The W123 from “Perestroika” (Part 2)

Exactly in those years, this Mercedes-Benz W123 was brought to Armenia. This car of 1981 ended up in Yerevan in 1988. Its first owner Khachik Harutyunyan, who had a highly significant and authoritative position in society, had himself brought the car from Germany. Thanks to his entrepreneurial activities in his native district of Ajapnyak , Harutyunyan managed to amass a decent fortune, which allowed him to acquire a luxurious Mercedes for those days.

The vehicle with the chassis identification number WDB12309612108341 was first registered at the local branch of the traffic police in March 1988, when it got plates of the Soviet model.  Over the next few years, the car was kept only in garage conditions and was maintained with parts brought from Germany.
To be continued...

The W123 from “Perestroika” (Part 1)

Mercedes-Benz has always been one of the most (if not the most) favorite car brands among Caucasians. After the Great Patriotic War, it used to be considered as the most notable and revered trophy vehicle for the Soviet man.  This German brand has always been distinguished for its luxurious equipment, instantly recognizable appearance, high assembly quality, advanced technology and many others. 

It was no wonder that after the announcement of the so-called perestroika in USSR, when people were finally allowed to freely bring cars of foreign production, the demand for the Mercedes was unprecedentedly high. A relatively new Mercedes was even able to equalize the statuses of an ordinary citizen and official or “big boss”.
To be continued...

The Dutch House on Wheels

In recent years, our little country has been attracting lots of people from all over the world. More and more tourists are including Armenia in their itineraries. I recently wrote about a couple from the Netherlands, who made an unbelievably long way on their Toyota Hilux driving through the entire territory of Armenia and making detailed reports on their impressions in their personal blog.

This time I had a chance to meet another wonderful Dutch crew. Very modest in appearance, but strong and resolute, the guys arrived at the Toyota Center in Yerevan on a military Toyota Land Cruiser 80. Armenia was lying on their way between Turkey, Georgia and Iran. In spite of the release data (1996), the car was in an ideal condition and only needed timely maintenance, which was going to be provided by our specialists.

Now let’s figure out what car it is, and why our guests chose exactly this vehicle to travel around the world.
As it turned out, the car underwent a complete restoration last year. It was transformed from a usual SUV into a “motorhome”. The original 1HZ 4.2 L diesel engine was replaced with a new one, which had a turbocharger and a massive intercooler. The car is fitted with enhanced professional Tough Dog off-road suspension with thick absorbers and deeply modified units- with their huge potential, they are specially designed for long trips on rough terrain.

At the rear, the car has a rigid axle with a self-locking differential. At the front, there is the solid Aisin axle, which has a manual locking option. The car was modified in the “Tom's Fahrzeugtechnik” workshop, known for its serious modifications of Toyota Land Cruisers since 2001.
The body was fundamentally remade. Now it has a 4-door layout with an extra camper on the chassis. This Land Cruiser is equipped with two water tanks and autonomous power supply system, which is charged from the solar panels installed on the roof.

The interior of the car offers all the possible facilities for comfortable accommodation for at least two people. The quality and work performed on this car deserves emulation for its class. It is perfectly adapted to conquer impassable areas delivering maximum impressions to its passengers.

The Mysterious American

Almost all of my classic car finds have a unique backstory- this one is not an exception. It all started with an ordinary phone call. A friend of mine, whom I hadn’t seen for ages, phoned me early in the morning. We started to chat about our own affairs. Having learnt about my passion for classic cars, my interlocutor shared a quite interesting memory from his youth with me.
Situated fifty kilometers away from our city, there was a popular ski resort, which my friend used to visit with his family since childhood. Before reaching the spa town, on the main road there was a car workshop, next to which there was an ownerless car, which had been unattended for years. The neglected American coupe from the beginning of the 70’s was obviously rusting through in open air. Unfortunately, my friend couldn’t make out the brand of the car. All he remembered was that year by year the car became more and more dismantled and the only remaining identification sign was the license plate. In the early 2000’s the car disappeared from the spot at all.

