THE BIG RESTORATION
A freak accident and a copy of Practical Classics led John Clark to revive this Cosworth-powered Mercedes-Benz
THE RESTORER
Aberdeenshire trawlerman John Clark spends much of his time in the wilds of the North Sea, where a work-related accident left him with serious arm and hand injuries. Restoring his Mercedes 190E (and several other cars since) was very much core to his recovery – all after discovering a copy of Practical Classics in a hospital ward in Aberdeen.
When he’s not tinkering with his classic Mercs and Rovers in his Aberdeenshire ‘man cave’, John Clark is often at sea. And I don’t mean bewildered – John is a trawlerman, and it was an accident out in the North Sea that indirectly led him to develop a passion for car restoration.
In 2013, he was on a three-week fishing tour when he got his arm caught while reeling in a catch – a freak accident that left him in agony, a couple of days away from shore and with no medical help other than first aid and painkillers. On his return to dry land, John was taken to hospital and underwent a series of operations over two years, restoring about 30 per cent of use to his damaged arm and hand and in need of permanent physiotherapy to retain his range of movement.
‘I was in hospital for one of my operations when I discovered a copy of Practical Classics left behind by a previous patient. I’d always loved cars, and the magazine helped pass the time brilliantly – the stories of people buying old cars and bringing them back from the brink were inspirational.’
Knowing he’d need something to do to keep his injured arm and hand moving, John decided to treat himself to his own form of physiotherapy in the form of a Mercedes-Benz R129 SL. ‘I’ve always loved old Mercs, and I deliberately bought a car that was already pretty good. I wanted something I could tinker with to the best of my ability due to limited movement, and I knew that cleaning and polishing it would be the perfect range of motion for my injured arm and hand’. John loved the SL dearly – indeed, he still owns it – but the stories he’d read made him want more. By now he was subscribing to the mag, inspired by each issue’s restoration tales.
SCAN SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE!SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE!
TECH SPEC
Engine 2299cc/4-cyl/OHC
Power 182bhp@6200rpm
Torque 173lb ft@4500rpm
Gearbox 5-speed manual
0-60mph 7.4sec
Topspeed 144mph
Fueleconomy 26.5mpg
‘I read about the have-a-go heroes in PC and decided I should try some more advanced stuff myself, so I bought a welder. My movement was improving a bit and I reckoned
