Great topic!

I learned a lot from an older cousin of mine, who was the 'coolest' cousin in the family and he always had engines apart as his house. His Dad had a beautiful Sunbeam Alpine that I loved as a kid.

I started around 17 with my Dad's Ford Tempo, just doing oil changes, plugs, etc. Shortly after the Tempo, I got my first 'real' car, meaning I owned it. It was the 1971 Mercedes 250 sedan in my sig. My Aunt gave it to me as a gift. I remember driving it home, the car felt so special. It looked completely alien to me - unlike anything else I had driven, and to me, the car had tons of character.

I limped it home from my Aunt's running only on 4 of the 6 cylinders. So I had to learn how to fix it. Got a Haynes manual for it and off I went learning about points, dual Zenith carbs and eventually took the head apart and rebuilt it. Mostly self-taught, but my cousin still helps me out and my independent techs have been fantastic as well - helping me out of many a rough spot.

My only sadness is that it seems to be an end to the era of this kind of tinkering/rebuilding.

__________________
Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon