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The Star (ISSN 0744-155X)is published bimonthly by theMercedes-Benz Club of America, Inc.,Douglas L. Truitt, Executive Director1907 Lelaray Street, ColoradoSprings, CO 80909-2872.Periodical postage paid at ColoradoSprings, CO 80909 and at additionalentry offices.Copyright 2010 by Mercedes-BenzClub of America, Inc. Reproductionwithout permission is prohibited.Printed in the U.S.A. The Star isa registered trademark of theMercedes-Benz Club of America, Inc.All rights reserved.POSTMASTER:Send address changes toMBCA, 1907 Lelaray St., Colorado Springs, CO 80909-2872.MEMBERSHIP:Call (800) 637-2360 or visitwww.mbca.org to join. Duesare 45 for one year, 87 fortwo years, or 127 for threeyears. Foreign dues add 10per year. Dues include an annual subscription to The Star.ADDRESS CHANGES:Send all changes to MBCA,1907 Lelaray Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80909-2872or visit www.mbca.org.Opinions, ideas, and suggestions in The Star are those ofthe authors and do not necessarily represent the views ofMBCA. MBCA neither acceptsnor bears any responsibility orliability for the accuracy of anysuch opinions, ideas, or suggestions, or the applicationsthereof. Any representationsor warranties (express or implied) with respect thereto arehereby disclaimed by MBCA.No inference should be madethat the products or servicesadvertised herein have theapproval of MBCA, DaimlerAG, Mercedes-Benz USA, orany other entity.50A Southern StudioMaurice LiangThe trade names and trademarks “Mercedes-Benz,” “Mercedes,” and the three-pointedstar in a circle are owned byDaimler AG and authorized foruse by its licensees – whichinclude MBCA – exclusively.ON THE COVER:Just another 190SL? Lookagain; racing windshield,different gauges, and anair duct on the hood. It’s are-recreation of the 1954New York Exhibition Car.Photo by Frank PierceA Southern Studio2THE STAR November-December 20103238
November-December 2010Volume 55, Number 632Re-creating the 190SL Exhibition CarAn homage to the original 1954 New York show car38SLR McLaren vs. SLS AMGCollectible or easy to live with? You decide42by Jim Luikensby Maurice LiangTouring the Blue RidgeFrom MBUSI in Alabama to StarFest in Virginia46by Gary AndersonRare Cars at Pebble BeachThe Classic Center presents the super sports cars50Racing a 190E 2.3-16 CosworthMBCA member Paul Geddings dominates sedan racing54by Bruce L. AdamsTechnical Articles66 The Word is Safety in New M-Bs68 Helping Your Technician Fix It Right the First Time74 The ATE T50 Brake Booster77Nadine Schwartzby Gary Andersonby Ken Adamsby Bruce L. AdamsAmong the Stars: What’s Going On in MBCA7880848696Dito Milian/gotbluemilk.comby Graham RobsonBuyers Guide – W121 190SL Coupe and RoadsterGrand touring at an affordable price66by Rod DiridonThe Cosworth-Mercedes ConnectionHow Mercedes-Benz came to boast a Cosworth engine62by Michael KunzFrom the Executive Director; Club NewsStar Quality: Roger MorrisonThe New MBCA WebsiteMBCA Event ReportsStar Dealership – Atlanta Classic Cars– Doug Truitt– Richard Simonds– Gary Anderson– Various– John 04Behind the Star – Gary AndersonPresident’s Message – Rodger Van NessOn the Track –John ChuhranSilverphile –John Kuhn BleimaierMurphy’s Law – George MurphyProject Hammer – Jim LuikensFancyisms – Bonnie FancyInterstellar ReportStar Talk – LettersClub StoreLooking Back – Geni WallenStar Dates Event CalendarNational Board DirectoryTrading Post ClassifiedsMercedes-Benz Archives4654THE STAR November-December 20103
Re-creatingThe190SLExhibition CarHerb Shriner was a 1950s TV personality and wellknown “Car Guy” in a day and age when thatterm had yet to be coined. Each year he promoted the International Motor Sports Auto Show in NewYork as a way of expanding the exposure of foreignsports cars while simultaneously enjoying his passion.His third annual event, held February 6-14, 1954, is,without a doubt, the most famous of his shows.32THE STAR November-December 2010It was at this show that Max Hoffman and the Daimler-Benz Corporation displayed a revolutionary pair ofnew sports cars – the 190SL and the street version ofthe racing 300SL – that changed the landscape of sportdriving in America, and the rest of the world, forever.The show’s long-lost exhibition version of the 190SLhas been re-created so that enthusiasts can understandhow it captured the imagination of the audience.
