Hi -Introduction - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

moby dick · #1 11-13-2012, 01:48 PM

Hi,
My wife named her Moby Dick! And now everyone calls her that. This is a car I've always wanted since I was a child in the 70s and early 80s. To me a w111/w108/w109 is what comes to mind when I think of Mercedes Benz.
She started life in Riverside California back in 1969 -well actually she was born in West Germany, but I'd like to think of that as conception and the transit over as the gestation! I guess everyone has a different definition of when a car is born... When she was a year old she moved to Carmel California with her owner, who drove her until she passed away in about 2005-2007. It then sat around until the son sold her to the 2nd owner in San Francisco around November 2011, who flipped it to me in August 2012 for a 2X profit.

She's a 1969 280se, white with a light beige MBtex interior. She has manual windows, manual door locks, no sunroof and a 4 speed auto with a column shift. She had been dealer maintained from 1969 to 2005 by the 1st owner. I have all the records and a service booklet with all the stamps and a documented 185K miles. She has no aftermarket parts whatsoever, except for two additional speakers on the rear deck, which I'm in the process of removing -she got a brand new MB transmission in 2003 and a new full factory exhaust in 2002! She's had one respray that is pretty decent. The interior, wood and chrome look 5 years old, not 43. But she has rust. Not all of California is dry and sunny. Carmel, being on the coast has salt in the air and many foggy days. There are a few spots here and there, under the hood, under the trunk... the front rocket panels have holes on both sides. Other than that she has a nice patina that a properly maintained and garaged 43 year old car should have. The body shop estimates almost equal what I paid for her. While I'd love to find a 4.5 with no rust, I think the perfect wood, chrome and very nice interior and all the records plus the fact that it is almost a one owner car when I got it.... I think I'll drive it this way for a year or two before fixing the rockers... For now she is garaged in sunny San Jose, while my DD sits outside!

I'm glad I found this forum! It doesn't seem like there is a lot of info on w108s out there and not much forum activity as other cars that I've owned and own.
Thank You,
Narayan