|
|
|
|
|
#17
03-23-2008, 09:04 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
Bert
__________________
'70 111 280SE/c 3.5 (4 spd manual) - sold '63 MGB '73 MGBGT V8 
|
|
#19
03-31-2008, 05:28 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Back in the late 1970s I worked as a valet parking cars at a fancy restaurant. We had a regular customer who had a 300SEL 6.3 that had been fitted with a manual transmission by the factory. There was a factory plate in the door jamb with the details and it even had the guy's name on the plate. He was an American businessman who had been living in Germany during the late 1960s/early 1970s when he ordered the car. I drove it many times, though I never had the chance to really put my foot into it. IT was brown with a tan leather interior and sunroof. At that time it had US specification headlamps, but I don't know if it had been federalized when he imported it or ordered that way.
I wonder what happened to it.
|
|
#20
05-06-2008, 02:43 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
As a poor graduate student in Germany, I once hitchhiked a ride in one of these rare cars on a gorgeous autumn afternoon in 1979. On this occasion I had taken the train to visit a friend in the small town of Blaubeuren (near Ulm) and was hitching back to Tuebingen along Hwy 28, which is a winding secondary highway through the scenic Schwabian hills south of Stuttgart. Hitchhiking was a common mode of transport in those days for German college students, and a typical ride would be with three other students jammed into a wheezing Renault R4, or next to a chain-smoking Turkish truck driver hauling cabbages. Imagine my surprise when my ride for the day turned out to be a silver W111 3.5 coupe piloted by a gray-haired gentleman, who bore a striking resemblance to Helmut Schmidt, the then-chancellor of Germany. It wasn't until I was belted in that I noticed the car had a 4-speed, and my driver had on a pair of leather driving gloves and rubber-soled driving slippers. Once underway, my host proceeded to put on a 45-minute clinic in high-speed precision driving, Schwabian style, complete with double de-clutching on downshifts and power-on oversteer on the tight corners. All shockingly fast, but completely smooth, efficient, and absolutely in control. Shades of Hermann Lang at the Nurburgring, only on a public highway! Now imagine this sitting in the passenger seat of a Mercedes W111 coupe, surrounded by black leather and walnut burl trim. With Mozart playing softly through the Becker radio, and some of the most gorgeous scenery in all of Europe slipping by your window. What a revelation! What a memory. Cheers! Peconga in Boise, Idaho 1979 450SEL 6.9 1971 300SEL 6.3
|
|
#21
05-06-2008, 07:09 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Wow! That was an experience!
Thanks for sharing it with us. I used to hitchhike when I was in college. I had a few interesting stories I could tell about that. It seemed pretty safe then. I wouldn't want to try it today though. Tom W
__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.  [SIGPIC]..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.
|
|
#22
05-06-2008, 02:10 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
No kidding, that must have been amazing.
FYI, there are two W111 3.5 manual shift coupes for sale on Ebay (Germany). The Euro 40k+ one has been for sale for a while and came from Tennessee (for $16000). The other one is a new listing from Austria. I have been tracking/tracing 3.5 coupes for sale and the stickshift models are definitely the more "economical"/bare-bone models. None seem to have factory fitted air and several don't even have power windows - just wind ups. Having driven once on the old Nurnburgring, THAT is something everybody should do once (or more) in his/her life. Bert
__________________
'70 111 280SE/c 3.5 (4 spd manual) - sold '63 MGB '73 MGBGT V8
|
 |
| Bookmarks |
|
|
Linear Mode
