1969 Mercedes 200. Because they said it couldn't be done

First and foremost, I Love This Car.

That being said, can you explain the whole "Strich Acht" thing? Initially, my eyes lit up at the thought of a two litre straight eight, but alas, that does not seem to be the case here. The Googles are of no help to me.

Not only was manual an option but I think these were the last of the MBs to offer a column shifted 4 speed, that's right, 4 on the tree.

In reply to Woody:

wikipedia said: Beginning in 1968, Mercedes marketed their model range as New Generation Models,[2] giving their ID plates the designation '/8' (due to their 1968 Launch year). Because they were the only truly new cars of the so-called 'New Generation' and because of the '/8' or 'slash eight' designation, W114 and W115 models ultimately received the German nickname Strich Acht, loosely translated into the English stroke eight.

java230 wrote: Most excellent! AC and window tint would be #1 on my list (is tint legal?). If driving is anything like Egypt, make sure the horn works!

Oh yeah, horn works. I've never been to egypt, but I've heard stories... Tint is legal here but only to... "some" percent (30% maybe?). The police have special guns they check car tint with and we have guys at work that get regularly ticketed.

There's another shade option I'm going to look into locally that should be LOTS darker than tint, while still being legal. More to follow on that one ("I know a guy that knows a guy" that sort of thing)

Good times

759NRNG wrote: This sled kinda has an obscure diplomatic air about it, especially with three onboard

I really want to find a set of flags to put on the hood and drive around. Zsolt owns a thobe and I really thought about chauffeuring him around town one day

That is a classy looking car. do you think you would import it back to the states when time is up?

In reply to cdowd:

I'm going to say "probably not" but darn if I don't get attached to my stinking vehicles sometimes.

The goal right now is to ship over the Alfa as soon as we decide on our next location. The 4-runner got sold to someone I'm close to and I'm really hoping that some day he'll contact me with an offer to sell. When he does, I want as many cards as possible in my hand to get that bought and sent over to me as well.

Of course, I have severe automotive ADD (like most people on this board) so that plan is always subject to change. I can already tell you that I'd love to keep it if I could

On another note: The Alfa is the ONLY car I've owned without a carburetor since 2008. Of those carbureted vehicles, half still had points ignition (Mrs. Hungary's cars don't count )

Kuwait is the second hottest place I've ever been to. That AC is not going to keep up, even in perfect condition lol. I've been messing with old Benz for awhile and the AC back then was, less than sufficiant. But, thats a cool ass car for driving there. I saw a blue S14 Silvia last time I was there, it was really clean.

Anyway, where in Kuwait are you? Next time I spend some time in Kuwait we can have lunch. I'm almost sure I'll be there in the next 5 years lol.

Just get a Cool Suit and drive around with your elbow out the window.

In reply to Woody:

Mercedes strich acht

Dude. That thing is awesome.

Love them old Benz's! Congratulations, good luck, and I definitely would get the diplomatic flags for the front!

Although there is a wealth of knowledge here in this forum, for a more Mercedes specific flavor, I would recommend http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/ (I have no affiliation with that website, I've just found it helpful with my Benz.)

Love these. The suspended lower seat is something I have never been able to get used to.

yupididit wrote: Kuwait is the second hottest place I've ever been to. That AC is not going to keep up, even in perfect condition lol. I've been messing with old Benz for awhile and the AC back then was, less than sufficiant. But, thats a cool ass car for driving there. I saw a blue S14 Silvia last time I was there, it was really clean. Anyway, where in Kuwait are you? Next time I spend some time in Kuwait we can have lunch. I'm almost sure I'll be there in the next 5 years lol.

For the next month or two I'll be stuck in the Radisson Blu in Salwa. I have a villa picked out in Mangaf but cant move in until June 1st. Unfortunately even thought that's the date the villa becomes available, it might take a little longer for my container of stuff to get here

Between June 1st and the container arrival date I figure I can drive the car to the villa on the weekends, work on it during the day, then drive back up to the hotel at night. We'll see. Only 25 days to go 'till that becomes a possibility

Woody wrote: Just get a Cool Suit and drive around with your elbow out the window.

I was wondering if I could pull off a "Kato".

I know the Green hornet didn't drive a Merc and all (not to mention my lack of missiles behind the headlights) but still, who doesn't want to be Bruce Lee?

84FSP wrote: Love these. The suspended lower seat is something I have never been able to get used to.

