Miguel Sánchez
The truth is that we do not know how to start this article. As we delved into the story, the more our initial point of view changed. Furthermore, the matter is controversial. Why are we going to deny it? So instead of presenting the information to you from the outside, We are going to narrate our inquiries in the first person. Something like Hunter S. Thompson in 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' ... Although without hallucinogens, yes.
It all started three weeks ago investigating what happened in 1971. Of those the drummer Ginger Baker he was still reeling from his success with the Creams. In search of solitude and anonymity, he decided to delve into the study of African percussion. For it bought a Range Rover and headed for Nigeria. Arrived in the huge country of the Gulf of Guinea, all this was reflected in a monumental album with Fela Kuti.
And well, because of the things that the internet has… Trying to find out if that Range Rover is still preserved, we came across a video about classics in the city of Lagos. At first we found it fascinating. Why? Well, because we thought that the patina - or extreme rust in cases like the 190SL - was natural. Starting from that point it did not look bad that someone, in a country as complex and extreme as Nigeria, had kept such relevant classics respecting the effects of time on your plates.
You know, in the eternal debate on restoration to the original state or respect for the patina of time… The second position is established quite strongly among the fans. In this sense the rickety 190SL seemed the most radical example possible to illustrate the controversy. This was helped by the narration of the video itself, which talks about "Heritage conservation" o "Nigerian cars".
We do not know what they have done to that engine. 
This Porsche 911 has also fallen in the workshop.
However, as in the investigation the saying of "If your mother tells you that she loves you, check it out"… We began to contrast data and many things stopped fitting.
SHREDDED WITH PREMEDITATION AND ALEVOSY
Inspecting the Instagram of the responsible workshop of these cars we found a 190SL in apparently good condition. Diving on another page we discovered photos of the Porsche 911 in a much better condition than it appears in the video. Suddenly all that of "Preserve the heritage" it fell apart. These cars had been painstakingly modified to bring them up to this look "Rat" to the movie of the Mad Max saga.
Meticulously trashed. 
Moment of the "restoration" process 
A blow of radial. 
The rust workshop.
Plus the 190SL even came from Nigeria, having been purchased from a Ghanaian seller last fall. Both the Mercedes and the Porsche started from a good original state of conservation. Far from being real, the patina of these cars had been achieved by radial blows and abrasives.
That was until last fall. 
Would you burn this Mercedes? 
When acquired it was in good condition. 
The most recent document we have found.
In the case of the 911 the engine was on air as if it had lost the grill over time. With the Mercedes things got extreme ... Beyond rusting, bet the car parts such as the doors, hood, or even headlights had been removed. Something legitimate because the car belongs to its owner and his whims, but far from the approach of "conservation" mentioned in the video. Far from this we find some highly sought-after classics renovated in a key of destruction.
WE DO NOT KNOW YOUR APPROACH. WHAT IS YOURS?
Given the controversy of these modifications we went directly to the sources to put together the whole story. We asked the director of the video, with no response. We asked the one who had sold the 190SL to the Ancient Broom workshop, with no response. We searched and found the owner of the 190SL and… Although he was receptive to answering a series of short and neutral questions the answers never came.
One thing is patina, another is grating on purpose. 
This is how the instrument panel has been.
In short, we do not know directly what approach is behind these modifications. And we really would have liked to read your responses. Because it thinks. Although we do not know the number of original Mercedes parts, the truth is that the 190SL has an upward price that now moves between 50.000 and 120.000 euros. After the radial hits, the value of this classic has surely plummeted. And quite possibly also its charm.
