My name is Simon Jacobs and I live in Perth, Western Australia. I haven't always been a Mercedes-Benz enthusiast, but I have always loved cars.
Running a business with my wife from our home office it can be very easy to become isolated from the community at large. My love of cars and my own classic Mercedes, is my way of staying connect and socialising with like minded people. Life is short, we are all busy, why waste time hanging out with people you have little in common with?
Having previously been privileged to hold the positions of Vice President for two years, Events Co-ordinator and Social Media Officer for the Mercedes-Benz Car Club of Western Australia (MBCCWA); I am the founder of the Facebook Group W(A)114/115.
What started as a hobby has become an addiction, and I want to share my experiences with those of you through this blog.
What is tyrobenz you ask? Well, the clues are in the name;
"tyro" meaning a beginner or novice, and
"benz" a reference to the subject of interest.
Me aged 3 or 4.
Aged just 16 the first vehicle I
drove was my friend's father's series 3 Landrover; I was instantly hooked on the
British Icon. Right up until I
left the UK to come to Australia I had Landrovers in my blood. I had hoped to buy another when I got
to Australia, but being a victim of the European housing market crash meant
that this dream was out of my reach.
After a year or so of driving a Ford Fairmont, I came across a 1988
Range Rover that I could afford, foolishly I bought it. About 3 months afterwards it died an
oily death. Note to self, cheap 4x4 = heap of junk!
After several months of licking my
wounds and trying to save up to recoup my losses, I began looking for a
replacement car. I knew it had to
be something different to the run of the mill cars, preferably old and of
course cheap. The search became an
addiction, trolling through the Internet, newspapers and general classifieds
everyday hoping to find something…….anything.
Finally, two days after getting out
of hospital minus my appendix, I found myself on the train heading to Bayswater
to look at a 1976 Mercedes. After
a brief test drive in bitter post-surgery agony, I offered the seller what I could afford
despite it being well below his asking price. I told him that I would call him at the end of the month to
see if he still had it. If so, I would try and offer him more for it.
The end of the month came and the
car was still for sale. Like an
excited schoolboy I sat at the front of the bus checking off the stops as they
rolled past before finally reaching my destination. Armed with transfer papers and the additional money that my
father had sent me from the UK I bought my first Mercedes. A 1976, W116, 280SE. I loved it!
Two years later with the purchase and renovations necessary to our house, a derelict property in Perth, I had to say goodbye to my Mercedes. I recall tears blurred my vision as I dropped her off at her new owners, a very sad day.
Two years later with the purchase and renovations necessary to our house, a derelict property in Perth, I had to say goodbye to my Mercedes. I recall tears blurred my vision as I dropped her off at her new owners, a very sad day.
Six months later with the completion
of the first stage of our house renovation, my addiction to the classifieds had
returned. I couldn’t bring myself to buy another W116 just in case it was a
disappointment to the last so I was looking at everything pre-1979. Finally, in
March of this year I found it, a 1969 W114 250C. The advertisement popped up on the Internet late on a Friday
night and by Saturday afternoon I was driving it home, all the windows down fascinated
by the pillar-less styling. Even the dog loved the pillar-less windows, sticking her head out to catch the breeze and standing up with her front paws on the back of the drivers seat to give me a lick!
It has been three years since I brought my W114 home and she has literally changed my life. Whilst I appreciate that this sounds dramatic, it is the truth.
Affectionately known as UGU, pronounced U-goo, "tyrobenz" will follow a day in the life of UGU and also Leif, my 1969 Land Rover Series 2A Station Wagon which I acquired late in December 2014.
Between these two 1969 classics I look forward to sharing the places we go, the people we meet and of course the inevitable maintenance required to keep UGU on the road, and my efforts to get Leif back on the road.
The '69ers:
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