Great Summer Outing

[CraigD]

Sorry to be missing the Ohio Gathering!  Looking forward to hearing all the reports.
 
I had a great drive this week in the Pagoda.  My wife and I both wanted to travel north one day this week, so we jumped in the Pagoda and took the scenic route along Puget Sound.  The car ran beautifully, the weather was great, and the scenery was wonderful.  My agenda for the day was to visit Sigfried Linke, Mercedes restorer who just moved to an amazing new shop.  To top off the day, he invited me to drive his Gullwing!  For 45 minutes, I was able to drive this amazing SL along winding scenic roads, while Sigfried kept telling me to "downshift and step on it... see what it'll do!!"  It was just awesome.
It was a superb day!  Pictures of the cars and the day's events are attached.
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Craig
Bellevue, WA
1970 280SL, Euro, Leather, 4-spd.
Silver/Black

[tdun824259]

Craig,
What a thrill!  Two beautiful cars, and if that's the 'shop' in the background we should all have our cars serviced in Washington.  WOW!
Tim
tdun824259
1971 280 SL

[Douglas]

Sounds like an absolutely amazing time, Craig. What a pair.
Even a Pagoda as beautiful as yours has trouble getting your eye's attention when you park it next to a Gullwing, but that wasn't always the case. In fact, I know someone who traded in his Gullwing back in the 60s for a 230 SL.
I love that last photo of your SL. You really see the purity of the design come through in that shot and that's rare for a 280 SL. For better or for worse, most 280 SLs have lots of things that were not part of the original design, whether it's bumper guards, sidemarker lights, headrests, etc. In fact, on my current SL, I have all of those.
In any event, I want to echo what Tim said. "Wow" is right.
Douglas Kim
New York, NY
280 SL #016220

[Jonny B]

Fabulous picture, great colors, fabulous cars. I just had the opportunity to drive a 300SL roadster, and I can echo your comments about an awesome experience.
Great stuff, thanks for sharing.
Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

[114015]

Craig !
It is so good to see you here posting once in a while. I was sick when I learned that the very nice preowner sold his car two years ago which is now yours. I remember your mid-1970 Swiss original very well. It is a wonderfully preserved original example. G81 6SF was its former number plate which I will never forget as I will never forget that I was once allowed to drive it and to help repairing its shift bushings...
Got my 230 in 1995 from Seattle and my supervisor then at the UW-Dept. of Chemistry, Heinz Floss, used to live in Bellevue. I believe he still does.
All the best to you and take care - also of your beautiful Swiss-280
Achim
(Magdeburg, Germany)

[CraigD]

Achim,
Thanks for your note!  Yes, we're close to the UW.  I checked, and Heinz Floss is still listed in the directory.  In fact, his phone number suggests that he lives close by.  I attended the UW for grad school in '82/'83... was that before your time?
Nice to hear about your connection to this Pagoda!  I'd love to hear more of the story if you have time... I'll email you offline.  
Craig
Bellevue, WA
1970 280SL, Euro, Leather, 4-spd.
Silver/Black