This was my second time visiting Rudi Koniczek and his fabulous Mercedes 300SL restoration shop and, if possible, it was even more enjoyable than the first. Rudi is the world's leading restorer of those great German sports cars (read more about him in our previous Classical Drives article). On this occasion Rudi took my friend Mel Satok and I on a side-trip through the beautiful Vancouver Island countryside to another location where, hidden in an innocuous shed-type building, sat a remarkable group of cars awaiting restoration, some owned by the man himself. Among them was this 1949 Delahaye 3-position Drophead Coupe which Rudi discovered during a trip to France.

It may look neglected in the photo but the car is 100% complete; indeed, Rudi was able to drive it from the point of delivery to his shops. When finished in 2009 it will be shown at the Pebble Beach Concours and I'm willing to bet it will be a trophy winner. Mel and I then had lunch at the Brentwood Inn, a west coast gem which overlooks a bay of the same name framed by low, pine-studded mountains. On a sunny, warm afternoon, with a classic wooden Motorboat passing by, it was the equal of anything anywhere and made us feel privileged to live here.