Cooter said:Go for it.
It is time with your dad. Doesn't even matter how the rest goes.
Totally agree. This is a great excuse to make some trips to Denver and spend time with your dad. Don't let that opportunity pass you by. You can decide on Step 4 when you get to it.
My dad takes "slightly-better-than-average-craigslist" quality photos.
Car is still a looker. Hood is open in the pics and he has the ornament in the trunk so no one can steal it. He says interior needs full restoration basically.
Here's a question - where do I find info on realistic values for these sorts of vehicles? My dad has an *opinion*, but I don't know how realistic it is.
I'm getting excited to fix it and drive it for sure.
On our way to the Vintage GP at Mid Ohio on Sunday I was telling my oldest that we should get a "vintage" car so that the whole family can enjoy the experience. Keep us posted.
Aaron_King said:On our way to the Vintage GP at Mid Ohio on Sunday I was telling my oldest that we should get a "vintage" car so that the whole family can enjoy the experience. Keep us posted.
Aaron, here's your chance budget friendly too.
From a reputable seller too. 
I mean, if my local CL is anything to go by, a nice one of those that needs an interior is probably worth 2k. I honestly don't know why there's no market for them, since they look so cool. I feel like someone around here needed a lot of talking into to buy an old Jag that looked way better overall for $2k.
In reply to Vigo :
Hahaha! Who was that? I think I remember the thread....
Yeah, the car in as is shape is worth very little in mind. Running and driving it's worth a bit more, but an interior restoration is not really as easy as it seems for a 50 year old car. So in my mind car is worth much more sentimentally to dad and me than it really is worth to anyone else. And when a car is in that financial place, you can finally do whatever you want with little fear of resale impact (ie, that's when it starts to get fun).
However, i think part of this whole thing is that Dad knows in his subconscious that the car is worth very little, but he would rather not have to face that (and I very much understand his position, this is one thing I've done more times than he has).
So while I'm ready to bolt on knobby tires and go rallycrossing, he would be against that since it might damage the car's "value".
I was just going to say that if I had some independent opinions of value that I could convince him of the cars true market rate, but then I realized that it doesn't matter.
I'll talk to him about scheduling a trip to get this beast fixed.
I think the values aren't strong because Mercedes only made 1.6 bajillion of these and they are pretty good cars that tend to last. So they're not exactly rare.
And they also didn't come with Daytona wings, 426 hemis, Rallye wheels, or westfalia roofs so they are not exactly the hot 1969 model right now.
Robbie said:
My dad takes "slightly-better-than-average-craigslist" quality photos.
Car is still a looker. Hood is open in the pics and he has the ornament in the trunk so no one can steal it. He says interior needs full restoration basically.
Here's a question - where do I find info on realistic values for these sorts of vehicles? My dad has an *opinion*, but I don't know how realistic it is.
I'm getting excited to fix it and drive it for sure.
The w114 and w115 sedans are probably the least valuable of the vintage Benz. The coupes are gaining popularity but the sedans, not so much. If it ran but needed interior I'd say $1500-2500 in value depending on rust as well. Interior parts aren't hard to find but they're all old and good stuff might cost you. These cars were the predecessor to the w123 and the w123 is honestly better in every way. Honestly, you can get a nice one for $4000 out of California if you look long enough.
These models seem to be popular with the stance crowd who install airbag suspensions and big wheels.
Hagerty Valuation Tools are the gold standard, and free.
In reply to ccrelan :
Yeah 16-17" usually the biggest they run in these in the stanceworld
Well, I'm just now realizing I didn't take any photos, but last week I spent a few hours with my dad fixing this.
Can't confirm the car runs (it's been sitting and he didn't have jumper cables and I only had a rental car), but I can confirm the shifter works. Actually probably works better than it ever has during his ownership!
This is an image my dad took while I was trying to diagnose over the phone a few months ago. The issue can't quite be seen well here but it will give you an idea. Now that I know what the issue was I can see it in this photo but I couldn't see it with only the photo.
