1950 Mercedes Benz Racecar Transporter - Jay Leno's Garage
**Jay Leno’s 1950s Mercedes-Benz Race Car Transporter: A Unique Piece of Automotive History**
Welcome to another episode of *Jay Len's garage*, where we explore one of the most unusual vehicles ever built—a 1950s Mercedes-Benz race car transporter. This isn’t just a car; it’s a piece of automotive history, and Jay has spent years restoring and modifying it to make it functional once again. Let’s dive into the story behind this iconic vehicle.
### The History of the Mercedes-Benz Race Car Transporter
Back in the 1950s, Mercedes-Benz dominated the Grand Prix racing scene, with most of the action taking place in England, Germany, France, and Spain. However, the Germans had a unique approach to car maintenance—they preferred fixing their cars at the factory rather than at the racetrack. To address this, Mercedes-Benz built what was then the world’s fastest car transporter, capable of speeds between 105 and 108 mph. This transporter wasn’t just any vehicle; it featured the same powerful engine as the famous Mercedes 300 SL, a six-cylinder machine with mechanical fuel injection.
The idea behind this transporter was simple yet ingenious: if one of their race cars broke down during a race, the transporter could pick it up, drive it back to Germany at breakneck speeds (around 100 mph), fix it overnight, and bring it back to the racetrack for the next day’s competition. This innovative approach to racing logistics was both romantic and unusual, making the vehicle a true engineering marvel of its time.
### The Demise and Revival of the Transporter
Unfortunately, by the early 1960s, the transporter fell out of favor with Mercedes-Benz. It was deemed too large and inefficient, and instead of preserving it, the company decided to crush and destroy the vehicle. This decision was met with outrage from car enthusiasts worldwide, as the vehicle had already captured the hearts of collectors and fans.
In response to the outcry, Mercedes-Benz built a replica of the transporter, which is now on display at their museum in Germany. While the original replica cost around $2 million, Jay’s transporter is a custom-built reproduction by a gentleman named Sergey from Sweden. Sergey passed away before completing the project, leaving it unfinished. Jay took over, transforming it into a fully functional transporter for his own Mercedes race cars.
### Jay Leno’s Transporter: A Labor of Love
Jay’s transporter isn’t just a replica; it’s a labor of love. He has spent years restoring and modifying it to make it roadworthy. Unlike the original, which had a powerful Mercedes engine from the 1950s, Jay’s transporter features a more practical mid-80s Mercedes truck engine. This engine may not be as fast or romantic as its predecessor, but it gets the job done reliably.
Jay has also added several custom touches to make the vehicle functional and comfortable for modern use. He installed air conditioning because of California’s sweltering heat, upgraded the suspension with airbags for better ride quality, and even added a door to access the radiator—something the original didn’t have. The dashboard remains true to the period, featuring classic Mercedes styling and authentic materials.
### Design and Functionality
One of the most striking features of this transporter is its cab-forward design, which Jay describes as the ultimate expression of the concept. The wheels are positioned far behind the cab, creating a unique driving experience where everything happens behind you. This layout makes the vehicle feel almost like a tank, with its imposing presence and unconventional handling.
The transporter is designed to carry just one race car at a time, which was its original purpose. Jay uses it to transport his own Mercedes race cars, fittingly continuing the legacy of the vehicle’s intended use. The design includes removable ramps that fold down from the back, allowing him to load and unload the race car with ease.
### The Build Process: A testament to Craftsmanship
The man who built Jay’s transporter, Sergey, was a true craftsman. He meticulously recreated every detail of the original vehicle, even going so far as to build wooden bucks for shaping parts and creating accurate replicas of the Mercedes 1950s sedan front grille. The level of attention to detail is extraordinary, with photos of the build showing how he carefully forged each piece.
Unfortunately, Sergey passed away before completing the project, leaving Jay to finish it. Despite this, the transporter remains a testament to Sergey’s skill and dedication. It’s a reminder that even in an era dominated by modern cars, there’s still room for meticulous craftsmanship and passion for classic vehicles.
