Even though I can’t take The Banana out for a drive until the title gets back and I can get a plate, I did want to detail the car. I really enjoy detailing but when done right it takes me about two days, so for this first attempt I was just going to wash it and see what kinds of imperfections I could find and fix.

Since the car was registered in California it needed to have a front license plate, but there was no front bracket on the car. Instead it looks like they got creative and used a couple of wires coming through the lower front grill. Unfortunately, this isn’t very stable so it caused the plate to wear a couple of divots into the lower air dam, but since it is already cracked in a couple of places it will need to be replaced in the future. In the meantime, I thought the wires looked a little unsightly and wanted to remove them. I had to remove the grill by using a small screwdriver to open up a series of clips and then I used needle-nosed pliers to gently pull the grill away. I was then able to cut the wires and remove them. I thoroughly cleaned the area with the grill removed before snapping it back into place.

It also looks like the car was hit (in a very minor fashion) in the left rear. I was able to buff out most of that with Griot’s polishing compound.

With most of the exterior touch-up work complete, I started on the engine. I like to keep the engine bays on my cars very clean, and I finally got to remove that piece of a dried leaf that had been bothering me since I saw it in the auction pictures.

The engine bay was pretty dirty, so I got out the P21S and got to work. When I was done I thought it looked a lot better, but I still need to spend an hour or so on it with a brush to get to those hard to reach places. Once you get it perfect it is pretty easy to keep it that way with a minimal amount of effort each time you wash the car.

I also took the time to note who assembled this engine. Each AMG engine is assembled by a single person. On The Shark it was Sabato de Luca but on The Banana it was done by Sascha Greiner.

With the engine done I got started on washing the exterior, but I didn’t go full out. I plan to do that later in the year when I have time and the space for it (my current workshop has other stuff in it at the moment).

There is a big difference between the old SL55 which arrived with 18,000 miles and this one with 52,000 miles. The Shark is nearly mint, with a little rash under the front air dam but few chips or dings. The Banana has many more imprefections, but luckily nothing major. I think a little touch up paint and a nice polish and wax will bring it up to snuff.

It was kind of peaceful working on the car today, and I still haven’t done anything with the interior. I just haven’t had a lot of time to work on it and I’m more eager to drive it than clean it at the moment. Here’s hoping the title comes back soon.