Hello all,


I purchased a 1968 230 W110 over the weekend in North Carolina. Its in pretty good shape, no rust to speak of other than some surface stuff going on. It has the M180 straight 6, power steering, air conditioning, and a smog pump (which I thought was strange). Gray exterior and red interior, it has been painted at least once that I know of. I bought it from a gentleman who was older and told me the t-fitting going to the carbs was broken, and broke 3 years ago and he stopped driving it. It has a weber 32/36 conversion on it. Its been sitting in a parking lot outside, no cover, under no trees. Got it home and started to get it cleaned up. Ill post this in Projects section of the forum also and continue to update that thread.

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__________________
"It's what non-car people don't get. They see all cars as just ton-and-a-half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That's all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities..... You can develop a relationship with a car, and that’s just what non-car people don't get."
-Jeremy Clarkson

More pictures of the car.

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__________________
"It's what non-car people don't get. They see all cars as just ton-and-a-half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That's all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities..... You can develop a relationship with a car, and that’s just what non-car people don't get."
-Jeremy Clarkson

That is one nice looking 230. Sure it needs a bit of this and that but the really hard stuff, like the interior and body/paint/chrome look great.

Remove the air cleaner and take some shots of the carbs. It might take some thinking on the part of the collective mind here to sort them out due to the Weber conversion.

Can you also take a photo of the smog pump? I have seen them on later Mercedes 230's, the one with the sidedraft carb, but only if they had the California/Western Zone emissions package. It would be interesting to see how this is plumbed in. I am also wondering where they would have placed it. Under the A/C compressor?

I snapped some pictures of the carbs and smog pump. The carbs are weber 32/36, with electric chokes and side linkage. I'm thinking of I just do a complete clean and rebuild they will be fine. Along with draining the fuel tank, replace the intank screen, hoses, blow the lines out, and the filter in the engine bay.

The smog pump is mounted under the power steering pump on the right side of the engine, they share a belt and currently have no belt on them. The smog pump is a little crunchy to turn, the power steering pump is smooth. I figure I might have to replace it or figure out how to bypass it.

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__________________
"It's what non-car people don't get. They see all cars as just ton-and-a-half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That's all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities..... You can develop a relationship with a car, and that’s just what non-car people don't get."
-Jeremy Clarkson

One more picture, sorry they are kinda crappy. I'll try to take some better ones of the pump later.

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__________________
"It's what non-car people don't get. They see all cars as just ton-and-a-half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That's all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities..... You can develop a relationship with a car, and that’s just what non-car people don't get."
-Jeremy Clarkson

That's a nice car you found! And a rare car too - not too many W110 230s were made for the 1968 model year. And the vast majority of those that were are now rusted out/deceased. You got very lucky finding one without much rust! Is yours a "four on the tree"?

I have a very similar car, a 1968 230 with a four-speed floor shift and the factory ZENITH carbs, except it's the European version. I don't think there were too many differences back then though, except for lights and instruments (and a lack of four-way flashers).

I see, from your photos, that you have some of the old deteriorating rubber floor mats in your vehicle. They look like the factory originals. Seeing as it was stored outside for a few years, you should immediately pull them up and look for evidence of water leaks. Those nasty old floor mats have about a half inch of foam under tham, which acts as a sponge to hold water in. They have destroyed many a floor pan. Don't let yours be next!

Other things I'd have a look at are the door seals and windshield/rear window seals. They can be expensive, but they are worth the money to replace the right way.

This is a very solid car you found. Good driver, dependable but not super fast due to weight.


The 32/36 carbs were also used by selected BMWs so you can find carb kits.


I have owned a couple of these before going to the dark side and embracing diesel.


There's a very good FSD on the topic which I believe is also available in DVD.


Rockers on this car and shock mounts are the weak part, due to rust. I know persons who have reinforced both. Check the trink drains for possible clogging, leading to rust.


Have fun and e-mail me if q's.

__________________
Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

nice find, looking forward to your journey, if we can help let us know

__________________
Ron
2015 Porsche Cayman - Elizabeth
2011 Porsche Cayman - Bond,James Bond
Sadly MERCEDESLESS - ALways LOOKING !
99 E320 THE Queen Mary - SOLD
62 220b - Dolly - Finally my Finny! Sadly SOLD
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Looks very nice! My brother had a 66 back when it was just a used car. Fairly quick for its day. Yours looks very nice!

__________________
[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.

I decided the first system to check through would be brakes and tires.

I can't really make up my mind about tires, the last W110 I had I swapped over to 14 inch tires and rims.



I can get 14 inch tires with a 1.2 inch white stripe, or stay with 13 inch rims and get a tire with a half inch stripe.

Got the car up on jack stands.

And I was able to get a picture of the transmission, trying to figure out what kind it is.


I got the brakes mostly disassembled and the car up on jack stands. I'm replacing all hoses, front calipers and rotors, rear shoes and wheel cylinders, master cylinder and reservoir. If the family is going to ride in it with me I want the brakes to be 100%, and parts are pretty cheap.

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__________________
"It's what non-car people don't get. They see all cars as just ton-and-a-half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That's all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities..... You can develop a relationship with a car, and that’s just what non-car people don't get."
-Jeremy Clarkson

CTD,
It's an automatic, I would have loved to find a manual but you never see these cars so its slim Pickens lol. My last one was a 4 on the tree. I checked under the floor mats, you can tell it's been damp before but no rust. I didn't even know they had foam under them like that. The weather stripping seems to be newer, except for the door stripping that is attached to the body of the car it's in really bad shape. Also the felt strips beside the door glass is really bad.

STRELNIK,
This is my 6th Mercedes and I too prefer a diesel, ive had a few through the years. I would have loved to found a diesel w110. I imagine this one will be a bit faster than my 190c I had, it just had a 4 banger in it. It's odd looking when I look at the engine in my 230, mercedes really crammed that 6 cylinder in there. The FSD, is that a service manual? I've been looking around and can't find one.

__________________
"It's what non-car people don't get. They see all cars as just ton-and-a-half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That's all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities..... You can develop a relationship with a car, and that’s just what non-car people don't get."
-Jeremy Clarkson

I pulled the smog pump and plumbing off, I layed it out how it was on the car. Does it look right?The can looking thing on the far left, I assume it's some sort of gulp valve or blow off valve, its connected to manifold vacuum. I have to put a new air pump in so I can run my power steering, they share a belt.

__________________
"It's what non-car people don't get. They see all cars as just ton-and-a-half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That's all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities..... You can develop a relationship with a car, and that’s just what non-car people don't get."
-Jeremy Clarkson

That smog pump is weird. You'd probably do just fine without it taking up space in the engine bay. You'd have to find a shorter belt for your power steering though, but that wouldn't be too hard.

By the way, if you plan to replace your brake reservoir, would you mind parting with your old one? My 230 has a W123 reservoir crammed in there and although it works OK, I'd like to have the correct-shaped one.

Also interesting to see that yours has dual-tone horns, with each one mounted under the bumper on the corners of the car. Mine has a single-tone horn, mounted under the bumper below the grille. I wonder if dual-tone horns were standard on the U. S. market 230s of that year.

I was thinking about taking the smog pump apart and gutting the insides. I was looking at the power steering pump and it doesn't look like there is a way to adjust belt tension, only on the smog pump.

I can definitely send it to you if you want it. I didn't think it was correct for my car because I found the connections that go to the top of the reservoir for low fluid level I think.
I think this is the one that I need.
Brake Fluid Reservoir 0014314202 - Ate - Mercedes-Benz - 001-431-42-02 | Pelican Parts

__________________
"It's what non-car people don't get. They see all cars as just ton-and-a-half, two tons of wires, glass, metal and rubber. That's all they see. People like you or I know, we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities..... You can develop a relationship with a car, and that’s just what non-car people don't get."
-Jeremy Clarkson

That's odd. My 230 has power steering, but never had a smog pump. The power steering pump's position is changed to tension its belt. I'd have a look under the hood and take some pictures, but I'm currently several states away from my beloved 230.

It is also interesting how your 230 has connections for low brake fluid level sensors. Mine does not, and has no evidence of their prior existence. Must be a U. S./Euro market difference. My brake reservoir (the W123 version that was shoehorned in) has the sensors on it, but nothing is plugged in. The one you have is definitely the right version for mine!