### Jay Leno’s Passion for Classic Cars
For Jay, this transporter isn’t just a means of transportation; it’s a piece of automotive history. He treasures it not only for its unique design but also for the stories it tells. The vehicle is a perfect example of how classic cars can be preserved and adapted for modern use, even if they aren’t as fast or efficient as today’s vehicles.
Jay’s passion for classic cars extends to his collection, which includes other iconic Mercedes models like the 300 SL convertible and the SC coupe with sunroof. He has a deep appreciation for the build quality of these early Mercedes cars, with their rich German leather interiors and timeless styling.
### Fangio’s Trophy: A Touch of History
Among the treasures in Jay’s garage is a special item—a trophy given to him by Juan Manuel Fangio, one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time. The trophy, from Fangio’s first World Championship win in 1951, is displayed alongside the transporter, adding another layer of history and significance to this unique vehicle.
Fangio’s story is a testament to the risks and challenges faced by early racers. Back then, drivers didn’t receive millions of dollars for their wins; instead, they relied on skill, determination, and sheer courage. Jay’s collection of racing memorabilia, including Fangio’s trophy, reflects his respect for the legends who paved the way for modern motorsports.
### Final Thoughts
As Jay drives this transporter down the road, it’s hard not to be impressed by its unusual appearance and historical significance. While it may not reach the original’s top speed of 108 mph, it still manages a respectable 65-70 mph, making it a practical vehicle for transporting race cars.
The journey of restoring this transporter has been a long one, taking Jay nearly a year and a half to complete. However, the result is more than just a functional vehicle—it’s a piece of Mercedes-Benz history that has been lovingly recreated and preserved for future generations.
In Jay’s words, this transporter isn’t just a car; it’s “one of the coolest looking vehicles of all time.” Whether you’re a Mercedes enthusiast or simply someone who appreciates unique automotive designs, this 1950s race car transporter is sure to leave you in awe.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enshow you how we offload this thing welcome to another episode of Jay Len's garage this is my 1950s Mercedes-Benz race car transporter uh this is a car or a vehicle i l it after since I was a kid uh if you don't know the history back in the ' 50s when Mercedes-Benz went Grand Prix racing most of the racing was England Germany France Spain and the Germans did not like to fix their cars at the racetrack they like to fix them at the factor so what they did was they built was what was at the time the world's fastest car transporter 108 or 105 or 108 mil an hour and what this had was this had the engine out of the famous Mercedes going you know the 300 SL uh the big six-cylinder uh mechanical fuel injection uh just like the race car so what they would do is if a car broke down the transporter pick it up drive you know 8 n hours and 100 miles an hour back to Germany fix it and then drive it back the next day and have it at the race it was a very romantic vehicle and so unusual looking and look how far back uh the wheels are from the cab when you drive this thing you find yourself I mean it everything happens behind you uh this is the ultimate expression of cab forward you always hear that expression cab Forward Design This is the ultimate cab Forward Design in fact the reason I bought my Corvair Rams side was it was the closest in design I could get to this now what happened to the actual one uh the actual one uh lived at Mercedes-Benz until 1967 and then Mercedes-Benz decided it was too big was taking up too much space uh just crush this thing and destroy it so you know back in the early 60s there wasn't this Nostalgia for antique cars for older vehicles everybody liked modern stuff I mean sure there were some uh people that collected vintage cars but they were it wasn't like it is today you were just seen as like my dad used to say why would you buy an old car and you got a brand new Cadillac for the same price it didn't make any sense to fix up an old car you know there were better transport were more efficient that were Faster by the time this thing uh met its demise so what happened was I think it was just crushed and then there was such an outcry from people who just love this vehicle you know Corgi made toys of it dinky toy everybody made a toy version of this car so Merc Mercedes-Benz decided to build a replica and an exact replica as only Mercedes-Benz could do and that's at the Mercedes uh Museum in Germany I went to see it actually uh I think it cost some something like $2 million now this one this one was built initially by a gentleman in Sweden named Sergey I'm not good with my Swedish names I never met the man he he passed away it was not 100% completed he had done most of the body work and he did a wonderful job uh it just needed a lot of things to make it roadworthy and since I actually use it as a transporter for my Mercedes