RESURRECTION

Last Thursday I sent the Becker Grand Prix, so kindly donated by Malcolm, off to Becker in New Jersey for a refurbish and Bluetooth mod. I’m waiting for their analysis and cost, but from what they told me up front it all sounds very reasonable. It will be nice to have the original radio in-place, since I’m such a stickler for originality. Or am I?

Also last week, I almost pulled the trigger on another 1988 Arctic White SEC. This car is in much better fettle than Johnny was when I purchased him (and cheaper). The car is located in St. Louis and is currently owned by an MBCA Regional Director, whom I believe is only the third owner from new. In the end common sense overruled insanity and I decided two major projects are enough for now (I also have a 1953 MG-TD/C under restoration). The latest edition of the SL Market Letter has the contact info if anyone is interested.

One item I failed to mention in any detail before was Johnny’s battery. When I initially purchased the car I asked the seller how old the battery was. His response was “New, 2 mouths (sic).” Imagine how gob-smacked I was when I picked up the car and sitting prominently on the battery case was some generic battery with a USED BATTERY sticker proudly emblazoned on same. Well, this went right along with the no-name “Duro” tires and the Econo Lube oil change sticker. During the car’s safety inspection back in Virginia the battery was the first thing to go. The crap tires will be history when Johnny comes out of the body shop with his fresh paint and refurbished 15-holers with a set of new Michelin Defenders mounted. The original spare wheel and tire, Michelin MXV, remain with the vehicle.

Least you think everything was bad, I do have the original first aid kit and complete tool kit and with the exception of the rear window sill, the car is rust free.

The back shelf came back from the upholstery shop last week and all I can say is they look as good as new. I harbored some trepidation about what they would look like, but they turned out magnificently. After the paint and body is finished, probably this week, the headliner will be redone and the seats refurbished.

In the end after much internal debate I decided to go with the monochrome look and paint the body cladding, bumpers, door handle guards and mirrors in white to match the rest of the body. I think it offers a much cleaner appearance and a more modern look. Now, before you go off and ask me how I could possibly change the look of a car designed by Bruno Sacco; I’ll just have to say my taste is more refined today then Bruno’s was in the ‘70’s when the design was laid down. No offense Signore Sacco.

There are a few pictures below of where we are so far…

Look Ma, no trunk!

New rear window edge in place. This is an original MB part.

Where have all the bumpers gone?

Recovered rear shelf compartment covers.

Recovered rear shelf.

Our upholster was able to find the original material.

Ascessories still in good nick.

Value Added Costs

As we await Johnny's exit from paint and body I thought it would be a good time to catch up on some of the finer details of the journey thus far.

I just ordered a new Virginia license plate with the same letter and number combination Johnny Carson had when the car was registered in his name in California. Avril and I decided this was more historically accurate and a better choice than some kitschy vanity plate.

As you may recall, once Johnny was in Virginia I turned him over to Simon at the Auto Haus Williamsburg Classic Center. Simon’s initial evaluation was simply to get the car through the state inspection, remedy some initial concerns, and fix a few problems either found along the journey from California and/or not addressed by Rafi’s before the cross-country trek. To wit:

State Safety Inspection

Replace Front Suspension Lower Ball Joints

Replace Front Shock Absorbers

Replace Front Wheel Bearings & Seals

Replace Rear Shock Absorbers

Replace Rear Accumulators

Replace & Bleed Rear SLS Hydraulic Fluid

Replace Rear Stabilizer End Links

Replace Steering Damper

Transmission Service (Includes Fluid & Filter replacement)

Replace Left Rear Window Switch

Replace Wiper Blades

Replace Driver’s Side Seat Belt Retractors Gears

So, not an inconsequential amount of work, especially when you consider the amount of work Rafi’s accomplished prior to departure. But that’s not all folks…

As previously mentioned, with Malcolm’s help I now have the correct wheels (since refinished), lug bolts and a Becker Grand Prix radio in very good nick. I’ll be sending the Grand Prix to Becker for refurbishment prior to installing it in the car. But wait, there’s still more…

The next update will be the rest of the mechanical work done prior to Johnny going into the body shop for repairs and a list of minor, but non-critical things yet to do. In the meantime, here are some pictures from the body shop. The first picture is of the left rear fender, which had a ripple in the sheet metal, being brought back to straight. Those God awful chrome wheels are on their way out. The black sheet metal piece you see in the second picture is the replacement panel for the rusted out rear window lip. Pic number three shows it was pretty dirty behind the cladding, but fortunately no rust.

