The last time this Gullwing was seen in public was nearly forty years ago. The  owner had not set eyes on his first car for twenty years, his garage door blocked with boxes and a collection of giant electronic contraptions, which I am told are the predecessors to our modern desktop computers. A few people knew the car was there, but it had been so long that it became a myth among 300SL enthusiasts and old Gullwing Group members. It took my business partner, his friend (who discovered the car and has been friends with the owner for twenty years) and three hired labourers two ten hour days just to clear enough space around the car to walk around it. It took another day to clear out all the computers to access the shelving where many of the missing parts were hiding. The hood, the wheels and knock-offs, and boxes of bits and pieces removed so the owner could repair the transmission. He never did, and the garage eventually swallowed one of the last “missing” alloy Gullwings. The future of this iconic vehicle has been decided. It was not in original condition, so preservation was not an option. It will be restored to the exact specification and options that it had when it left the factory. (to be continued…)