Hyatt Cheek purchased 5500332 from Jack Bryan in 1982, and, two years later, he was elected to be president of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America. Despite owning a fabulous collection of Mercedes-Benzes and the car’s incredible condition, he did not hesitate in driving the car regularly on MBCA and Gullwing Group events across the country, as well as on the Colorado 1000 and Texas 1000. Many of the car’s driving exploits with Cheek are covered by regular mentions in the member publications of each respective club. Considering how often it was driven, it should come as no surprise that maintenance was not overlooked. Invoices on file show regular routine maintenance expenditures with Paul Russell and other marque specialists.

Following three decades in Hyatt Cheek’s ownership, the Alloy Gullwing was purchased by its most recent previous owner in March of 2013, a collector from Vancouver, Canada, who kept the car in the United States, becoming the centerpiece of an outstanding collection. In 2021, the Alloy Gullwing was returned to Paul Russell for an inspection and test drive prior to being sent to the factory-owned Mercedes-Benz Classic Center for a comprehensive inspection to validate the authenticity and originality of the car. Upon inspecting the car, Michael Kunz (Director of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center for over twenty years) commented that “this is absolutely one of the finest Alloy Gullwings, and it would fall in the top 10-20% of all Alloy Gullwings”.