The sad fate of Mallory Sr's 250SL ...

[Frank Mallory]

Upon my Father's death in 2004, his beloved 1967 250SL factory show car was sold as part of his estate. Despite him telling me all of my life that the SL would be mine after he left this Earth, he changed his mind at the very end, saying "You never seemed very interested in Classic Mercedes".

I could go on about this subject, but in the end, the only point that mattered was that this was how he felt, and there's no changing Mallory Sr's mind about things he's already decided.

There were NO issues of any kind between us.

2 months before he passed, my younger sister Jenny had taken Dad out for a drive in the car.
Not really being a "car person", and certainly not understanding the Celsius-graduated temp gauge in his Euro-spec SL, she ran it until it severely overheated on Rockville Pike.

The head was warped, and this was the very last ride Dad would ever take in his car.

A couple of days after Frank Sr. left us, one of his very best friends, Michael Egan, stopped by the house with a one thousand dollar check for Dad's wife Joan. "I'm buying this stuff, and here's what it's worth" he told her as he stuffed the check in her hand. He loaded up the factory 113 fitted luggage set and the ski rack into his car, and he took off.

What are friends for, if not to rip off your widow ehen you're gone?  

Both of these items came with my father's 250SL from new, as shown on his data card.

The 250SL got repaired and sold, and despite me telling  Joan, and Michael, and Tom Shepard to "keep me in the loop" on this sale, it was gone. It sold for $22k... and I would have happily paid much more for it if only I had known.
"Shep", as I had known him since 1968 or so when I was 11 years old, had, at Joan's request, taken a lot of my fathers books and MB reference materials to be saved as an archive. Tom... God bless him... stored all of this stuff in the leaky trunk of one of his many old Mercedes, and it all got ruined. Tom WAS old, and maybe not thinking clearly. Many vintage photos were lost  

 The question of "Where did Frank's car go? was asked on this site, other places on the Internet, and in MY mind. Given all that had taken place, plus the fact that my Dad had never spent one dollar or any effort at all to get me into the vintage Mercedes thing, you might understand the mixed emotions I had... and still have... over locating his car.
My legacy? Not so much...

It was sold to a man in Escondido California. "Jeremy" was excited about getting this silver 250SL, and he knew absolutely nothing at all about it's storied past. He probably just looked at those Talbots mounted up there on the fenders, and scratched his head.
What he did find out rather quickly is that it had too many problems for him to deal with.
Among other things, that darned 5-speed trans needed repair, parts for it were impossible to find, so... that unit got swapped out for a 4-speed.
This, and other issues led Jeremy to sell the car. It reportedly lives in Switzerland now, and I'm sure the current owner has no idea of why the engine looks "funny", or how many (30? 40?) trophies and awards it received for all of the Rallies and Gymkhanas its original owner -my father- participated in with it.

As for me, Frank Jr, I put about a thousand miles on it behind the wheel as a young man, and at least 10 thousand miles as a boy sitting in the rear well (no seat!) as Dad, Mom, or Dad's second wife "Dottie" were occupying the front seats, cruising the Maryland countryside.

The VIN is 113043 10 003757 should you ever run across it

As for me, Frank Jr; I do currently own a 1968 280SL Euro-spec 4-speed. Why? Well... I ask myself that question most every day when I go out to my shop, and I see that beautiful white car sitting there. That's about all it does: just sit.
See.. (there's a pun here!) I have my fathers genetic trait... which means that I am too blind to safely drive, thanks to retinitis pigmentosa. I do have a 10 degree field of view, and I DO enjoy wrenching on... Mopars :0

The 113 sitting next to my GTX, my Demon, and my SuperBee was maybe nothing more than an emotional present to myself for not getting that silver 250SL. See (there it is again!), back in the 1970's, Dad reluctantly co-signed a loan for me to buy a 1973 340 4-speed Duster for $1,200. Get a vintage Mercedes? Forgetaboutit! Too much money, and Frank was'nt going to pitch in at all.

"Adversity will make you stronger" he always used to tell me.
"When does adversity end?" I asked him just before his death. He just smiled at me... he did'nt have an answer.

You will see my 280SL in our "For Sale" ads here next week... I am finally moving on, and this very nice 113 belongs to someone who can actually drive it and use it, and not just for repairing a hole thier heart

[reggie]

Nice story Frank, It was my fathers favourite car he never owned one, I'm on my third, He left me with one message, Do it yourself one day you will thank me, He was right, 

[114015]

No Reggie,

Cannot support this.
This is not a nice story, it is a sad story. :'( :'(

Well Frank,

While I have (already) learnt (to accept) that other people do buy SLs and sell them again (I do not, I keep mine forever),
I understand your mixed emotions here...
... about your dad, your relationship with your dad regarding cars, and especially the plenty of great Mercedes cars he had,
and especially with his 250SL which he owned for almost 40 years...