PRE STAGE

When I first picked Johnny up from Mike, I was, unfortunately, in a bit of a rush. This is never a good thing when picking up a new to you car sight unseen. My flight to LAX was delayed a bit getting in and it is a rather long haul from LAX to Chino. I was facing a deadline of getting the car to Rafi’s Autotech in Culver City before their 4:00 pm closing. My first impression of “Johnny” was favorable, but then Mike began to show me some things he was not forthcoming about during a many of our post-purchase discussions. Some of those items, like the headliner, I know he knew about, but he blamed it on his detailer opening the sunroof. The number of inoperative or poorly maintained and neglected items rose with my blood pressure as I did my first walk-around. I didn’t say a lot to Mike, but I’m sure my disappointment was obvious, not that he would care one way or the other.

Frankly, I don’t think Mike was fully aware of the extent of the terrible and neglected shape the car was actually in. Or then again maybe he did, but didn’t have the time, know how, funds or inclination to do anything about it. It was obvious from the start the car had been long neglected. Only six months before, the car was in the Mecum Auction (no sale) sporting a nice detail, but despite assurances from Mike that the car had been garaged all this time, the amount of crud accumulated in the engine compartment and various other cavities it was obvious the car was left sitting outside for all of intervening period.

Another indication of the abuse poor “Johnny” suffered was the Econo Lube sticker on the windscreen and the no-name tires. Who subjects a Mercedes to such indignities? Albeit they looked to be relatively new the tires were sufficiently out of round even after extensive balancing and steering alignment as to vibrate at any speed. But really, I can’t blame Mike for all this, other than a slight exaggeration of the car’s condition. After all, it’s buyer beware on eBay and I chose not to have a PPI done based upon my conversations with Mike. It seems I have this personality disorder where I think most people are at least as honest and forthcoming as I am in their dealings. Naive? Extremely! But it’s all good because I now possess the car (or it possess me) and I have the chance to bring it back to life after years of forsaken care and abuse. Sure, I could have purchased a much nicer car for less money and I would not be dumping thousands of dollars into “refurbishing” it, but I didn’t. I bought a “celebrity” car and at the end of the day, if it does not mean something special to anyone else, it will to me. That said, I have no intention of selling this car. I didn’t buy it to flip it. I’m sure someday circumstances will force its transfer of ownership and I hope I’m still lucid enough at the time to see it goes to a proper home or maybe even to one of my grandchildren.

I mentioned earlier I would list the work done so far. You can see below the list of repairs and service accomplished by Rafi’s Autotech in Culver City over a 10-day period from when I dropped the car off after rescuing it and when I came back to pick it up on 13 February to begin the epic 3,500 mile cross country jaunt to “Johnny’s” new home in Virginia.

L&R Tie Rods

Center Steering Link

Alignment

Rebuild Fuel Distributor

Valve Cover Gaskets

Camshaft Oiler Tubes

Rear Brake Pads

Right Passenger Window Regulator/Lift Assy/Motor/Glass

Left Window Regulator

Oil

Oil Filter

Air Filter

Fuel Filter

Washer Pump & Nozzles

Antenna Mast

I have a bit of catching up to do Blog wise, so stayed tuned for some more updates over the next few days. I would be remiss at this point, however, if I didn’t mention my new BFF Malcolm coming to my rescue yet again with an original Becker Grand Prix radio. You’re the best Malcolm.

As a teaser of upcoming attractions, here is a picture of Johnny in the body shop:

Lug Woe Be Gone

Yes, I have been negligent in my duties. I have not posted an update in several weeks. In my defense I've been working a lot, fought the flu and for the past two weeks dealing with a bad back that makes it a literal PIA to sit for any length of time.

When I last left you, my faithful followers, I was engaged in a duel of wits with a Mercedes-Benz dealership on-line store. I am happy to say the situation has been satisfactorily resolved. My hat is off to OEMercedesBenzParts.com for refunding me the entire purchase price, including shipping, for the wrong length lug bolts, which I returned. Their initial position was they are the correct replacement bolts for the SEC and therefore they would not reimburse me for the shipping if I returned them. Even though they technically fit, they do not look right as they are recessed into the wheel, which is the point I kept trying to convey to them. It is nice to see an on-line store do the right thing. Now if I could only convince Mike & Vince to send me the damn valet key and owner list...

