As you already know, Johnny came home on December 14, just over one month ago. He has been out and about a couple of times, but the latest stint winter weather has managed to keep him garage-bound for the most part.
Now for the technical stuff. After seven months in captivity the biggest jobs, including paint and body work are now complete. The paint and body alone was over $8,000, which included replacing the rear bumper assembly, damaged in a minor rear-end collision back in 2010, repair of the right rear quarter (from the same incident I assume), and repaint all the body cladding in white for that "mono look." In addition, the left rear quarter window and section beneath the battery tray required rust mitigation and repair. This included replacing the left rear window quarter with a Mercedes-Benz factory replacement panel, which required the R&R of the rear window and a new seal. New trunk lid weather stripping was installed and all wheels were refinished. Thanks again Malcolm.
Inside we replaced the headliner and recovered the rear package tray. A refurbished Becker Grand Prix was installed, which required a lot of wiring repair due to a previous very amateurish installation of an aftermarket POS head unit, and now works perfectly along with the new antenna mast. Johnny received new headlight frames and headlights along with a new cap for the upper rear brake light. On a whim we installed an LED light for the third brake light, but now it triggers the light warning on the dash, so I either have to install a resistor or go back to a conventional bulb.
Four new Michelin Defenders were mounted and balanced and finally the car received comprehensive detail by Reflections Detailing in Williamsburg, VA.
When you add in the previous work listed in posts below you you don't have to be a math whiz to clearly see the final cost far exceeds the true value of the vehicle at this point in time. Will there be a time when I can recover the costs? Frankly, I don't know and I really don't care. I didn't buy this car because I wanted an investment. I bought it because I wanted the car and I plan to keep it for the duration, whatever defines that for me. As a plus, my wife Avril likes "Johnny" as well, which is probably the first time she has been properly enthusiastic about one of my "collector" cars. Avril even likes driving it! Uber Coupés rule! (Don't get me wrong, Avril is a huge supporter of and very tolerant of my car hobby, she is just not a "car person.")
In addition, Santa was very good to Johnny, bring him a battery tender, car cover and cocoa floor mats.
For sure there is more to do. Eventually I will have to source a new dash to replace the cracked on and have the interior wood trim refinished, although it really isn't in that bad of shape. The cruise control needs attention as do the door seals. I need to fully recondition the seat leather, which too is in really good shape, but as a hedge against future deterioration. I have a list of about 20-odd things I will attack prophylactically and a few more irritants which need to be addressed, like going back to the body shop to have the trunk fitment adjusted a wee bit, but that is about it. Johnny will in all probability make his debut at the WBCC's British & European Car Show this spring, although he has already been spotted at one CVS MBCA event and a C&C.
More to came, eventually...
Williamsburg C&C (December 2017)
CVS MBCA Benz & BBQ - Richmond, VA (December 2018)
Local Driveabout (December 2018)