Article by Jim luikensPhotogrAPhy by FrAnk PierceA southern studioPRIDEAbove: The re-creation of the 190SL exhibition car built by BruceAdams for Dr. Larry Pappo and unveiled in September. Unlikethe original, the car is totally operational but was built with theracing windshield and cut-down doors that were an alternativeconfiguration for the exhibition car. Right: An officialphotograph of the Mercedes-Benz stand at Herb Shriner’sThird Annual International Motor Sports Show in New York Cityin 1954. Note that the 190SL exhibition car, sitting besidethe 300SL that was the centerpiece of the stand, was configuredwith standard windshield and doors by the time the photograph was taken.THE STAR November-December 201033
Above and inset: Two of the original publicityphotograhs that were used to replicate the detailsof the exhibition car. Left and left below: Thedetail of the re-creation is stunning. Note the fuelfiller cap on the right rear fender, the taillightsand reflectors, and the chrome wheel covers.Both the 190SL and the streetversion of the 300SL, the brainstormsof Hoffman, were the result of thesuccess of the 300SL in racing. TheMercedes board of directors hadgreen-lighted production of the190SL in September 1953, allowing designers only five months toproduce the exhibition car before ithad to be shipped to the New Yorkauto show.The better-known sports carwas, of course, the legendary 300SLcoupe, which came to be knownby its nickname, the Gullwing. The300SL was a full-on sports car thatfeatured a number of revolutionaryitems, including a small-diametertube frame, the first use of fuel injection in a gasoline-powered vehicle,and its famous gullwing doors.With the Gullwing nearly readyfor commercial production, Hoffman convinced the Daimler-Benzboard that there was a market34THE STAR November-December 2010niche for a less-expensive, two-seatmodel that would share many ofthe design features of the morepowerful car. They named it the190SL, and it featured a 4-cylinderengine. Unlike the Gullwing coupe,they showed the 190SL exhibitioncar in roadster form.With January 20, 1954, established as the drop-dead date forshipment of the two vehicles toreach New York in time for the show,the stylists and engineers only hadtime to design and produce anexhibition version of the 190SL – anonoperating display version oftenreferred to as a “concept car.”Guenther Baeuerle, an earlyemployee of Hoffman’s, reportsthat when he went to move the190SL into position on the showfloor, he discovered the car wouldnot start. Closer examination revealed that the carburetors on the190SL exhibition car were, in fact,carved from wood.Baeuerle also reports that twocrates, one small and one verylarge, accompanied the 190SLfrom Germany. While the smallercrate contained minor trim pieces,the larger crate contained twocut-down doors and a cut-downwindshield meant to portray aneven more sporting nature for thenew car.Guenther was directed, upondemand or interest, to swap theconventional doors and windscreen
Right from top: A comparison of photographsof the original car and the re-creation showsthe variety of interesting and unusual detailsof the exhibition car, including hood scoopand rectangular parking lights. The brochurefrom the New York show displayed the regularwindscreen and wind-up side windows.with the sportier components.This proved to be such a task thatafter the first two such exchanges,Hoffman ordered the swapdiscontinued. As it happened, thepress-kit photos, taken in Germany,show the car in racing trim, butthe official shots of the New Yorkshow stand reveal the car with thefull doors, complete with wind-upwindows, and the full windscreen.Even then, the exhibition car hadno provisions for a top, cloth orotherwise.After the show, the Gullwingquickly proceeded to productionand was actually introduced later inthe 1954 model year. Reflecting theneed for further development, the190SL was not introduced in the market until April 1955, a full 15 monthsafter its show debut.While the fate of the New Yorkexhibition car is unknown, it was likelydismantled and used to develop theoperating prototypes that precededdevelopment of the production versions of the car. In any case, the onlyevidence that the exhibition car everexisted rested in the photographs taken during the show, and the memoriesof those who saw the car in New York.Into this void stepped a dentist from the Toronto area, Dr. LarryPappo. While attending the 2002Gullwing Group Convention in Niagara-on-the-Lake,Ontario, Pappo came to the realization that he wasn’tinterested in acquiring a 300SL. Rather, he wantedsomething out of the ordinary. A 190SL owner, Pappohad long admired the lines of the unusual-looking showcar and was intrigued by its history. While at the convention, he discussed with Bruce Adams the possibility ofre-creating this important missing link of Mercedes-Benzhistory in minute detail in a working car. His original ideawas to build one to use for vintage racing.Over time, the idea evolved into building a fullydetailed concours-quality car as a tribute to the 190SLand its designers. Next began the process of findinga suitable car for the project, as well as researchingthe exhibition by collecting and studying the only realremaining sources of information – as many photos ofthe car as possible.THE STAR November-December 201035