My beloved 230/8 has turned 40 last year and has been family-owned since bought in 1971; my parents took 'im over in 1973 and I have taken care since then; so, I _do_ know very well what kind of feelings these are or can be...

Without knowing your father personally (I did buy all the Mercedes Collector issues from him back then), I always honoured him very highly as a very kind, helpful, fair and extremely knowledgeable Gentleman
and I therefore felt extremely sad when his SL was sold away from his estate to "somewhere"... :'( :'(

Anyway, I felt much better when you stepped in your father's paths and showed up here a couple of months ago...
But I can also understand that your "new" 280 SL is not the same story as your father's old 250 SL - it's not the same family tradition anymore.
And if you love Mopars or so ... ah yes, Pagodas are different cars (too soft, too slow for you) - and I understand you wanting to get rid of "the false" pagoda again.

While still feeling sad that you'll leave, I can somehow understand your decisions,
like to say "thank you, Frank" to you again
and wish you a good farewell.

All the best
Achim

[Frank Mallory]

Not "Farewell" Achim ... how about just "Bye for now" ?   

I WAS sad, but I'm truly over that now. As our Minnesota people say:
 "It is what it is".

You can't replace a blond with another blond, and expect her to be just the same, right?
  I will be back when I can see well enough to drive... maybe later this decade 

[Benz Dr.]

That VIN for the car doesn't sound right. Sounds more like a 111 coupe with auto trans or something like that.

[Frank Mallory]

My apologies, Doc  The correct VIN number has now been posted.

[mdsalemi]

This has to rank as one of the saddest stories I've heard in a long time.

We're focused on the car, but the eye disease that has taken a good deal of Jr's eyesight is very sad.  Add to that the father that basically removes an heirloom from the family as some dying whim; a "friend" that underpays a widow (was this wife #3?  I lost count.) for possessions that should have remained with blood relatives, and this is a tale of woe.

As the editor of Pagoda Style, believe me--I've heard stories. Many of them, happy and sad, over and over again--but this takes the cake.

Yes, to the Devil's Advocates out there who say "There is probably a lot we don't know", I'll agree.  But there is a lot we do know, too.  For Mr. Egan to clear out that car, as an old friend, for $1,000 probably isn't too shameful...but once he sold for 22x what he paid, that's when the clouds of shame rolled in.

I am happy that in my family, blood relatives are recognized.  My aunt entrusted my uncle's car to me, and it makes her very happy to see what I did with the restoration--she knows that in his own mind, my uncle wanted to restore the former glory to his Pagoda, but was never able to do so.  My aunt is also happy to see my involvement in all kinds of car related things--this forum, the Pagoda book, the MBCA, the Concours of America, and knows that probably none of it would have happened had the Pagoda gone somewhere else.

Seeing how this car engendered such a passion, it sparked her own, and as I mentioned in another post, at 83 years old she just bought a new SLK350.  This too, probably would never have happened had the Pagoda been sold outside the family.  She called me the other day, so happy that the new Mercedes she picked up on European delivery, and drove around for 2 weeks with her 89 (now 90) year old brother, my father--had just arrived in Huntington New York, and she is very happy!

I hope Frank Jr. that you hang around here now and then.  I wish you the best.

[cbenz1]

We never really own these cars, we are just using them until it is passed to the next person

[Frank Mallory]

Thank you Michael! Perhaps now you might understand my reluctance at writing the article you requested from me last year   

Please note that there has never been even an instant where I thought that my Dad was malicious in his final wishes. I was sad, I was deeply hurt, but... I understood him.
   Imagine your father was "Mister Spock" from the original Star Trek series 

Joan, Dad's 3rd wife, had been on him to "replace those nasty old garage doors" at the house. They were the 1st thing you saw when you turned into his driveway. Dad stated in his will: "Any person who replaces, or who authorizes the replacement of the garage doors after my death will be completely cut out of my will".
   Serious! 

Frank Sr was put into a military academy at a young age by his mother.  Always an overacheiver, he was class Valedictorian when he graduated FUMA ... Fork Union Military Academy. He attended The University of Maryland, and was certified a genius. He was president of the Math Club and also the Chess Club in college.
   He joined the Air Force, and acheived the rank of Captain. His duty at the Air Force was to work at the NSA ... The National Security Agency. Dad used his math skills as a codebreaker... a cryptologist. He served for 18 years, mostly in The Reserve.
He had a "Top Secret" clearance into the 1980's.

