1963 Mercedes Benz 190DC Fintail. First start 2024.

[Yoss]

47 minutes ago, auntiemaryscanary said:

Please, please take it out for a good drive on the roads before they start salting. The smile you will get will last you all through winter.

If you are at all worried about any breakdown then don't drive far from home (10km in any direction?). Your dad can always then tow you home with a tractor! 

And take lots of pictures. We want pictures. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

I'll see what I can do. Depends on the weather and if dad is in the area as I don't want to have to wait 5 hours for a tow truck again. There are a few days next week that seem promising, so I hope I can take it for a drive then.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Sorry to everyone but this one will not be on the road again this year. Was hoping for an opportunity but the weather has not allowed it and the road salt has started. So that was it for 2022. 

And it's going to be quiet here for quite a while as the winter will be used to save up for everything that needs to be done on this one next year.

And the plan now is to get this into a body shop at the end of April to fix the holes in the floor, the front wing that needs welding, and have seat belt fasteners installed. Then I will get everything else done, such as new carpets and soundproofing.

So hopefully a lot will happen with this again in April and May. This one also has its 60th birthday next year, so it will be a special year so I'm looking forward to it.

[Popsicle]

Good luck with the parts gathering over winter, I think its the correct decision to hibernate it. Did you ever contact the taxi company that ran it back in the 60's to see if they had any information about it? 

[Dyslexic Viking]

8 hours ago, Popsicle said:

Good luck with the parts gathering over winter, I think its the correct decision to hibernate it. Did you ever contact the taxi company that ran it back in the 60's to see if they had any information about it? 

No, I haven't contacted them yet, I'll see if I can do it soon. But doubt they have much information about this one after so many years. But is worth a try.

[auntiemaryscanary]

23 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Sorry to everyone but this one will not be on the road again this year. Was hoping for an opportunity but the weather has not allowed it and the road salt has started. So that was it for 2022. 

And it's going to be quiet here for quite a while as the winter will be used to save up for everything that needs to be done on this one next year.

And the plan now is to get this into a body shop at the end of April to fix the holes in the floor, the front wing that needs welding, and have seat belt fasteners installed. Then I will get everything else done, such as new carpets and soundproofing.

So hopefully a lot will happen with this again in April and May. This one also has its 60th birthday next year, so it will be a special year so I'm looking forward to it.

Understand perfectly about putting it away with your harsh winters.

If you ever need a quick happiness boost during winter just poke your nose in the garage for a quick look at the beauty.

[Dyslexic Viking]

I had hoped to be able to drive it one last time before winter and to have taken some pictures, which was wanted by several. I could probably have driven it a bit in the autumn, but I felt that body work was the most important thing. And I'm glad I did because I know the car much better now.

And one thing I've thought about a bit and I was actually lucky with the brakedown on the trip home after buying it. The diesel system was completely dry and it showed signs of lack of fuel before I stopped so I think it would have stopped while driving not long after I stopped so it was good that I did. So had some luck there.

[Dyslexic Viking]

So I have contacted what I thought was the son of the first owner of this Mercedes but it turns out that he is the grandson of the first owner. He seems friendly and thinks this was fun and to my surprise his grandmother the wife of the first owner is still alive! She must be around 100 years old now and she remembers this car and she is looking for pictures of it in the family albums. 

I have also been able to find the rest of the owners of this through registers and I am owner no 10. So this one started its life as I thought as a taxi and was a taxi until it was just over 9 years old. Then in April 1972 it was sold to the neighbor of the first owner who owned it until December 1983. The next owner had it from 1983 to October 1987 and he is still alive. The next owner is the one who has owned it the longest, he owned it from 1987 until his death in 2010 where his wife became the owner for a few years followed by his daughter who sold it in 2015. After this it had 3 more owners before it came to me.

So this one had 9 years as a taxi and this was in rural Norway in the 1960s so the roads were all gravel. And after this it was in use by 2 owners until well into the 80s where I think it was retired and the area it was in has harsh winters where temperatures down to minus 30 and 40 are not unusual. So this explains why the car is so worn, it has had a very long and hard life.

So it's impressive that it actually still exists and I'm impressed this is a real workhorse. And this has been a lot of fun exploring and finding out the history of this now I just hope they find some old photos.

But since I don't have any pictures I am attaching a picture of a Ford like this Mercedes it was also a rural taxi in Norway throughout the 1960s and shows the conditions this car also had to go through.

[2flags]

This is a great thread. You are doing well with the car. It's great to save a car like this. It has real history. I am looking forward to spring when you can go for a drive in it and get the bodywork sorted.

[Rocket88]

Back in the seventies, when I was in the service of Her Madge in the then W.Germany, one of the blokes on base had one of these. He used to run it on anything vaguely combustible, veg oil, ( used and unused) and anything that he could scavenge from waste oil drums round the back of the REME sheds……

[Dyslexic Viking]

I'm not surprised because old diesels are not that demanding.

But I'm not going to try anything like that on this one.

[Yoss]

Top detective work there and it's great to find the original owners. It's always good to find the history of old cars. And now you know what it has been through you will find it easier to forgive it when it inevitably causes you problems in future. 

[Nullzwei]

You have probably already seen this but see below for a period Autocar road test of a 1965 190d. Might be of interest.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/albums/72157646423064262/with/14721316520/

 

[Dyslexic Viking]

3 hours ago, Nullzwei said:

You have probably already seen this but see below for a period Autocar road test of a 1965 190d. Might be of interest.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/albums/72157646423064262/with/14721316520/

 

Thanks for sharing. And I haven't read it and it was interesting. I see that they write that the brakes on this newer model are much better than mine and I can think so. The only thing I wish mine had were front disc brakes and a dual circuit brake system like the newer ones.

