What a great surprise to find this group. My name is Steven Murphy and I live in Los Angeles, California. Although I've owned many vintage cars over the years, (mostly 50's & 60's T-birds & Lincolns) I just recently purchased my first Mercedes Benz, a 1970 280 SL. It was the culmination of a 34 year persuit.
I had wanted the car since my first ride in one as a high school kid, in 1970. It belonged to a friend's parents and I thought it was the coolest and most elegant car ever. There were a zillion of them sold from Stahl Motors, in Monterey, California, where I grew up. In fact, they were so prolific that they were affectionately referred to as "Carmel Fords." This was because all the upscale matrons and their husbands in Carmel (a nearby town) had them. I could only watch them drive by and wait...
Fast forward 34 years and a lot of other cars to my 50th birthday. What better gift to give myself for reaching half a century! Through a series of fortuitous events, I was led to the car that would ultimately be mine, a beautiful Tobacco Brown model, with Cognac leather. The previous owner had spent thousands on the car and then suddenly grew tired of it! Easy come, easy go I guess. Anyway, he did a complete cosmetic restoration to spec. and rebuilt all mechanicals just short of a total engine overhaul. She has 118,000 miles and runs beautifully with no blue smoke. (well, maybe a bit upon starting, she is 34 after all) Her options include Automatic transmission and original dealer installed air conditioning. She was sold new in San Francisco and has lived her entire life in California. She's even still wearing her original blue and gold license plates. Our only problem has been some overheating. Not unusual as I gather from the postings here, but none the less unacceptable in sunny Los Angeles, it was 82 degrees today.
So, it seems we are still in the "Getting-to-know-you" phase and it will take a few more months to get all the bugs properly worked out. In the meantime, we are having a great time together and I am taken right back to my school days, in 1970. Which is why we have these cars anyway, for that "Time-trip." I expect I will learn a great deal from all of the collective knowledge here. many thanks and happy motoring to all.
Steven