we uh cut these holes in the side I'll show you how this works we you know you want to carry straps and tools so obviously you put your key in and boom and we can carry all of our stuff in here uh I use it as an actual transporter uh this one does not have the gowing Mercedes engine from the 50s that would be crazy expensive but it has a Mercedes truck engine from the mid 80s and it it does the job reasonbly well it does have the Mercedes-Benz uh a Gold Wing a dash board uh we put air conditioning in it because we live in California it gets crazy hot here uh we have obviously dynamed everything when I got it it was more like a showpiece it really wasn't a working truck now we put uh better air suspension in it so we can raise and lower it uh and we use it as a transporter and people love this thing you know you take this to a Mercedes meat and and people go crazy they just think it's the coolest looking thing and to this day I still think it's one of the coolest looking vehicles of all time as you can see it looks uh great with the mercedesbenz uh going up on there but they used to carry the grand pre- cars and these things you got your spare tire right here these come off and uh they turn into ramps and you'll see we'll unload it later and show you how that works uh there's no power steering or anything in this car um as I said the only option is something we put in uh air conditioning uh it's got the proper plaid seats like they have back in the day and uh out of respect for Mercedes-Benz we have replica on the side because we're not trying to pass it off as the real thing but uh I think it's just as cool as a real thing and since the real thing doesn't exist anymore Tada I mean I love the fact that there are people that will make these type of things oh we also put a door here so you could get to uh the radiator in the actual car in the actual vehicle this did not open but since we have fuses and we have um the air conditioning and everything else up there to get to the radiator just makes it a little bit easier uh the front of it is as you can see just basically a Mercedes sedan from the early 50s uh proper color uh what else have we got it's got a Wich on it so we can pull the car up um these are plastic but I will do them in glass one of these days that seems to work fine for right now but it's uh it's just fun to drive I mean as a it's a little awkward be because you're always the wheels turn behind you like it's like it's like walking like this all the time you know the wheel I was it's a little goofy but uh but I I just love this thing and as I said if you're a mercedesbenz fan this is a piece of Mercedes-Benz history that does not exist anymore and has been recreated and that's what we wanted to do as as a homage to uh that Great era of the 50s in fact I have fangio's uh first trophy uh that he gave me I was quite honored to have that it it's pretty cool it's his first World Cup I'll tell you what why don't we take it for a ride and then uh we'll come back here we'll show you how we offload the car and then we can show you I can't show you the engine compartment unless the uh the car is off of here because it you can't lift the hood it hits that's you don't want to break down with the car on there basically so that's what we'll do we'll take it for spin we'll show you how goes down the road it looks really cool going down the road especially with the with the car on the back and then we'll come back here offload it and we'll go into it a bit more detail and I'll show you that cup when we get back got to admit it looks kind of cool going down the road now we're not not going to go 108 or 105 like the original did but she does 65 70 no problem you take this things that German car shows and they go crazy actually it drives pretty nicely I mean it's just such an odd sensation of the wheels behind you some of my favorite Mercedes-Benz came out of this era the go Wing acrost 300 SL convertible the uh the big uh SC I think was called the one that had the uh the SL engine but it was the the coupe with the sunroof ah three on the four on the tree shifter oh that fantastic car the build quality of those early Mercedes was just unbelievable with that rich rich German leather oh just just fantastic fuel mileage is all right just typical for a truck probably I think on the freeway you're probably getting 15 15 to 18 something like that it's not bad it's just a little Mercedes truck engine but it's uh it's a powerhouse it's got a 5-speed box in it so that helps obviously when you take the car off you get a little better mileage cuz you're dropping you know 3,000 lb it's just so unusual looking going going down the road people always have to look twice like what what what is that thing I like the fact that it's a single vehicle car transporter you know I don't like the ones where you stack 10 or 15 cars on but when we get back to the garage I'm going to show you the build on this car I've got a whole scrapbook of how it was put together it's pretty amazing thing I love about these old Mercedes is the turn signals are right here on the horn ring so you turn it left go and it turns the signals on turn it right turnning