"Bertha" is a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 220S coupe. It was purchased in 1982 with 72000 kilometers on its speedometer from an antique toy dealer in Geneva, Switzerland, for a paltry $3500.00, at a time when few cared about neat old cars. It was dirty, dusty and had a dent in its driver-side front fender, as just days after I purchased it, an African ambassador rammed it with his own automobile, then claimed diplomatic immunity for his crime. It was fixed locally, but not that well.
So I drove her across the French border with fake plates, and once in Le Havre, put her on a boat to Long Beach. She traveled well, the only damaged being that one of the shipping employees stole its hood star. Collecting is a worldwide business!
Back home, I put new tires on her, some Coker Classic jobs, and simply... drove it everywhere until 1992 when a very nice gentleman friend by the name of Jean-Paul Guiral offered to perform a cosmetic restoration on this very original car.

And he did a magnificent job for a price that was beyond reasonable. Since 1992, she not only looked great with new paint, some re-chrome, re-finished wood and a new headliner, but she also ran just fine. Bertha was seen at various shows such as the ones we used to have at Fashion Island in Newport beach until the local merchants decided that attracting customers was not cool after all, as it was disturbing their sleep during business hours.

Motor Press Guild members twice chose Bertha as their "Track Days Concours Winner", and it benefited from publication in one of the last printed issues of the MPG newslewtter.

Above, the happy co-owner enjoys a brief break from a drive on the Pacific Coast Highway. The car has been effectively trouble free for the past 30 years.

The engine runs strong and the brakes are truly outstanding for a car of that age, using finned aluminum drums on front and finned cast iron units at the back, plus a servo assisting the effort. The pedal is firm, the deceleration spectacular and worthy of many modern automobiles.

An engine rebuild was performed in 2009, using a NOS long block and a finned 1961 220S cylinder head. The original engine stays with the car, its cylinder head fully rebuilt and awaiting assembly onto the original block, crankshaft and parts.