GVZ Euro Tour 2014

[gerryvz]

This is my thread documenting my trip this year. At the beginning of Day 2 (Saturday) I'm in the vicinity of Munich/Freising and enjoying a relaxing morning.

Today will be a day to prepare the cars we'll be taking on the Alpentour, leaving for the mountains next Thursday afternoon. Among the 21 cars on this year's tour, we'll have the 1969 300SEL 6.3, 1970 280SL Pagoda, 1991 300CE (W124 coupe) and a 1966 MGB. I'll be driving the 280SL Pagoda camera car as I have the past few years.

On Monday morning we drive to nearby Pfaffenhofen and pick up what we are calling the V-3 (Vergeltungswaffen-3) ... a 3-liter M103 custom built over the last year punched out to 3.6 liters and using an OM603 (diesel) crankshaft & BMW connecting rods. This motor will be installed in my friend's 300GE G-Wagen in the coming weeks.

Couple of attached maps as to my current whereabouts today and this weekend....deep in Bavaria.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[bing]

Keep in touch , Gerry .

 

[gerryvz]

It's 9:45 PM and I'm getting ready to go to bed. It's been a long day of running errands and preparing cars.

Here are a few views of the cars I drove, cleaned and worked on today ...

The 280SL Pagoda (my friend Thomas Grevel is washing)

The 1990 300GE (M103 motor with 5-speed manual transmission)

The 1967 MGB (1.8L, 90 hp)

The 1970 300SEL 6.3

And the 300CE and Pagoda put to bed until Thursday morning....

In the morning around 11:30 we're going to walk 20 minutes or so into the village of Allershausen and attend the village's annual summer festival with lots of live music, food and good summer beer "trinking."




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[Klink]

Ouch!! The anthracite / red 6.3. Want it so bad it hurts!!! Nice 113, too. 4 speed or 5 speed? Keep the photos coming, pleeze!

 

[gerryvz]

It's a 4-speed. IMHO the 4-speed is better than the ZF 5-speed because it's more durable and cheaper to maintain.


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[Klink]

As always you are correct, but people sure geek up over that ZF...

 

[Maui]

+1

 

[samiam44]

Gerry,

I must not be living right. How do you manage such trips.

Pic me up a Joe dassin l.p. if you happen in the music relm.

 

[nocfn]

good stuff here!

 

[albdentist]

Awesome stuff Gerry !

 

[gerryvz]

This morning we went back to the nearby town of Pfaffenhofen to the Altmann machine shop to pick up the custom-built M103 engine (3,6L) that will go into my friend's G-Wagen later this summer. Then we loaded the engine into the back of the G-Wagen with a fork lift and brought it to my friend's garage/car barn until it will be installed.

The pistons and crankshaft below were the original M103 units which had 435,000 km on them and as you can see they show VERY little wear. The block has the crank from an OM603 diesel motor installed as part of the displacement increase.

Then we went to a local butcher & picked up some meat & sausage for lunch & dinner. We got a few of the coiled sausages (which the Germans call "Schnecken," or snails) for dinner tonight.

Then we brought the motor back to the storage barn. Next door is a metal polisher, so we stopped & talked to him for a while. Here are a few photos of what he does...

Tonight the Germans are going to play their first World Cup game against Portugal, so we're gearing up to watch the game. The US team (which is in the same bracket group as Germany) is going to play Ghana.

Cheers,
Gerry


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[M104-AMG]

Gerry - remember my wish list.

neil

 

[gerryvz]

On Tuesday I drove from Munich up to Stuttgart and spent some time at the Classic Center in Fellbach, as well as at the main assembly plant in Sindelfingen for appointments. Unfortunately you cannot take photographs inside the factory so I can't post anything here, but I did take some photographs at the Delivery Center and outside, which I'll post up soon. I drove a W220 long sedan which was a nice drive. Unfortunately due to traffic on the autobahn (and plenty of construction on the A8 between Ulm and Stuttgart) I was only able to max out at 170 km/hr for a few dozen kilometers but it was nonetheless nice to stretch the legs a bit. This particular W220 I drove is using an M112 engine, and it behaved impeccably.