signals on that's kind of cool and then of course it's also a horn I got this on here because it's no power steering and the you hit your knuckles on this dashboard but as you can see it's a proper Mercedes uh dashboard for the period just like the SL put on my blinkers there you go as I said 5-speed gearbox here for suspension to raise and low the front end raise and lower the rear end does are cause your air conditioning vents here air compressor radiator fan clock got Speedo Tac fuel water temperature oil pressure and oil temperature well this air suspension actually rides pretty nice you when I first got this thing it was really just kind of a shell and there was so much engine heat even in the dead a win to you you're hanging out the window with your tongue hanging out it's so hot in this thing so we dynamed it to uh obviously for insulation purposes and for quietness put the air conditioner in now it drives like a regular truck every time we look in the rearview Mar I see Mercedes right on my tail D it's it's just meant to pull one it's just meant to pull One race car and race cars tend to be anywhere from 1,800 lb to maybe 3500 something like that so it's not meant to uh haul a ton of bricks it just meant to haul one car so that was the idea fairly small for a tow truck or for a hauler and you know it's meant to be a practical vehicle it's not really a vehicle you want to take up in the hills and go through the twisties in you know it's but we'll take it back to the shop I'll show you some photos of the build uh it took us about oh God year and a half to finally get this thing all sorted but now it's a proper car a proper truck and and and and does work that a proper truck does it's not just a show vehicle so that's what's kind of cool like you even hul cars aren't mercedes-benzes but I don't like to do that keep it All in the Family show you how we offload this thing that's about as low as she goes huh get that in the back hold look all hang on George come up the the ramp is collapsing new pain ramp is ramp is collapsing okay watch I don't think they we don't walk huh it's a nice thing about a crummy paint jop it's well you saw how we offloaded it that's how they did it back in the day uh all these Rams think to lock and fit in we hadn't we hadn't done it in a while so it uh it it got a little uh got a little crazy actually that should be in the it's going to Rattle around but I'll fix that later I'll show you the engine in this thing it's nothing you know normally my engine compartments are Immaculate so I apologize but it's a truck and it's just the mid mid 80s Merced Mercedes truck engine what is it uh I think it's 2.4 2.3 2.4 L 4cylinder Mercedes mid 80s truck engine and it's a Workhorse it uh does what it's supposed to do carries this thing around uh the weight of the vehicle is here you got it right here 4614 lb so uh five-speed manual box got the winch you see all the Dynamat we put in here there was so much heat coming out of this thing so it's nothing fancy just a a real Workhorse truck engine put that up there and let's put this back down but now I'll show you some of the build of this thing it's pretty amazing put on my grandpa glasses here's the original car very original vehicle right here with across the fabulous SLR in the back with the you see the famous air bra these are all pictures of the real deal you know fonio drove these things that looks like fio there I'm not sure but I think that might be fio now I'll show you the replica here are some of the dimensions I'll show you the now this is a very popular Swedish magazine I get it at home even though I don't speak Swedish but the pictures are in English if that makes any sense anyway the man who built this car Sergey was his name hope I'm saying it right this is uh this is my car in Sweden before uh you know it doesn't have the tool boxes or any of that on the side but I'm going to show you his build on this thing first Jama make a wooden Buck you see how that's done the front of a I think that's a Mercedes 190 winshield in there if you look over my shoulder here's there's the donor car right there well there you are there's basically the whole he as you can see he had a lot of models of this vehicle there he is making the grill look at this I mean okay it takes a lot of work to do your own for forging he is making all the the pieces this is what you do when you don't have Netflix okay you have time to actually build stuff instead of watching Game of Thrones or something else course there's a lot more nudity in Game of Thrones But ultimately this might be more rewarding see he practicing putting a car in the ramp there's the the buck again to make the whole front you don't get rich doing this stuff it's more labor of love see he made the whole dash I mean pretty amazing amazing he was quite quite an artist Sweden has a huge car culture they love American cars over there but they actually they love all cars but uh yeah the sweds are very uh a lot of Craftsmen look at the look at beautiful copied the dashboard exactly mercedesbenz spent 2 million bill in their replica I don't know what he spent but he was not a rich man he just just a lot of a lot of