I have probably lost my mind!

[panzerwagen80]

FIRST AND FORMOST if this is posted in the wrong forum please kindly redirect me.

I am currently discussing the prospect of building a steel body replica of the 1934 500 K Motorway Courier.

I know I will probably hang myself before it ever leaves the drawing board but I am interested in getting real input from some of the forum members on a few things.

I know I will most likely not be able to reproduce the exact look and feel of the original but... Even If I owned the original the most I would likely do is look at it. (One of those cars that will only see the road if it were moving across the drive way or cart path at a Concourse Show.)

I want a steel bodied facsimile that I can actually drive and that has the reliability of being a real Mercedes.

I HATE FIBERGLASS! (If I can cut and weld it hammer it and work it on an english wheel why not do it right!)

I have done a little research and discovered that with a lot of channeling, sectioning, and filling, I can come very,VERY close to the actual cabin section by starting with a Mexican Steel V.W. body and maybe the steering components only.

( I chose the mexibug because I don't wish to destroy a real classic 1968 Beetle. If in doubt look online for Mexican VW they made the beetle until around 2003/2004)

I HATE V.W. POWERED KITCAR JUNK.

I intend to throw the roller chassis, the drivetrain, wheels etc. to the VW guys in exchange for most of the chop work and welding shop time that I will need to get the rebody done.

So here are a few of my questions in order of most importance.

1. I need to figure out what body designation and year had a real full frame with a long enough wheel base to handle the Rebody? (I'm thinking it's likely to be an older model station wagon or big body sedan late 60's early 70's)

2. Will a "re-body" of this chassis be possible and keep most of the mechnicals in place under the hood with out having to sacrifice things like power steering, air conditioning, good steering geometry etc. (Now before some irritated purist starts saying nasty things to me remember what I am asking for and that I want to use as much Mercedes as possible in this build.)

3. Diesel or Gas? And given the width and length of the hood on the 500-k I'm thinking maybe I'll be better off with an inline engine, but there may actually be room for a v8 or even a v12... Ok, maybe not buy I can dream cant I?

4. Is there a 4 or 5 speed standard transmission that will be matable to most of the inline 4, 5, 6, cylinder diesels?

5.What is the newest inline 6 gas engine I can readily get from salvage yards.

6. If there are any other forum members that are crazy enough to get involved in this type of insane project... Be it in the area of research, advice, mechanical contribution...etc... Please feel free to email me at Anvil.inc@gmail.com put the words 500-K Motorway Courier in the title.

7. And this one is the toughest for me to decide... Do I try to look as close to 1934 period correct interior and exterior or do I go in the direction of retro-vintage like the Chevy SSR or Plymouth Prowler.

Either way I'm thinking lots of walnut trim in the interior across the dash and around the window sills and frames and real leather panels and seats.

Most likely I will try to reuse the seats and skins just cut and weld the seat frames to get a good fit and restitch the covers where possible. Also a good reason to look to the older styling cues in the 50's sedans, pontons (the early post war cars had alot of 30's styling)

8. ALSO I WOULD LIKE THE NAME AND RATES FOR A GOOD PSYCHIATRIST IN SOUTH FLORIDA!

[GregoryV022]

are you crazy? yes

is this an awesome idea? yes

would i do it? yes

can you do it? it sure sounds like you can


so DO IT??? HELL YES

[panzerwagen80]

But I still need to figure out which long wheel base full frame donor candidate I need!

I did find out that the front and rear fenders could be cloned in steel using 4 sets of aftermarket 37 cadillac front fenders.

I'll have to cut the fenders down the top about a half inch longer than the final halves and cut and crimp a half inch seam to the inside. clamp and weld the seam down the top and grind out the excess seam inside to about a quarter inch and weld this too.

Final result should be a teardrop fender the right shape and dimensions.

Body of the bug gets flipped around so the front becomes the rear.

Top gets cut off dead even with the bottom of the windscreen post and rear window seam to rear window seam. This piece will be flipped again.

Suicide doors done the easy way! In theory anyway!

