W111 windscreen trim wood

[amazon69]

Hi all,

Can someone tell me whether there were different types of wood available/supplied to go around the inside of the windscreen on a w111? My coupe (1971) has the lower pieces, but is missing the upper two pieces that meet at the mirror. I don't want to make the mistake of buying a mismatching pair of trim pieces. I see reference to Zebrano wood...was there another type? Thanks.

[BWhitmore]

Burled walnut, or maple? Zebrano was not used until later models.

[Idle]

Just to confuse the matter.....

I have worked with several of these cars and all the wood seems to be the same until the last years. At one point the instrument binnacle went from being wood to plastic or leather covered. And the story I have heard on this is that Mercedes found one great tree and used it for all the trim for these cars until they ran out.

Then the wood changed to what they had and much of the interior went to plastic or leather.

There are a few people out there that restore this wood. They are not cheap but they may be a good place to start asking questions about what is out there and what is possible.

They might even be able to confirm or deny the 'one tree' story.

[BWhitmore]

Madera Concepts in Goleta, Ca is the premier restorer of automotive wood, especially Mercedes.

[Tony H]

This is the Zebrano:Original Mercedes W111 Coupe Interior Wood RARE Zebrano Trim 220 250 280 SE | eBay

This is the Burl:Mercedes 280SE 111 112 Upper Interior Windshield Wood L R Burl Veneer Nice | eBay

Those are the only 2 types I have seen

[amazon69]

Thanks all. The first of the above links seems to show that Zebrano was available on the later cars, but the second link shows that what I need is the burl veneer trim. I toyed with the idea of getting a boat builder to make me some pieces, but they are complex and so I don't think that's an option. I shall hunt for the burl pieces. Thanks again.

[Idle]

This might not help but while looking for info on this I did run across why Mercedes used veneer and not solid pieces of wood.

The wood underneath has always looked like some sort of softer wood that was easy to work. Then it is covered with a veneer of walnut or whatever.

I always thought this was a cost saving measure but it appears that solid walnut tends to warp after a number of years. And the thicker it is the more it will warp.

Of course if you leave it to sit for fifteen years so it naturally dries out this will (hopefully) not take place. But Mercedes didn't have the time to let the wood sit. At least not in a production based world.

And this is actually more expensive than just hacking a hunk of wood into the correct shape since it takes craftsmen to do this.

All in all their process is another example of building for the long, long haul.

And if you want to see what a real walnut dashboard looks like then scout up a photo of the dash of a Jaguar Mark 7 or later. And it is also a veneer for the same reason: To prevent long term warping.

[Tony H]

Yes a solid chuck of burl would be unstable and difficult to work with. there are also lots of voids in burl that can be delt with using veneer.

[ScooterABC]

I have a NOS left side in grey zebrano, factory ordered. Too bad I don't have the matching right side...