how many drive a car w/ th m110 daily? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

56speedster · #1 06-10-2009, 08:26 PM

i have heard differing views of the m110 as a daily driver.
i have heard some people say its bulletproof and others say just the opposite........

i was interested in hearing from the many owner's views.

Skippy · #2 06-10-2009, 08:55 PM

I'm not a 110 owner, but I do have an M130, which I'm told has the same short block with a different head. It was my daily driver last summer (due to free gas I was getting from my employer). After free gas went away (government tax nazis got involved) it went into a three day rotation with the other two cars. This continued until the transmission soiled the bed just after Christmas. I've finally got the right parts on order for the rebuild and I should have the car back up and running (at a cost of approximately twice what it's worth

) in time for the 4th of July.

Aside from the transmission, the only problems I've had with it were the carburetors needing rebuilding, and the front subframe mounts aren't quite as fresh as I'd like.

gmercoleza · #3 06-11-2009, 10:39 AM

Not currently, but I did have one as a daily driver a few years back. 280 W114. Bulletproof, after I rebuilt the Solex (4a1?) carburetor. I recall the carb was sort of like 2 2-barrels conjoined at the hip. Pretty straightforward, and was easy to find a rebuild kit at the time. Adjusting the dwell so often got old after a while, but I think the M110 itself was bulletproof.

Mike D · #4 06-11-2009, 11:39 AM

Drive a '73 280 daily. Other than the frickity-fricking Solex and the oommpity-goompity points set-up it has never failed me.

Replaced the points with a Crane optical set-up and replaced the Solex with the Holley conversion carb and never had any problems.

Been driving it since Jan. '06. Other than oil changes, filters, an electric fuel pump installed (the original started leaking oil from the diaphragm. $49 for a replacement electric vs. $80 for a replacement manual pump) a new battery, belts and hoses it has had no mechanical problems or repairs.

15-17 mpg in town, about 20-23 mpg on the road.

Fulcrum525 · #5 06-11-2009, 11:44 AM

I'm curious to find out what the concensus is as well. The 280GE that i'm looking at later today has its own low compression version of the M110. For the most part, Low compression = longer lived engine if i've read correctly.

I'm hoping that most parts should be compatible with other M110s....

samdon · #6 06-11-2009, 11:54 AM

I bought a '76 280 a few months ago and it sees the road quite a bit. The 4A1 carb is a bit tempermental on hot starts but if you follow the instructions in the owners manual, it works every time. I just have a mental block when it comes to flooring the pedal when starting any engine. But, if you do what MB says, it will fire instantly and you have plenty of time to let off the throttle before it revs into the stratosphere. It spins up to somewhere around 2000RPM which is comparable to my fuel injected gasser MB's which handle starting using computer maps. No tach so I'm guestimating but it is certainly not stressing the mill beyond normal. Oil pressure is instant as verified by detatching the oil guage line and hitting the starter. 15 foot stream of Castrol GTX 20-W50 within a fraction of a second.

As far as driveability, the only issues I can report concern noise....if that can even qualify as an issue. The M110 has a noisy valvetrain no matter what you do. It's a quirk, not a problem....unless you have the cam oiling issue cited many times on this board. Also, that old York AC compressor makes sure you are aware it's there and doing its thing. It sucks power like a pig and thumps like a banshee. Works Great, though.

I would not hesitate to drive it every day but I have to give the other MB iron some love, too.

"edit" I see you have a 280e. No wories about the carb issues. Lucky you!