1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL (Gullwing)
Owner Bob Torre
Proposed class: Mercedes
This 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL “Gullwing” went into storage in 1975 and remained there until 2018. Apart from a mechanical refreshment, it appears exactly as it did after being hidden away for over 40 years.
Text from Sean Smith (photographer)
When we last spoke of Randy, Bob and R&R Restorations we mentioned soon after they opened the shop they were told of a unicorn, A Mercedes that had been in a building for many years. It wasn’t clear as to what type of Mercedes it was. It was from the 50s. Was it a 190 SL, was it a 300D, was it a 300SC, could it be another 300SL roadster?
First they were told it was in a body shop in pieces, then they were told it’s at the owner’s house, finally, it came out it was at the owner’s business. When they arrived at Double Z Motors in Fishkill they discovered it was a true unicorn, it was a 1955 300SL Gullwing that had been sitting in the building since 1974.
Peter Zalys was a senior in high school when he and his dad got the car. His father owned an automotive breaking yard, but had a love of exotics and had rebuilt a number of them through the years.
Peter came across a minuscule ad in the New York Times offering a Gullwing for $7,000.00 a hefty sum for a used car at the time, but it was a Gullwing. Pete and his dad drove up to Albany to take a look. Of course when they got there they fell in love and the Mercedes came home with them.
It became Peter’s daily driver, but no one at school really noticed the old car he was driving. His classmates were into their Camaros and Mustangs.
Pete went off to college and had to park his Gullwing on the street, as freshmen were not allowed to have a car on campus. It became a hassle and then the injection pump started to run rich and then there was the problem of having to open the door to pay the toll on the Tappan Zee bridge. The 300SL got put away in favor of more practical transportation and to take care of the mechanicals at a later date.
And then life happened.
The shop moved from another location and the Mercedes got put on a lift in the new building had a car cover from a Corvette thrown over it and up it went, to sit for decades.
Peter always thought he would get to his 300SL, but all sorts of other projects seemed to get in the way or come first.
Then Peter had some heart issues. He had a discussion with his wife and they decided it was time to move the Gullwing on.
But Peter didn’t want just anyone to have the car he had loved and had so much respect for all those year it had to be the right person. He didn’t want someone to snatch it up just to flip it for a quick profit and he didn’t want to see it end up in an auction going to the highest bidder.
When Torre, his son Robert and Randy arrived at Double Z, Peter very nonchalantly told them the car was in the back of the building. Bob sat and talked to Peter as Randy looked over the car. If you looked past the flaking paint and the few bumps and bruises it had accumulated over its life it was an extremely solid car that had never been apart, it was a true survivor.
Torre explained to Peter what he hoped to do with the car at his shop. He wanted to bring it back to life, but not do a full-blown restoration. he wanted to preserve the hard-earned patina and make it a driving machine. And he had wanted a Gullwing for so, so long there was no chance in hell he would ever sell it.
Peter could sense that Torre was sincere and was going to love and respect the Mercedes as he had and was going to be able to breathe life back into the car and do what Peter was hoping to do for so many years. They shook hands and a deal was made.
The day came when the Gullwing would see the light of day after more than 4 decades. Amazingly the tires still held air and the brakes weren’t frozen. It came off the lift and was pushed out of the building, it was an amazing contrast to all the carcasses of newer junked cars that it had been surrounded by for so many years.
Next, it was on to a trailer and back to R&R for a closer evaluation. On arrival, Randy hooked a battery up to the car and amazingly the wipers, lights and turn signals all worked. Even the gauges were all in working order. Other than the paint falling off with a little help it would be ready for a new life.
At that point, they started to disassemble what was necessary. The engine was taken out for machining, all rubber hoses that had perished would be replaced. Every inch was gone over, all the electricals and wiring were checked, brakes and brake lines were gone through. In the end, the only things that were replaced were the gas tank, headliner and some carpet and directional signal lenses.
The Gullwing was amazingly original.
One clue as to how early the car was its tach went from 0 to 8000 compared to the later ones that went from 500 to 7000. The Mercedes had one minor flaw. It had a later star in the grill. R&R created a new concave star and new wings surrounding it to have the correct period look. They even kept the old wheel weights and rebalanced the wheels with them.
All this was being done on the side as Randy and Oliver took care of all the customer cars that were coming through the shop. It was then decided that the Gullwing would make its debut at the inaugural 2019 Audrain Motor Week in Newport Rhode Island. If that was not enough two weeks later the Gullwing would participate in a 300 SL Rally, a 1000 plus mile jaunt around the west.
The push was on.
Everything came together and a week before the Concours the engine was being broken in and the first miles the Mercedes would travel in 44 years were covered. They started slowly taking it around the block watching the gauges and bring it back and checking for leaks. The old beast was getting a new lease on life and was responding beautifully. Bob was like a 5-year old at 2 AM on Christmas morning, he wanted to drive the car, but Randy kept him on the break-in schedule.
The Gullwing arrived in Rhode Island with 275 new miles on the clock. It commenced to create a stir everywhere it went around Newport. Even with all the other exotica on the tour, people’s eyes were drawn to the green Gullwing, its personality was shining through, failing paint and all and it performed like the thoroughbred it was. The Mercedes was a favorite on Belleview Avenue. The crowd loved the cars originality, no one thought it should be restored.
The next day at The Breakers the 300SL fit right in on the show field and didn’t look out of place. This was the first year of the Concours and there were no other preservation cars to do battle with so the Gullwing was in the sporting car class 1955 to 1959, there would have been grumbling if it took best in class, but the attendees loved it so much it took home the people’s choice award. A perfect way to end the weekend and the previous year’s odyssey of being brought back to life.
But it’s not over yet. The Gullwing went back to R&R and gone over again for its next adventure the 1,192-mile Mercedes Benz 300 SL Classic through Utah and Arizona.
A trial by fire, maybe, but nothing is stopping this Gullwing now that it has felt sunshine on its roof again. Onward!
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and became one of the premier manufacturers of Fiberglass cars in the United States. The J-4 was his first production car and would be offered in turn key form for $6,700, more than $2000 over the price of a new Corvette. Aquired this Kellison at Monterey in 2019. It was purchased new by SCCA executive director Don Rodimer and he would keep the car until his death, at which time it would pass to well-known racer and tour organizer, Rich Taylor, in 1985. This J-4R originally featured a Chevy Small Block 283 and was updated in the mid-eighties to a Chevy Small Bock 406 mated to a 4-Speed Manual Close Ratio "Rock Crusher" Transmission. It was also retrofitted with four wheel disc brakes. Under its current configuration, the dynameter results have shown 497hp at the flywheel, and 463 ft/lbs of torque at 4500 rpm. Number "71" has a full SVRA Group 4 logbook and has been widely raced in both North and South America, including a Vintage Grand Prix in the Bahamas.