The whole thing seemed to me quite thrilling and I decided to arrange an investigation, in order to find the owner or something, which will provide a clue as to the whereabouts and destiny of the car. Although, after such a huge amount of time, there remained very little chance for any positive result, I took up the challenge all the same.
Firstly, I had to find the workshop, which was a very easy task, since it was the only place for car repair in the district. I met the guys who appeared to have “settled” there quite recently, therefore they never heard of the mysterious American coupe. Lots of effort had gone, before I got the first clue. Indeed, the car had stood idle exactly there for many years, after which, one day, its body was taken by the local junk collector, in order to be used as a fence material. After a while, I was able to admire the remains of the mysterious car, which was disconsolately decaying, along with other bodies with the same fate. Here found its final resting place the car I was looking for. Judging by the license plate, it was an Oldsmobile of 1973 release, but, most probably, the date was entered incorrectly during the registration.
It is extremely difficult to understand exactly what car it is. The body bears obvious marks of a master’s intervention, who changed the shape of the front, probably due to the absence of the original windscreen. The car unfortunately has no identification signs. All the mechanical parts, as well as the trunk and the hood, have gone missing. Most likely, this car will never be restored to its former beauty. However, there is a slight chance that this post will be read by an anonymous enthusiast, who will consider as a matter of honor to restore this vehicle.

The Stellar Mercedes

Last summer was unusually hot. Actually, the year was full of various natural anomalies and started with the fact that we had no snow on New Year’s Day.
Strange and rich in all sorts of surprises, the year started to bore me towards the end of the summer, therefore I decided to arrange a well-earned little vacation. So, in late August, I went to neighboring Georgia. My way to the southwest of the country, in an area called Adjara, lay through Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Within a few days, I had to be able to visit several parts of the region, and of course, Batumi, the most popular resort city in Georgia. Rest is important of course, but as a true vintage car lover, I simply couldn’t resist the temptation to find some classic car, or, at least, to reveal an interesting story about a retro vehicle. In Batumi, I spent only 3 days, the first two of which I was unable to find anything interesting, except this governmental GAZ-14 Chaika.

But finally, fortune smiled on me. I couldn’t even understand how I found myself in that dead street, which was closed from all sides. My attention was immediately caught by a black sedan surrounded with modern vehicles. Coming closer, I discovered that it was a Mercedes-Benz 230 S the W111 body. These cars were produced from 1965 to 1968 and there were 40.766 copies released. The condition of the car, let’s say, was not perfect. The body bore many marks of rust and was covered with lots of dents. Plus to all, the rear right window was missing.

 Nevertheless, I was burning in curiosity to find out, to whom the car belonged. My search didn’t last long and after a few minutes, I was nicely conversing with the owner in front of the car. George Romanovsky, as he introduced himself, had permanently moved to Moscow quite recently and visited his homeland only occasionally. He used to be the most prominent representative of Jewish community in Georgia, but what interested me most was his hobby of collecting cars.

According to him, his collection embraced literally all the models of executive limousines produced in the USSR, from ZIS-101 to GAZ-14. All those cars were in Moscow, so there remained nothing, but to trust his word. Then we started to talk about the Mercedes and Mr. Romanovsky told me another unsupported story, according to which the first owner of the car, in 1965, was the famous French actor Jean Mare. In the early 70’s, the possession of the car took none other than Charles Aznavour. After that, in the 80’s, Aznavour personally gave the car to the famous Armenian actor Frunzik Mkrtchyan.

The stellar biography of this Mercedes ends in 1991, when the last owner bought it from Frunzik Mkrtchyan and brought it to Georgia, where it currently is. The story of this car, of course, doesn’t purport to be a historical chronicle, since it is based only on the words of one of its “characters”.
However, the fact that this car has survived and is in complete factory condition deserves our attention.

