My Upcoming Visit with Paul Bracq.

[mdsalemi]

In a few short weeks, I am taking a rather adventurous, 5-day, 250+ mile off-road bicycle ride in Israel.  [www.riding4reform.org if anyone wants to see the route and info.]

ON THE RETURN trip home, I have made arrangements to visit Paul Bracq in France.  I speak with him often but have not had the occasion or ability to see him in person.  A slight bump on the ticket allows me a stopver in France.  I hope to have some quality time with him and be able to turn out an article to be published in The Star later this year.  He will even be picking me up at the airport...alas in a Citroen, not a Pagoda!

I will have plenty of time to think about the things to ask him; riding a bike is generally thought time for me.

I will certainly post some photos when I meet him, maybe prepare a presentation for PUB.

[douglas dees]

Michael: Wonderful adventure. Ask him if the the design of the TGV train was influenced by the pagoda as both are very unique.

Last summer I was in Namibia Africa and met with Helmut von Leipzig, Rommel's last driver in Africa and I was so immersed in the conversation, I didn't take a picture of him or his pictures of Rommel's retsored Horch.

Doug Dees

[Kemal]

Maybe you could get him to sign our Pagoda Book & possibly include a forward by him !!



Best wishes to Mr Bracq from us all.

Kemal

[Naj ✝︎]

When Martin Buckley of Classic and Sport Mag. went to interview him, a friend sent his Pagoda glove box door to be autographed by him.

Maybe you could consider taking yours?

Naj

[66andBlue]

How about a signature that we could use for a decal similar to the Daimler one (but without the Star to prevent TM problems)?

[jameshoward]

Naj's glovebox idea is excellent. What an amazing thing to have. I suppose you'd need two. The signed one, and the one for the car.

But whilst you're with him, Michael, I'd love to know how someone could design such a beautiful car  - amazing in almost every way - and yet make such a horlicks of the softtop. Ask him if he had a hangover that day.

Bloody softtop; softtop and window alignment; softtop corners; softtop wear on those random parts of the...softtop; closing the softtop cover; getting the softtop stuck; replacing the softtop. I was thinking about the chap who was concerned about the labour rate to put his softtop on a donor car. 4 hours, I think. 4 years after I did mine and windows still have a huge gap. Though I don't suppose they'll fix themselves. Must do something about that.

(This is probably the point where thelews steps in with the comment about an original softtop that still looks perfect. Bloody softtop. But I do love your car, John)

Good luck with the bike ride.

[thelews]

JimHow, my soft top hardware is untouched original, but the top itself is 36 years old, that would be a non-original, but correct OEM replacement for Michael's sake.  The windows fit perfectly to the soft top and I've seen many a top at Black Forest after a new install and refitting of the windows that is also a perfect fit. 

Kinda crappy pictures, but you'll have to trust me.

[treedoc]

On the subject of signatures see if anyone can't recognise the signature actually signed by the great man on the side of a friends Fraser Nash Le Mann's Replica

[IXLR8]

thelews--

Interesting photo #2 with your hanging hardtop reflected in the glass.

Some guys plan every detail!


Joe

[mdsalemi]

Jeez, I cook dinner for my lovely wife tonight (Valentine's Day) and look what the cat dragged in!

I'll have to agree with John thelews--I suspect most ill-fitting soft tops are those that have been monkeyed with over the years or replaced.  However, all one had to do at the time is compare and contrast to what was available--like those on any British car...

I'll be sure to ask about the soft top design--I suspect that was more of an engineering than advanced styling department task

The label is an interesting idea...bringing my own glove box door is out of the question...car is in storage and won't be heading there until Easter.

[thelews]

thelews--

Interesting photo #2 with your hanging hardtop reflected in the glass.

Some guys plan every detail!


Joe

That is what I rigged up to lift the hardtop, but it's never been up there, especially after the lifting mechanism on the top broke on the first try and the top fell back on the car (about 6").    Once was enough with that sh*t, no damage to the car or top.  Here's where the top is now, and will stay until the car is sold, if ever.

[waltklatt]

Hope you had a good time cooking the meal for your wife.
You're not alone, I do that almost everyday for my wife.  Love it!
Hardtop and soft top fitments are all in the hands of the adjuster.  Factory settings are lost over the years as the top is replaced, removed from the car, fitted to another car, accident damaged, tree falling on it, etc.
You get the picture.  Do you see a 48 year old car with perfect door gaps after being wrung through a hard road life?
Just be happy there are adjustments to be made to fix that.
Michael, I am not sure if the glove box idea is a good one, as you will probably end up with a shipping container full of glove boxes to be autographed. 
A gathering or world tour of Mr. Bracq, visiting and armed with a couple of permenant sharpie pens would be best. 
That way none of us will gripe about the loss of the perfect glovebox fitment in the dash. 

