GVZ Euro Tour 2011

[gerryvz]

The annual GVZ Euro Tour 2011 is kicking off imminently. This year's vehicle will be the brand-new 2011 MB SLK.

I'll be in Belgium at the Van de Velde Benz wrecking yard the entire day on Monday June 20, and now have formed tentative plans to get together with Talbir at his London home on Tuesday evening June 21st. Hopefully can provide an update and photos on his 6.0L engine project.

Lots more to come .... stops at the MB factory, AMG, new Porsche Museum, MB Classic Center, the annual Alpentour, and the W126 wrecking yard at Feldkirchen (northwest of Munich).

Here are the details on this year's Alpentour. I'll be driving a freshly restored MGB this time around. http://www.oldtimerfreunde-freising.de/ ... 02011.html

Cheers,
Gerry

P.S. Here are the restoration details on the MGB I'll be driving...
http://www.oldtimerfreunde-freising.de/ ... 0mg-b.html

 

[Glen]

Sounds awesome Gerry! I'm looking forward to your photo essay

Have a great time and say hi to Talbir for me.

 

[JordiC]

I visited the Porsche museum in November, it's breathtaking. I stayed at the hotel Abacco in Stuttgart, it's completely Porsche themed and great place to rest for the night.

 

[195910]

Hi Gerry. Any trips to the north of England?

Also, if you are in northern Germany or in Rastatt, I got places you might like to visit.

Cheers

 

[Honza]

Porsche museum is really breathtaking. I have visited it at wintertime as well Technik Museum in Sinsheim.

Bernard´s workshop with "Brabus goodies" near Rastatt should be very interesting

to Gerry: Is there some place around Czech Republic in your itinerary?

Gruß

Honza

 

[gerryvz]

UPDATE 1: GVZ Euro Tour 2011

Well, I had some changes of plans on a few portions of the GVZ Euro Tour 2011, so I will not be able (very regrettably) to go to London and visit Talbir. The good thing is that the Tour is now in full effect.

Thus far, I've visited the Porsche Museum, various MB-related locales around Stuttgart, Porsche Rossle Bau building (where our E500Es were assembled), AMG HQ in Affalterbach, and the original AMG barn in Burgstall (which is about 10 km from Affalterbach). On my way back to the autobahn I also happened to pass through the town of Grossaspach, which is the hometown of Hans-Werner Aufrecht and the "G" in AMG.

In any case, the Porsche Museum has a nice 1995 E500 Limited on display, which is 199 in color with gray leather interior. Wasn't able to get the VIN as non-US cars don't display VINs on the dashboard top like US cars do. The car appeared pretty stock and had the infrared locking devices on the front doors and trunk (no key holes) which was pretty sweet. Wish we got that option here in the States, but it debuted on the W210 in 1996.

One interesting thing I never knew, from the text accompanying the E500 Limited that the Porsche Museum had on display, was that the .036 (in addition to the MB 124.036 number) ALSO had its own PORSCHE Type Number - Type 2758.

One other mystery I finally solved today (at least in my own mind) ... the meaning of the word "Rossle" as in "Rossle Bau". Rossle is the word that Porsche uses to denote the prancing horse that is in the center of its logo. Porsche also accused Ferrari of copying the prancing horse after Porsche had started using it in the late 1940s in its logo. I've uploaded a photo of the "Rossle" crest with accompanying explanation text.

Enjoy the photos -- I have many more but no time to upload them, as it's 1:30 AM. I'm currently in Antwerp, Belgium and will visit my friend & Mercedes Wrecking Yard Marc van de Velde in nearby Lokeren all day tomorrow (Thursday). Should have LOTS of photos from that.

I saw AT LEAST 7-8 SLS Gullwings at AMG HQ today, as well as a couple of heavily disguised test mules driving around the compound -- one was an SUV and I think it was a GL, or the next-generation ML. There was the brand new C63 in the lobby painted in matte black.

Hope to make it to Prague, CZ probably for Monday. Will be at the MB Museum's Cars & Coffee event in Stuttgart on Sunday.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gsxr]

Re: UPDATE 1: GVZ Euro Tour 2011

In any case, the Porsche Museum has a nice 1995 E500 Limited on display, which is 199 in color with gray leather interior. Wasn't able to get the VIN as non-US cars don't display VINs on the dashboard top like US cars do.

FYI - no Limited received 199 paint. They were offered in 744 (Brilliant Silver) or 009 (Sapphire Black Metallic). The one you saw was 009, which IMO is much more attractive than 199, partly due to the color-matched bumpers & side moulding.

Any chance you can snag an SLS for your tour??

 

[Glen]

Type 2758.
Awesome, love it! Learned something new today. Thanks Gerry

 

[omegabenz]

why is the shifter in E mode? While in Antwerpen, see if you can find Blanche de Brugs, it was my favorite beer there...enjoy!

 

[036]

Thank you for pics!
This Limited is such a beauty......

