Great shots Al. I bet Dirty Harry is going all Gran Torino on the vee dub and mini forums for that sacrilege on those historic cars.
(Dirtyharry: I personally feel that 114s in particular need a little bit of sportiness or flair added to them, stock they seem a little, umm, tame. Or lack the styling gravitas of other MBs of that time. Slamming to the ground with ridiculous wheels isn't my cup of tea, but those cars (114s) typically get so little love that they go to the crusher at an even faster rate than 108s. If someone saves one from the scrappers, and chooses to turn it in to a German Honda Civic, that's their deal, but realize that it is the MB collector's community that shuns certain chassis and drives their values lower, so inevitably the cars end up with the kids who have a different idea of what the car should look like, and who also don't care much for ride, comfort or handling. I see them bouncing down smooth roads like it is buckboard and just chuckle to myself--one day they'll grow up and rag on that era's kids, too.)
I'm kinda enjoying the idea of replacing coil springs with some air ride technology, not to slam the car on the ground with a ridiculous set of wheels, but more for the adjustable ride quality. What's wrong with having a tunable spring? Spring rate is spring rate... If my car sits level at an inch over or under stock height, or if I can restore it to stock/level with four big Americans in it or just me in it, what's so wrong with that? It isn't as if MB didn't think air ride was good enough to put in the 6.3 flagship of that time.
I know I can't wait to ditch the coil spring over the rear axle. Now there's a piece of Benz history that is pretty crappy. Nowhere near the nivomat, and it is only optimal at one loaded weight. Sheesh. I really want an adjustable air/shock combo over the rear axle. That would really be tits. Bump up pressure when loaded, reduce pressure when empty, and retain optimal rear camber...
I understand the spirit of tradition, but there's definitely room for some improvement in various areas of the car, without desecration. People still fiddling with points in their distributors is a pet peeve of mine, when that's the most common failure point for older cars. Upgrade properly, folks...
Oh well... Now where's that Best Buy bargain bin special radio for my dash?? And stay off my darn lawn you kids!! I tell ya!