The Car as a Piece of Art

How often do you see monuments to the car? Admittedly, it’s not a common cultural phenomena. Cars do present in some sculptural complexes. They are not given much importance, though. Only the fact that this engineering masterpiece has been in the world’s attention for over a hundred years, makes it worth being immortalized, doesn’t it?

Caucasian people have always been famous for their special love for technology, particularly for cars. Keeping in mind this fact, any resident of the Armenian capital will be proud to confirm that the national love for expensive classic and fast cars is embodied in one of the museums in the heart of Yerevan, in the form of a real car. Now attention: all motorists who plan to ever visit Armenia, I highly recommend to visit the Cafesjian Center for the Arts situated in the Cascade complex in Yerevan. From architectural and aesthetic points of view, this is an amazingly atmospheric place. Among many unusual exhibits and all kinds of art installations spread over this huge complex, there is an absolutely unique piece of art, a Subaru SVX. Any visitor can enjoy it for free. This Subaru was first exhibited in the summer of 2010 and is still in the public domain, along with the masterpieces of Andy Warhol, Marc Chagall and Grigor Khanjian. According to the helpful museum guides, this 1993 Subaru, the design of which was created by the famous Italian studio Italdesign, belongs to the personal collection of the renowned collector Gerard Cafesjian. Moreover, this car was his very first personal vehicle.

Initially, the entire car (except the front and rear lights) was re-painted in a silver matte color. However, it was eventually decided to cover the body with a mirror-like skin. Exactly in this form this car is presently exhibited.

Remarkably, among various interesting exhibits, there is another car, a beautifully restored Ford Model N Runabout of 1906, also from Cafesjian’s personal collection.

Burial & Resurrection: Toyota Crown Custom (Part 4)

Today I will continue the story about the unique custom project involving a Toyota Crown MS 106. About how and under what circumstances this car was found, as well as what restoration works took place, I have already written in previous posts.

The time has come to tell you about the modifications made in the electronic systems. It is worth mentioning that Toyota Crown, permanently being at the top of the hierarchical chain of the entire range of Toyota, has always been distinguished for its high level of equipment, being inferior, in status, only to the executive limousine Toyota Century. This fact naturally led to a high level of equipment of the Crown. The hardtop models of Toyota Crown in all available packages were equipped with central locking system, power windows and side-view mirrors, electric trunk opener and radio receiver with tape player that could be controlled from rear seats. Some instances under the name “Royal Saloon” were additionally equipped with an electric sunroof, air conditioning with electronic climate control, trip computer, cruise control system and even power rear seats.
All of the above mentioned options, except the sunroof, are present in this custom Crown. I hope you still remember that this very model was released in 1974 and all of these options came out with serial production of the Crown in 1974. You might ask, “what else could be added to this wide list of options?”
However, for a modern user, a car is not just a means of transportation, but a place where a large amount of time is spent, and that time must be spent with maximal comfort. For this reason, the car received a modern multimedia system with touch screen on the central console, by means of which the driver and passenger can access the Bluetooth and media files of all possible formats. Rear passengers can enjoy a privilege of using a separate multimedia system, which can read files in Blu-ray format. There are also “Mark Levinson” high quality speakers and wireless headphones for rear passengers.

The car has a modern anti-theft alarm system with a smart key and engine start button.
With the purpose of practicality, the original headlight units were replaced with more modern and replaceable light bulbs, after which they were installed with automatically controlled BiXenon projectors. The automatic control of wipers is activated by means of rain sensors.
For extra comfort, the driver’s seat got embedded with electric engines allowing it to move in two directions. All seats have a heating function.
Quite an interesting solution was given to side view mirrors. As you can see, they are totally absent. But this does not mean that the driver is destitute of side visibility. For this purpose, the car is equipped with additional displays and 2 tiny cameras on both sides, which provide the driver 4 times bigger view than the conventional mirrors. However this is not enough for perimetric visibility, and of course, there is also an additional rear view camera cleverly disguised under the trunk lock.