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2000 Honda Accord V6 137k miles

1972 300SEL 4.5 98k miles

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Does it look liek water is leaking in in the pictures? To me it looks like the r/f floor mat is wet. Also, did these cars really have carpet? The door panels looked dirty, but now it seems that they are wet. Waht do you guys think. Sorry to flood with so many pictures, I just want you guys to understand what exactly I'm looking at.
Thanks
David

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2000 Honda Accord V6 137k miles

1972 300SEL 4.5 98k miles

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It looks like the interior on my '66 230.
My exterior was black though.

It's common for older Mercedes to leak through the windshield and rear window gaskets.

The aluminum heads on these older engines had better valve guides and hardened seats so unleaded gas shouldn't be a problem. In fact the only Mercedes I had that developed valve problems was my '61 Ponton 180b, on leaded gas! It's more important to keep the valves properly adjusted.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

I've seen bottles of lead additive selling for around $5-10 in auto parts stores. A much better solution is to drive to your local airport with a 5 gallon can and fill the can with 100LL aviation fuel. That fuel has an octane rating of 110 in actuality, and it has a much higher concentration of lead than auto gas ever did. All you need to do is mix about 2 gallons with every tank of unleaded and it works even better than the lead additives. AVGAS sells for around $2.25-$3.00 per gallon depending on which part of the country you're in, but the advantage is that you can burn two gallons of it rather than 1 quart of an additive. I've been putting a lot of it in my 1970 280SEL lately and the engine seems to be more powerful and cooler running. So if you decide to buy the car, and you find it needs lead additive (and I can almost assure you that it will run better with it), then just buy some good fuel that you can burn rather than buying bottles of questionable additives at auto parts stores. At least you can get somewhere on two gallons of real fuel.

ok, but if it's leaking there, wouldn't the floor boards be bad? Do the door panels look wet or do you think they're dirty? This water is the one part that has me concerned. If I got this I would have to do all those seals which in parts alone would cost the price of the car, wouldn't they? I sent Phil an email inquiring about front door seals and both windshield seals to get an idea of $$$. What do you guys think cosmetically? Would I be able to find a decent red dash top? I know steering wheels show up on ebay all the time. Little things like that really bug me, especially the dark door panels.
Thanks
David

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2000 Honda Accord V6 137k miles

1972 300SEL 4.5 98k miles

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Is there a way to clean those panels? You couldn't obviously just submerge them in water becasue of the wood-fiber backing, could you? Do they have that same kind of backing that all the otehr cars do like 108's and 116's?
Thanks Again
David

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2000 Honda Accord V6 137k miles

1972 300SEL 4.5 98k miles

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The doorpanels are backed with fiberboard. If they're dirty, I recommend Fantastic spray cleaner. if they're sunburned, they would need to be re-covered (or possibly dyed) Actually, after nearly 40 years, that interior doesn't look that bad. Wish mine looked that good. I'll bet most of the water is getting in the windshield (like your car) and rear window gaskets. Check under the floormats and at the front seat mountings for rust.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

In that case, it looks like this car may kill you.

My old 114 car had all the problems this fintail appears to have. The phrase "uphill battle" is an understatement with this type of car.

I don't know what kind of money you have to play with, but for less than $500.00 you could have a car in the south or out west with MUCH less rust, shipped to you. Sounds like a pain, but remember, $500.00 at the body shop will fix VERY little rust.

In all honesty, the car in your pictures looks like its ready to be retired (Mercedes aren't 'junked' ).

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'90 300SE 298k
-300K and it gets put into retirement.
'80 300D 255k Purchased new by family in 1980.

Had a:
1973 220 (gas)
1980 300SD
1992 400E

It could also leak through the windshield wiper mounts. Check the bottoms of the doors for rust, water flows into the door past the side windows and can collect in there.

Take the car to a gas station and have them put it on the rack, might only cost like 10$, but worth it to look under the car. Check all the rubber under there and look for rust.

Also, if the engine was rebuilt in the last 25 years or had a valve job in that time, wouldn't that rule out the need for lead additive?

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63 220S W111
76 300D W115
2013 VW JSW TDI M6

previously-
73 280 SEL 4.5
86 300E 5 speed
2010 VW Jetta TDI M6

Actually, I had the opposition opinion of the rust situation on the car. Put the thing up on jack stands and crawl under it and poke around with a screw driver at the bottoms of the rockers, fire wall, and the 8 or so things that look like frame rails front and back.

The early 111 cars seem to have a heavy layer of tar on the floorboards. In my '64 220S, that meant the floors were perfectly intact, but the bottoms of the rockers and frame reinforcements were eaten away.

Personally, if you really want a finback, buy this one. Don't worry about the muscle car fords, and just enjoy the drive. Though a little straight 6 benz with a glass pack exhaust sounds rather nice. -CTH

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- cth350@gmail.com
http://www.111lakeside.com/

I like your thinking CTH. I think I'm really going to get this car. I want a finback more than any of you could imagine. I was almost ready to settle with a rusted out 200D because it was 3 miles from my house. My dad didn't let me get very far with that thinking. I like the 230S because it is the fancier fintail with all the chrome and who could forget the rear arm rest?
Thanks
David

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2000 Honda Accord V6 137k miles

1972 300SEL 4.5 98k miles

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Do you guys think the door gaskets would leak, or are the door maybe recessed enough into the door frame that rain doesn't really get in? I'm sure this thing would need door seals, but I think those will be really pricey. Also, are there any dash fillers you could buy to fill in the cracks then paint with vinyl spray paint? Yeah, I'm that bad. What do you guys think?
Thanks
David

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2000 Honda Accord V6 137k miles

1972 300SEL 4.5 98k miles

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CTH, do you have any suggestions regarding the rust on the front fenders? Also, what would you guys think about white walls? I mean real ones, not the thin striped ones. Any opinions?
Thanks
David

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2000 Honda Accord V6 137k miles

1972 300SEL 4.5 98k miles

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I'm new here but to me $500 is not a lot of money for a Classic Mercedes. Especially one that you really like. Anyway, you're going into this with your eyes wide open so I would go for it. Just a newbie's opinion. But I like the classic fintails and I like that color. Not very common.

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1970 280SE Coupe W111
Chassis Number: 111 024 12
Engine Number: 130 980 12
Exterior Color: 180 - Silver Grey Metallic
Interior Color: 243 - Leather Light Red
Transmission # 004470

it does! my brothers finny sings a great song!