 

[500ESpain]

That should be a very recent adition. I was there about 20 days ago and it wasn't there.

 

[036]

Have you got more pics from W100?

 

[gsxr]

That should be a very recent adition. I was there about 20 days ago and it wasn't there.

They found out GVZ was coming and scrambled to get an .036 in there. Just in time, whew!

 

[JordiC]

500ESpain wrote:
That should be a very recent adition. I was there about 20 days ago and it wasn't there.

They found out GVZ was coming and scrambled to get an .036 in there. Just in time, whew!

Apparently that museum has a rapid rotation of autos on display. You will always see something different whenever you visit. I wish that limited was there when I went last year.

 

[bing]

The car appeared pretty stock and had the infrared locking devices on the front doors and trunk (no key holes) which was pretty sweet. Wish we got that option here in the States, but it debuted on the W210 in 1996.

oh now i know why I don't see any US cars with infrared locking. I'm guessing it was an option on Euro cars, standard on the 'Limited' and E60's but didn't realise it was not available in the US at all. Not even C124's ??

I do see a lot of JDM cars with this though. Actually, even in Europe i think it was a rare added option which was only available on facelifted models/94 onwards. I'm happy to say that i have it on mine, with 2 spares, 3 in total - all infrared no master.

 

[gerryvz]

Not available until the W210 on US cars (probably all North American cars, but I can't say this definitively). It was an option for Euro cars and I don't think it was available for the earlier cars, I think perhaps only 1994 and 1995 W124s.

I think it would be a relatively easy retrofit if one had the hardware. 124 factory documentation shows the location of the control relay and such.

 

[gerryvz]

Have you got more pics from W100?

Your wish is my command.

 

[gerryvz]

Today I spent the entire day at the van de Velde Benz wrecking yard in Lokeren, Belgium (near Ghent). I arrived at 9:00 AM and didn't leave until 7:30 PM. Walked away with a load of items I needed:

- 036 sun visor (just because)
- two 560SEC sun visors (extras)
- 1995 E320 steering wheel (for my wife's wagon)
- Set of factory M117 "Tri-Y" headers (the holy grail of M117 exhaust)
- Power steering/ASD tandem pump for my German friend's W220 S-class
- rear taillight bulb holder for my wife's W124 wagon (replace broken one)
- 560SEC center rear seat cushion (extra cream leather one, not available in US)

Marc had two 500Es in stock -- one wrecked with the engine removed (hit in the rear) and one that was cut in half, with the front half intact with engine still in it. I got loads of photos of both of them. Unfortunately neither had the EZL nor the LH module, though one of them had all of the other modules still installed in the CAN box.

More importantly, Marc had made some very impressive changes since I was last there. He paved the entire two-acre field behind his shop and then build a totally enclosed warehouse on it -- the largest building of its type I've ever seen. There were hundreds of cars in there stacked four and five high on shelves. This is in addition to the three other buildings on the property, which are also chock-full of parts and chassis.

A couple of rare cars were there, including a 1950s W170 as well as a Ponton cabriolet (wrecked) that came from Beverly Hills.

One of the 500Es formerly belonged to the Belgian state security service (sort of a cross between the FBI and Secret Service). One seemed to be a French car and the other a Belgian car. I got both VINs from them so will add them to the database as "Wrecked / non-repairable" cars.

I took more than 200 photos today of the warehouse, but will only post a few here in the interest of time. However, you should be able to get a sense of the size of the new warehouse. If you live in the Netherlands, Belgium, northern or Central Germany, or northern France you would be absolutely CRAZY not to visit this place.

Marc totally took care of me today and it was great to be back (after a couple of years not visiting) to see tons of new cars. I am beside myself that I got the set of Tri-Y factory headers for the M117. That with proper downpipes is 30+ HP in and of itself . With cams from Jono and some other moderate tweaks, very close to 300HP can be had from the M117 with very little cost and effort.

I think I'm off to East Germany and Poland for the next couple of days, and will be back in Stuttgart at the MB Museum on Sunday. Early next week I'll visit the W126/W124 specialist wrecker just north of Munich. Then next Thursday I take off for the annual 3-day Alpentour.

Enjoy,
Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gsxr]

OK, I give up... how much for the new AMG 6.0L M119...?

 

[195910]

Hi Gerry,

If you have time near Stuttgart, I got a friend and fellow 500E owner that you'll like visiting. He is one of the Best MB Auto-Trans expert in Germany.
Just 15 minutes from MB Land!

 

[036]

Your wish is my command.

You made my day, thx!

 

[need2speed]

Brilliant!! Keep 'em coming...

 

[Zuffenhausen]

great thread

 

[2phast]

Anyone notice that that E500 Limited has memory settings on the passenger seat?

 

[bing]

Anyone notice that that E500 Limited has memory settings on the passenger seat?

Yes! Think it was standard on the 'Limited'. Flip top armrest is quite rare in Europe though.

