Complete Kuhlmeister A/C Unit on ebay

[WANT '71 280SEL]

I was on ebay looking for w111 sedan parts and stumbled across this. It's not cheap, but it's in great condition in case anyone is interested.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercedes-Benz-220-280-SE-AC-System-Kuhlmeister_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ39405QQihZ007QQitemZ170099817775QQrdZ1

Thanks
David

[spikemcl]

I have been trying to yank the A/c unit out of my parts car and thought that this big piece was essential....

[WANT '71 280SEL]

You're right, it is missing the evaporator, but it is still a fair price for the unit seeing that everything is in great condition. You can tell he wanted to put it in a w111 cabriolet.

Thanks
David

[Q45Denver]

Isn't the evaporator in the fan unit? I think I would rather have a rotary compressor-alot smoother than the old York.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Originally Posted by WANT '71 280SEL

You're right, it is missing the evaporator, but it is still a fair price for the unit seeing that everything is in great condition. You can tell he wanted to put it in a w111 cabriolet.

Thanks
David

No, you're thinking of the AC used in the W108 cars, which had the evaporator under the glovebox, and the blower in the right front kick-panel.
The Fintail Kuhlmeister AC evaporator is in that long, narrow vent housing, and the motor portion of the attached blower goes up behind the glovebox.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[WANT '71 280SEL]

my mistake, thanks for pointing that out, Mark. It seems odd that no one would be interested in something like this since it seems it is ready to install and run. Oh well, not my loss. I just thought someone here might be interested.

Thanks
David

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Originally Posted by q45denver

Isn't the evaporator in the fan unit? I think I would rather have a rotary compressor-alot smoother than the old York.

Will be interesting to see how high the bidding goes.
I told a local Mercedes mechanic about the auction. He's got a customer that wants him to aircondition a '58 Ponton 220S.

25 years ago, I installed a Kuhlmeister like that one in my '61 Ponton 180b. The under-dash evaporator-blower unit came out of a junked '63 Fintail 220S. Because it was designed for a Fintail, I had to flip the blower 180 degrees, as otherwise the motor wouldn't clear the underside of my Ponton's dash, And the Ponton's engine space and coolant plumbing wouldn't accomodate the Fintail's York compressor and mounting hardware, so I had to cobble together custom brackets to mount a Japanese Sankyo compressor on the leftside of the engine. A salvaged '73 Mazda condenser just fit inside the space between the hood-latch crossmember and the lower radiator support, and a modified Honda waterpump pulley bolted to the harmonic balancer, for the AC belt, completed the installation.

While the load and heat from the unit probably didn't do my Ponton's engine any favors, at least I enjoyed an airconditioned 180 for a few years, until '87, when I got a '72 220 with factory AC.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[WANT '71 280SEL]

Sounds like one heck of a project to endure for air conditioning. It's great that you were able to find parts that would fit and work. I could only imagine how much time that would take me to find just the right compressor, etc. to make everything fit and work.

Thanks
David

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Originally Posted by WANT '71 280SEL

Sounds like one heck of a project to endure for air conditioning. It's great that you were able to find parts that would fit and work. I could only imagine how much time that would take me to find just the right compressor, etc. to make everything fit and work.

Thanks
David

Well. I worked in an Exxon Car-Care shop at the time. When I planned some auto-improvement project, I could inspect a wide variety of cars for possible choices in components, and I often saved odd bits of leftover hardware from a repair job, such as that Honda waterpump pulley. Knowing the type & size of the components I needed, the compressor/condenser wasn't hard to find on an afternoon walk around a local import salvage yard. I was lucky to find that Kuhlmeister though.

One essential component I didn't see in the auction photos, is the AC crankshaft pulley needed to drive the compressor belt. 25 years ago it was availible from Mercedes, but that Fintail part wouldn't bolt up to my Ponton's engine or clear the stabilizer bar, hence the modified Honda pulley. If I had to do it again today, I would look for a smaller pulley, to reduce the load on my Ponton's engine and cooling system.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[Tony H]

Originally Posted by WANT '71 280SEL

I was on ebay looking for w111 sedan parts and stumbled across this. It's not cheap, but it's in great condition in case anyone is interested.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercedes-Benz-220-280-SE-AC-System-Kuhlmeister_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ39405QQihZ007QQitemZ170099817775QQrdZ1

Thanks
David

$300 seems pretty cheap compared to what a 111 Behr air conditioner runs.

[sjefke]

Originally Posted by Tony H

$300 seems pretty cheap compared to what a 111 Behr air conditioner runs.

Case in point:

http://cgi.ebay.de/mercedes-w111-seb-kompl-klimaanlagenset-behr-original_W0QQitemZ120107892019QQihZ002QQcategoryZ76017QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Does look really nice though... Not sure it is correct for the 3.5 coupe.

Bert

[Mark DiSilvestro]

The Kuhlmeister should be correct for one of the early W111 coupes or convertibles, as well as the Fintails. Auction has one and a half days left. Will be interesting to see if the sale price comes close to what some of the later Behr units go for.
On a related note - I wonder what a shop would charge today to install AC in something like a Ponton, which would probably require a lot of custom-fitting.

Several years ago, there was a Ponton 220S in Arizona, advertised on eBay with AC. Photos showed a generic hang-on unit under the dash, like the ones Sears or Wards used to sell, but the underhood photo was at a poor angle, without a good veiw of the compressor installation.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Originally Posted by Tony H

$300 seems pretty cheap compared to what a 111 Behr air conditioner runs.

Well, it went for $687. How does that compare?

Happy Motoring, Mark

[bikis]

it is almost impossible to find Behr A/C for the coupe. saw one on ebay over a year ago - "buy it know" was around $2500. it was sold immediatly. there was another unit sold privatly for $2700. i got a quote from some company on the east coast for $4000 for the whole system.

[sjefke]

The Behr on Ebay Germany is now at Euro 2000 with 4 days to go...

Bert