Specifically of an G63 AMG 6x6 G-wagen. What a monster ride !! Thing has to be close to three feet off the ground.

Today (Wednesday) I go to the Museum for Historical Maybach Vehicles, which is located about 1 hour and 20 minutes north of Munich in Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, which is near Nuremburg in central Bavaria. This is the largest collection of pre-war Maybach vehicles in the world, and is a private museum that is open by appointment only ... it is not possible to just "drop in" at any time. I believe they have somewhere around 15-20% of all pre-war Maybach vehicles ever produced (the Technik-Museum in Sinsheim also has a fair number of original Maybach vehicles).

Then tonight (Wednesday night) I'm going to go a few villages over to the personal residence of Mr. Michael Kratzmeier, who owns two Mercedes-Benz Dealerships in nearby Unterschleissheim and also in Dachau, as well as the KolblKratzmeier body and paint shop in Allershausen, which is the neighboring village to where I am at now.

Then on Thursday we are leaving for the Alpentour in the afternoon. Of course I will be driving the silver 1970 Pagoda again this year, which as always will be well equipped with GoPro cameras and an HD Cam on a tripod in the back for active shooting. We'll be staying on Thursday night near Innsbruck, Austria, and then on Friday morning heading to our final destination, which is the region of Sudtirol (South Tirol) and Trentino in the Italian Alps. Here is the route and program, if you are interested to see an overview of the journey. We return back to the Munich/Freising area on Sunday afternoon, kicking back at the Hofmeier "Gasthaus" in the nearby tiny village of Hetzenhausen for beers and dinner on Sunday night. It's an EXCELLENT place for "trinking" locally brewed hefeweizens.....

Then on Monday I strike off for the intensive driving portion of my trip, heading northward to Belgium, London, and then to the .036 gathering in the Cologne/Essen area on Friday & Saturday.

More soon,
Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gerryvz]

Here are some photos from my trip up to Stuttgart and back yesterday (Tuesday).

First ... A special photo for the Derf ... A Fintail that I encountered on the Autobahn between Ulm and Munich.


And then some photos of the outside of the MB customer delivery center, adjacent to the main production plant in Sindelfingen.


And some photos of a G63 AMG as well as one of the new 6x6 G-wagens... First time I've seen one "in the flesh"



And a few photos of the brand-new S-Class coupe ... A shape not much to my liking. Looks to me like a Honda Accord coupe from the side.



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[gerryvz]

And a few more photos...

Cars waiting to be delivered to their owners. This is where you pick up your car when you order "European Delivery."

Some images from the Classic Center in Fellbach:

And one last photo for GSXR:

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[124036-009]

Hi Gerry

Very nice tour!
This weekend I was on tour from Denmark to Le Mans, to Watch the 24h race at Circuit de la Sarthe, what a race! The Danes did well this year, unfortunately the Turbo in Audi#1 did not last all 24 hours so Tom Kristensen didnt get his 10th win at Le Mans 24H.

On the way to Le Mans we stumbler over a licenseplate starting with BOT, looked at each other and agreed that we had never seen a non Mercedes(Brabus) car with BOT licenseplates. We looked at det sat-nav screen and saw Bottrop on there, fast agreeng that a stopover at Brabus was what we wanted!

We set the sat-nav to Bottrop, Brabus Allee 1 and 10 minutes later... wow!
If you get any near Bottrop, do it!

Kind regards
Jack

 

[gerryvz]

I think we're gonna be there next week for the European .036 meeting !! Thanks for posting & for the photos!


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[gerryvz]

Some views of cars and motors from the Maybach Museum. Each car has a unique story behind it. Many of them survived WW2 intact, surprisingly.

