Topic: RIP WGB - a forum giant

[nathan]

RIP WGB (26.10.2020), Dr William Babe. 
I only just heard the sad news of his passing.  Many of you are later comers and may not have had the fortune of receiving his wisdom, but WGB was instrumental in enhancing this site in the early days in particular.  'WGB' was a giant on the forum, check the top posters, he is number 5!
I had the fortune of meeting him after i got my first 6.9 in the early 2000s. 
WGB was a lifelong MB enthusiast, yet still kept his 6.9.  He bought this car off another early poster, AMG6.9.  He then set about transforming it and did a great amount of work.  He was a massive presence in the local medical community, yet he was extremely handy mechanically and his post on strut rebuilds stands out for 6.9 owners. 
A sad loss for his family, his patients, and mercedes enthusiasts. 
All I have is some pics of Bill with me in front of our gold 6.9 that became the silver 6.9 after a massive resto probably about 2007, along with our friend Chris who sold Bill his 6.9 when he moved interstate.
You can see Bills beloved silver 6.9 with the w116.org grill badge on it!
Vale Dr William Babe, you will be missed by many.

[daantjie]

Sad news indeed.  I gleaned a lot of knowledge from his posts for sure.

[ptashek]

Condolences to everyone affected.
I haven't met the man, but definitely read through his posts on this forum, and appreciate the contribution to keeping our cars going.

[revilla]

Those are sad news!
He might no longer be with us, but his contributions will remain in time thanks to our forum.  Specially each time we use one of his posts to diagnose/repair W116 problems thanks to his knowledge. That’s his legacy that will remain long time.

[Randys01]

....also a big contributor over the years to the M100 forum........he joins Dr Arthur Love who passed away earlier this year. :'(

[Type17]

Sad news, condolences to his family and friends.

[w116john]

yes terribly sad news, condolences to his family and friends.

his advice will pop up here no doubt on a regular basis helping new and older members, this forum is kind of an extended family for w116 enthusiasts, and we feel the loss when one leaves.

[oscar]

Hey Nathan and all. 

I don't check in much let alone post but I randomly logged on to show a friend some pics from yonks ago only to stumble across this sad news. He is one of a number of people on the Org I looked up to, learnt from and admired for their achievements.  Met him only once albeit briefly at a meet in Bowral NSW in 2007. He had the coolest name and the coolest number plate at one stage, BABE69 I think it was, bound to attract a few double-takes.  He told a funny story about it involving police I'm sure.

Not much else to say, only my regards to family and friends and others close to him. A forum giant is right on the money and in this realm was an inspiration to getting my hands 116 greasy in the first place.

[nathan]

Oscar,

Despite this sad news, it is wonderful to hear from you. I have often wondered what you were up to, I hope you are enjoying life and cars.
Bills service is this week, as a Kiwi, I think COVID has delayed the commemoration of his life as family fly west.
I too agree on the plate, very amusing. 

perhaps an update thread on what you have been up to. I would be interested!

regards from the West
Nathan

[oscar]

Will do nathan, I'll pop something in the Lounge over the next couple of days.

[slfan]

My condolences to his family and friends. RIP.

[adamb]

Very sad news. The W116 community gained a lot from Bill's posts. Thanks to this forum an important fragment of his knowledge will continue to live.

[Squiggle Dog]

What sad news! I remember reading through his very helpful posts about when he did his suspension rebuild and learned a lot of about control and trailing arm bushings. I also sold him a factory service manual set. It goes to show that we never know how long we have to live, but the things we do while we're here live on afterward with the people who knew us.

[revilla]

Those were the glory days of the forum. Luckily all that valuable information is kept searchable/accessible. The days with straight technical answers to good questions. The days where genuine help was offered, and not just guesses lacking technical logic. The days of members posting for quality and helpful answers rather than just quantity of posts. The days where a thread remained on pure subject without « polluting » posts. The days of solving W116 problems collectively thanks to the contributions of the W116 community here.  True collaboration, in other words. The days when discussing the future financial $ value of our cars was irrelevant, as it should, in a WONDERFUL CAR that will never reach a decent return on investment considering all the costly expenses needed to keep them healthy.  Each of those old posts were rather fueled by passion for our W116s.  That was when you wouldn’t leave the forum frustrated and confused with the vague, useless and in many instances technically wrong answers.  Many, but not all, of those GREAT posts were Australian-sourced, like those from WGB.  To our fortune, again, we can still read them here. And those are certainly good news for a beautiful Sunday morning here.

[goldacre]

Sorry to hear this news :/ take care Bill, your knowledge and personality was awesome, my Dad knew you well and will be waiting for you for a hearty chat you will be in great company, and always respected on the Org.

G