I 'borrowed' license plates from another car of mine to drive the 45 minutes home from Karl's shop. During the preceding weeks, I had attemped to obtain a title and plates. Easy, right? Not in Pennsylvania with a reposessed out of state car. It turns out GE Capital had 'released the lein' on the car when it reposessed it. In PA, that is a no-no. The reposessor must notarize a document, blah blah blah.

So, I called GE. A lot. At a lot of different locations around the country. And here's a surprise: I didn't get anywhere! So I called the seller. "Sure, we can register the vehicle under our name in NJ, then transfer it to you - just send us the lein papers and old title." Now, I wasn't born yesterday. I was a bit nervous at sending back the only legal documents I had claiming title to this car after I just spent, ahem, a bunch with Karl. But I did. And within about a week after Easter, I got a clean NJ title signed over to me. Phew!

I then applied for antique tags; Pennsylvania decided to send me a regular tag and title for a 1971 Mercury! Sigh... But within another two weeks or so, the new tag and title arrived - crisis number 2 averted...

The following four weeks or so were devoted to cleaning the car up in time for the M-100 Group's annual meet (coincidentally, at Karl's shop). New tires were purchased (with advice from a Classic Car customer in Atlanta, GA), and an attempt was made to get an alignment at the local M-B dealer. I must say that it is quite nice to visit an M-B dealer's parts counter, as opposed to my local Mr. Badwrench. But I still got that 'deer in the headlights' look when asking if they could align a 600. "An S-600, sir?" No, a 1971 SWB. "I don't believe we made a 600 until the early '90's, sir."

Again, a sigh. Fortunately, a very patient, experienced (older) technician at the Goodyear shop was more than interested in reading the shop manual (thanks, eBay) and spent over three hours carefully aligning the car. If someone in SE Pennsylvania needs an alignment, I know where a Hunter alignment computer has the specs!

During this time I sucessfully located a few of the sellers recommended on the M-100 bulletin board and purchased some incidental items, like a NOS steering wheel and a multi-funtion switch (the wipers worked at their own speed, when they wanted).

And I drove the car... several days a week. Totally uneventfully. Except for the other motorists. I got a lot of thumbs-up (mostly from kids, interestingly.) Several times, at stoplights, someone would roll the window down, asking if it was for sale. You bet, I said, knowing that neither they or I would complete a transaction at the light.

I got pretty good at deciphering the shop manual, managing to understand how to adjust the leveling screws for the suspension. But soon it was time to see how this car stacked up against other 600s that would soon be rolling into Woxall, PA, for the 2000 M-100 Meet. I was pleased, however, that Karl wanted my car next to his 1972 Pullman, which was also the same DB387 metallic blue.

June 1, 2000, was a hot day. I arrived around 9 AM and was stunned to see so many M-100 powered cars, including 20+ 600s. I am told that at these gatherings more 600s are together than at any other time in their history, including at the factory (this makes sense, since even the smaller SWB took 5 weeks to complete, and in some years only 150 or so cars were completed). As many of you have been to these meets, I won't detail the event. I was, however, able to meet some fabulous people, owners and fans, and listen to their stories about their cars and the times they've had with them (that is one of the reasons I am sharing this).

I was truly in awe. Here were vehicles owned by some of the most influential people in the world, now restored and driven lovingly by fanatics, most of whom are are of relatively modest means. To them (us), these cars deserve to be restored to like-new condition, and they deserve to be driven.

In the end, I had to leave before Friday's dinner, but not before I had purchased a correct Becker Grand Prix from Ed Ebel of Becker, learned about restoring woodwork, listened to differing opinions about paints, and truly felt that my impulsive purchase was in relatively good condition. Yes, I heard a few 'horror' stories, too. But I didn't hear too many complain that they wouldn't do it again!

All of the pictures on this page are of my 600, VIN 10001212001806, produced in November, 1970, as a 1971 model. They were taken at the M-100 meet on June 2, 2000.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Summer of 2000 in this car, although its air conditioning didn't work and the summer was hot! That was too bad, since I wanted to see if the Gleason system really worked! But I survived the summer and fall, driving this car far too much, nearly 4000 miles in my first year of ownership. As winter approached, I attempted to use the heat. After all, this car had climate control, right? Well, the heat worked, fully. Or not at all. There was no in-between. And as the air got colder, things like windows and door locks slowly stopped working. Eventually I broke an alternator belt and killed a battery

. The car that had always started every morning and cheerfully opened all of its door locks with the twist of a key was becoming an old lady. I was getting a little tired of jump-starting it every time I wanted to drive it. And so, in January of 2001, I decided that stage two of the restoration process was necessary. I would have the door locks fixed, the air conditioning, the heating... In general, I would get the creature comforts fixed. I also decided to 'share the wealth', dwindlings though it was, with another M-100 expert, Neil Dubey at Star Motors. For nearly a year, I had heard his virtues, along with Karl's and others', extoled on the M-100 bulletin board. I had even spoken to him briefly at the M-100 meet and by telephone in the fall.

Thus, on March 24, 2001, Neil was kind enough to meet me in Reading, PA, to pick up the car to get these items rectified. And unlike the previous year, time was not an issue. I could wait to see (and drive) the car until summer while Neil sorted things out.

A few weeks went by, and I received a lengthy email from Neil with what has to be the most complete and precise quotation for repair work I had ever seen. And, of course, there were a few surprises...