Jump to content

Another bloody Benz barge


Junkman

Recommended Posts

As mentioned by dugong elsewhere in this forum, I bought me yet another tatty piece of Teutonic rust shite.
 
280SE01.jpg

280SE02.jpg

280SE03.jpg

280SE05.jpg

280SE06.jpg

280SE07.jpg

280SE08.jpg

280SE09.jpg

280SE10.jpg

280SE11.jpg

280SE12.jpg

280SE13.jpg

280SE14.jpg

280SE15.jpg

280SE16.jpg
 
No heroic collection tale, the car will be delivered with a beavertail somewhen next week and go straight into the garage of a friend who has a car restoration business. So no real autoshitism there.

The car will undergo a total restoration.

 

However, when we went to look at the car yesterday, in grand tradition there was torrential rain all day without interruption. On the way back, the haunted Rover developed an exhaust leak, it's leaking oil somewhere, smells of petrol, and when on main beams for too long all of a sudden switches off the light completely, quite an interesting* experience on a B road in the Peaks at night in the rain. Some shock was had.

The exhaust leak turns out to be harmless, the pipe to the back box just snapped. The petrol fumes have now magically disappeared again, but the oil leak remains for the moment. However, it made it home in typical 22 OMGMPG fashion.

 

However, this thread is for the Benz, which has some kind of eeriness about it all of its own. The car has spent 41 years on a small island in the Orkneys, which makes for an interesting patina, rust in odd places, wheras typical rot hotspots usually found on this model are remarkably sound. It has travelled all of 8900 miles in its life and the interior does look accordingly - it is practically new.

I will continue to document the restoration in this thread.

 

Oh, and it's totally pov-spec if you haven't noticed yet. There is no tinted glass, no sunroof, keep fit windows, etc. Only badermatic and PAS, which were standard.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is a testament to the MB build quality of the day that this has spent a lot of it's life in fairly extreme conditions but still looks like this.

 

If this had been an E class, you would'nt have needed a beavertail to recover it - a dyson would have been more appropriate.

 

No doubt you will enjoy driving it while pretending that you are a member of the Berlin stasi.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's the one car that appeared in the eBay threads I never expected a shitist to purchase and I am delighted that I have both regained the ability to type cohesively after the initial shock of seeing this and that you have purchased it.  There's something satisfyingly eccentric about someone living on a tiny island purchasing a waftobarge instead of a more sensible city car or something.  I wouldn't be surprised if the car is half the size of the island, it would account for the megalow mileage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry to disappoint a few of you, but the car will be completely restored, including shiny new paint.

Aye, we were discussing this yesterday - I can see the 'sorted beneath, up top like a heap' argument, but it limits the sales potential somewhat. I don't know how much of a premium the M-B lot puts on originality. I'd be tempted to either spray it in a modern M-B charcoal metallic or in the original farty pastel grey, which is rather endearing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good save, sir!   Look forward to  finished article in due course.   Patina v Paint (almost an anagram) dichotomy well  understood, I wanted to preserve my Cowleys largely original but largely absent paint finish and I just dont think its do-able.    Only option I am afraid  is full restoration then prolonged and thorough use and enjoyment....These are without a doubt the most attractive Mercedes saloons btw

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...