LOST & FOUND
COMPILED BY MICHAEL WARE
STORED 300SL IS HIDDEN TREASURE
To find an unrestored Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing is a rare stroke of luck, but to discover one with fewer than 55,000 miles on the odometer and that has been off the road since 1979 is truly remarkable. Yet that is just what Sidney Vallon of Palm Beach Classics in Florida, USA, has just pulled out of long-term storage.
This particular 300SL left the Mercedes factory in January 1955, finished in white with red leather trim, and, like so many, was exported to the United States – the American importer, Max Hoffman, reckoned he could sell 1000 of these ʼ50s supercoupés.
The first owner of this example is unknown, but the second owner was one Vance Hollingsworth of Roanoke, VA. Later it passed to the father-in-law of Al Gomez from Boca Raton, Florida. He used the car regularly, before later passing it to his wife and then on to Alʼs wife, Martha. Since 1979 it has been kept in an air-conditioned warehouse, at first being taken for the occasional short drive and then put away again.
“We are used to recovering long-stored cars that are often covered in lumber, old boxes and other detritus,” says Sidney. “In this case the Mercedes was clear of most of that, was not very dusty and just needed the tyres pumping up for us to push it outside.”
The SL stands for sports leicht (sports light), and the legendary Gullwing was the first in the long-running Mercedes series. Because of the tilting over of the injected 3-litre straight-six engine to give it a low bonnet line, however, it was impossible to produce the car with right-hand drive. A total of 1400 examples were built; are there still any more hidden examples out there left to uncover?
REFLECTING ON THE GLORIA DAYS
Roy Begent has recently rejoined the Pre-1940 Triumph Motor Club, having first been a member in the 1960s after buying his 1935 Triumph Gloria Vitesse in 1961 from a Mr Butterworth, who apparently preferred Bentleys.
“My Gloria is at present buried under the junk that has accumulated in the garage over the past 50 years [above],” explains Roy. “Unfortunately, there is not much history that I am aware of between 1935 and 1961, when I bought the Gloria for £90 – including a £50 loan from my grandfather! I had a happy life with the Triumph. I used to enjoy
