1966 200 w110 barn find - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

davestlouis · #1 02-23-2006, 11:25 PM

Just looked at a 1966 200 gas sedan, short nose fintail. Black exterior, red tex interior, automatic column shift, rubber floor mats, all the trim is there, some rust on the rockers, the floor is loose at the rocker on the right side and the area visible in the fender wells behind the front wheels is rusty. The owners manual is there, with the build sheet stapled to it, original Continental 7.00-13 spare tire in the trunk. The headlamps had been removed by a PO then the car was rolled into a barn, where it was recently removed, so the barn could be torn down. The guy selling the car now doesn't know when it went in the barn, but the newspaper the headlamps were rolled up in is dated 1980! What are the cnances that this car can be brought back to life after 25? years in a barn?

Benzcrusher · #2 02-24-2006, 05:20 AM

There is nothing that money can't fix on that car...... When you're all done restoring it you'll have a 3-4,000 dollar car. Sounds like you have that much in rust damage; then add paint,bla,bla,bla...

meltedpanda · #3 02-24-2006, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davestlouis

The guy selling the car now doesn't know when it went in the barn, but the newspaper the headlamps were rolled up in is dated 1980! What are the cnances that this car can be brought back to life after 25? years in a barn?

here is my saga if it helps, I suspect you will need to do many of the same things

1971 220

davestlouis · #4 02-24-2006, 08:07 PM

Looks like I should just find a reasonably clean fintail and buy it...leave the parts car alone.

t walgamuth · #5 02-24-2006, 08:29 PM

it wouldnt pay to restore a fintail. too expensive.

but you could still have fun with it as long as you didnt spend too much.

tom w

davestlouis · #6 02-24-2006, 09:06 PM

The problem is that I can't leave well enough alone...I work at a multi-line luxury dealership bodyshop and would get razzed mercilessly if it was ugly, so before it was over I would have a small fortune tied up in it. If I thought I could just get it running and tinker with it, I might do it. The other issue is that my darling wife would have a canary if I parked a beater in front of the house...what would the neighbors think, etc.

t walgamuth · #7 02-24-2006, 11:10 PM

mine would too.

but 30 years ago when i had less than no money i used to drag home hopeless pos cars and get them running and have lots of harmless fun with them and then sell them for about what i had in parts in them and do it again.

it kept me off the streets.

then i bought my first old caddie and found that i could actually make a little money on my hobby if i played my cards right. one of the caddies i bought had a bunch of spare parts in the trunk. i sold some ss fake wire wheel covers for i think it was 375, yikes! go figure. i made more money selling off spare caddie parts than i ever did on the other types of cars that i dragged home and sank money into!

tom w

300SDog · #8 02-25-2006, 05:31 AM

Any car can become a money pit. But what separates an MB is the pure logic on which they're built. Using common sense and elbow grease there's nothing you cant repair yourself on the 110 sedan. And the 4 cyl gasoline version is actually highly desirable even by todays standards.

The only really fatal rust occurs behind the headlight pods. And the only killer for engines not started in 25 yrs is the possibility of rusted rings and pitted bores.

t walgamuth · #9 02-25-2006, 08:52 AM

no rust in the engine.

but the bodies on those fintails will rust at the whiff of moisture. even back when they were new.

so if thinking of fooling around with one be sure to give the bottom a good look for rust. they can look pretty excellent up top and be very shakey down underneath.

tom w

davestlouis · #10 02-25-2006, 04:59 PM

I really would love to get this car, just because of the bodystyle and color combination, but I don't have the time right now to get knee-deep in a mess. I've read the saga of meltedpanda's car and while it fascinates me, I'm happier reading about someone else's trials and tribulations and living vicariously through them.

t walgamuth · #11 02-25-2006, 07:58 PM

me too.

tom w

cth350 · #12 02-25-2006, 08:00 PM

if you know how to weld or work with guys who do, then restoring the cart isn't a matter of money. If you're paying somebody to do the work, get the best car you can find (this ain't it). -cth

300SDog · #13 02-25-2006, 09:02 PM

Yeah but it aint every day you find Heckflosse w110 Finbody 4cyl thats Black on Red..... for free??

And no matter how bad the paint looks it will compound good as new. Had a black 220Sb that looked like dirty chalkboard - it buffed out perfect. Just marinate the combustion chambers before hand cranking the engine and it will be an easy engine to get running again.

Orrrrr..... shell out a couple of thousand and get one already fixed up - its a push - but to clean up an existing 110 in the coolest color combo MB ever developed will be labor of love and you know it.

(edit: Controversial question among motor-heads is whether to fix the cosmetics or mechanicals first..... Most agree that first returning respect to the car by cleaning up the body makes mechanical work go easier and seem alot more worthwhile.

davestlouis · #14 02-25-2006, 10:59 PM

Oh, I forgot, the hood ornament is gone...
anyway, I'm torn on the whole order of doing things...it has to be at least mobile on the lot under its own power before it's feasible to do cosmetic work for the simple reason that the shop is up a shallow incline from the parking lot and it's a 55,000 square foot shop, so pushing it around just isn't do-able. BTW it's not free, he was asking $500, think he'll drop that, but I haven't committed to it yet.

t walgamuth · #15 02-26-2006, 09:14 AM

have a hood ornament that i will give for the shipping.

not trying to influence you.

tom w