[JimH]

I was just taken aback by the startling acceleration figures. 

Quite the mover. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

59 minutes ago, JimH said:

I was just taken aback by the startling acceleration figures. 

Quite the mover. 

Yeah they are not exactly fast things, but I find it adequate and these are not made for spirited driving either. Drive it like an MX5 and you'll quickly have an accident.

[Dyslexic Viking]

The family of the first owner has found photos of this one and I have been allowed to share them. And Drosje is the old Norwegian name for taxi and all taxis in Norway had these registration plates back then, in case anyone is wondering.

So this is this car in the 1960s.

[busmansholiday]

What did they say when you got in touch and told them it was still running ?

[Dyslexic Viking]

14 minutes ago, busmansholiday said:

What did they say when you got in touch and told them it was still running ?

They were quite surprised and happy.

The kid in the pictures is the son of the first owner and he and several members of the family have indicated that they would like to buy the car if it ever comes up for sale.

So I have written down the name of family members who want to buy this. And informed my family that if I die, that family has the first right to buy it.

[Six-cylinder]

I have always wanted a Fintail because my father had one as a company car when I was a child. My Father had a new Vauxhall Victor 2000SL FD in 1968 and as a Manager for a building company with sites spread around the South East wore it out in 18 months and 55,000 miles. The company decided to give a used Mercedes a try in the hope it would last longer.

I nearly fell off my bicycle when my father drove past me in a 1965 Mercedes 220 Sb Auto. I think it was probably about 4 years old when he got it.

I have looked to buy a Fintail in the past but always ended up with something else. In the 1990s I ran a couple of W114 280CE's as everyday cars after changing my job for one without a company car.

This is the only photo I can find of my father's Fintail.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Thanks for sharing this @Six-cylinder I really like stories like that. And did that Mercedes last longer than that Vauxhall?

[Popsicle]

Its really nice that you've contacted the earlier owners and that they seem enthusiastic about the car, you've some great pictures of the cars past - well done for going to the trouble of making contact with them.

[Six-cylinder]

28 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Thanks for sharing this @Six-cylinder I really like stories like that. And did that Mercedes last longer than that Vauxhall?

We never found out because after a couple of year the company he worked for closed. After a short spell with a company he didn't like and a pool car Ford Escort 1100 with peeling silver paint he needed to buy a car himself. The Fintail must have made an impression because I remember looking at a couple with him, both 220 with column gearchange. In the end he bought a 1960 Jaguar MK2 3.4 Auto. I remember asking him about the column gearchange and he said he knew how to use it because he has a Bedford CA van in the early days when he built his own house.

[Dyslexic Viking]

41 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

We never found out because after a couple of year the company he worked for closed. After a short spell with a company he didn't like and a pool car Ford Escort 1100 with peeling silver paint he needed to buy a car himself. The Fintail must have made an impression because I remember looking at a couple with him, both 220 with column gearchange. In the end he bought a 1960 Jaguar MK2 3.4 Auto. I remember asking him about the column gearchange and he said he knew how to use it because he has a Bedford CA van in the early days when he built his own house.

If you ever want to buy one, there are always some for sale in Europe. Adding  a link to mobile.de where there are several for sale if you want to have a look.

https://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/search.html?dam=0&fr=1960%3A1968&isSearchRequest=true&ms=17200%3B%3B%3B%3B&p=1000%3A20000&ref=dsp&s=Car&sb=rel&vc=Car

[Dyslexic Viking]

It's something I'm considering and haven't decided so it would be fun to hear others opinion. Registration plates on this one, it now has normal 1960s plates, should I change to taxi plates like this one had in the 1960s? Or should I keep the ones that are on the car now? 

It now has this type

And these are the taxi registration plates it had as you can see in the old photos

[Sham]

I've never understood the fascination with period correct number plates, even down to technical illegality by making a new plate with the older fonts. A clean, smart number plate is a nice thing to tidy up a car, but it's an ID tag and nothing more.

Whatever makes the car legal and is clean, tidy and in good shape is fine by me - but if the taxi type is legal and you prefer it, fit those.

[Dyslexic Viking]

21 hours ago, Sham said:

I've never understood the fascination with period correct number plates, even down to technical illegality by making a new plate with the older fonts. A clean, smart number plate is a nice thing to tidy up a car, but it's an ID tag and nothing more.

Whatever makes the car legal and is clean, tidy and in good shape is fine by me - but if the taxi type is legal and you prefer it, fit those.

For me the registration plates are an important part of how the car looks. Putting modern Norwegian registration plates on this would ruin it as much as modern low profile rims in pink would. But fortunately the system here is such that older cars can have correct plates for their age and also keep and use their old registration numbers.

[Dick Longbridge]

3 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

For me the registration plates are an important part of how the car looks. Putting modern Norwegian registration plates on this would ruin it as much as modern low profile rims in pink would. But fortunately the system here is such that older cars can have correct plates for their age and also keep and use their old registration numbers.

A period correct plate is a quality finishing touch. 

[Macscrooge]

Fabulous car and great to hear more of its story. More please!

[Conan]

Disclaimer: I'm a number plate nerd and 100% a sucker for period and detail accurate plate.

If Drosje plate is legal I'd totally put it on. It's not even like if you're putting something that does not belong. It actually once was a Taxi. I am of an opinion that detail like this can turn a great car into one that will make someone's day. Well, it'd certainly make my day at least.