The sad state of a multimillion-dollar car

[crazyjim]

I think I'd just put a small block Chevy in it with a more modern drivetrain. That is a gorgeous looking car, though.

[Harry P.]

I think I'd just put a small block Chevy in it with a more modern drivetrain. That is a gorgeous looking car, though.

Yeah, baby! They don't make 'em like that anymore!

[250 Testa Rossa]

I've heard all kinds of stories about Rudi Klein...

[sjordan2]

I've heard all kinds of stories about Rudi Klein...

...such as...(he's dead, so let's hear the dish)...

[250 Testa Rossa]

A friend of mine from the Porsche Club used to know Rudi. He said that Rudi even owned Eva Braun's Horch. Another friend tried to buy a car from him, and didn't get lucky. I even have a picture of Rudi Klein's Porsche 356 Abarth. It was discovered in 2005, and has since been restored and painted French Blue.

[deja-view]

If you ever get to Vegas you should go to the Imperial Palace Auto Museum and take a gander at the 500K roadster they've had for years. It is stunning. Not even all the Deusenbergs in the other room are as impressive as that Mercedes.

[slantasaurus]

Mercedes themselves offered to do the resto. I think they'd be pretty trustworthy...

Yeah, sure......Mercedes is trustworthy...........just ask Chrysler !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

[Austin T]

This made me sad,and now to know that a Miura might be stranded in there,Im downright ANGRY.

Edited February 11, 2012 by Austin T

[Casey]

There is a certain pleasure derived from having something nobody else does, and that may apply in this case. That doesn't make them crazy, just different.

[Harry P.]

Yeah, sure......Mercedes is trustworthy...........just ask Chrysler !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

Huh????

Mercedes made intelligent business decisions based on the bottom line. There's nothing "untrustworthy" there... it's called business. And you'll notice how M-B is doing just fine, thank you, while Chrysler has been passed around more often than a doobie at a Grateful Dead concert.

[Harry P.]

Yeah, but Mercedes is German and Chrysler is American. So Mercedes is not trustworthy by default.

Ach, ja... sie sind richtig.

[moparmagiclives]

Huh????

Mercedes made intelligent business decisions based on the bottom line. There's nothing "untrustworthy" there... it's called business. And you'll notice how M-B is doing just fine, thank you, while Chrysler has been passed around more often than a doobie at a Grateful Dead concert.

Skunk doobie at that......? but I hear they have a good Italian hook up now... Nice imported "stuff"

[sjordan2]

This made me sad,and now to know that a Miura might be stranded in there,Im downright ANGRY.

According to the article, they have at least SIX Miuras.

[wgflatliner]

If you ever get to Vegas you should go to the Imperial Palace Auto Museum and take a gander at the 500K roadster they've had for years. It is stunning. Not even all the Deusenbergs in the other room are as impressive as that Mercedes.

Been there. Drooled on all of the cars.

[Dave Van]

While that MB is worth millions either way there are millions more cars being treated the same way. I am a AMC fan. Currently own 2 down from 5. I know of 3 very desirable AMC's within one mile of my house that the owners have the same opinion.... not for sale.....gonna fix it some day. That day will never come as we all know. All three cars are very restorable now... but a few more WV winters they will be lost forever. So while the state of this high dollar MB is sad.....there are thousands of classic cars suffering the same fate.....and while I could not restore the MB....I could save a Rebel Machine.

[deja-view]

Over the years I have found that people who collect and store cars are a strange breed. There's those like Leno who restore the cars and love to drive and show them so others can enjoy the art. But there's the other kind who hoard them and never intend for them to surface again. In the mid-1980's I was a partner with a well-known body/paint/restoration man (the one who died right after he finished my Mustang), and of course we were always looking for interesting cars to buy and restore to sell. I came in contact with a man who had been in the casino/entertainment business here in Vegas since the 1950's and knew all the "old guys".

This man had acquired the 1957 Thinderbird that Bugsy Siegal had bought (new) for his girlfriend. It was a fully documented E or F series Bird (I seem to remember the 2-4's setup rather than the blower) with the original Kelsy-Hayes wires, a/c, T&C (?) radio, etc., etc. It only had about 30,000 miles on it, and every belt, hose, and piece was still original. The only alteration was that it was originally a metallic copper color and she wanted white so Bugsy had it repainted for her. The guy had it sitting in a cheap storage unit almost since he bought it from her in the 1960's. Even needing a repaint to original color it would have been an expensive restoration of every rubber/fabric part on the car. We all sat down and looked at the current market values (around $50K in 1988) and made him a good offer.

He dawdled and put us off for months, during which time this man and I were working togetther on some political projects. He just wouldn't sell it. Or, restore it. I asked someone about the car approx. 10 years later when I heard that he had either died or was very ill. It was still sitting, and to this day I think it probably deteriorated further until it would be too expensive to restore. He was not married and had no family that I knew of so I guess the State of Nevada got a plum or the storage owner got paid twice...once for decades of storage fees, and again for selling or keeping the car. I have no idea wherer it is today. What a waste.

[Harry P.]

Interesting story...