The following Maybach was probably the most interesting. It was a Maybach that the Russians confiscated at the end of WW2 and pressed into service as a bus/taxi. Many of the car's components were replaced with Russian ones over the years as they wore out, including the front axle and engine. Pretty much every panel on the car was munched and all body repairs were bodge jobs. The car was in service from 1945 until 1991, when the Soviet Union fell. That it lasted so long under such heavy use/abuse is a testament to the build quality of the Maybach.

On the way home we stopped at a local chocolate shop on the A9 autobahn. I got a few things for my wife and kids.

Just now I got back from a couple of hours visiting Mr. Kratzmeier, who has a nice collection of MBs, as well as a Jaguar E-Type and a Pantera. A couple of photos below include an AMG 6.0 R129 SL m119 (CIS-E injected) and a very nice 280SE 3.5 (W108).

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[gerryvz]

This morning (Thursday morning) we just got up and had breakfast. Today we'll go over two villages to the car storage barn & break out the Pagoda, 6.3, MGB and the 124 coupe and load them up with our gear & cameras for the day's trip down near Innsbruck, where the group will stay tonight for the kickoff of the Alpentour in the morning.

Tonight should be a festive night as I'll get to see all of my old friends who attend the tour every year & make acquaintance of a new new friends. I'll post some photos of the cars on this year's tour later on. We'll be heading south for the 2-2.5 hour drive to Innsbruck area about 1:30 or 2 PM German time.

The weather on both sides of the Alps (both the German and the Austrian/Italian sides) is supposed to be near PERFECT this year ... Moderate temps of 21-28C and less than a 10% chance of rain. So we should have a great top-down experience this year pretty much the full 4 days of the Tour.

 

[gerryvz]

A few preliminary shots as we begin final prep for the tour.

Close-ups of the badging...

Where I'm going to be spending much of the next four days....

Detail of the gas cap of the Pagoda.

And the flag on the 6.3 which is the lead. While of the tour.

Having a hefeweizen before lunch...

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[gerryvz]

Tops down ... Ready to rock & roll in minutes....

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[bing]

Got some great weather ahead you , Gerry . Enjoy !

 

[baviking1]

Wow!! Just....... WOW!!!

 

[gerryvz]

All set for the night out in the country near Innsbruck.

Catching up with the group before dinner on Thursday.

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[gerryvz]

Just got into our hotel in Andalo, Italy after a day of quite spirited mountain driving. All of the cars are now tucked away in a secure, underground garage ("tiefgarage" auf Deutsch).

Couple of photos, much more later.

View we had at lunchtime today.

The first & second courses of food we had at lunch. The cured ham was out of this world.

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[M104-AMG]

Wow! My mouth is watering just looking at the food!

Safe Travels!

neil
wanting a W124 M103 single-mass flywheel

 

[gerryvz]

A nice cold beer just after arriving from Day 3's driving....

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[Klink]

As soon as the ladies notice those shoes, you may have to seek shelter for your own protection! RRLS (Race Ramp Lust Syndrome) will absolutely ensue !
I think, but I have not been able to confirm that's what happened to hood star girl...

 

[gerryvz]

Those shoes are made out of American Buffalo hide!!

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[Klink]

Those shoes are made out of American Buffalo hide!!

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Well then, as Vince Offer say's "I dunnow, It sells itself!" I'd wear 'em.

 

[maw1124]

Must. Have. That. 6POINT3...

Looks like a great time being had by all!!

Bring back the 6.3 please. Thanks. That is all.

;-D

maw

 

[gerryvz]

After two full days of driving on Friday and Saturday, each day about 250-300 km of mountainous driving, Sunday morning dawned and it was time to head back to the Munich area from the Sudtirol (South Tirol) region of the Italian Alps (Dolomite Mountain Range). At 9:30 AM we started heading northward on the "B" roads (federal highways of Italy and Austria), crossing over the Brenner Pass about 1:30 PM. The Brenner is probably the main road and railway artery between Germany/Austria and Italy.

