I won’t soon forget the day I met Zach Bowman. Not because it was the day I met Zach Bowman, but because it was the day when I finagled my way into being permitted to fly a Goodyear blimp.
Zach’s a good kid and one of the better young writers in the business. Last year, he decided to protest the government shutdown by trespassing at a national park. (For the record, I forgot about the shutdown, drove to Mound City in my 560SL with a distaff companion, realized it was closed, then drove home.) When he bragged online about having given “a middle finger to the government shutdown”, he learned that you cannot mock or disobey our imperial bureaucracy without paying the price. The price was cleaning public toilets at a national park.
Give the kid a click. Or two. He deserves it.
September 30, 2014 at 11:14 am
“my 560SL”
you finally bought one? Cool! I remember reading on TTAC that a 560SL was on your list of cars you eventually wanted to own… what year and color?
I LOVE that engine, Ive got it in an ’89 560 SEC and I bought a second one and ended up doing the ‘ultimate conversion’ for my MB 460-series G-wagen…
September 30, 2014 at 11:19 am
whoops… saw this was all in the past after clicking the links… sorry
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/01/my-greatest-hits-and-biggest-misses-of-2013/
How are you liking the car?
September 30, 2014 at 11:22 am
… i have to confess i only saw your stuff (and became a fan) for the first time recently and am still catching up on your TTAC posts etc…
September 30, 2014 at 12:46 pm
I bought the 560SL last year and I really, really loved it. However, the injuries I had in January made it difficult to look after (or, to be honest, pay for service, upkeep, and insurance on) three “extra cars”. So I sold the SL back to the fellow who sold it to me, with deep regret.
September 30, 2014 at 4:33 pm
Sorry to hear that Jack, I can imagine you must have been sad to see it go (looks really nice I love that blue MB interior), really a beautiful specimen and at least you got to cross it off the list
Its a car that’s always been kinda on my list as well but somehow I can never find the right example (closest I came was so close but so far negotiation for a silver/red ’72 with manual), I really like the touches on the early cars because you can see still see some pagoda-modernist roots if you squint. But more recently I’ve bought too many other MBs that are similar. Ive got a 3-pedal R129 300sl-24 in addition to the 560SEC and just a few months ago I bought a W116, which I love to pieces. Its a particularly good car- a 450se (rare where I live- South Africa, because although the local MB factory cranked out lots of 280 and 350 models, all 450’s had to be imported and there are less than are barely a dozen left in the country- this happens to be the only LHD 450 non-longwheelbase spec), sporting an original coat of Magnetite Blue paint with Navy checkered interior, that only had one recently deceased owner all its life and it is totally original right down to the Becker Monza and the horse hair stuffing. In fact, have a look, the ad is still up: http://www.gumtree.co.za/a-cars-bakkies/inner-city-cbd-bruma/1975-mercedes+benz-s+class-450se/1001164896230910266854809. Just superb, and there is such a solidity, much like the R107 its just one of the most sure footed and solid feeling cars ever built, real tangible MB quality to this car- there is not a single rattle… And all that for the local equivalent of $4500 USD (and a new exhaust manifold gasket so far). What a value these old MBs can be sometimes… the pity is their solidity and durability is ironically what prevents them from being better investments, seems there are just too damn many survivors on the road…
October 1, 2014 at 3:42 am
Could someone please inform Mr. Bowman that there is no mystique left amongst the fathers of court reporters for “motorcyclists” who at this point mostly comprise baby boomer dentists on their V twins clogging up mountain passes on pleasant sunday afternoons.
I admire his moxie. It’s a shame he had to ultimately submit, but you can’t really go Roger Pion with the entire federal government, you’ll just end up ruby ridged.
October 1, 2014 at 6:58 am
Wait, this guy was ticketed solely on evidence that he himself provided, and he did not even make them prove their case by pleading not guilty?
Kids need to wise up about the legal system. There is no nobility in buckling under so readily.
Gert, there is obviously no sexual threat from fat old cruiser riders. This is presumably a young, decent -looking buck that gets bonus point for bikes, rebellion, etc.
October 1, 2014 at 9:25 am
Zach’s a pretty handsome guy. Very innocent looking.