“Most clients leave the day-to-day decisions to us,” Russell continues. “We love competing at Pebble. We want to compete against the best, and our clients want a validation of their choice of these particular cars as well as their taste and judgment in selecting the colors and the inte- riors.” Asked if he can pick a Pebble Beach Best of Show winner, Russell says: “It’s like the judge who was asked about pornography. ‘I can’t describe it, but I know it when I see it.’
“Winning Pebble Beach establishes your shop as a brand,” Russell says. “And it establishes the credibility of the winning car. There’s not more you have to say after that.”
Preparing a car for the concours is hard enough, but then there’s the Pebble Beach Tour, a somewhat grueling 65-mile drive around the Monterey Peninsula. “The Tour is a challenge, because we’re pretty much sticklers for authenticity,” says Russell. “We don’t use auxiliary fans or electric fuel pumps. So you might have a Ferrari built to run well on open roads, stuck in a long line of traffic. But it’s a chance to see the cars dynamically, to hear them run, and that’s important.”
The shop is restoring Paul Andrews’ 1928 Mercedes-Benz S-Type Avante-
Garde Torpedo Roadster for Pebble Beach this year. Its one-off body was crafted by Jacques Saoutchik’s Paris carrosserie, and with drop-dead styl- ing — and Saoutchik a featured class — it certainly will be one to watch.
A SIXTH SENSE
Rich Fass owns Stone Barn Automobile Restoration in Vienna, New Jersey. In the last nine years, he’s had three Best of Show awards (2003, 2005, 2011) and four runners- up. “Pebble is a great place to go,” he says, “and it’s very exciting to win.” He’s been showing cars there since 1985. “Everything on display is perfect,” he says. “You never know what’s going to appear at Pebble, so that’s another exciting aspect. You think you have great cars and on that Sunday, you turn around and here comes another great car. Usu- ally it’s the first time out for those restorations.” This year, Stone Barn is preparing a 1932 Packard Custom 906 Dietrich convertible sedan — formerly owned by Al Jolson — for David Kane.
“Pebble Beach judges know what they’re looking for,” says Fass. “They key into every little aspect of the car. You have to be good to be invited out there, so the judges have a very hard job, but they do a very good job. I appreciate that.”
Components, including instruments, the straight-six engine and the chassis for the Mercedes-Benz S-Type take shape (opposite) at Paul Russell and Company. The cylinder heads and final as- sembly are still ahead for the ex-Al Jolson Packard Custom 906 at Stone Barn (above).
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