BELSTAFF X MR PORTER : ON THE ROAD 2 from Cale Glendening on Vimeo.
About a two-and-a-half-hour drive east of Los Angeles along the Twentynine Palms Highway, a tiny intersection brings you to the town of Joshua Tree, population 7,414.
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Sharing a name with the unusual Yuccas that punctuate the rocky desert skyline, the town and its neighboring picturesque National Park are about as close to a road-trippers’ paradise as they come.
In a rare morning fog the 10-foot Yuccas jut about the low desert plains in isolation and silence. For JG Francis, founder and owner of classic restoration specialist Mercedes Motoring, they signal the passage of a labyrinth of dirt roads he’s been exploring ever since he knew how to drive.
Renovating low-mileage diesel ‘Benz’s produced between 1968 and 1985 back to their original condition, Francis has managed making a hobby into a career. Finding near-perfect specimens worth the timely investment isn’t easy.
But find them he does, behind the doors of long-forgotten barns or online car forums. Once they’re fully renovated, they don’t spend the rest of their days behind showroom glass or under cover in a ‘look-but-don’t-touch’ garage. They get back on the road.
“These cars were meant to be driven, not just sit around looking pretty,” explains Francis at his headquarters in the LA suburb of Glendale, California. “I’m not that big into the car scene because a lot of them aren’t put into use, and I’ve never connected with that side of the industry and show.”
Classics are not exactly known to be perfect run-about material, but drivability and raw craftsmanship is. In fact, this is what makes these majestic survivors special to Mr. Francis. He puts them to the test by taking them on a road trip or two of his own.
“I always take the back roads,” he explains with a smile. “I avoid the Interstate at all costs. It’s all just Walmarts, Chilis and Targets anyway.”
He spent his early years spent growing up in Nevada deserts where he lived next to a Mercedes-obsessed car mechanic. “That’s where it all started,” he says.
He still makes the desert his special place for adventures and a solo drive. He loves the emptiness, the seclusion, the loneliness.
What moved Francis to sit behind a wheel instead of a desk? Or, as he describes it, his decision to “become a corporate drop-out”? “Working with my hands every day is really therapeutic,” explains Francis.
“You can get lost in the moment. You can focus on the task in hand, but your mind can drift off into other parts of your life. I find it relaxing in an odd kind of way. The peace and quiet, the isolation, and the solitude. You know, any road will get you there and it all works out in the end.”
by Skippy Massey
This post originally appeared at the Humboldt Sentinel. Reprinted with permission.
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