Happy Birthday! The Banana Turns 18

Just a quick post that The Banana was delivered on 14 March 2005, making today its 18th birthday.

Ladder!

I was driving home from a business meeting this evening when I nearly collided with a ladder that apparently had fallen off of a truck and on to the road.

I was impressed at how well the car handled and very thankful that I didn’t hit the darn thing.

Banana Update

It’s been awhile since I posted, but I’ve really been enjoying driving the Banana, and it even got featured on Bring A Trailer.

The only maintenance things I’ve done since getting it back at the end of September was to replace the rear accessory battery. Even keeping it on the CTek charger it would complain that convenience features were not available, but since replacing the battery (which had a 2015 date code) the car has been running great.

Repair Shock

Okay, look, I know that high-end sports cars can require a lot of maintenance, but I can honestly say I was really disappointed when my mechanic sent me a list of things that need to be done to The Banana.

I’m not going to do all of them at once, but here are some things I have to do now.

• Front rotors and pads
• Engine Mount
• Front Thrust Arm Bearings
• Valve Cover Gaskets
• Transmission Oil Cooler Hose Seal Rings
• Windshield Wipers
• Reseal Rear Differential

That last one is a doozy, as it is mainly labor and requires removing the differential from the car. I’ve asked about Limited Slip Differential options as it should be almost no extra label to install it during this process.

Finally!

Last week I received the notarized title back from the seller and today we were able to get The Banana registered in North Carolina.

Whew.

It will be a few weeks before the personalized plate arrives but I was able to really drive it for the first time today. I took it through the country “loop” I like and it handled well. The battery is complaining because it sat so long but all the malfunctions cleared by the time my ride was done. I had the same issue with The Shark when I got it, and I’m hoping it will be the same with this car.

Matchbox “Superfast” Yellow SL55 AMG

I find it amusing that Mercedes never offered yellow exterior paint on any R230 as a standard color option, but that Matchbox made a yellow SL55 AMG.

It was a limited edition of only 15,500 units, so I’m sure this will be worth something someday (grin)

Mercedes Benz to Bring Back the SL55 for 2022

I recently learned that for the 2022 model year Mercedes is bringing back the SL55 as a softtop roadster.

It looks like there are actually two models, the SL55 and a twin-turbo SL63.

I’m not in the market for a new internal combustion engine (ICE) car, but if I was I’d check these out. I’m a little disappointed that it isn’t a hardtop convertible, but it does save a lot of weight and complexity.