If you look closely you can see a rope just behind and to the right of the spark plug boot. Just behind that rope is a bell crank that is part of the shifter assembly (it's the 1-2 bellcrank, if you're curious). Literally right above the rope is a ball attached to the bell crank. And the rod end that is supposed to go on the ball is not really connected.
There is supposed to be a rubber bushing in there and a clip to hold it together. Since the end can fall off the ball (and has tons of slop even if it doesn't fall off) the shifter can easily get stuck in 1st or 2nd and then the lever just flops around without moving the transmission.
Solution?
Go across the street to the local flaps and buy an assortment of rubber pieces. Vacuum nipples, pcv fittings, even valve stems. Find one that looks close, cut to adjust with knife, press back in.
The second pvc fitting I tried worked nearly perfectly! Tight fit on both the ball and the rod end, and holds the stuff in alignment.
But all this was done in Denver on the day before we got 12+ inches of snow, in dad's apartment parking lot, with my dad's old tool set (which to give you an idea includes only Robertson screwdrivers because he is Canadian and has lost all the normal ones).
Now I know the issue, so I think I can order the right parts to fix it the right way. But if he had to move the car now, he'd be able to freshen the gas, jump the battery, and at least drive it somewhere.
Progress!!
In reply to Robbie :
I might have those rubber bushing sitting in a tote in my garage. I rebuilt the ones in my w123 and it's all the same.
It's annoying to do though as I had to lay under the car to do it. But a few skinny screwdrivers and a rubber band helped line them up correctly.
Just looked and dont have them. They're on pelicanparts tho.
In reply to yupididit :
Dang, but thanks for looking anyway!
Looks like these parts are pretty darn cheap so replacing them all is definitely the plan now.
In reply to Robbie :
Might as well do the column shifter portion as well. The parts are like $1.50 to $5 each.
Is there any rust on it? Asking for a friend
Very little, but there is some. Just above the driver headlight was one spot I noticed some bubbling under the paint. I think I saw one more spot but can't remember where.
I miss classic Mercedes so much. They're very rewarding to work on. Honestly they're the only cars I've ever missed fixing up.
Make you dad happy by letting him give you a car that obviously he likes. It will give him an opportunity to spend time with him and he with you. Years from now you won't regret the time spent and the memories you will have forever.
Just got a text from my dad this morning that he wants to talk about selling this for real now. Admittedly, after we diagnosed the shifter issues it has mostly slipped my mind, but my dad is also at a stage now where he talks about road trips (and actually does them) quite a bit more than he did 3 years ago.
hmmmmmmmm
pirate said:Make you dad happy by letting him give you a car that obviously he likes. It will give him an opportunity to spend time with him and he with you. Years from now you won't regret the time spent and the memories you will have forever.
I just wanted to reiterate this same sentiment.
Interesting to see this come up again. The first post was a few weeks after my dad died. Thanks for updating.
Cooter said:dean1484 said:You only get one Dad. Fix it for him. Spend time with Dad enjoying the car. Let Dad continue to enjoy the car. If it brakes it is an excuse to go see Dad and do car things.
As for the part being NLA that is probably not true. From what I understand there is no such ting as a NLA MB part. It just comes down to how much you are willing to pay. MB has a restoration shop/division. They restore any and all MB's (for a price). They have all the original plans, tooling etc.
Oh and MB likes Dad's
That's a friend of mine and his dad. His shop is a couple miles from me. The son has a big surprise for Bart at the shop's next car show coming up, and it's going to be a huge.
Any follow-up to this Cooter?
Danny Shields said:Cooter said:Go for it.
It is time with your dad. Doesn't even matter how the rest goes.Totally agree. This is a great excuse to make some trips to Denver and spend time with your dad. Don't let that opportunity pass you by. You can decide on Step 4 when you get to it.
I lost my Dad last year.
This. So much this.
clutchsmoke said:pirate said:Make you dad happy by letting him give you a car that obviously he likes. It will give him an opportunity to spend time with him and he with you. Years from now you won't regret the time spent and the memories you will have forever.
I just wanted to reiterate this same sentiment.
And another +1
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