[mdsalemi]

I did not offer to take anyone elses glove box door... and will not be taking mine.

I will take my "Carosserie Passion" book as well as another book I have in which he wrote the forward.  Both books in French.

[thelews]

Do you see a 48 year old car with perfect door gaps after being wrung through a hard road life?

Unless the car has been hit or rusted to hell, why should the door gap be anything other than what it was from the factory?  My car has over 150K miles (is that a hard road life?) on it and the door gaps are excellent, if not what you would call perfect.  I'd even submit, why should the fit of ANY non-wear items be different from factory if the car hasn't been hit, rusted or messed with by some fool.

[mdsalemi]

Actually quite simple John, though because it may not happened on YOUR car does not mean it does not happen on others.

Here are things that happen to doors: they sag.  They sag because hinges wear.  The door closing and locking mechanism can wear.  The mounted parts, can, in a few decades time, loosen up a bit, changing the alignment geometry.  Anything that moves, wears.  Tighten thing us out of line, and that exacerbates wear.

So, factor in all the things that move on a door.  Add a few things like someone, somewhere along the line, leaning on a door too much.  Or, body flexing from improper lifting.  There is no shortage of ways to slightly alter the geometry of door fit.  Be thankful it has not happened to your car, but it certainly can and does happen to others.

[dtuttle123]

Michael - how old is Paul now? 

[thelews]

Actually quite simple John, though because it may not happened on YOUR car does not mean it does not happen on others.

Here are things that happen to doors: they sag.  They sag because hinges wear.  The door closing and locking mechanism can wear.  The mounted parts, can, in a few decades time, loosen up a bit, changing the alignment geometry.  Anything that moves, wears.  Tighten thing us out of line, and that exacerbates wear.

So, factor in all the things that move on a door.  Add a few things like someone, somewhere along the line, leaning on a door too much.  Or, body flexing from improper lifting.  There is no shortage of ways to slightly alter the geometry of door fit.  Be thankful it has not happened to your car, but it certainly can and does happen to others.

That's a lot of opening and closing for a properly greased hinge.  I DID say, it can happen when messed with by a fool.  That includes, poor maintenance, leaning on doors, not greasing as specified in the maintenance book.  A maintenance ignored car, or an abused car will show wear, no matter what the make.  That's a given.  A well maintained car, including replacement of wear items, should fit as factory.  I've seen enough of them to know.  The rest all have a story and it's usually a sad one.

[Jonny B]

Paul Bracq - Born 13 Dec 1933

[Danesgate]

On the subject of signatures see if anyone can't recognise the signature actually signed by the great man on the side of a friends Fraser Nash Le Mann's Replica

It's Stirling Moss - I have it on a rather large 1956 Monaco Grand Prix poster, on the wall next to me in my office right now...!

[treedoc]

Danesgate, you are correct below is an image of the great man signing a transfer sheet with my friend Rob van Wegen down under at Adelade a couple of years back, second image needs no explanation.

[douglas dees]

If the car was perfect in design , we would not have anything to talk about or ask questions about. Remember the promotional video on the 230Sl which a man opens and closes the soft top with one hand and it drops into the compartment like a stone.

 Mine does not do that so I think the original design was OK but years of adjustment and wear have changed things. Just compare it to an American car of the same era and the difference in design and workmanship is obvious.
My glove box fit to the dash is not good either and I cannot figure out why.

Doug Dees

[thelews]

My glove box fit to the dash is not good either and I cannot figure out why.

Doug Dees

What's the problem?

This is original, not OEM, not NOS, not repainted, not redone.  Just as it came from the factory.

Edit:  I missed that it was YOUR glovebox and not a general statement about the glovebox fit.  Most likely a previous owner or restorer screwed it up, that's the "fool messing it up" category of why things may not fit.  Who knows when they tore apart the car what they might have done.  Post a pic and maybe someone has an idea of a fix.

[Jordan]

If they built this car today exactly as it was built 40 years ago, knowing what I know now from this site and my own car, I would be one of the first in line to buy one.  It is an exceptionally designed and built car.  My hat is off to French design and German engineering.

[bootes]

Good luck with the bike ride. Checked out the website. Looks like a really awesome trip!

[49er]

My glove box fit to the dash is not good either and I cannot figure out why.

Doug Dees

I found Doug's comment about his glove box not fitting well on his 280SL interesting. Mine has never fit well either from day 1 and I just lived with it. I tried to adjust it early on but to no avail. The problem seems to be in the thicker (then the 230 SL/250 SL) lower "bolster" on the glove box door interfering in the hinge area. You can also see in this photo, a gap between the dash padding and the left heater control chrome surround. Again, no big deal. These cars were not perfect but they came pretty darn close.

John

PS This picture is Jumbo Sized. Stand back!