Author Archive: Brian Peters

In June of 2016 my Porsche master-mechanic friend called to say his client and owner of a car he had maintained for thirty years had passed. A multiple car family, this was never a daily driver but they were active with her throughout the late seventies and eighties in the local chapter of Porsche Club of America. As the caretaker aged, drives became infrequent to the point that every few years she would be taken out of storage with a dead battery and flat-bedded to the mechanic for a brief resurrection and a couple of drives before being relegated again to her garage stall. This kept the mileage low and preserved the upholstery in the state you see in the photos.

The seats are strictly original (when I use the term, “original” I do not mean “stock” or “un-modified,” I mean, this is the exact, same “stuff” she was wearing as she sat on the [...]

Can there possibly be a cleaner, more honest, rust-free and stock Cortina Mk 1 in this Universe? I realize there are some very nicely restored Lotus Cortinas out there, as well as some Cortina GTs and some very nice fake Lotuses. Something tells me it is highly unlikely that there is another bench seat, 4 speed on the column Mk 1 this nice. If there is, someone please let me know about it!

I purchased this car for my own use back in 2011 because ‘Cortina’ was on my “bucket list”. Remarkably, much of the car is ORIGINAL (including most of the PAINT!). The peripheral mechanicals and some of the cosmetics were restored before my purchase (have a look at the photos of the undercarriage!). It had been stored for a time before I received it so my technicians went through it so that it would be absolutely reliable so that my wife and I [...]

Rare World Market car – 14,000 miles (23,300km), “F1” paddle shifter, Daytona seats . . . Presents and drives outstandingly.

We bought this one from our client who spent $7000 with us in ’15 making it a tidy, reliable driver then he hardly drove it. Now she has a fresh valve job and new Red Stripe tires!

This Arabian gray 280SL is essentially all original excepting an interior refresh done in our workshops and a couple of paint blends. Sold new by Mercedes-Benz Beverly Hills, this two-owner has spent her whole life in Southern California.

She was reconditioned in our workshops with the aim of conserving this highly authentic specimen. As the years pile up, more and more cars will be restored with various levels of (in-)competence and fewer and fewer will remain original and authentic. The future will look kindly upon the few remaining preservation-grade examples (read “great investment”).

Motoring Investments has contributed 339 workshop hours to this end including all functionality items and preventative maintenance to assure she drives as Daimler-Benz intended for years to come (our clients spend upwards of $40,000 for work such as this on their cars)

Equipment and accessories include original Frigiking air conditioning, automatic transmission and the original Becker Europa radio. The original Continental brand [...]

The “Holy Grail” of European, 4-speed 280SLs and a real anomaly—a never rusted European spec car! Still retains her original, factory beige undercoating and most original paint!! Add in the original upholstery, carpet and perfect, original dash wood and this defines Preservation Car! Never seen salt, perfect trunk floor and the original spare is still present.

With the hot cam of her high output Euro spec engine and taller differential—this is a driver’s car!

Icing on the cake: Chassis number 11304410023547 is one of the final 830 280SLs actually built in 1971 and what some call a ‘true’ 1971 model. Of the 23,885 total, this is just 338 from the last car.

Imported on 10/9/1985 (w/all paperwork) – Purchased from Motoring Investments by our client in 2007 w/exactly 99,999 actual kilometers (102,264 now) – She’s returned home as he’s rotated his collection around – Just freshened mechanically ($8000) with service records intact
Documented MBCA [...]

World-Class Survivor!

All-original, preservation 300D turbo – The factory original upholstery, paint, trim and undercoating all confirm the 81k actual miles. When our client purchased this car last year we did a full service and inspection (he’s downsizing). Absolutely everything works and this is a true survivor. It was owned by one small town pharmacist who drove it sparingly its whole life then transferred to our urologist client last year.

This rare 250SL Pagoda came back home after 30 years! We are humbled to have clients this loyal. Dr. Peters bought her from us in ’93, tucking his old military flight-surgeon bag in the trunk, and heading down the road, in-line six singing and four-speed auto grabbing gears with surgeon-like precision.

Incredibly, this fifty-one-year-old retains her original carpet and upholstery with a lovely patina. Considering that most 30-year-olds have had all their soft parts replaced, an oldtimer this original is a treasure. When the Full Bird, now an octogenarian was ready to downsize he brought her back to us, flight bag still in the trunk.

She has the ingredients we all seek: matching numbers, no major rust, sound mechanicals and what is missing in virtually all the shiny ‘driver’s’ on the market—a high degree of authenticity and originality. Please view the photos carefully—they’re all there, including the floorboards, showing her original factory undercoat.