mercedes.
Morris shouted across the garage, "Hey Doc! Is dat you? Come on ova'here a minute."
The famous surgeon, a bit surprised, walked over to where Morris the mechanic was working on the car.
Morris straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag, and asked argumentatively, "So, Mr. Fancy Doctor, look at dis here work. I ALSO open hearts, take valves out, grind 'em, put in new parts, and when I finish dis baby will
purr like a kitten. So how come you get da big bucks, when you an' me is doing basically da same work?"
The surgeon leaned over and whispered to Morris the loudmouth mechanic, "Try doing it with the engine running."
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED?
Can you cry under water?
How important does a person have to be before they are considered
assassinated instead of just murdered?
If money doesn't grow on trees then why do banks have branches?
Since bread is square, then why is sandwich meat round?
Why do you have to "put your two cents in"... but it's only a "penny"
for your thoughts"? Is somebody making a penny?
What did cured ham actually have?
How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be
a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up
like every two hours?
If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?
Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in
binoculars to look at things on the ground?
How come we choose from just two people for President and fifty for Miss
America?
Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you
naked anyway.
If a 911 operator has a heart attack, whom does he/she call?
and finally...
Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural?
Cars for dismantling
We have had two more great potential restorations arrive in the last few weeks. A 1965 220Sb and a 1971 300SEL 3.5. We still have the 190b and 230 short Finnie mentioned in the last two newsletters. Maybe someone could by all four of them and start an instant collection??
The 220Sb is a truly unique car. It must be one of the last "Australian made" Mercedes-Benz's. For those of you who know their history, you will know that Mercedes-Benz's were imported into Australia in kit form (called CKD by the Germans) and assembled on the Australian Motor Industries (AMI) production line in Port Melbourne. Production started in 1958 with 190 and 220S Roundies, and wound up in 1965 with the end of the Finnies. Production was initially very strong with most Mercedes-Benz's sold here in Australia in the very early sixties being locally assembled, however by 1964 most of the cars were arriving assembled in Germany. So, a 1965 model that was assembled here in Australia is quite rare. These cars did have some local content. Seats 
and most of the interior was made here in Australia. One method of telling the original Australian cars is to look at the hood lining as it is totally different to the German cars. One other tell tale sign is that the locally assembled car had the engine bay painted mat black instead of body colour like the German cars were. This car has spent all its life in Canberra so it is rust free. Much of the paint is original (and very thin), the interior has so been seen to be believed, the seats are near perfect. It even has its original books and the plate that was in the dash where the radio goes.
The 300SEL 3.5 is not as nice inside but is still a great car for someone looking for a a car to restore. One amazing thing is that even though the car has been off the road for over 5 years the air suspension is working fine. The 300SEL 3.5 was a very exclusive car back in 1971, second only to the mighty 300SEL 6.3. They came standard with all options like air conditioning and central locking.
Links of the week.
Firstly, if you click here you can download a PowerPoint presentation that was sent to me by a customer of a car they wanted to buy......
Then you can go and check out the Mercedes-Benz Club of the Netherlands website at http://www.mercedesbenzclub.nl/
Here is a list of cars that are advertised on a US based Collectable car site. Some make interesting reading. I wonder how many Mercedes-Benz's there are advertised for sale on the net at any one time? This list was sent to me by Richard Sexton from http://www.mbz.org/
$1000 manny tranny 66 250SE - Miami
http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/9/0/57186990.htm
V8 Ford 114
http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/5/2/57387952.htm
Salvage 111 2.5 coupe
http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/8/4/57066084.htm
69 11 coupe resto project
http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/9/8/57066098.htm
$1200 71 280S w 51K mi
http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/7/0/56744370.htm
Euro 350SL parts car
http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/6/4/57423664.htm
$600 114 coupe "project" (rough body)
http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/4/0/56898440.htm
Decent $3900 83 450SL
http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/5/0/57387050.htm
"granny passed"
http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/9/4/57329394.htm
decent looking $2K SLC
http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/7/2/57177872.htm
$10K 250SL 4 spd
http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/6/0/56902160.htm
$9K 250SL W 31K showing (?) Looks like unmolested original car, utah
http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/3/4/51614634.htm
As you would expect, with it being such a long time between newsletters, there has been quite some turnover in the Pre loved car department. The surprise is that the 86 230E is still here. It is a great little car, we almost sold it but the guys wife didn't like it! We only have it and a great C180 parked out the front for sale at the moment, but more stock is due in soon. The C220 that you will see listed as sold below was sold to a member of the local Mercedes-Benz club before we even had a change to detail it, list it on the website and put it out the front!
Click here to see all the cars for sale.
As with all changes we make over the years to the Newsletter, if you don't like it please let me know!
Cars sold:
C200 94 model 107000kms
The following cars have recently arrived for sale:
Also in stock we have:
Collection of three factory Stretch Mercedes-Benz's
So that's it for another newsletter. Hope you liked what you saw. If you have any ideas or want to contribute any articles, pictures or other material please e-mail me here. Also, don't forget that you can check out the old newsletters here
Thanks, John Green.
