'65 190D station wagon

Hello all,
My name is Heather, I have recently aquired a '65 190D station wagon. I have been told it was bought in germany and has traveled all over the world. She also says the engine case is cracked. I know there is rust but Im not sure how much. there are even extra doors being stored inside of the car. As of now It is still inside a garage and has been there for about 15 years. I know that if i was to put another engine in it , it would cost alot of money, and my first intention was to make this a bio-diesel car, but I am not sure if I have the funds for that.

I have not been able to find much information on the net about this car, not even pictures of the same model. If anyone has any more information about this car, it would be greatly appreciated.

What kind of market is for these cars? I know there arent many here in the US. Would anyone be interested in this project?

Thanks in advance,
Heather

[engatwork]

If you want to burn bidD I would recommend trying to find what is referred to as a W123 car. If there are alot of hills look for the turbodiesel model (1983-1985 300D). The wagon is referred to as a 300TD. Really good cars but they have gotten kinda pricy over the past year or so. The key things to look for are no rust and maintenance records.

You could easily put alot of $$ in the '65 190D if it is in rough condition. It is my opinion that it will be pretty tough finding an engine for this car. Your best bet will be searching around on the net and looking for a complete, running engine. Is it a manual or automatic? Realize too that the VW, from your site, will probably be faster through the 1/4 mile.

Do a search on this site and or come back with your questions.

[tnarg]

Hi Everyone. I am a new member. Just spotted this message from Heather and want to respond. I may have an engine for that car, as I have a 200D sedan of my own. Other family members have had 200D's and 190D's as well. I have cleaned out many parts to focus only on 200D's as far as engine parts go. The chassis were both 110.110.10

Thanks for letting me join.

[300SDog]

Have been searching and searching for primitive finbody diesel for my next daily driver / restoration car and the station wagon suits me fine.

If you decide to pass the project on to someone who's been driving MB's all their life and can provide the kinda attention the car deserves - let me know....

johnbald1@hotmail.com

[Ed Richardson]

Try Bob Gunthorp ar Onager Corp in San Diego,
619-4213254.
Ed

[68greezr]

wow,fin-station wagon.hope she post a picture i'd like to see that.
wonder if she like fishing?

[jim16671836]

In Nitske's book(1946-86 MB Models) he claims on page 160 that Mercedes first produced a station wagon in 1977 and that all previous station wagons(180/180D) were built by coach builders and not MB...Maybe it is a rare car....

[Russ114]

i thought all early MB station wagons were built by Binz and other coachbuilders/hearsebuilders.

i've only ever seen one binz, and that was in a magazine.

[300SDog]

Got it! Got it! I found it...... http://www.heckflosse.nl/uni.htm

But what are these cars really worth? The 190Dc crowd is incredibly eccentric - knowingly driving sloooow and underpowered vehicles that top out at 75mph on downhill runs with wind at their back...... yet 4 cyl MB diesel owners like me go ape over our cars and will not surrender them for love or money. Nobody knows why, but once someone gets used to driving slower small engine MB diesels we often dont wanna drive anything else. Truly the tightest and scarcest niche market for *any* special interest car is the 190DC fan club. To its credit, the 190Dc gets up to 40mpg and will last several hundred thousand miles if not abused and well maintained.

Heather, you will find all sorts of wild and crazy appraisals on your car. I'm sure you've heard from somewhere that some wealthy collector might even go the "concourse route" and throw millions of dollars into restoring the car and making it into a trophy queen...... More likely you will find an ordinary person who wouldnt mind throwing a couple thousand into it and extending its road life as classic backup 2nd car or even as well maintained durable daily driver. But those who can truly appreciate driving the 190Dc are becoming fewer and farther between.

With cracked block (sounds like winter storage without anti-freeze) you might realistically even get up to $1500 for the 190Dc station wagon with other factors in consideration...... rust? suspension? air conditioning? Hell, the car might need complete overhaul.

Bottom line - its an uncommon car thats valuable only to an uncommon market. Like i said, can give the car a good home if you just wanna unload it. Irregardless, only a diehard vintage MB diesel fan will want to touch it at all - this you've gotta understand.

Mercedes Enthusiast magazine, an English-language european slick periodical. You can generally find copies at big chains like Borders or Barnes & Noble, or they can order it for you.

There was a brief run of these cars customized by a German coachbuilder, as I recall from a brief scan of the article. Pretty rare, and never a production item from Mercedes itself.

Think doors and most bodywork would be the same as found on a contemporary sedan. Finding an engine to transplant into it should not be a big problem.

Good luck!

[Lycoming-8]

Several pics of Ponton station wagons can be seen at the site noted below. Most are listed as being built by Binz not Benz.



www.mbzponton.org/valueadded/other/updates.htm

Mercedes Enthusiast article on the ponton station wagons.

[Tomguy]

Well, like heckflosse (the ponton site) says, MB built the chassis (and engine and drivetrain, presumably) and shipped it to Binz for customization. Indeed, a 190D is a very, very rare species - you would undoubtedly get your pic on heckflosse.nl regardless of condition!

[Jorn]

There is a 230 wagon on Ebay

230 wagon

[Tomguy]

Pretty interesting vehicle - it's a RHD in CT. Looks like it was imported from Europe and never driven in the US (looking at its tags)...