About 20 km north of the Brenner Pass, in Austria, we stopped at our customary Gasthaus in the town of Matrei am Brenner, called the Gasthaus Lamm. There we had a delicious lunch and I had a couple of non-alcoholic Weihenstephan hefeweizens and a cappuccino to drink before we continued on our way. From there we drove north into Innsbruck and continued into Germany, passing through Garmisch/Partenkirchen and up the A95 autobahn along the eastern shore of Lake Starnberg, and then around the west side of Munich on the A96, A99, A92 and then the final push north to the Freising area on the A9. We arrived home (after a few brief rest stops during the day, plus lunch) at around 7 PM, and stowed the cars in the barn and headed to the Gasthof Hofmeier in nearby & tiny village of Hetzenhausen for dinner and a last round of beers with about half of the Tour participants. Some of the participants, as is customary, stayed at the Hofmeier for Sunday night before heading to their homes in northern Germany in places like Aschaffenburg, Duren and Hamburg on Monday.

I drove the entire way home with one of the tour participants, a semi-retired CEO of a company that makes and sells manufacturing equipment to paper mills worldwide (for making various types of paper and tissue). A fabulous discussion over many hours in the car was had between the two of us. He lives in the town of Heidenheim, which is a bit outside of the Stuttgart area. When we got to the car barn, to drop off the cars, Arnold picked up his brand-new Porsche Meran SUV which he stashed there before we left on the trip. Wow, what a rig !! He just bought it two weeks ago.

This morning (Monday) I got up early and had breakfast, and caught up on work e-mail before picking up my rental car for the next 9 days, which is an Audi S6. I took off northward from Munich around 1 PM, stopping in Stuttgart for an appointment at the MB Museum (which was closed to the public on Monday) and then continuing to the town of Saarbruecken, which is just south of Luxembourg near the French border. That's where I am tonight, doing work-related conference calls and doing more e-mail catch-up.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning I press on into Belgium to the van de Velde MB wrecking yard, where I have quite a shopping list of items to acquire, and then push on into France.

Will plan to post some photos shortly from the weekend's driving. Most of the photos I took were via my cell phone, whereas at the 500E meeting I'll use my regular digital camera. Looking forward to seeing/meeting everyone on Friday and Saturday in the Bottrop area !!

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gerryvz]

Some photos.....

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[Stevester 500E]

Sweet TR4 !

 

[gerryvz]

And a few more...

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[Maui]

Wow, looks like a great time. I'm thinking you are infatuated by the E Type.

 

[texas993]

Wow Gerry, what an experience. And you get to do it every year! Amazing cars and country. You are living the life!

Continued safe travels!

 

[gerryvz]

Here's a great photo of Lake Garda (Gardasee auf Deutsch) in northern Italy, which we passed by on Friday's drive. Lake Garda is a big holiday destination for a lot of Germans.

Credit for this photo goes to Patricia Lindner, who was one of the participants on the tour. As I was driving the Pagoda, I couldn't take such a nice photo.

Beautiful view of the lake.

 

[DerFuror]

Now THAT is an impressive sight. Beautiful. Enjoy!

 

[Maui]

What a beautiful lake. Wow!

 

[gerryvz]

Here's an action shot of me driving the Pagoda, complete with shit-eating grin on my mug.

 

[gerryvz]

Had a great time at the Euro E500 gathering and a wonderful breakfast with Bing, Bernhard, Christian & Dirk. Then it was time to strike out for Magdeburg, a city of about 210,000 in the former East Germany.

There I met Hendrik (forum name esodnehoh) and his brother Holger. We had a great time having a meal and walking around Altstadt Magdeburg & I learned about the city, which was about 90% leveled during WW2. More importantly I learned about their .036 data & VIN gathering project. We all collectively owe Hendrik & Holger a debt of gratitude for the work & research they have done which is reflected in the Wiki.

I left Magdeburg late in the afternoon & drove to Erfurt (still in the former East Germany) to bed down for the night. Then it's onward to Lindau/Bregenz on Lake Constance and then to the Munich area to finish up the last couple days of my trip.

