I just got done helping our section put on Gemutlichkeit '99 in Aurora, Ohio. It's a rather large 4 day MBCA event.

I'm proud to say I took home 3rd place in my class at the Concours....the competition was tough in my class too. The person who finished 3rd at StarFest and the person who finished 1st at Tri-O-Rama did not even place in my class at Gemutlichkeit.

I learned a neat trick. Use the "pull-out" End-Dust (like a dry baby wipe) for a final wipe down of the engine area...mostly around the electrical sensors...it works very well!

Also.....I judged the engine compartments of the SLK's, SL's, and CLK's. Two areas that even the top Concours people in the country seemed to miss cleaning frequently was the light "dirt/dust" on top of the battery and also on top of the master cylinder(brakes)...it was amazing how often these two areas were overlooked!

Every Concours is a great learning event and this one was no exception. I had a half a point taken off for glue that is around my hood pad....it's been there since the factory did it in Germany! Also a half point taken off for painting my exhaust manifolds, which was also incorrect...because they are painted the right color like when they were new. We all live and learn.

Just thought I would share some comments with you...

Mike

------------------
1986 300E 138k
MBCA Concours Judge
Board Member -
Western Reserve Section

Mike-

Congrats on your Concours showing!!

Great tips for those quick last minute spruce-ups. My 300E isn't ready for any shows yet, but I do print out these types of recommendations and keep them in my new nifty MB binder (homemade).

A point off for the glue around the hood pad?? Picky picky picky...

Thanks again for the tips!

Stephen Davis
1988 300E 91k miles
MBCA - N. Texas Section

Congrats on your placing Mike, especially given the apparent "snoot factor" of the show. It seems that when you get to a certain level (or certain judges) they start looking for show cars more than real cars. As you just stated real cars from the factory have minor defects. The only cars that are "factory correct" are show cars that have six figure restorations. But any close inspection of those reveals that the paint NEVER came out of the factory THAT nice, the mechanical bits were never THAT precisely matched, etc. Obviously your car is a real jewel that is also a daily driver. Sounds like your doing a great job, don't sweat the trailer queens.

Lee