Named for Snoopy's little feathered friend.

It is a 1974 Mercedes Benz 450SL. We found it at Rumbles Auto Sales in Bristol, TN. Rumbles is owned by Ron Humble, a guy that Bill used to race his Legends car with. Ron's wife Janice also races a Legends car. We have been friends with them for about seven years.

"Woodstock" was orginally titled in Arkansas and somehow found his way to Bristol, TN. We have the orginial owners name, it was written in the owner's manual. We hope to be able to trace back and find out who all the owners were.

We wanted a newer antique car that was in good condition that we could just drive and enjoy. And maybe be able to go on an AACA tour with it. We keep hearing from friends, and reading on the forums, how much fun touring is.

The photo was taken somewhere in Bristol for the web-site it was advertised on.

My neighbor recently died and left a dark blue 1971 350SL (actually a 450 with 350 badges) in his garage in like-new condition. I tried to buy it, but failed. It was gone before I could even make an offer on it.
My dad had a 350SL a long time ago, with European gearing (came from Brussels). It was a very fun car to drive. Be aware that these cars need regular -- and expensive -- maintenance (three different levels: A, B, and C). You need to maintain them so they don't break, as opposed to American cars of that period where you fix them WHEN they break. I'm sure that ya'll will be able to do most of the service work yourselves, though, which makes it a very nice car to have.

West, sorry you missed out on the neighbors car. I know you would have given it a good home.

We went looking for one knowing that they cost more to maintain than lots of other antiques. But Bill really can do a lot of work himself. And I can help, I don't worry about breaking a nail or getting grease on my hands. Most times I know what tool he is asking for and I am great at holding a flashlight. Dad taught me well. My two older brothers were not interested in working on cars as teenagers, they only wanted to drive. We just ordered a repair manual for it and it is supposed to be in at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow at Advance Auto.

I've always liked those since my dad's boss owned one when I was little...

And the name is absolutely perfect...it's amazing, it's almost like Charles Schulz painted the car to match.

Thanks Chris. Hopefully once we get new seatbelts in it (they are badly damaged so we won't be taking it out until they are replaced) we can maybe drive down your way and show it to you. Or see you at a local show.

I have always been a fan of the Peanuts comic strip. And Woodstock just apeals to me more than Tweety.

The beagle we had before we got the dalmatian that is pictured in my AVATAR was named Spike in honor of Snoopy's brother that lived in Needles, California.

I'll run into you eventually (can't miss a yellow car in any field). I've been looking for some local shows this summer.

Here are three that I just found out about.

South Charleston Summerfest Car Show - August 24th, 2008, Noon to 5 p.m.

Shoney's Car Show at the Mound (South Charleston) - Sept 20, 2008 (didn't list a time)

CAR-SHO.COM presents "The Line-Up" - June 21, 2008, 2 - 8 p,m, Riverside High School, Warrior Way, Belle, W. Va. 25015

Also the Mustang Club runs a couple shows in the Charleston area, one is at the Wave Pool near Hurricane. I can get those dates for you if you want them.

Hope to make it to some of them and hope you can too.

I'll be in college for all but the one at Riverside, although I've been to the one at the Mound before and loved it so I may try to slip home for a weekend. We'll see!

An update about Woodstock. I found his original owner!! And she still lives in the same house in Jonesboro, Arkansas as when she bought this car.

She had been to Europe, not sure where, and saw a 1974 450SLCR there and fell in love with the body style. She test drove one in Little Rock, AR but did not purchase one until January 17, 1974. It was purchased new from a dealer in Memphis, TN.

She drove the car for nine years and sold it to a young man in Jonesboro. She sold the car to him for $4,000 more than she paid for it. He moved to Mississippi and took the car with him.

Beyond that we haven't found the next owner since I just found all this out today.

How odd that the car started in TN, went to AR, then to MS, and maybe then back to TN where we bought it and brought it to WV.

As soon as the car is inspected and on the road we plan to have a photo taken of us with the car and send her a copy.

Susan in 1964 in Germany, auto insurance was directly related to engine size. The bigger the motor the higher the cost. A master craftman earned about 1 mark 50 phenings an hr. Thats about 37 cents at the time. Because of this only the very rich and taxi drivers drove anything bigger than a vw,so you can guess used Mercedes where hard to sell and cheap. Leaving Germany I wanted to buy a car and have it shiped back to the states. I looked at a 63 Merceds 4dr. I think was a 220d?? Its been a long time and memores fade, That I realy wanted to buy. It was black with leather and wood inside, just georges.Being a young man I didnt know what the D ment but when I opened the hood I couldnt find the spark plugs,like I said I dont remember the exact model but long story short I bought a brand new 64 vw for the same price as the mercedes. $1200. I still have the bill of sale. Do I need a swift kick?? You betchum kemo sabe.

Back in 1965 while the Air Force had me TDy to St. Louis, MO,
we visited a Mercedes Dealer to see the new 230SL. Wow was a car but I remember thinking $5800! Who would ever pay that much for a car?
A month later I bought a Mercedes in Germany for $175.00.
While not a 230SL, the 170Va was a fun car. A 1951 with a
Pre-WWII body style similar to a 34 Ford fit my budget and love of old cars long enough to find a Porsche Speedster. Now that was a true sports car!

Here's an updated photo. That's Bill in the driver's seat. The new seatbelts are in, a new motorized antenna, a new radiator plus lots of tinker work. We took it out for a drive just a little while ago. We managed to find a DQ to stop for ice cream. It's a joke with our region that all drives must include a stop at a DQ or if one of those is not available there must be a stop somewhere for ice cream.

beautiful car. Always loved those!