work here he is borrowing some Mercedes that get the ramp specifications and that's see there's the airbags for the air suspension right there so that kind of gives you some idea of the amount of work that went into this it's uh it's a great piece and I really do uh treasure this you know it's such an odd ball everybody likes to make replicas of Ferraris and Lamborghinis and all kinds of you know exotic race cars I think I'm the only one that really likes replicas of Transporter trucks but here's that fio trophy I was talking about see it says FIA uh ju Manuel fio Champion dble uh deconstructed 1951 that's uh that's pretty good see nowadays you get millions of dollars of being World CH back then you got a firm handshake a slice of cold mutton and oh here's a little cup you know you risk your life I mean these guys were just unbelievable and he was certainly the greatest of them all or one of the greatest in the mall you can argue about those all day long but uh this is one of most prized possessions and I put it next to my I got the real cup next to the replica truck with the real Mercedes so two out of three is not bad see you guys later thanks ashow you how we offload this thing welcome to another episode of Jay Len's garage this is my 1950s Mercedes-Benz race car transporter uh this is a car or a vehicle i l it after since I was a kid uh if you don't know the history back in the ' 50s when Mercedes-Benz went Grand Prix racing most of the racing was England Germany France Spain and the Germans did not like to fix their cars at the racetrack they like to fix them at the factor so what they did was they built was what was at the time the world's fastest car transporter 108 or 105 or 108 mil an hour and what this had was this had the engine out of the famous Mercedes going you know the 300 SL uh the big six-cylinder uh mechanical fuel injection uh just like the race car so what they would do is if a car broke down the transporter pick it up drive you know 8 n hours and 100 miles an hour back to Germany fix it and then drive it back the next day and have it at the race it was a very romantic vehicle and so unusual looking and look how far back uh the wheels are from the cab when you drive this thing you find yourself I mean it everything happens behind you uh this is the ultimate expression of cab forward you always hear that expression cab Forward Design This is the ultimate cab Forward Design in fact the reason I bought my Corvair Rams side was it was the closest in design I could get to this now what happened to the actual one uh the actual one uh lived at Mercedes-Benz until 1967 and then Mercedes-Benz decided it was too big was taking up too much space uh just crush this thing and destroy it so you know back in the early 60s there wasn't this Nostalgia for antique cars for older vehicles everybody liked modern stuff I mean sure there were some uh people that collected vintage cars but they were it wasn't like it is today you were just seen as like my dad used to say why would you buy an old car and you got a brand new Cadillac for the same price it didn't make any sense to fix up an old car you know there were better transport were more efficient that were Faster by the time this thing uh met its demise so what happened was I think it was just crushed and then there was such an outcry from people who just love this vehicle you know Corgi made toys of it dinky toy everybody made a toy version of this car so Merc Mercedes-Benz decided to build a replica and an exact replica as only Mercedes-Benz could do and that's at the Mercedes uh Museum in Germany I went to see it actually uh I think it cost some something like $2 million now this one this one was built initially by a gentleman in Sweden named Sergey I'm not good with my Swedish names I never met the man he he passed away it was not 100% completed he had done most of the body work and he did a wonderful job uh it just needed a lot of things to make it roadworthy and since I actually use it as a transporter for my Mercedes we uh cut these holes in the side I'll show you how this works we you know you want to carry straps and tools so obviously you put your key in and boom and we can carry all of our stuff in here uh I use it as an actual transporter uh this one does not have the gowing Mercedes engine from the 50s that would be crazy expensive but it has a Mercedes truck engine from the mid 80s and it it does the job reasonbly well it does have the Mercedes-Benz uh a Gold Wing a dash board uh we put air conditioning in it because we live in California it gets crazy hot here uh we have obviously dynamed everything when I got it it was more like a showpiece it really wasn't a working truck now we put uh better air suspension in it so we can raise and lower it uh and we use it as a transporter and people love this thing you know you take this to a Mercedes meat and and people go crazy they just think it's the coolest looking thing and to this day I still think it's one of the coolest looking vehicles of all time as you can see it looks uh great with the mercedesbenz uh going up on there but they used to carry the grand pre- cars and these things you got your spare tire