Jim B. talks to the press about Mercedes (pics added)

[Jim B.]

Today.


http://www.theunion.com/article/20080207/NEWS/881896789

Mmmmm, Mercedes!


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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