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  #46  
Old 05-19-2015, 10:20 PM
iwrock's Avatar
roflmonster
 
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Location: Hella NorCal
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe View Post


I know the car. Sounded like you had bought it?
Negative. Long story short, it was out of commission starting about 1.5 years due to some poor repairs. Went to another shop where it was fixed (bondavi orchestrated/organized the whole shebang), and finally was put back on the road. David reached out to me to help deliver the car to Jim, which I was more than happy to do.

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91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.
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  #47  
Old 05-19-2015, 10:22 PM
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Davids post from benzwhirled:

Quote:
Originally Posted by bondavi View Post
Mind you, I visited Jim last March, I think a couple weeks before the open house Charla hosted for a few friends. He was walking (with a walker), and about 90% there, talkative like the Jim we all know. But I could see something was amiss then, and today that became reality.

The situation is pretty dire, just as I'd expected from my conversations with Charla as of late. Jim has gone into a vegetative state, bedridden and no mobility, and requires the help of a 24/7 home nurse. He can process sounds, but having a difficult time with his vision, like looking at the world through a blurry pigeonhole so everything is pretty much auditory between him and his peers. He does not respond most of the time, sometimes he will register and respond in few words. What people saw as 90% "there" during the open house has dwindled down to ~20%.

I came closer to him and greeted him, and he recognized my voice and let out a smile saying "Hey!". I showed him a video of the coupe downshifting I made the other day and it registered with him in terms of a big smile. You should have seen the change in his facial demeanor when the sounds and pictures of the coupe came into the picture.

Justin and I walked Charla through the coupe's systems, how to run them, etc. Then we pushed Jim's hospital bed out to the garage doorway, so he could hear the coupe roll into the garage. Justin drove into the garage, and blipped the gas.

Jim, after blankly staring for a while, heard the coupe, he let out the classic Baubel smile and said....

"She's home."
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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.
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  #48  
Old 05-19-2015, 10:23 PM
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some add'l pics

Quote:
Originally Posted by justinwrock View Post
Some additional shots from this weekend:









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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

Last edited by iwrock; 05-29-2015 at 12:19 PM.
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  #49  
Old 05-19-2015, 10:50 PM
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good he got his car back, thank you
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  #50  
Old 05-20-2015, 12:04 AM
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Fantastic getting the backstory and news on Jim and the 560SEC AMG Coupe. Thanks for the great pictures too!
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  #51  
Old 05-20-2015, 12:14 AM
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Thanks so much for the update on Jim. I'm sorry to hear he's declining; that's the worst part of getting old. I can't imagine being banned from driving.

Nice to see that you guys are coming through for him in his time of need. It must be really hard on all of you. We are helping out a friend of ours who has inoperable breast cancer, (she's like a grandmother to my sister and me), and it's really hard watching her decline as time goes on.
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  #52  
Old 05-21-2015, 01:35 AM
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Just learned a short while ago that Jim passed away today at 6:05pm.

RIP buddy - and condolences to Charla and family.

Jim - you will be missed. Thanks for the memories, generosity, and sincere friendship.
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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.
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  #53  
Old 05-21-2015, 02:07 AM
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Damn.... RIP Jim,
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1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed
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  #54  
Old 05-21-2015, 02:16 AM
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Very sad day. I miss him already...
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  #55  
Old 05-21-2015, 02:39 AM
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12:01 a.m. PT Feb 7, 2008
"I've always owned American cars all my life," said Jim Baubel. "I was a complete American car nut and I was quite adamant in my stance that they were the best thing going." That is, until he got up close and personal with a Mercedes Benz coupe.

Baubel, who clerked for several judges in the Bay Area before retiring to Nevada County, had always admired the Mercedes coupe, so he jumped at the chance to drive a judge's new 1984 Mercedes 500 SEC to Denver, Colorado, where the judge and family were vacationing for several weeks during the holidays.

"I had the time of my life," Baubel said. The car, a new luxury model introduced in America, attracted interest wherever he stopped on his journey and Baubel learned more about that particular Mercedes himself as he traveled.

"One night when I was in Wyoming, I was driving about 60mph on Interstate 80 and all of a sudden the road felt very bumpy," Baubel related. Drifting and blowing snow wasn't giving him any trouble until Baubel felt the rear end of the car lose traction. He turned the wheel to the left and the car began to twist the other way. He turned to the right and the Mercedes straightened out; Baubel continued on to Cheyenne.

The next day Baubel related his experience to the hotel clerk, who asked Baubel, "Haven't you ever heard of black ice? Cars roll off the road every day up here." Baubel was not only impressed by his ability to save the vehicle from damage but by the car's performance in such dangerous conditions. "I thought to myself at the end of that, you know? I love the looks of this car, I love the handling of it, I just can't afford the $70,000 it cost in those days," Baubel said. "Maybe someday I'm going to get one of these things." The coupe was delivered to Denver and Baubel went back to San Francisco, tucking his dream away for the future.

Life improved for Jim Baubel over the next decade and one day, about 12 years ago, his wife said, "Why don't you get one?" She was particular about the color and Baubel knew what he wanted, so he spent about a year looking for a Mercedes in the Bay Area that met their requirements. One morning the Baubels took a drive to Southern California, saw a used 1991 SEC coupe for sale on a dealer's lot and bought it on the spot.

Although the marriage didn't survive, Baubel's Mercedes did and it came to Nevada County with Jim when he retired to Nevada City's Eskaton Village in 2004. He's customized his Mercedes to include some stock accessories, as well as unique-to-his-vehicle additions. They include a period-correct AMG trunk script and air cleaner decal, European OEM oddments box, fire extinguisher and Warndriecke warning triangle plus clips, burl wood cup holder and shift knob, Eibach springs and custom-fitted New Zealand sheepskin seat covers. Many of the parts were purchased over the Internet via a system of Mercedes owners who have also become friends, Baubel said.

He didn't like the sound of the stock two-note horn system, so Baubel found one more to his liking. "The first tone is called the 'townhorn'; it sounds exactly like a VW bug," Baubel said. "The country horn wasn't much better, so I went to a Cadillac junkyard down in Rancho Cordova and wired up a couple of Cadillac horns to the country horn so now it sounds like a train coming!"

Most recently Baubel added a custom-made Remus exhaust system on his car. Remus is one of the top exhaust system manufacturers for the F-1 races in Europe, according to Baubel, and they custom-engineered application specific exhaust systems for the 560 SEC Mercedes coupe. Although now out of production, Baubel was able to buy a brand new Remus system from an Internet friend who had stored it for a decade in his garage and was willing to sell it to Jim.

Those Internet connections have provided more than just parts for Baubel and other Mercedes owners worldwide. "(I) have actually organized and participated in a lot of California Mercedes Benz get-togethers, where people converge from all over the state," he said. The informal rallies usually include lunch and a small car show.

"We're putting one on right now," Baubel said. "It's going to leave from the Smother's Mercedes Benz dealer in Santa Rosa and wind up through Sonoma County and the wine country and end up at the Cheese Factory down on the coast." The rally is set for March 29th and 25 participants have already signed up for the event, which may prove to be the largest rally yet.

More information is available by contacting Baubel at Mix91@yahoo.com or at www.peachparts.com under 'shop forum', then click on the diesel discussion section
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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!
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  #56  
Old 05-21-2015, 02:47 AM
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I posted this on BW and I'll share it here too.

I'm saddened to hear of Jim's passing. He was such a nice guy. In addition to MBs, we also shared a love of the Ford Panther chassis. When I purchased my 1999 Lincoln Town Car in October 2011, I told him all about it, and he was glad to hear about it. When he found out that I didn't have a full size spare tire cover, he sent me a full size spare tire cover that he used in his Mercury Grand Marquis. That was so kind of him, and while the 99 Town Car is long gone, I saved the cover and will always remember that.

Ride on Jim, on that great autobahn in the sky.
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  #57  
Old 05-21-2015, 04:42 AM
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Jim had a tremendous mind that he trained well in the pursuit of a Juris Doctorate - or Law Degree, which he used in his chosen profession as an attorney. Defending the indigent, as well as prosecuting the law breakers for decades in the San Francisco, California courtroom.

A writer he was. The reflections of which are etched in my mind from reading here and elsewhere on the Net.

His greatest love were automobiles, and driving them! After asking, I was fortunate to be coached by Jim on finding the right for me early '90s 560SEC, that I haven't located yet - but I'm patient.......I'll know when I see the one I want to purchase.

Until then, so long my cyber-pal, Jim!
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  #58  
Old 05-21-2015, 06:53 AM
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RIP Jim
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I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



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  #59  
Old 05-21-2015, 08:05 AM
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RIP, will miss his posts and pictures! Condolences to his family as well.


Sent from an abacus
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  #60  
Old 05-21-2015, 10:27 AM
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Just damn.

Rest in peace and Godspeed, Jim.

Hope you found the Autobahn in the sky.

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