"NEW" 111 3.5 coupe BEHR underdash unit

[Tony H]

Saw this on Ebay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Under-Dash-AC-Fits-Mercedes-280se-w111-3-5-Coupe-Cab/282909628315?fits=Model%3A280SE%7CSubmodel%3A3.5&hash=item41deba579b:g:vcoAAOSwWUlawpTm&vxp=mtr

This is not a NOS item-it appears to be newly manufactured. Any idea where it came from?

[Tomguy]

$5800 and the front plate looks gross. Look at the glue around the BEHR logo and the fingerprints on it!

It's gotta be some Chinese knockoff case with generic A/C components squeezed in to fit. Doesn't look to be worth $600, nevermind nearly 10x that!

[Idle]

I've seen a few of these up close. This does look to be a reproduction due to the plugs. Plugs like that were not used by BEHR during that time. Usually the wires were bare and went directly to a additional fuse block.

There are three wires coming off of one of these although one of them never comes off the unit as it is internal.

There is the power line. It is run through the firewall and screws into one of those add on fuse blocks that Mercedes used then. They type that usually holds two fuses.

There is the wire that goes to the fan motor. This is so short on this unit that it never leaves the box. It just goes right from the on/off switch to the fan motor. Sometimes these are variable speed, sometimes they are three speed.

There is the wire going off to the compressor. This is usually a very long wire, normally green, sometimes with a plug on the end and sometimes not.

But you must take into consideration that if this is a repo then the tooling costs to set up to build this would be very high, and those cost must be recaptured. So the initial units will be very expensive. And this is priced less than an original unit pulled from a 112.

I think it all comes down to what the customer wants. If you are entering your car in contests then you have to go with the real thing, or at least a repo of a real thing. If you just want your car to be cool in the summer then any good sized under dash unit would do the job.

There were also a/c units that went into the trunk and these are also available new. They you don't have to worry about the original look. And these trunk units were made to cool. Most of them, at the time, weighted over 40 pounds, most of which was coil. They fit into the space behind the back seat, between the wheels and above the rear axle mounting bolt.

[CTD]

$5800 for an air conditioner? No thanks! I'll just roll my windows down and buy a rust-free W111 sedan with the money.

[Idle]

Originally Posted by CTD

$5800 for an air conditioner? No thanks! I'll just roll my windows down and buy a rust-free W111 sedan with the money.

For the SE coupe or the 600 this is a normal price for an A/C unit that is is working condition.

These were very rare when they were new. In the late 60's A/C was just beginning to be a normal thing and even then only on the higher end cars. They were still optional on all 110 and 111 cars.

A factory unit in working condition, for a sedan, will general go anywhere from $450 to $2,400.

A total assembly for a 110 or 111, meaning both in car and under hood parts, can easily reach $3,000 even for one needing a compressor rebuild.

[Tony H]

The original BEHR unit had a blade type fan not the dual squirrel cage fan. The squirrel cage fan is most likely more efficient and quiet than the original. It's hard to imagine enough of a market to reproduce these, especially at the price. I have seen original BEHR units for $5K.