 

[036]

No, it wasn´t. Both memory chairs were option, also this armrest- only if you ordered a telephone.

 

[gerryvz]

Saturday night I spent with a friend from a former job who lives about 25 km south of Munich on Lake Starnberg (Starnbergersee auf Deutsch). His small Bavarian village had their summer village festival on Saturday evening, complete with a HUGE burn pile of logs and farm debris that was about 10 meters high (the flames were SERIOUSLY going up a good 25-30 meters in the air). There were picnic tables and food and oh, was the beer flowing !! Even the 14 and 16-year olds were drinking away. As I had to drive later that night I limited myself to a couple of local hefeweizens topped off with a large, one-liter "Radler" which is heavily diluted beer.

After staying the night at a Gasthaus north of Munich, it was time to get up early and head out on the two-hour drive on the A8 to Stuttgart for a visit to the MB Museum and its monthly summer "Cars & Coffee" event.

I've attached some photos from yesterday's "Cars & Coffee" event at the MB Museum in Stuttgart. The event started at 9 AM and ended around 1PM, though most of the SLS cars came in from Belgium around noon and were there until at least 3-3:30 and later....

There were AT LEAST 40 SLS cars in attendance, and probably 20 R129 SLs and 10-12 R107 SLs. A few W126 sedans, three C126 coupes, a few C124 coupes, and various and sundry other MBs. Was a nice little exhibition. You can see in the one photo with the foreground in focus (with the ashtrays stacked) and the C126 coupes out of focus in the background where I was sitting near the cars in the tented coffee and food area adjacent to the cars.

Last (Sunday) night I stayed in the Bavarian city of Regensburg, which is in Eastern Bavaria near the Czech border. Regensburg is a very old city that wasn't destroyed in the war, so its old town square and "altstadt" area is intact and beautiful. The cathedral with twin pointed spires (different from the typical Bavarian "onion" style church towers) is beautiful. There were 3-4 live bands playing in adjacent plazas on the town square, and the beer and food was flowing freely. I stopped at two liters (zwei Mass) of schwarzbier (black beer) and hefeweizen, as it was a Sunday night. It was fun watchnig the town turn out (thousands of people) and people-watching the locals. The bands were fun but it's always interesting to see what music they play. Germans seem to like a lot of American music from the 60s, 70s and 80s in their festival bands

Some of you BMW fanatics may know Regensburg as it is the town where the factory is located that makes all BMW M3s and 3-series coupes.

Today I'm in downtown Prague, Czech Republic visiting some work colleagues. I'm impressed with the friendliness and hospitality of the Czech people. It's a beautiful city.

Back to Munich tonight for a few days, then on Thursday we take off southward for the annual Alpentour. I'll be driving a freshly restored MGB on that one.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[036]

Gerry, i hope you don´t mind i post it here- MB Dealership in Munich 2 days ago.

http://fotki.yandex.ru/users/w124036/album/171524/

 

[gerryvz]

I have a lot more photos to share from the trip, but just got back yesterday and have to get caught up on things around the house and get back to work.

In any case, here are a few photos from the latter part of the trip, the Alpentour portion where I "upgraded" from a freshly restored MGB to an also freshly restored MB R113 280SL "Pagoda". During the tour, after lunch on Saturday, the clutch's hydraulic cylinder went out but I was able to enlist the assistance of a mechanic in a small Austrian farm village and we rebuilt it, as good as new. More on that later.

In any case, enjoy this little snapshot of the latter week of the GVZ Euro Tour 2011.....

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gerryvz]

Here's the "official" update on the Club web site about the 2011 Alpentour, complete with the saga about the Pagoda's clutch...

The unofficial title for this year's Alpentour is: "die Pleiten-, Pech-, und Pannen Show”

http://www.oldtimerfreunde-freising.de/ ... eview.html

You can see me behind the wheel of the Pagoda in a few of the photos...

Pumping the clutch to "bleed" it...to get to the mechanic in the next town...

Me piloting the Tour's official film car (the Pagoda)

 

[gerryvz]

Here's an HD video summary of the 2011 Alpentour, which just cleared production. It has some commentary (toward the end) in German about the adventures that happened on the tour.

I was the driver of the pilot car (280SL Pagoda) that shot all film. It's a 16-minute video, about 1GB, but entertaining to watch if you have a good connection.

Enjoy!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10675111/Alpentour 2011_final_h264.mov

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[Jelmer]

Fantastic to watch, thanks.

I know I love old cars, but I love Mercs even more I need to own more!

[sub]And please don't shoot me for this - but those beetles can fly off of a mountain for all I care [/sub]

 

[gerryvz]

That Beetle is the most cherry Bug I've ever seen in my life. About 5 years ago I was on the tour and it was there (he comes annually to the tour). A couple of days later I was at the Frankfurt Airport and getting ready to board my flight back to the US. I picked up a copy of "Oldtimer Markt" at the news stand and this same Beetle and its owner (Rainer LEHN) were featured in the magazine !!