[LUVMBDiesels]

All I can say is GO FOR IT...

Also take LOTS and LOTS of pix and vids of this endeavor. It sounds intense and fun!

[JiveTurkey]

Man that sounds like an amazing build. My vote goes for period correct (or close to it) interrior. As for the newest inline 6 I'm pretty sure it's the 2.8L from 1997 C280.

[stimpy451]

ooooooh

[Mistress]

definitely do it...but you have to post pics along the way...

[panzerwagen80]

I have an idea of what donor chassis might work but as I said before I really want to keep it as much Mercedes for the critical stuff as is feasible.

That said I am considering a newer light duty truck that is full frame with coil spring suspension front and rear then I can stretch or shorten the wheelbase to the exact length I need. Either a GM or Ford like an S-10 or a Ranger.

I was really hoping to find a Mercedes chassis with engine and standard transmission but I cant seem to find one that is a full frame car and will suit my needs.

Here's why... The radiator is mounted 185mm back from the front of the frame. That puts it about 3cm behind the front wheel centers. everything else is progressively mounted behind that.

I wonder if there's a possibility of gutting an existing straight 6 gas or diesel Benz with a standard transmission and a/c, disk brakes and a smooth ride and moving the parts to a frame rail configuration.

Is there an experienced MB body guy in the forum who can help answer some of these questions?


Also thanks to everyone else here in the asylum for the encouragement. and special thanks to stimpy for posting the pic in his post so everyone see's what I'm yammering on about.

[450slcguy]

Yep, you've lost your mind. Not worth the time and expense to create a fake that you'll never drive. Buy and restore a real Benz if you need a project. In the least it will be worth something and you can enjoy driving it when its complete.

[panzerwagen80]

Originally Posted by 450slcguy

Yep, you've lost your mind. Not worth the time and expense to create a fake that you'll never drive. Buy and restore a real Benz if you need a project. In the least it will be worth something and you can enjoy driving it when its complete.

I don't want to build a "fake", I hate fiberglass kit car garbage fakes as much as the next Classic Mercedes Owner.

If I ever have to speak to another VW gazelle kit owner drone on about "how much his car is worth" while I'm out in my 1980 450sl It will be too soon.

In my original post I stated that if I owned a real 500-K Courier it would be a Concourse restored car that never see's the road because the car is so rare the risk of losing a million dollar car to some yokel who isn't paying attention is too great.

I also stated that it's not about creating "valuable investment" but a real steel bodied car that will be driven daily and has the dependability of a solid and proven Mercedes power train.

If my tongue in cheek delivery confused you, Mea Culpa.

I have owned several collector cars and currently have another "REAL" Mercedes.

I am sick of seeing knock off's of the famed 500-k special roadster they always seem to be fiberglass crap convertible and the kit car crowd is not my scene.

What you never see is the elegance and style of the Coupe or the Courier
and never in real steel.

I'm not looking for a "project" I am considering building a custom steel coach that happens to be on a Mercedes platform or if I can't reuse an orphaned Mercedes platform at least reuse the majority of a car whose steel body has lost any or all usefulness.

Again this is not going to be an expensive kit that is worthless when finished. It's not even necessarily going to be a costly build as I can and have done most of the work on other builds and rebuilds myself.

As to it being time consuming I am retired and I have plenty of time.

[TheDon]

how are your metal working skills?

You're going to have to be pretty good to get everything correct.


I'd say you're chasing a pipe dream and its an expensive dream. But it's your dream.. go for it

[stimpy451]

I'm just heading out, but isn't this similar to the Rolls Royce Phantom? I seem to remember lusting over those cars as well.

Is this the fugly mess you're trying to avoid?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpgP2Mch4kM

[panzerwagen80]

Originally Posted by stimpy451

I'm just heading out, but isn't this similar to the Rolls Royce Phantom? I seem to remember lusting over those cars as well.

Some similarities I suppose.

[stimpy451]

I may actually like the Benz better.

[Tony H]

Do you have a address for me to send you a "Get well" card in a few months? Assuming you can still read by then.