I moved to Socal in 1981, so I was not really in his life that much in the past 30 years. I loved my Dad... but I gotta say: the man was one cold fish 
 It has taken me these years since his death to finally just "Get over it", talk about it, and move on. My hope is that one day, his fabled car will regain its rightfull provenance.
   Stuff happens, it is'nt always fair, but I live a good life, and that's all that really matters in the end

[69280sl]

A further note on Frank Mallory Sr.
I have a number of interests; one is the MB model 113, another is U.S. Military firearms. A subset of the latter is the Krag rifle, which was used by the U.S. around the time of the Spanish American War (1898). In all the forums and literature the name Franklin Mallory pops up. Among other things, as the author of the definitive book on these arms. I always wondered if it was the same FM as the pagoda authority. When Frank Jr. showed up here I found out that indeed it was.

Frank Mallory Sr. had a fabled collection of these vintage firearms. I hope it was more equitably settled than the auto related.

Gus

[Frank Mallory]

Haha! No, Gus   Sorry... but I just gotta laugh, because again, it's a sad story.

Yep: For those of you who don't know; Frank Mallory Sr. was the leading authority on U.S. Krag rifles, as well as one of the top experts on all U.S. Military Arms pre-1963. Frank Sr. spent literally THOUSANDS of hours at The National Archives in Washington D.C., amassing records, documents, numbers, info on all of these military weapons.
   He started a service, the "Springfield Research Service", in which you could write him and say something like "I have this old Springfield rifle, serial number 182335", and for a small fee Frank Sr would send you a detailed account of where/when and many times exactly WHO your rifle was issued to in, say... 1915.

Google "The Krag Rifle Story" ... Frank wrote it.

Okay Gus: My Dad had a little over 100 collector arms at the time of his passing. I was with him a week before he left us, and he told me "You can have any three MODERN guns you want".   "Modern" in gun-speak means "post WWII".
   So: I picked my 3 out, and all of the rest of his collection was sold at an auction after his death.

Although I have been a life-long "Gun nut", participated on my High School shooting team (THAT tells you how old I am!), earned my NRA Sharpshooters certification at Quantico, and currently own over 2 dozen firearms... I never really got into the Krag rifles, so...

HISTORY, POSTERITY, PROVENANCE ... These are the things that should be on my Dad's tombstone. He was laid to rest at Arlington BTW...  

I ribbed my Dad half-jokingly before he left. I asked "So: All you're leaving me is Retinitis Pigmentosa and Excema?"
  He sort of chuckled... but it DID hit him  

[RCS Coupe]

Before too much time passes, I need to make a few comments regarding Michael Egan, the death of Frank Mallory, Sr. and the fate of his 250SL.

Correction: Frank, Sr. died on June 3, 2004

I have known Michael Egan since 1987. We met when he spotted my 113 (250SL California Coupe) sitting in my driveway in Alexandria, VA; we lived in the same neighborhood and still do, only now in Arlington, VA.
Egan was very active in the MBCA, serving as VP at one time. He was a close fiend with Frank, Sr. and was a major contributor to the magazine, "Mercedes Collector" published by Frank. Through my friendship with Egan, I made numerous trips to Frank's house in nearby Maryland, made trips to car shows with him, and dinners with Frank and Joan at Egan's home. In restoring my 250SL, Frank helped me on many occasions get through rough technical problems.

When Frank, Sr. died, Mike was called by his widow, Joan, to help her clear the garage and house of M-B related stuff. She specifically told Michael at that time to not concern himself with the 250SL. I went over on several trips with Mike to assist. I am one of the few who has first hand knowledge of what went on.

Michael Egan did NOT buy the luggage set and roof rack (a luggage rack, not a ski rack). Those items were bought by another person through a previous arrangement, check sent to Joan, and Michael and I picked them up and delivered them as a favor to that person (in the back of my Volvo station wagon.) Michael did not "rip her off"; he was there (and, to a lesser degree, I was, too) to help Joan through a difficult time and keep her from being taken advantage of by profit mongers.

Sadly, a junk/flea market dealer carted off a fair amount of garage items. Joan sold the 280SE, Frank's daughter sold his 190SL. Yes, Tom Sheppard took the paper items and stored them in the trunks of some old cars but he died not too long after that and therefore did not get to sort and store them properly. (another story.)

The car in question, Frank, Sr.'s silver 250SL with the special-ordered show car treatment, had not been well maintained in Frank's later years due to his poor health. Jenny drove the car for him to shows and meets; she was well familiar with the car's idiosyncrasies, Frank coaching her the whole way! The car was remanded by Joan to a repair shop in Rockville, Maryland because it was running so poorly and she needed to sell it. After repairs, Joan sold the car without consultation with Egan or, as it appears, anyone of in-depth knowledge of these very special cars.

Last note: Michael Egan was one of three who delivered a eulogy at Frank's funeral.

Ray Schlicht