Changing the Horse that I am Considering

I had started a thread about considering a W108/109. Well, tonight I went to see a friend of mine who has a 1958 190 (gas). He drives this car daily in the summer and he just loves to drive it. He knows that I have been considering a W108/109however, I always am teary eyed when I am next to his 190. He told me that I need to get a Ponton.......I argree since I would have some support as my friend owned three Pontons (as well as over two dozen other Mercs). I am a diesel nut and I love the tall grill on his 1958 190. I see that the 220S of the same time period. Any thoughs.

P.S. Please speak quietly as I have not mentioned this idea to my wife.

[cth350]

want a project? How about 190b ponton wagon. It needs about 17,000$ worth of work to make perfect, but you'll have something just about nobody else has. It's 121.002 190b kombi (estate wagon). The factory produced 349 wagons and ambulences.

This one has been sitting in a barn in CT since 1985 with the driver's rear fender removed. The owner was a body man who had a heart attack and had to stop working on it. He's still around, but needs to pass his car on to somebody else who'll give it the tlc it deserves.

The wagon comes with several suburban loads of spare parts, not to mention a 220s ponton that has some potential. It has no motor and has underside rust. But as a parts car, it's loaded with pretty things. Notable things in the pile are 190sl cylinder head, several bumpers, and tail lights. Lots of used ponton and heckflosse taillights.

The fellow wants $5,000 for the pile. He has no interest in selling individual parts. He doesn't have any internet hookup or email, so I need to pass him a phone number for anybody that's interested.

Of course, you could always hold out for a 190D agon to enjoy that lovely smell of diesel in the morning. There were close to 1,000 190D & 190Db wagons produced according to the ponton page...
http://www.mbzponton.org/pax058/people/variants.htm

-CTH

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Of course, a solid, running '58 Ponton 190, that's being driven regularly, may be much more desireable than a 'pile' of parts, especially if you can get that 190 for much less than $5000. Check carefully for rust under that 190 and test drive it to see if you can live with the column-shift and drum brakes. Heaters are also pretty feeble on these cars (but then you're probably not actually planning to use one as your primary winter transport)
The 85 hp Ponton 190 should have adequate performance, especially compared to the 50 hp. 190D, or even my low-line 68 hp. Ponton 180b. Modern radial tires are a big improvement over the orginal 13 inch bias-plys, though compatible 13 inch radials are getting harder to find.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[300SDog]

Heaters are also pretty feeble on these cars....

Yeah was that you talkin about snow-flakes entering the car through the defroster vent in the wintertime with blown out heater feed baffles?

My own experience with the Pontoon Bathtub Benz is limitted to one i owned as a kid for just 6 months...... It was rusted to smitherines; the emergency brake cable dangled underneath rusted away from its hanger yet fully operative; unibody joints were so bad on the rear that they "crunched" when I leaned on the fender; And the car left little ant-hills of rust when parked in the driveway.

But the Pontons are amazingly comfortable and one of the most beloved Benz's of all time. And the 190b has an excellent engine, even by modern standards. The 4cyl seems to need more frequent oil changes then the 6. It runs a little dirtier and been known to wear out oil pumps. Seen this on 190c that I owned where oil pressure dropped at/below 10lbs at idle.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

My Ponton 180b had the heater vent screens, but some fine powdery snow would still get through until the heaters began to warm up. I used to say "My Benz is a nature-lover's car because the weather inside is just like the weather outside!"

Heater fans were optional on my '61 180b. I added a pair from a junkyard Ponton 220S, but, I still had to put a board in front of my radiator to get it to warm up better in subfreezing weather.

As for performance, I also used to say "VW Beetles outdrag me from stoplights!" (and I meant the old 36 hp. Beetles, not today's zippy FWD versions) With it's economy axle ratio, my 180b was pretty slow, but once up to speed, she would cruise effortlessly. At that time, a friend had a '60 Ponton 190. With higher compression, a 2V Solex carb and 'hotter' axle ratio, his Benz seemed like a Hotrod compared to mine.
Unfortunately, his 190 suffered from terminal rust. Eventually (While I was driving!), the left rear suspension tore loose from the floorpan, dropping the axle arm to the pavement and tearing out a brakeline. Fortunately, I was going very slowly when it happened, so there was no accident, but that was the end of that Ponton.

Happy Motoring, Mark