Is that why those feel like that? more investigation on my part is going to be needed. sounds interesting

TheRyGuy wrote: Love them old Benz's! Congratulations, good luck, and I definitely would get the diplomatic flags for the front! Although there is a wealth of knowledge here in this forum, for a more Mercedes specific flavor, I would recommend http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/ (I have no affiliation with that website, I've just found it helpful with my Benz.)

I've seen Peachparts pop up a lot with my googling, I may have to sign up. Knowing what to expect beforehand is going to be super necessary here as locally sourced parts are going to be virtually nonexistent and anything I need will have to be shipped in.

Thanks!

Some super exciting stuff for the first day or so of Merc ownership. It rained last night and that means everyone's cars are super dirty:

Luckily for me, the hotel has a car washing service! (and overnight covered parking. When she's back from the wash rack I'll be moving it down there)

2kd (about $6.60) later my car will look as good as new again!

(I know, I know... not exactly a parking lot build before the challenge, but I'm trying to behave since my company is kind of involved with my hotel stay )

Also in the "not exciting" bin, I bought a log-book for the car. I guess I'll be "that guy". I figure since this place has a reputation of not maintaining old cars, I'll try to go in the complete opposite direction and go bit overboard with it. Usually with things like this, I start off strong but peeter off a year or so down the road...

We'll see how that one goes. Maybe the next owner will get a kick out of it, or maybe it'll motivate that person to keep it going

Good times

Hey, since there's not a lot going on with the car maybe I can show y'all around Kuwait a bit. Here are some of the nicer things I've seen whilst wandering around:

Here's the view from the hotel's sky-lounge:

Great sushi and sashimi up there by the way. The first pool you see is considered the "kids pool" while the one further away is the adults pool. What people do here is basically buy a "spa membership" through the hotel and the have year-round access to the facilities. Seems to be an odd mix of of eastern europeans, locals, and shall we say "doctor's wives"? Not a bad place to sip a mocktail (no alcohol is "sold" here if you catch my drift)

The bigger boat is a museum, and the smaller is "al boom", a very nice restaurant. Under those palm trees is what we refer to as "the pool bar".

This next one is where I usually eat breakfast on the weekends, but they have a dinner buffet as well.

(that's kiwi juice. Just the green stuff. About 3-kiwis worth as I understand)

Next door is kind of a dinner complex. It's a group of about 10 or so restaurants. There's a cheese cake factory, a texas roadhouse, an event center place that was hosting a graduation one day, and a hookah bar I haven't hit up yet

^ Complete with line dancing waiters and everything (unfortunately also complete with bro-country and no Shiner Bock or Lonestar beer)

Below is an open air market called a Souq. Zsolt and I go here for lamb skewers on fridays for lunch. He's a bit of a celebrity there and I'll admit it's a bit of fun to watch him "do his thing" (ie: try a grape and act like he's thinking about it for a minute before the stand owner brings a batch of "better" grapes from behind the counter. Negotiating over price follows, but it's just for fun really. He usually pays just under what the owner was asking)

This next batch is from the area around what's known as "The Marina Mall". We caught a hotel shuttle (a White Audi A8L) and spend the evening relaxing and people watching. The guy in the picture is a British co-worker and fellow hotel resident named "Neil". His dad has a TVR Grantura that's quite the project Article

All in all, it's pretty darn hard out here for a pimp:

So yeah, there ya go! That's where I live! (definitely not at all what I was expecting when we decided to move here. )

Good times

(I took some random pictures of the less glamorous spots around town too. Maybe I'll post those too)

Sooooo much potential

Looks like a nice spot! But God with those Temps a cold beer would be nice...

759NRNG wrote: This sled kinda has an obscure diplomatic air about it, especially with three onboard

I was thinking the same thing. When I picture driving around a hot dusty country it's usually with a proper Benz sedan. What would it take to send a set of front fender flags to our good ambassador in Kuwait?

Could we get this on a flag?

The only thing that makes less sense to a North American than old German heater controls, is old German car radios.

Wall-e wrote:

759NRNG wrote: This sled kinda has an obscure diplomatic air about it, especially with three onboard

I was thinking the same thing. When I picture driving around a hot dusty country it's usually with a proper Benz sedan. What would it take to send a set of front fender flags to our good ambassador in Kuwait? Could we get this on a flag?

GRM on the flags with checker board only, I believe would be sufficient....sorry no beer no workee for this citizen of the USA....plus I found out yesterday I'm too old for that part of the werld...y'alls loss, good luck with that. Hungary Bill stay cool and don't forget the sweat towel.

Woah now, I just said they didn't sell beer...