right here these come off and uh they turn into ramps and you'll see we'll unload it later and show you how that works uh there's no power steering or anything in this car um as I said the only option is something we put in uh air conditioning uh it's got the proper plaid seats like they have back in the day and uh out of respect for Mercedes-Benz we have replica on the side because we're not trying to pass it off as the real thing but uh I think it's just as cool as a real thing and since the real thing doesn't exist anymore Tada I mean I love the fact that there are people that will make these type of things oh we also put a door here so you could get to uh the radiator in the actual car in the actual vehicle this did not open but since we have fuses and we have um the air conditioning and everything else up there to get to the radiator just makes it a little bit easier uh the front of it is as you can see just basically a Mercedes sedan from the early 50s uh proper color uh what else have we got it's got a Wich on it so we can pull the car up um these are plastic but I will do them in glass one of these days that seems to work fine for right now but it's uh it's just fun to drive I mean as a it's a little awkward be because you're always the wheels turn behind you like it's like it's like walking like this all the time you know the wheel I was it's a little goofy but uh but I I just love this thing and as I said if you're a mercedesbenz fan this is a piece of Mercedes-Benz history that does not exist anymore and has been recreated and that's what we wanted to do as as a homage to uh that Great era of the 50s in fact I have fangio's uh first trophy uh that he gave me I was quite honored to have that it it's pretty cool it's his first World Cup I'll tell you what why don't we take it for a ride and then uh we'll come back here we'll show you how we offload the car and then we can show you I can't show you the engine compartment unless the uh the car is off of here because it you can't lift the hood it hits that's you don't want to break down with the car on there basically so that's what we'll do we'll take it for spin we'll show you how goes down the road it looks really cool going down the road especially with the with the car on the back and then we'll come back here offload it and we'll go into it a bit more detail and I'll show you that cup when we get back got to admit it looks kind of cool going down the road now we're not not going to go 108 or 105 like the original did but she does 65 70 no problem you take this things that German car shows and they go crazy actually it drives pretty nicely I mean it's just such an odd sensation of the wheels behind you some of my favorite Mercedes-Benz came out of this era the go Wing acrost 300 SL convertible the uh the big uh SC I think was called the one that had the uh the SL engine but it was the the coupe with the sunroof ah three on the four on the tree shifter oh that fantastic car the build quality of those early Mercedes was just unbelievable with that rich rich German leather oh just just fantastic fuel mileage is all right just typical for a truck probably I think on the freeway you're probably getting 15 15 to 18 something like that it's not bad it's just a little Mercedes truck engine but it's uh it's a powerhouse it's got a 5-speed box in it so that helps obviously when you take the car off you get a little better mileage cuz you're dropping you know 3,000 lb it's just so unusual looking going going down the road people always have to look twice like what what what is that thing I like the fact that it's a single vehicle car transporter you know I don't like the ones where you stack 10 or 15 cars on but when we get back to the garage I'm going to show you the build on this car I've got a whole scrapbook of how it was put together it's pretty amazing thing I love about these old Mercedes is the turn signals are right here on the horn ring so you turn it left go and it turns the signals on turn it right turnning signals on that's kind of cool and then of course it's also a horn I got this on here because it's no power steering and the you hit your knuckles on this dashboard but as you can see it's a proper Mercedes uh dashboard for the period just like the SL put on my blinkers there you go as I said 5-speed gearbox here for suspension to raise and low the front end raise and lower the rear end does are cause your air conditioning vents here air compressor radiator fan clock got Speedo Tac fuel water temperature oil pressure and oil temperature well this air suspension actually rides pretty nice you when I first got this thing it was really just kind of a shell and there was so much engine heat even in the dead a win to you you're hanging out the window with your tongue hanging out it's so hot in this thing so we dynamed it to uh obviously for insulation purposes and for quietness put the air conditioner in now it drives like a regular truck every time we look in the rearview Mar I see Mercedes right on my tail D it's it's just meant to pull one it's just meant to pull One race car and race cars tend to be anywhere from 1,800 lb to maybe 3500 something like that