I should start at the very beginning. I had a car and I sold it. The car you see in the banner is the one I owned, and I gave this sketch to the previous owner.

I bought a 1971 Mercedes 220 manual gasser in 2008, from an older gentleman in Ottawa who was the second owner and had had it since 1984. The first owner had lived on the same street in Ottawa and had sold it to the bloke I purchased it from. At that time, the car was in slightly rough shape, having driven only some 18,000 miles in the previous 22 years. There is a long and tedious story here, but the short version is that after a good deal of engine work (centring around the exhaust manifold, the fuel delivery system and the Stromberg carb) and a certain amount of bodywork and paint (much done by myself), I had what was by and large, a perfect driving example of an early 70s Mercedes. The new paint was period correct, the interior was original and largely perfect, the mechanicals had been fettled to an extent that the car ran reliably and trouble free.

I had something that I had wanted all my young life – a distinct and lovely classic car.

However (and there is always an “however”) I sold the car. My wife and I had decided to move to a condo and amongst many things that were sloughed off in the interest of “space and lightness”, my beloved Meg (the Mercedes) was one. Part of the reason for this was that I had a greater vision – a convertible! Long August afternoons spent with the wind in my diminishing hair and the sun on my increasing bald spot beckoned…

So I sold my car. It went to a Mercedes bloke who ran a Mercedes parts department. He sold the car to Richard Kuchinsky, whom I serendipitously met in a parking lot (I recognized my car). Richard has been good enough to keep in contact with me and to apprise me of developments on the car, which include the addition of European lights (see photograph) and period plates.

The problem is that now I have no classic car – and this MUST be addressed!