So, some clarity behind what I do: I drove up to Sparta, Kentucky for the Kentucky Speedway stop of the 2019 Hot Rod Power Tour to get photos and to meet up with some of the YouTube creators that I’ve featured here on BangShift over the last few years, such as Dylan McCool, Kevin from Junkyard Digs, and Luke from Thunderhead 289. Except for Dylan, who I met last year at the Power Tour launch in Bowling Green, I’ve never been face-to-face with these guys and have only talked with them via social media. They all brought cars that have been featured on their channels, such as McCool’s project Charger, Kevin’s Olds Cutlass he bought at the last possible second, and Luke’s trusty Ford pickup. But I wasn’t aware just how many YouTubers were actually on the trip…people like Derek from Vice Grip Garage, EricTheCarGuy, and the guys from Deboss Garage all made the trip. In fact, Deboss Garage brought two cars with them: one, a beautiful 1967 Pontiac GTO that ultimately proved to be problematic, and this car.
No, it’s not a real Mercedes. And no, nobody cares if it is or not. Honestly, when Stephan rolled up in this car, I didn’t know what to think at first. Did I seriously underestimate the Canadian I last saw on a video sending a GMC V-16 to it’s death? Is the dude really rolling in dough and I screwed up? Not really…the wheels are a giveaway. But in person, this 300SL roadster replica looks the part properly. Not that I’m all that familiar with Mercedes of this era (they’ve always been in the “stupid money” category for me, which means that I acknowledge they exist and move along) but seeing one, even a replica, tooling around with a bunch of muscle machines and hot rods, was almost comedic in a sense, like a gigantic middle finger. It’s basically the most posh Fox Mustang you’ve ever seen.
Here’s a rundown on what it took to get the SL fake up and ready for a long road trip, from sorting out the transmission to getting the engine to behave. At the end, you’ll get a very fast glimpse into what went on during Power Tour…including one of the best stories we can’t wait to bring you the details on!
The only good thing about this hideous travesty is that its based on Ford running gear…
Well let us hope you are right about Nobody cares about it, cause mercedes has a reputation for dragging guys to count and taking cars like this to the crusher just for violating the trademark. So lets hope they leave this one alone and the other replicas out there. I saw one gullwing replica Being buildt on tv. And my thought was the same. Mercedes should rather be proud that someone findes the design beautiful enough to use all those hours building one.