New pics of "The Red Baron"

[Colorado220]

Beautiful!

[Stretch]

So nice we should see some more pictures - shouldn't we?

[suginami]

Originally Posted by Army

So nice we should see some more pictures - shouldn't we?

I'll post some more pics when I get it back from the mechanic.

The car has developed a miss or a cutting out when speeds get above 70 mph.

[Stretch]

Originally Posted by suginami

I'll post some more pics when I get it back from the mechanic.

The car has developed a miss or a cutting out when speeds get above 70 mph.

Thanks - I'm looking forward to it - I bet others are too.

[sd300td]

Let me help you out Paul,

[JiveTurkey]

That's one dynamite w108 you have there, **** me it's pretty!

[t walgamuth]

I am surprised at how cool it looks!

Great looking car.

I have never cared much for red on a benz but that looks wonderful!

[Stretch]

Yes - fantastic

[suginami]

I've been away from the forum for a while, but I thought I'd check in and give you all an update on the car.

I can't believe it's been a little over seven years since I've purchased the car.

We have been enjoying it mainly as a weekend car, and it's been surprisingly trouble free.

I've done nothing but regular maintenance, exactly as described in the owner's manual. The motor mounts were worn out so I replaced them. I've replaced both front and rear break pads. I put on new white wall tires. It also needed a battery.

The only repair I can think of is I had to replace the right rear axle shaft as it had a terrible leak, and the mechanic discovered it was damaged by a poor repair from the past. It was damaged beyond repair, and the mechanic installed a used one with a new backing plate.

The car still gets about 12 mpg in town, and a little better than 15 on the highway. We took the car on a drive up Pacific Coast Highway last weekend, and drove up the coast starting in Santa Monica through Malibu and on up to Santa Barbara, then over the mountain in the Santa Barbara wine country in the Santa Ynez valley where they filmed the Academy Award winning movie Sideways. It was a good test of the car's cooling capability, as it was almost 110 degrees. The car ran right in the middle of the gauge, but in stop and go traffic, the needle went up to about 3/4 of the way up the dial.

Here's a pic of the car from a few weekends back in San Clemente, CA.

[meltedpanda]

a fine ride!

[joshhol]

Must have been a great ride up the coast and thru the vineyards

[Tomguy]

Beautiful car! One of the only other 4.5 108s I've ever seen in my area was that color and I remember it well. I want to say it was mid 90s. I don't think we were in ours at the time though. I only saw it once, which leads me to believe it wasn't from Wilkes-Barre.

[suginami]

Tom Hanson at the Mercedes Classic Center told me he was aware of about 12 or so that were built in this color.

This red is a beautiful color that really accentuates the lines of the W108.

This car appears to have had five owners according to the records, including myself. All of the owners owned the car for about a decade, except for the 4th owner who bought the car in Tracy, CA and drove it to Phoenix, where he owned it for only about a year.

Most people seem to value a "one owner car", but what if the owner was a blockhead who didn't maintain the car? I have very extensive records from the second owner on, from about the 87,000 mile mark to the current 174,000. Everything on this car has been done over its lifetime.

The only component that has never been rebuilt is the transmission (knock on wood).

This car has been lucky to have had owners, including myself, that have taken care of everything.

Even now, everything works. The a/c blows ice cold. The car doesn't leak a drop of fluid - any kind of fluid.

The suspension is tight. The steering is tight. It rides comfortably at any speed. I ran it up to Santa Barbara at speeds averaging around 80 mph in 108 degree weather, and never came close to overheating. The car even returned 15.5 mpg at this speed.

The W108 chassis with the 4.5 liter V8 is such an affordable classic that is also a pleasure to drive. It even does a good imitation of a modern car. The only difference between it and a modern car is the large, thin steering wheel.