Fintails

[fema]

What years were the fintail models made, and what model numbers did they go by? They are nice looking!

[300SDog]

Not just nice lookin...... arguably the Heckflosse body style is also the finest road car MB ever built.

Super solid suspension, tracks straight as an arrow, and outperforms all others in snow and ice conditions.

[joshhol]

a.k.a. W110 W111 and W112

Great cars. Mechanically simple as well.

[fema]

joshol - mechanically simple? Would this be a better choice than a 108 style 4.5 to learn how to work on vintage MB cars?

dieseldog - And better in snow/ice, how's that?

I'll go check out some history and pricing for what I can find in the meantime. thanks all!

[300SDog]

Enclosed axle rear suspension adds weight, heavier suspension components all the way around. I drove one in Colorado, mounted 4 wheel snow tires (as MB recommends).

Massive upholstery, 'barber-pole' speedometer that changes colors at different speeds, 4 spd column shift, outstanding interior appointments with wood trim in all window frames (same as 108), and enough head room for stetson cowboy hat.

All electric components plug into sockets at wiring harness, very large engine compartment, permanent heavy rubber valve cover gasket that never needs replacing, easy access to generator, starter, fuel pump, carbs, distributor and valves.

And what you DONT get with the car..... no complex vacuum system with millions of vacuum lines, no oxygen sensors or complicated engine breather system, no tricky gadgets like climate control heating system, electric seats, electronic guages and complicated relays (as found in modern cars).

The little single headlight diesel finbody, souped up with 85mph 240Diesel engine, has been on my wish-list for long time.

[joshhol]

Dieseldog summed it up really well, far better than I could have.
My fintail is in such nice condition I cant really speak to the ease or difficulty of getting parts. I think way more of them were made then W108's so finding parts shouldn't be that hard but they are getting really rare nowadays.

Try and drive both before you buy. Also, take into account that the fintails are way better on gas. Not above the 20 mark though unless it's a 4 banger, I don't know. My 220S seems to average 18. Don't know what my 4.5 gets, speedo cable is defunct.
A 4.5 will smoke it off the line of course, then smoke it from 20 to 40 then 40 to 60 then 60 to 80 then 80 to 140.

You cant go wrong with either one, unless you are worried about gas mileage. That's the only flaw of the 4.5.
I don't think a 4.5 would be out of the question to figure out mechanically considering the great help on this site and whatever your mechanical inclination may be.
I guess I'm lucky, I just have to decide which one I want to drive.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

My introduction to Mercedes was a '61 180b Ponton. With its' 4 cylinder and single carb you couldn't get much more simple. Early VW Beetles could outdrag it at stoplights but I averaged about 25 MPG.
'Miss Daisy' my '60 Finnie 220S, managed 23 MPG on a recent trip. It does about 16 in town. So much room under the hood to work and no computers or electronics. The small six looks tiny in my engine compartment yet, with a stickshift, it's suprisingly responsive for a fairly large car. Manual steering is a chore when parking but fine otherwise. '63 and later front disc brakes are superior to the early drums but I'm used to mine. If I were looking for another Finnie, it would be one of the later 220S/230S with front discs, power steering and the rare manual floorshift option.

Happy Motoring, Mark

Frank Barrett's "Mercedes-Benz Buyers Guide" which you can pick up for under $20 at many big bookstores or order over the web.

The MBCA magazine "The Star" has also done some lenghty treatments on these jaunty and robust vehicles. There are also some "finnie" websites.

Drove a nice fintail (old even then) 30 years ago in college...remember the red leather interior, manual sunroof, vent windows, "ivory" steering wheel, and "four on the tree" gearshift lever.

[Gators]

Mine's a 66 200D

Love My Heck!!!

[joshhol]

Probably the safest car of the 1960's with the pioneering of front and rear crumple zones.
Provided you have three point belts.

[fema]

Hi, I'm just back from some travel and appreciate all your responses! Just so happens I found a beauty, "63 220 I believe, one owner, 93K miles, garage kept - problem is, a used car dealer got hold of it and is asking $10,500 - out of my scope right now, and I thought I'd find them cheaper than the 280SE/L 4.5. So, does that seem like a reasonable price to you all - I realize price is based on a willing buyer, but just wanted to ask some "experts."

regards!

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Not unless it was owned by Elvis Presley!
Too bad the greedy dealer wants to make a killing. I think a perfect, original 220 Fintail might bring about $5000 - $6000, but I've seen nice ones go for much less. Keep looking, or wait awhile and make the dealer an offer when he becomes more motivated to sell.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[joshhol]

On what grounds does the dealer claim to charge such a price for that car!
It must be absolutely immaculate and really truthfully have so few miles on it for them to go priceline on you. (Name your own price, in this case name their own price and just pick one out of the blue.)
Are you sure it's only got 93K on it? After all, that's only a bit more than 2K a year over its life!
Don't worry though, I doubt anyone will pay that much for it and they will come to their senses and you will swoop in when the time is right.

However, I must admit that a fintail in awesome condition should fetch more than the printed market value considering how great a car they are, but don't let the dealer know I said so.

it's not a diesel, which would just be broken in at 93k. What the dealer has is a very interesting used car which may need some engine work soon. He likely paid an estate no more than $500 for it. It would be a tempting driver/project if you could get it for $1500-$2000 and prepare to sink some more money into it in a year or two.