[sjordan2]

Here's a 1954 Ferrari 250 Monza, on display this week at Retromobile Paris. It was discovered in Uruguay in this condition in around 1970, having been campaigned in South America for several years. They just recently found the original engine, and here it is in all its aluminum glory. 5 million Euros "as is."

[HotRodaSaurus]

Over the years I have found that people who collect and store cars are a strange breed.

This man had acquired the 1957 Thinderbird that Bugsy Siegal had bought (new) for his girlfriend. It was a fully documented E or F series Bird (I seem to remember the 2-4's setup rather than the blower) with the original Kelsy-Hayes wires, a/c, T&C (?) radio, etc., etc. It only had about 30,000 miles on it, and every belt, hose, and piece was still original. The only alteration was that it was originally a metallic copper color and she wanted white so Bugsy had it repainted for her. The guy had it sitting in a cheap storage unit almost since he bought it from her in the 1960's. Even needing a repaint to original color it would have been an expensive restoration of every rubber/fabric part on the car. We all sat down and looked at the current market values (around $50K in 1988) and made him a good offer.

Yes they are, check out the story of the Schlumpf brothers and their collection and secrecy about their cars.

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was killed in 1947.

Just thought I would mention that.

Edited February 15, 2012 by HotRodaSaurus

[deja-view]

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was killed in 1947.

Just thought I would mention that.

You are correct. I hadn't really thought about it at the time, I guess because all these guys were just a part of the history here. The car was purchased through the Flamingo if I remember correctly, and apparently the woman had stayed at the Casino after Meyer Lansky took over. Maybe he took her over, too, and was responsible for the purchase. Sometimes it's hard to tell when these because these guys used the businesses to cover their personal activities. Lansky was around for quite a few years.

I remember a lot of the old thugs and guys like Lefty Rosenthal...especially when they tried to blow him up in front of the ribs place on Sahara Ave. One of my longtime friends bought Moe Dalitz's Cadillac and drove it for years before a divorce took it away. The creepiest guy I ever met was Tony Spilotro, though. He and a bunch of his goons set up a meeting place by taking over a small fast food building about a block from where I lived at the time. They would roll up the the almost-always-empty restaurant in their black Caddys and sit inside and plan their latest crime ventures like the "Hole in the Wall Gang" break-ins. The guy was scary, for sure. He let word out occasionally that they were looking for "partners" or people to do a little "side work" for them, and a couple of us who were teaching at UNLV (and not making much money) were tempted........for about 3 seconds. They had a nasty habit of killing their enemies and friends in the same horrific ways.

Now, they all wear better suits, have better accountants and better lawyers, and hide amongst corporate identities to do the same thing they have always done. I'll have to admit, though, we didn't have any gang-banging kids hanging around or trying to rip off the casinos.

Edited February 16, 2012 by deja-view

[deja-view]

A bit of sticker shock, here: for the past week I have been going through my stacks of old Motor Trend and other mags from the 1950's/'60's/'70's. In perusing the ads in the back for cars for sale I see Ferrari 250's and 275GTB's; Mercedes Gullwing coupes, Shelby Cobras, and other of today's $Million cars for sale --- for an average of $4500-5500. Not junkers, but well-kept cars with recent maintenance and new tires, etc. JUST DAYUM!

I don't think people at that time had ANY idea how valuable or important these cars would become.

[sjordan2]

Exactly. That were just cars. Use them as intended & don't look back.

Just cars? Does that mean that you should just hang an original daVinci in the basement stairway and not worry about it because it's just a sketch? These are one-of-a-kind pieces of art and technology. Do you think cars are just cars and can't rise to the level of exquisite art?

Edited February 16, 2012 by sjordan2

[sjordan2]

i don't think that's what Mike was getting at Skip. i think the point he was trying to make was that when a lot of these cars were new or even not so new they werent really thought to be that special or was there any thought that someday they may be worth millions. it's hard to believe that a Ferrari 250 would be out in a snow storm or lost and forgotten in some field for 20+ years but stuff that did and does happen, and you have to admit it makes for some interesting and great stories too.

I certainly agree with you on that. To this day, I don't understand the huge, up to $1 million plus, that some 60s pony cars/muscle cars bring in at auction, many of which - sorry, guys - were Mopars that were never highly thought of for quality when they were new. Muscle, yes. Quality, no. I was there.

Edited February 16, 2012 by sjordan2

[HotRodaSaurus]

if i ever hit it big, this one here is all mine........................

and i'm going to cut it back up and return it to the racecar it was the majority of it's life

million dollar Hemi cuda's

I always loved the Hemi Barracuda, but apart from the hemi, what was so special about it that makes it worth so much.

My personal favourite Mopar is the 68 Charger, the 440 R/T.

[Joe Handley]

I always loved the Hemi Barracuda, but apart from the hemi, what was so special about it that makes it worth so much.

My personal favourite Mopar is the 68 Charger, the 440 R/T.

It's rarity, I think there were only a handful of HemiCuda converibles, then it's triple black, and then if it's an even rarer 4 speed model...........

In other words, it could be as rare and the Mercedes that this thread was started on!