On the plus side, with most of the mechanicals sorted and new wheels and the correct lug bolt courtesy of Malcolm, things are moving right along and I'm happy to say JC (Johnny) is in the body shop having the shiny bits see to. A bit of a surprise, or no, was the discovery of significant corrosion around the lower lip of the rear window seal (see below). Fortunately, it has not progressed beyond the lip and onto the rear deck or into the trunk. A few more weeks in paint and body and JC will be ready for the BIG REVEAL. I'm not sure when or where that will be, but I am giving some thought to HEIMATFEST in Birmingham at the end of the month. That may be too ambitious, however.

Lug Bolt Woes

As they say, time is fun when you're having flies, which is what I have been doing a lot of lately and thus not actively working on JC. That said, Jonny has not been neglected and spent the last week at Autohaus in Simon's good hands sorting the air conditioning system and transmission leaks.  There were, of course, a few additional items in need of attention as well, including the recalcitrant trunk lock and sourcing an extra key, thanks to Mike & Vince (the sellers).

Additionally, the paint and body gurus took a look and came back with what I thought was a very reasonable estimate thus far. We will see if the estimate grows marginally or exponentially once they start removing glass, cladding and headliner.

I received six good wheels from Malcolm (thanks again buddy) and had four of them repainted. They look good as new. The biggest P.I.A. this week has been trying to find the correct replacement lug bolts for the freshly painted rims. It turns out Mercedes-Benz just recently discontinued the original style lug bolts with the elongated shaft and crown before the threads. I ordered replacement lug bolts from OEMercedes out of Atlanta, but only after talking to their customer service guy on the phone. The gentleman gave me two part numbers, the first one being A1264000070, which he said was discontinued. He then said the replacement part number was A1240000770, so that's what I ordered. What I received was part number A0009904807, Mercedes-Benz "replacement" for the old style bolt. The replacement bolts will be recessed into the lug nut holes and will not be flush with the surface of the wheel like the original lug bolts. After trying unsuccessfully to contact OEMercedes on the phone I sent them and email:

You sent me the the wrong wheel bolts (20). You sent part number A000-990-48-07, which appears to be a substitute or replacement part number; however, they are incorrect for the car. The wheel bolts required have a long shank before the threads. If you cannot supply the correct wheel bolts please let me know. In either case the wheel bolts you sent will have to be returned as they are incorrect for the installation. The proper part number should be A-124-400-07-70.

OEMercedes:

The Long Shaft Lug Bolts are Discontinued from Mercedes Benz, and NOT recommended. Mercedes Benz Supercede the Lugs to the ones you received. The Long Shank Lug Bolts would break at the shaft. The only reason for the Long Shaft was for Cosmetic Reasons (so the top of the nut would be flush with the surface of the rim).

(On the surface and even with further review, this is total B.S.  Mercedes-Benz offered A1240000770 lug bolt as a replacement up until just a few weeks before. They do not break at the shaft unless they are incorrectly installed by some neanderthal with an air gun or a breaker bar. There are thousands of W/C126's and R-107's out there running around with their original long-shaft lug bolts with literally millions of miles on them that have not broken at the shaft.)

So I emailed them back:

Sadly, the “new” ones are not original to the car and do not look right as they are recessed into the wheel. The original bolts did not break. I can only assume later Mercedes-Benz bolts were of poorer quality and maybe those did break. If you cannot supply the correct bolts, which these are not, then I must return them and find the correct ones from an alternate source. Please provide me with the correct return information and shipping label so I can do so.

OEMercedes:

You can return the Bolts and we will refund you for the Part only. We are a Mercedes Benz Dealer. These are the correct Mercedes Benz Bolts for you vehicle, as any other Mercedes Benz dealer will tell you. You will not be able to buy the extended shaft bolts from another Mercedes Benz dealer. You may be able to find an after market Bolt, but i would not recommend them. When they break they are not easy to remove.

Me:

I find that you will not refund shipping in both directions unacceptable. This is the wrong bolt for the original wheels. Mercedes carried the correct bolt until very recently. Just because they substitute a different bolt than the original because they choose to no longer source or supply the correct bolt does not make it acceptable in appearance or service when restoring a car. It is simply the wrong part.

OEMercedes:

Silence......................

Now here's the thing, if they told me from the beginning that they were going to substitute bolt A0009904807 for A1240000770 and explained the difference and then I ordered the bolts I could see where they have a point in not refunding shipping, but since they substituted the "new replacement" bolt for the old without telling me then I think it is incumbent upon them to make it right. If they cannot supply the correct part, regardless of what MB says, then they have an obligation to me the customer to accept the bolts back and refund all monies spent. I cannot accept the bolts because they do not look right, regardless of what some bean counter at corporate thinks. This battle will continue until I am ultimately victorious! Oorah!

