Hi, my name is Saul. I've been fooling around with these cars since 1990 when I bought my first car, a 1972 280SE 4.5 sedan. I was fascinated by the technology and, after buying all the factory shop manuals, I teamed up with a guy who worked for the local independent MB shop in town (Denver) and who had an engineering degree from MIT, and we started tearing it apart. When I had an accident driving back to NYC (spun out in the Blue Ridge Mountains, car had the rear lateral spring installed instead of the hydro compensator) I got a loaner from my insurance company ( a brand new Lincoln Town Car) and soon discovered that these are very good cars indeed, because that Town Car was an absolute pig compared to my 20-year-old Mercedes.

I subsequently worked briefly for a guy who sold parts and provided service for old Mercedes, and was...a piece of work. To this day, there are guys who worked for him who will not even say his name. He was, however, very good at specifying parts (we used MB dealer microfiche, which was what everyone used in the early 90s) and I learned the MB numbering schemes from him. I also met a number of good mechanics at other local shops and continued my own development in this area. In particular, there was a shop on Route 59 in Nyack called Crystal Auto whose proprietors were a couple of Hungarians who had been factory trained at MB. People would bring their 50s and 60s MBs to them from all over the East Coast, including Gullwings and Roadsters (they had a Roadster themselves, it was parked in their showroom).

Next I went out on my own and restored and sold primarily 60s MBs for a few years. Most of the cars I dealt with were 113s, which were relatively cheap at the time and had a lot of common parts with the sedans. I would buy cosmetically good cars that needed mechanical work (even then nobody understood these fuel injection systems), fix them and sell them. I used beater 6.3s as my daily drivers (see my best 6.3 adventure  here ) and test mules. In particular, I was studying ignition theory and fuel delivery systems, having realized how these injection systems work, and my out-of-the-box thinking impressed the Gullwing and Roadster owners I talked to when I hung out at Crystal Auto (Ference's son Tom was building a rally 230SL at the time, and I would drop by frequently to see how it was going). I had learned about the 60s experimentation with Capacitive Discharge units, and ended up fabricating and installing various ignition upgrades for a number of them (and which I can do for you  today ); of course, I got to drive Gullwings and Roadsters in the process and they remain, to me, the only high-priced classics that are worth every penny.

In the years since, I've been working on my own cars, which have included 6.3s, 111 and 112 coupes and convertibles, and a 300d Adenauer cabriolet conversion (see some of my past and current projects  here ). I've continued to develop my skills and knowledge of these cars, both as they were originally delivered from the factory and in updating and upgrading certain aspects that make them more practical for use on the roads today. So while I can restore one of these to absolute factory specifications and I have extensive knowledge and ability to perform any necessary repairs, I can also implement tested modifications for those that want to drive them in today's traffic. I've been driving my 300SE convertible in NYC traffic all Summer and it hasn't missed a beat. How many of you think you could drive your 60s MB in stop-and-go traffic for 45 minutes when it's 90 degrees without encountering some problem? While most of you won't be in this situation, this kind of testing enables me to confidently state that my modifications to these cars WILL improve drivability wherever and whenever these cars are driven. 

I offer mobile mechanic services, pre-purchase and -sale appraisals, and parts for 50s and 60s Mercedes-Benzes in the Tri-State area. Give me a call or shoot me an email and let me know what I can do for you!