I took tons of photos at the Gathering & will post them later. I've been away now nearly 3 weeks so looking forward to spending the July 4th holiday home with my family. More to come later.

My Audi A6 diesel has gotten 40.5 MPG over more than 3,000 km of driving.

Cheers,
Gerry

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[bing]

Nice seeing you again, Gerry. Enjoy the remainder of your Euro Trip and drive safely!

 

[gerryvz]

Here are some photos I took at the Van de Velde wrecking yard:

 

[gerryvz]

My last full day on my trip was this past Wednesday. That day I met a friend (Patricia Lindner, who contributed the photo of Lake Garda above) in downtown Munich and we spent a couple of hours walking around the Englischer Garten ("English Garden"), which is pretty much Munich's equivalent to New York City's Central Park. I had never visited the English Garden before and really enjoyed it. We had lunch at the Seehaus ("Lake House") restaurant which is a very nice facility.

On our walk, we happened upon an interesting sight, which is a bit of an underground thing in Munich..... a man-made wave on a river tributary in the English Garden that local surfers like to ride. Being a long-time surfer and fan of surfing/skateboarding, of course I had to stop and take photos of this little urban surf spot. If I'd have had my own surfboard and wetsuit with me, I'd have dropped into the water myself!

Most people walking by on the busy sidewalk above never even know that it is there. It's narrow so looks quite challenging to ride, but it seems that the locals mostly have it dialed.

Here are some photos as well as a YouTube video of the spot.

Pretty cool, eh?

Anyhoo, I took off from Munich about 10AM German time on Thursday morning and arrived home in Houston about 2:30 PM Thursday Houston time. Direct flights both there and home, thankfully. It was a great trip between the Alpentour, the Euro E500E Gathering, and getting to meet our member "esodnehoh" and his brother Holger.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Gerry

[youtube]vBdm15wRqig[/youtube]

 

[M104-AMG]

<SNIP>

On our walk, we happened upon an interesting sight, which is a bit of an underground thing in Munich..... a man-made wave on a river tributary in the English Garden that local surfers like to ride. Being a long-time surfer and fan of surfing/skateboarding, of course I had to stop and take photos of this little urban surf spot. If I'd have had my own surfboard and wetsuit with me, I'd have dropped into the water myself!

Most people walking by on the busy sidewalk above never even know that it is there. It's narrow so looks quite challenging to ride, but it seems that the locals mostly have it dialed.
<SNIP>
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Gerry

Surfing off a river is awesome! Thanks for sharing!

neil

 

[M104-AMG]

Here are some photos I took at the Van de Velde wrecking yard:

Wow! It's like going to the "Chocolate Factory" . . .

Does Uncle Gerry happen to have something in his "pocket" for me ? PM me . . .

neil

BTW: how do they determine which cars get inside storage ? Interior rarity/condition ? Cars that didn't have much corrosion proofing ?

 

[gerryvz]

A summary of this year's Alpentour (in German).

http://www.alpentour.org/Alpentour 2014 Review/alpentour 2014 review.html

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[e190revin]

It looks like you got to see some amazing sights! Four years ago, I stayed in Oberhausen for a few weeks while we were touring a couple different steel mills for job-related training. I ended up spending some time in Köln with our translator, Melanie, which was quite fun. After a late Friday night with her and her friends, I hopped on a train to München to hang out with a friend I grew up with. He had been working there for BMW for about a year so he showed me around. Such a beautiful city filled with amazing automobiles! We went to the park that Sunday and I got to see the river surfers as well which was the last thing I thought I'd see in a German park! We watched them for a bit and most of those guys are very talented!

 

[gerryvz]

Here's a great video, just completed and posted online, of the 2015 Alpentour. I was, as usual, driving the "camera car" when the weather got good enough to put the top down on the Pagoda. In 2015, my daughter Sofia accompanied me for the first time.

http://1drv.ms/1lA3szN

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Gerry