On a more positive note, the correct replacement wheel center caps came from Pelican Parts today. At least somebody on-line can get it right the first time.

I keep meaning to sit down and list all the things we've done thus far to bring JC back up to speed, but work get in the way and time slips away, not to mention all the time taken up correcting what I can only describe as Cyber Induced Errors.

Thought for the week: If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.

Hals und Beinbruch!

Wheels! Glorious Wheels!

Johnny's "new" wheels were delivered the other day by FedEx while I was away this past week. My darling wife, Avril, said the delivery guy, unbeknownst to her, put them in the open garage while she was working in the back garden.

When I returned late-late Sunday night I couldn't be bothered to check them out in the wee hours of the morning, so I left them until the next day. Upon further inspection, much to my chagrin, I found three of the six boxes were damaged, one significantly so. With a bit of trepidation I photographed and then opened each one. Much to my relief all the wheels were ok and in pretty good nick to boot.

Off to the shop they went for refinishing and new rubber while Johnny is having his transmission seals, all of them, mount and flex disks replaced along with the A/C sorting; new compressor, dryer, etc.

The next big leap will be for the paint and body work, interior headliner and dash. There are a couple of mods I'm considering. The first is to paint the cladding and bumpers the same as the body color. I've seen several done like that and they look very good. I'm also considering fitting Euro bumpers and headlights, if I can find them. That may come a bit further down the line. The center console wood needs refinishing along with a replacement Becker Grand Prix radio. It's a work in progress.


P.S. Malcolm - Thank you for the wheels and doing all the heavy lifting packing and shipping.

BJ

Unfortunately, Johnny has been a bit neglected these past few days. I had a 4-day trip which took me out of the loop for, well, four days and along the way I managed to catch a bad head cold, which knocked me for a loop. So I’ve been a bit loopy lately. Feeling  a bit better today, I went to work on the air cleaner yet again. Another hour of effort with only a bit of improvement and a sore index finger to show for it. There is so much pitting due to corrosion I’m beginning to wonder if it’s a lost cause. My choice is to continue and accept it for what it is, try to find a used one in better condition or see if NOS replacements are still available from MBZ. I have yet to dig that deep yet. My hope is to keep Johnny as original as possible, but that too may be a lost cause as I know a new front and rear bumper are on the menu along with new (refurbished) wheels.

After tiring of rubbing my finger in circles I decided to continue with the underside of the hood, a.k.a., bonnet for our U.K. listeners. This afternoon I attacked it with Mother’s Detail Spray, which worked a treat, making short work of the overspray form some well-meaning, but dull detailer. It leaves a nice sheen to the gray under hood bits without looking too glossy. Unfortunately, I accidentally scraped along the bottom edge of the hood pad and being old and brittle (the hood pad, not me) a small bit flaked off all over the outside vent intake and onto the engine. Out comes the leaf blower to blow the bits away and to my surprise a lot more foliage came up from the crevices down under. I did the same last week and thought I got most of it out, however, you wouldn't have known it by the amount of debris that surfaced yet again. H.R.H. stepped out just as I was finishing blowing the engine and said: “I guess you really love that car. I see you were giving it a blow job.” To which I responded; “If you really love me then maybe you… blah, blah, blah…” I can’t really print what she said here, but I will be dining (and sleeping) alone tonight. That said, if you’ve never thought of a leaf blower as one of the first tools to use when detailing an engine then think again.

I did encounter a bit of a shocker at the end of the blow job when I looked under the battery tray for any recalcitrant greenery. I know the battery tray is in need of attention, however, much to my chagrin I saw some surface rust on the body panel hidden underneath the tray. Something I did not expect or notice earlier. Let’s hope it’s nothing more than superficial. I would loathe having to pull the engine to do a major panel repair in that area. It would mean a cost escalation along the lines of the Navy’s new Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. I’m not looking to build a show car here, I just want as nice an example as I can have for display and to drive to MBCA events and along the way preserve a TV icon’s automobile for the future. I do take some comfort in knowing that this car cost over $79,000 when new in 1988, which adjusted for inflation is about $163,000 in today's money.

I did take JC for another short spin today in addition to a 38-miler yesterday. I’ve racked up the miles since picking up Johnny almost six weeks ago, but what the hell, H.R.H. (a.k.a., Avril, my darling wife) is right, I simply love this car.

