OEM lights. Great shape. No cracks, some chrome pitting but still shines nicely. $225 + shipping/fees OBO.

What is different about "European" for 114/115 tail lights? Is the fog lamp wired?

I should have clarified - my understanding was that the smooth lenses were European "style" versus the US versions with ridges on the lenses.

More of an appearance quality than anything else. Apologies if I caused any confusion.

Smooth lenses were early, lenses with ridges were late. I don't know what year it changed, maybe 1973 or so. My 1971 had the smooth lenses. 1969 has smooth lenses at are all red. I find the earlier style to be more attractive, and I don't now if they are interchangeable.

Thank you for the clarification.

Early versions were all red, no amber for USA spec. Common for 1968-69.

Starting in 1970, the amber turn signal became standard.
I don't think there is any difference between USA and euro at this point.
Rear fogs were handled by a separate light apart from the taillight housings. Lights were the same from 70 through73.

From 1974 to end of production, the ribbed lights were standard.

You can interchange styles, the only hang up is using the ribbed lights on the chrome bumpers. If you have guards, the guards nestle up against the ribs, and you have to dismount the bumper to service the lights.
For the W114/W115, the lens releases to the rear, the inside housing is solid.....

What you have for sale is the 70-73 assembly. Hardest thing to find is a good chrome left hand housing, exhaust gases take a harder toll on this one, leading to poor chrome.

Jim

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

I have seen the toll the exhaust can take, Jim. Fortunately, aside from the effects of age, these do not appear to have much in the way of damage from exhaust gases. Not perfect, but still quite shiny (somewhat subjective, I realize).

Appreciate the additional insights.

JLav211-
To get the most for your lights, you should consider opening them up and showing the condition of the reflector and back of the lens. Frequently, the lens is melted where someone put in too bright/large a bulb in the holder. Also, frequently the reflector has failed. I re-painted mine white to address this, which works fine. But knowing the condition of these parts is key to maximizing your sale price.

Two other notes... The "screw" that is missing is a key aspect of the chrome surround. If it is easy to fix, you should maybe fix it. If it is hard to fix, you probably should make it more clear that the chrome housing has been compromised in a major way. Also, the plastic part of the gray rear at the attachment screws is broken in at least one place. This is a spacer that keeps the rubber seal from being too compressed as you tighten in the lamp. Without it, the lights still work fine but it is easier to overcompress the rubber seal (which is hideously expensive).

There is a product called Quick Glo which will make the chrome look brand new. I only discovered it fairly recently, and it is impressive. I used the "fine" version of Quick Glo on my 1968 rear lights (red on red as Jim mentions above) and was very happy with my minimal efforts.

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1968 220D, w115, /8, OM615, Automatic transmission.
My 1987 300TD wagon was sold and my 2003 W210 E320 wagon was totaled (sheds tear).

I will post some pictures tonight of the internals. Also, the chrome housing is not damaged to the best of my knowledge - and I was only referring to the gray plastic housing with the missing screw that the fastener would tighten around.

Hope I'm explaining everything correctly.

And just FYI - I am using this set as a bit of a benchmark for pricing. Considering these are bit more tired and missing the knobs on the rear, I consider my pricing fair given what I perceive to be superior condition.

Mercedes W114 W115 Euro Amber Red White Tail Lights 115826167 | eBay

Of course, it all depends on what someone is willing to pay.

I've had good luck attaching the thin shiny aluminum tape to the reflectors...

Jim

__________________
14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

Yes, in the USA the smooth reflectors were last used in 1972. Most USA cars prior to 1969, because of DOT regulations, had to have red turn signal lenses when new. The regulation changed around 1970 and even the USA delivery cars could have the amber turn signal lenses then. Most likely, the euro models had the amber turn signal lenses all along. The later stepped lenses were a safety feature. Mercedes found that tail lights were much more visible even when the lenses were covered with dirt and mud, with the stepped lens. The reflector assembly is the same or interchangeable on the smooth and stepped lens assemblies. On the stepped lens the lens covers the chrome bezel. Dont try to use a stepped lens on an early car. The stepped lens will not clear the bumper guard!

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Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio
1964 220SE Rally (La Carrera Panamericana someday)
1966 Unimog 404s (Swedish Army)
1969 300SEL 6.3 (sold)
1969 280SL Pagoda
1973 280SEL 4.5
1974 450SLC FIA Rally car (standard trans)
1982 300D turbo (winter driver)
1986 560SEC
1989 Unimog FLU419 (US Army)
1991 300TE (wife)
2002 SLK 32 AMG (350 hp)

Some great information here. Thanks everyone.

Also, I opened up the lenses last night. Good news/bad news: the good news is the reflectors are still in decent shape (my definition of decent is they still shine and are not terribly cloudy) and the lens suffers from absolutely no melting / damage from heat due to improper bulbs. The bad news is one of the corners of the reflector was found to be broken off (see photo below):



That said, I have lowered my asking price accordingly.

Offers entertained

I've been doing this a long time and well aware of this thing called "eBay." I am simply reminding anyone interested that I will entertain reasonable offers, as most people tend think the seller isn't serious about taking their best offer into consideration.

Thanks for the advice, though. I'll be sure to consult your opinion before I walk out of the house next time. God knows I've never done it before.