MASTERS CLASS

The Masters Class is open to all car-club members. It comprises individual entries, limited to six cars for each club. These cars are among the finest restored vehicles you will find anywhere.

The calibre of entrants in the Masters Class this year was once again at the level we’ve come to expect of this event, which draws enthusiasts from around the country. Two stunning vehicles battled it out to take out the top prize. Harald Decker’s beautiful 190 SL was up against the 1969 Mach 1 Mustang belonging to John Hellens. Both cars are testament to the work done by the restorers and owners. After hours of meticulous judging, the top honour went to Harald Decker’s 190 SL, with a score of 571 points out of a possible 590 — the highest score ever awarded in this competition.

Period restoration

Harald’s 190 SL was brought into New Zealand from the US in 1991. The importer subsequently decided to part ways with the car, and placed an ad in the

Trade and Exchange around a year later. Harald Decker had always had an interest in Mercedes-benz cars. He bought his first, a 1960 Ponton (‘Roundie’), in 1975, when he was a student in his native Germany. The car came with him when he immigrated to New Zealand. So, when the opportunity presented itself to Harald to own the aforementioned 190 SL, it was an opportunity too good to resist.

The car was reasonably good shape, but there was some fundamental work to be done. Despite this, it had a warrant of fitness, so Harald enjoyed driving it around for several years, with the ultimate plan being to restore it. Of course, life tends to get in the way of the best-laid plans, and the SL sat in the shed for a number of years.

By the early 2000s, with kids growing up, Harald began pulling the car apart piece by piece. Soon enough, work was well underway. Harald took photos and notes for every piece that came off the car, and kept meticulous records of what belonged where and what required replacement or refurbishment. The car was sandblasted, and, of course, being from the US, it had a thick layer of tar protecting the underbody. Once that was cleaned off, the full extent of the work needed became evident. It was also soon discovered that around 70 per cent of the panels required replacing.

A restorer was engaged, but his retirement stymied plans and, once again, the project was halted for a few years.

After that stint in the shed, the car was sent to Lloyd Marx Restoration, just out of Hamilton. It was at this point that Harald decided that this wasn’t going to be any ordinary restoration. He was going to keep the car as close as possible to original and to the guideline set by Mercedes-benz for that particular year.

Lloyd Marx undertook a lot of the heavy lifting himself — from the engine overhaul, to steering-column replacement, to a full gearbox disassembly and painstaking rebuild from scratch.

At times, Harald’s journey on the research trail to find the correct methods and parts to make this a proper period restoration suitable for a 1961 vehicle became obsessive. It became even more involved when he discovered the number of production changes made to the 190 between 1955 and 1963. When the sun visors needed replacing, Harald decided that,

as much as he prefers the earlier ones, and as easy as the earlier version was to find, he had to go for the correct item to ensure the car was just as it was when it rolled of the production line in 1960.

While this research was a learning curve, it brought Harald great joy to learn so much about his car and to know he was doing the work properly.

Lloyd carried out the engine and mechanical work and used the best contractors in the country to complete the rest of the job. When it came to putting the jigsaw back together, his experience shone through.

The final touches to the upholstery took some time, and Harald finally got his hands on the car only 10 days before this event — not much breathing room, but obviously enough for the car’s presentation to meet the exacting standards set by the competition in the Masters Class.

Harald is now looking forward to enjoying the car and getting it out for a few drives — in better weather than the day provided — and perhaps even entering the Teams Event next year.