It was a great weekend.
Paul Russell was the founder of Gullwing Service Co., now named Paul Russel & Co. He as been featured in countless magazines, cable shows and the famed restorer to Ralph Lauren, Jerry Seinfelt, Jay Leno, David Letterman, etc
I introduced myself and asked him how his client cars fared in the Pebble Beach Concours; he won his class and was a judge in other classes.
I recounted my story of how I saw his tiny ad's in the Star Magazine when I bought my trashed SL in NY City's Central Park 17 yrs ago for $4,500 and even called his shop at age 22 to get tips. He noted, I probably talked to his partner or even him, as they always take time to answer questions and even do pro-bono work.
He quized me on my SL, options, colors, originality, and who has restored it and how often I drive it. He loves the dark olive/cognac/tan canvas combination! You could tell he has a encylcopedic knowledges of all SLs; he is a fan of the 5spd too. I told him how I declined to use the current Cognac replacement leather offered; and went with a dark tan that I hope will age into patina. He noted small batches of Cognac are custom made, but not cost effective.
His primary advice was exercise the car and enjoy it every week if possible. He sees most service requirements and/or deterioratiton come from lack of use and storage.
Overall, he loves the Pagoda b/c it was "sporting and executive"; it had techonological pedigree of 300 SL, yet was attainable beyond just exotic Gullwing buyers. He noted almost all his MB clients, own at least one; and project cars are attainable even by the youngest collectors.
He asked me what other cars I like, and I told him the Gullwing is still my favorite. He looked me square in the eye and said: "You will own one. You have the passion for SLs and will find one, and hopefully you will call me".