P.S. While I was typing this tome my new best friend Malcolm called with the wheels I am in dire need of. Kind of makes up for the rest of the day’s maladies. Happy day!

Debutant

Yesterday was our local Cars & Coffee and the debut of “Johnny”on the local scene, but the promise of rain the night before made the outing look doubtful. Upon arising, the radar showed the massive blob of rain precariously positioned to strike from over parts of West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky the night before had somehow flattened and moved south of the NC/VA border. It was obvious it rained the night before, but the streets were by now mostly dry, so if figured why not?

I seem to be saying that a lot since we bought Johnny. At the time of his purchase I think I said or at least thought something similar, like; “Oh, there’s a 560SEC formally owned by Johnny Carson for sale on eBay. Maybe I should buy it… why not?” And thus the deed was done. Now no rational person would buy a 29-year-old car sight unseen over the Internet without at least some kind of PPI, or at least have a friend take a look. No fairly astute “car guy” would choose to ignore all the bad things that existed, which would automatically disqualify any other SEC from consideration. No rational human being would choose to believe all the accolades about the car from a guy three-thousand miles away whom you don’t know and never met, just because the car used to belong to the “King of Late Night.” No, no one would just say “Why Not?” and pull the trigger, but I did. But I digress.

We headed out to C&C and I really did not expect much of a turnout because of the weather and that proved to be the case. What also proved to be the case was the accuracy of the weather forecast. There were a few sprinkles on the way over and about 15 minutes after arriving it began a steady rain, which thankfully was very light and only lasted a few minutes. I parked in the Merc Section and there were a few ooh’s and aah’s along with a number of positive comments, but nothing over the top. Nothing like OMG! Johnny Carsons car??? WOW! Not that I expected that and I would have been rather embarrassed for anybody who reacted that way. In any event Johnny is not really ready for prime time, but it was nice to get him out and mingle a bit.

By the time C&C was over and got home I went to work removing some scratches that were bugging me on the left and right fenders. Fortunately, they were not too deep and came out pretty good. By then I was too tired to continue being as the day before was my birthday and much merriment took place, plus a had a boat load of chores to do around the house before departing on my trip early the next day. Instead of tackling another job on Johnny I decided instead to sit down and watch the 12 Hours of Sebring. Long story short, it was a good race for the home team as Mercedes AMG WeatherTech took home the GTD Class win and mostly dominated their class the entire race. After a few hours of that I switched over to Wheeler Dealers where Edd was working on a 560SL. Watching that along with the sun finally coming out and the temperature rising, was enough for me to get off my sorry butt and do another Johnny Job.

In my continuing quest to detail the engine I decided to tackle the air cleaner assembly. I contemplated a number of ways to do this. First I tried Brasso. In the olden days Brasso was good for anything, aluminum, stainless steel and even brass, but it was not the proper formula for this job. The assembly cover was a bit aged and was starting to develop some aluminum corrosion and resulting pitting, so I thought I’d try some Scotch Brite to take of the heavy black bits. Wrong answer! Fortunately, I only did it in a rather small and inconspicuous place so the light scratches it left behind are not noticeable. Finally, I resorted to Mother’s Aluminum and Mag polish, which worked a treat, however, it takes a lot of time and a lot of rubbing. My only fear is that it may be too shiny at the end of the day and the ends of my fingers will disappear along with the corrosion.

While hard at work on this endeavor, my neighbor Pat came over with a very nice present. Pat just came back from a business trip to Germany and bought me a very nice Mercedes-Benz baseball cap while he was there. I supposed he was returning the favor from when I brought him a case of Red Oak beer from Raleigh where I stopped off at the brewery on the last leg of Johnny’s 10-day journey to his new home a couple of weeks ago. So with that and seeing as my fingers were by now feeling like those of a novice guitar player, I decided to call it quits for the day and have a beer. Therefore, there are still many joyous hours to go on just the engine bay alone. One of these days I’ll get around to posting what has already been done and what more needs doing. Stay tuned.

