Jay Leno Drives a 1966 Mercedes 230 Fin Tail Cross-Country Survivor | Jay Leno’s Garage

What do you do when you find a crusty old Mercedes in a warehouse in Alabama? You slap on some borrowed plates and drive it 2,000 miles back to California, of course. What could possibly go wrong?

This week, we’re checking out a 1966 Mercedes-Benz 230 "Fin Tail" — a stately slice of vintage German class, brought back to life by Randy Carlson of Carchaeology, a man whose fashion sense is only rivaled by his courage behind the wheel.

💬 Featuring:
👔 Randy Carlson – Mercedes whisperer, twin-engine Honda enthusiast, and the only man brave enough to road-trip a brake-leaking, carb-clogged survivor car across America

🛠 Jay Leno – Still wondering why the battery is the size of a microwave

📜 The journey:

Bought in NYC
Stored in Alabama
Drove home to LA without working heat, speedometer, or functioning brakes
Still made it with nothing but hand tools, luck, and sheer Mercedes resolve
👑 Factory green paint
🧰 Original interior
🧱 118HP six-cylinder lump under the hood
📻 Working 8-track (!!)
💥 Shifter like a baguette in a blender

This is what makes old cars great. The quirks. The rattles. The weird vinyl that may or may not be factory. And the joy of fixing things as they break, one state at a time.

🚦 Want to know what real automotive connection feels like? It’s not a touch screen — it’s pumping the clutch to build pressure at 6 AM in a motel parking lot before driving into the sunrise.

🛑 Hit play. Then hit LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE unless you hate white steering wheels, bench seats, and cold starts with character.

🧭 Follow Randy:
🔎    / @carchaeology  

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A new video every Monday! Visit Jay Leno's Garage, the Emmy-winning series where Jay Leno gives car reviews, motorcycle reviews, compares cars, and shares his passion and expertise on anything that rolls, explodes, and makes noise. Classic cars, restomods, super cars like the McLaren P1, sports cars like Porsche 918 Spyder and Camaro Z28, cafe racers, vintage cars, and much, much more.

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