Mercedes Limosine

I need help identifying a 56-58 Mercedes limosine. The previous owner (who has passed away) was in the process of restoring it. There are no vin# or labels to help. Does anyone know of a source to help me research the year and model. Thanks for any help....

[420SEL]

Check out this site. Scroll through the whole page and you should be able to find your car. Please let us know what it turns out to be. http://home.hiwaay.net/~gbf/mbmodels.html

JP

Do you have any Pics? I can check my books.

Thanks for your help. I need to do some more research. The best candidate so far is the W189 300d. The car I'm asking about has an inline 6 cyl. engine. Does anyone know if the 180.010 eng. is a 6 cyl.? I will compare the photos with the car and let you all know what I find.

[cth350]

They're all 6's back then, except the 4 cylinder of the 190SL, 180 & 190 (the M121 motors).

Take a digital photo of the engine compartment, driver's side door area where you'd rest your arm while driving, and the car's rear (bumper, lights and possibly fuel door).

Also, under the hood on the firewall should be a set of numbers stamped there. Lastly, look for numbers embossed on the cylinder head.

An M180 motor has no place in a 300 series car. You should find a M189.

-CTH

Iwas thinking you can at least get the last three digits of the car by looking for a stamped # (not part #) on the hood, doors, trunk. You can also find this number written on the back of various interior panels in crayon. Once you have this info you can contact the MB Classic Center in Germany for help. They will even supply you with the original factory invoice.

Shaun

I have found the engine number, it is a M189 (189.981). It also has a roll up window that divides the front and rear passenger compartments. I have not been able to locate any numbers on the body panels because it has been completely disassembled and repainted. It is now partially reassembled (lots of work left)and parts are stored all over the shop. I will continue to look for any identifying parts and numbers. Thanks again for all of your help...

[cth350]

Are you buying this or have you purchased it already?

That center divider is a rare option.

You sure it's a 189.981 ? According to http://home.hiwaay.net/~gbf/mbmodels.html, that makes it a late '60s 300sel.

The firewall and top of the radiator support are the two places to look for numbers stamped on the body.

Surely somebody has papers on the poor thing to identify it?

OBTW, the expert on these cars, not to mention the holder of the largest collection of them, is Roger Wychgram at ATVM (410) 272-2252.

-CTH

Ok, I have found the ID tag(in a box in the back of the shop). It is a 1958 300d, chassis# A189010, vin.8500742. The eng.# is a M189 (189.981). I double checked the eng.# with an old Mercedes parts book and it is the correct engine for this car. Now all I need is the repair manuals for the body and chassis so I can get this automobile back together. Thanks again for all of your help and any future help...

[cth350]

The following literature is available for this car

Directly from benz (or the partsshop?):
- The 1960 Technical Data Manual
- The service CD
(has the owner's parts picture book & service manual & "instruction manual")

Out of print (which means get it off ebay):
- The service manual (40-140$)
- The instruction manual (owner's manual) (10-30$)
- The owner's parts picture book (20-40$)
- The dealer's parts picture book (100's of dollars)

I put the expected ebay prices next ot each book.

I paid 51$ for a soft cover copy of the service manual a few months back and just got TWO copies of the loose-leaf manual over the weekend (one English and one German). If you'd like my now spare paperback copy, you can have it for what I paid for it, plus the shipping.

I picked up the instruction manual & owner's parts picture book like 2 years ago. I watch these things daily, so I know that one of each sold like last month. I have seen about 2 dealer's parts books in the past 3 years and both sold for a great deal of money.

As for the CD, well, it ain't cheap. Look for previous threads in this group for "star classic" for all the gory details.

-CTH