St Patrick's Day Update

I didn't think I would continue this Blog past the arrival date; however, after a couple of weeks off I figured, why the hell not. Today I started detailing the engine bay. I hoped to spend most of the day getting a handle on it, but we had to do a home visit to place a rescue dog and then grocery shopping, etc., etc., so what I planned to be a six-hour stint turned into two hours, thus barely scratching the surface. If you have ever detailed a neglected Mercedes-Benz 560SEC engine bay then you can feel my pain. The amount of debris collected in every crease and crevice is substantial. I began by blowing it out, first with a gas powered yard blower and then with a hose attached to my air compressor to reach the tighter spaces. After that it was on to the Shop Vac with assorted attachments. I is truly unbelievable the amount of crap that accumulates when a car is left out and neglected. From there I thought I would tackle the air cleaner housing, but as I started I realized the worst part under the hood was really the space below the windshield. Whatever idiot moron that passed himself off as a "detailer" sprayed that damned dressing all over the engine compartment, much of which ended up on the black panel immediately below the windshield. Almost the entirety of the two hours was spent on this area alone. Needless to say little else was done in time for "Johnny's" not ready for prime time debut at Williamsburg's C&C in the morning. It does look like rain tomorrow so the whole exercise may be moot and instead I can spend the day continuing to clean the engine compartment. If you have not had the pleasure of detailing under the hood of a 560SEC then you are missing a treat. There are more hoses, hydraulic lines, wires and electrical connections than on the U.S.S. Enterprise. This is going to be a long job, but for me it is a kind of therapy. My day job can get rather stressful, so it's nice to have this escape when time and conditions permit.
Yesterday I had "Johnny's" battery replaced. The "Used Battery" so prominently displayed was by now was such a complete and utter point of  annoyance I simply had to do something about it. The fact that I asked the PO how old the battery was before I picked up the car and him telling me it was only two months old, only to find out it was a "used battery" was flabbergasting. Be that as it may, along with a number of other details, including the  promise of the "second set of keys" which subsequently turned into one other "spare" or "flat" key that has never been sent despite numerous promises to the contrary, I still absolutely love this car and don't begrudge Mike the premium I paid him. We have a long way to go yet, but at the end of the day "Johnny" will be a primo example of the series and with his pedigree he is bound to be a fan favorite. I have no intention of "flipping" this car or selling to anytime soon. Although this will not be my only project, nor my last, I do not expect to say sayonara to "Johnny" for a long, lone time.
Next time I'll cover what has been done mechanically to date. It's quite extensive, although I believe it is only the tip of the ice berg. Stay tuned.

When Johnny Comes Marching Home

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a week since I returned from the cross-country trip with Johnny. The very next day I was out doing a thorough cleaning and then made arrangements to deliver Johnny to the Auto Haus Classic Center in Williamsburg the next day for Johnny’s initial evaluation. As you know, Rafi Autotech did a not unsubstantial amount of work on the car prior to departing Los Angeles, but really only enough to make it safe. The bottom line is this car has had a lot of maintenance deferred over the years. I’m happy to say that period of Johnny’s existence has come to an end. As you might expect during Mr. Carson’s ten years of ownership the car received regular service from Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills, with the appropriate stamps recorded in the maintenance book. That came to an end when the car was sold and no maintenance records exist, barring some CARFAX entries, between that time and my taking ownership.

Upon delivering the car to Auto Haus this past Friday, Johnny was placed Simon Wohlstaetter’s capable hands. Simon is from the “old country” and has been wrenching on classic Mercedes-Benz’ since he was a teenager. His initial impression of Johnny is very good, which is actually a relief coming from somebody I know and trust and who knows these cars inside and out. This confirms my impression that underneath neglected state is a gem in the rough. That said, I did hand Simon a laundry list of items and I’m sure he will find more that needs doing on top of what has already been done.

The current plan is to get Johnny into the best possible mechanical shape possible, tackling the big-ticket items first and moving onto the more mundane items later. After we get it mechanically sorted it will be time to move onto the paint and body. I suspect that will be the most time consuming aspect of bringing Johnny up to speed and something I will certainly leave to those who know better than I how to go about it. In the meantime, I’ll be collecting Johnny either later this week or early next and drive him a bit until we review the plan and timeline going forward.

There is already another list forming in the back of my head concerning how to take Johnny to the next level. We’ve already received an invitation to bring Johnny to Pinehurst. Sadly, that will have to wait until next year I’m afraid. We have a lot of sorting and spitting and polishing to do before he’s ready for that sort of event. In any case, we’ll try to get Johnny around to a few local shows this spring, summer and fall. He won’t be fully ready, but if you’re in the neighborhood be sure and come by and have a look. Maybe we can hire an Ed McMahon impersonator to say “Heeeere’s…”

Johnny, Simon, Avril & Preston @ Auto Haus Williamsburg