Pappo’s search eventually took him to Tim Kidder of K&K Manufacturingin Sparta, Michigan, who had an early 1956 190SL stored high in the rafters ofhis warehouse. After driving the car for some years, Kidder had disassembledit with the idea of restoring it, and had completed some basic body repairbefore literally shelving the car to pursue other projects. The shell had beensitting quietly in primer, waiting for its appointment with history. Enthusiasticabout the plan, Tim agreed to sell the car. Two months later, in October 2003,Pappo moved the car with all of its collected parts to a shop in Ontario,Canada. At about that time, Adams was writing his books on the 190SL andhad acquired an extensive library of original pictures from the Mercedes-Benzarchives, so he and Pappo began the research necessary to plan the project.In the process of researching everything possible on the exhibitioncar, Pappo and Adams found visual evidence of the two similarly bodied,working prototype cars that were completed in spring 1954. A photo ofMercedes-Benz engineer Dr. Kurt Oblander test-driving a prototype 190SLon the road in Germany shows a car with fog lights, a soft top, and different tires and hubcaps from the car in the New York auto show. Adams wasable to interview Dr. Oblander about the development of the 190SL beforeOblander passed away. Pappo also contacted Gregg Merksamer, authorof “A History of the New York International Auto Show,” who was very helpfulin providing information and photos of the 1954 show.The restoration process started in 2005 at John Legue’s shop, Restorations Unlimited, in Blenheim, Ontario. However, the scope of the worknecessary to achieve Pappo’s vision soon became apparent; extensivecustom bodywork would have to be done to recreate the styling details ofthe exhibition car, and experience in 190SL restoration would be needed. InNovember 2006, the project was moved to Adams’s Mercedes 190SL Restoration Company in Southern Pines, North Carolina.Based on their interviews and research, Adams and Pappo confirmedthat the 190SL exhibition car produced for the auto show was made byhand, using various bits and pieces available in the parts bins or fromother Mercedes-Benz cars that were then currently in production. The36THE STAR November-December 2010190SL exhibition car has numerous differences fromthe eventual production car in the details of the body,some obvious and others quite subtle. These include arear fender design that took cues from the 180 Pontonsedan, including a rear-fender gas door, and a lack ofeyebrows over the wheel openings.The front of the auto show exhibition car had a hoodand grille design similar to one of the 300SL factoryworks race cars of 1953. The car also had an elongatedhood with an air scoop and a double-pivot hood hinge.The grille was squared off at the top, with the top edgeforming the leading edge of the hood. The perimeteroutlines of the trunk, hood, and both doors are noticeably different, on close inspection, from those of theproduction 190SL, as are the rear jack holes.The shift lever on the exhibition car was common tothe 300S, as was the Mercedes-Benz script on the lowerdriver’s side front fender. The gauges on the dash allshowed different markings from the production car, andincluded an additional gauge for oil temperature. Theexhibition car also sported full chrome wheel covers,common to the 220S. The parking lights, by Hella, wererectangular in shape, as seen on Porsches and Volkswagens of that era.The challenge of rebodying a 1956 190SL to emulate these design and engineering features can’t beunderstated. In addition, correct components had tobe identified from the pictures and parts books of theperiod, and then acquired. Where one-off parts hadbeen used, these had to be fabricated. It took Adamsseveral thousand hours over four years to complete thework. Using only the available photographs as his guide,
Left: The engine presented its own challenges,since the show engine was nonoperational,but the re-creation had to be a real engine,though duplicating all the visual details of theexhibition car. Right: Similarly, gauges had towork and duplicate the non-standard markingsthat could be seen under magnification in theoriginal publicity shots. Another challenge wasto re-create the original interior, including theunusual seats, which didn’t carry over into theproduction car designed 15 months later. Notethat neither the original car in race trim, northe re-creation, has side windows. Even thesmallest details, such as the trunk button andlock, reproduce the original car’s details butare fully operational.How difficultcould it be, Larry Pappowondered, to pay homage by re-creatingthis long-lost piece of Mercedes-Benz history?Eight years later, he knows the answer.Adams’s work can only be described as phenomenal.What had seemed to both Pappo and Adams astraightforward but interesting project when they firstdiscussed it – how difficult could it be? – became something radically different. Eight years later, they know theanswer. The project has been extremely challenging,but also very rewarding. The complexity of the work hasbeen matched by the high degree of skill as well as thehistorical accuracy of the final product.As Pappo introduced the car, he had kind wordsfor all those who had been involved, but his deepestappreciation went to Adams. Just as there would neverhave been a 190SL were it not for Max Hoffman, this carowes its existence to Bruce Adams. Since November2007, his involvement as restorer has been as completeas his dedication to and passion for the project. Pappois most grateful to him and his excellent team.Appropriately, no effort was spared for its debut.The car was displayed in a setting similar to the New York show. Pappo andAdams even prepared a press kit similar to one Mercedes would have prepared for such an event, containing factory photos, a flyer for the show, andeven popular music of the day. They also re-created the original M-B showstand, right down to the hanging sign and flower boxes, and included infoon the site of the unveiling (see pages 88-89).People have asked Pappo about his plans for the car. Because theyfocused so intensely on having the car ready for the 2010 190SL convention,neither Pappo nor Adams looked far beyond that deadline. With the carnow successfully completed and debuted, they can start thinking ahead.Naturally, they would like to show the car at some high-profile eventsbefitting the car’s stature. Longer term, Pappo would like to have the carexhibited at the Daimler-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. That’s a lofty goal, butthis project has never shrunk from its original vision, so the dream is justified.In retrospect, one can only wonder if Pappo would have undertakenthe project had he known the challenges he would face. Fortunately, hedid, and the world of Mercedes-Benz aficionados is better for it. We cancongratulate all involved for a job well done.THE STAR November-December 201037
Above: The re-creation of the 190SL exhibition car built by Bruce Adams for Dr. Larry Pappo and unveiled in September. Unlike the original, the car is totally operational but was built with the racing windshield and cu