so it's not meant to uh haul a ton of bricks it just meant to haul one car so that was the idea fairly small for a tow truck or for a hauler and you know it's meant to be a practical vehicle it's not really a vehicle you want to take up in the hills and go through the twisties in you know it's but we'll take it back to the shop I'll show you some photos of the build uh it took us about oh God year and a half to finally get this thing all sorted but now it's a proper car a proper truck and and and and does work that a proper truck does it's not just a show vehicle so that's what's kind of cool like you even hul cars aren't mercedes-benzes but I don't like to do that keep it All in the Family show you how we offload this thing that's about as low as she goes huh get that in the back hold look all hang on George come up the the ramp is collapsing new pain ramp is ramp is collapsing okay watch I don't think they we don't walk huh it's a nice thing about a crummy paint jop it's well you saw how we offloaded it that's how they did it back in the day uh all these Rams think to lock and fit in we hadn't we hadn't done it in a while so it uh it it got a little uh got a little crazy actually that should be in the it's going to Rattle around but I'll fix that later I'll show you the engine in this thing it's nothing you know normally my engine compartments are Immaculate so I apologize but it's a truck and it's just the mid mid 80s Merced Mercedes truck engine what is it uh I think it's 2.4 2.3 2.4 L 4cylinder Mercedes mid 80s truck engine and it's a Workhorse it uh does what it's supposed to do carries this thing around uh the weight of the vehicle is here you got it right here 4614 lb so uh five-speed manual box got the winch you see all the Dynamat we put in here there was so much heat coming out of this thing so it's nothing fancy just a a real Workhorse truck engine put that up there and let's put this back down but now I'll show you some of the build of this thing it's pretty amazing put on my grandpa glasses here's the original car very original vehicle right here with across the fabulous SLR in the back with the you see the famous air bra these are all pictures of the real deal you know fonio drove these things that looks like fio there I'm not sure but I think that might be fio now I'll show you the replica here are some of the dimensions I'll show you the now this is a very popular Swedish magazine I get it at home even though I don't speak Swedish but the pictures are in English if that makes any sense anyway the man who built this car Sergey was his name hope I'm saying it right this is uh this is my car in Sweden before uh you know it doesn't have the tool boxes or any of that on the side but I'm going to show you his build on this thing first Jama make a wooden Buck you see how that's done the front of a I think that's a Mercedes 190 winshield in there if you look over my shoulder here's there's the donor car right there well there you are there's basically the whole he as you can see he had a lot of models of this vehicle there he is making the grill look at this I mean okay it takes a lot of work to do your own for forging he is making all the the pieces this is what you do when you don't have Netflix okay you have time to actually build stuff instead of watching Game of Thrones or something else course there's a lot more nudity in Game of Thrones But ultimately this might be more rewarding see he practicing putting a car in the ramp there's the the buck again to make the whole front you don't get rich doing this stuff it's more labor of love see he made the whole dash I mean pretty amazing amazing he was quite quite an artist Sweden has a huge car culture they love American cars over there but they actually they love all cars but uh yeah the sweds are very uh a lot of Craftsmen look at the look at beautiful copied the dashboard exactly mercedesbenz spent 2 million bill in their replica I don't know what he spent but he was not a rich man he just just a lot of a lot of work here he is borrowing some Mercedes that get the ramp specifications and that's see there's the airbags for the air suspension right there so that kind of gives you some idea of the amount of work that went into this it's uh it's a great piece and I really do uh treasure this you know it's such an odd ball everybody likes to make replicas of Ferraris and Lamborghinis and all kinds of you know exotic race cars I think I'm the only one that really likes replicas of Transporter trucks but here's that fio trophy I was talking about see it says FIA uh ju Manuel fio Champion dble uh deconstructed 1951 that's uh that's pretty good see nowadays you get millions of dollars of being World CH back then you got a firm handshake a slice of cold mutton and oh here's a little cup you know you risk your life I mean these guys were just unbelievable and he was certainly the greatest of them all or one of the greatest in the mall you can argue about those all day long but uh this is one of most prized possessions and I put it next to my I got the real cup next to the replica truck with the real Mercedes so two out of three is not bad see you guys later thanks a\n"