My first classic - '72 Mercedes 230 Saloon

tc20

Hi all,
just came across the forum recently and thought id sign up and say hi.
Am driving a 72 Merc saloon (a W114 to those in the know) which i purchased thru' a certain Mr Kanters, i believe he frequents here now and again..
Anyway she's my first classic, use her as my daily wheels, (when she's running ), she's off the road at the mo, waiting for parts to arrive in. Im familiar with the theory of the infernal combustion engine, but will admit i dont have a lot of experience of gettin dirty with it, if you know what i mean.

Cheers,
tony

Blue850

Welcome, tell us more about the Merc, colour, engine , whats wrong with it etc

MercMad

Welcome, there a few other Merc fans/owners around here too !

tc20

Hi guys, to give you a bit more on info on my car, its a '72 W114 230 saloon.
So that means she;s a 2.3l, 6cyl inline, with twin zenith carbs, 4spd manual, disc brakes all round. She's dark green in colour, resprayed in the original colour during the 90s. Tan interior, half MB-Tex/half cloth. MB-Tex is the extremely durable merc material that could pass for leather, but aint. Originally ex-Sweden. I got her through Classic Cars Ireland (Paul Kanters) in july '05. I've always liked the looks and lines of older cars, and decided to take the plunge after months of drooling over various websites and classic car mags.
The body is in pretty good nick considering her age, (where have i heard that before ), but here's a list of things ive done since - 5new tyres, new bilstein shocks front & rear, new front brake calipers, brake pads front and rear, couple of brake lines/hoses, few steering and suspension pieces.
So she rides a helluva lot better than when i first picked her up, floats over road imperfections actually.
However the motor is in need of some work,immediatley the fuel pump and filter to be replaced, and im replacing the 4 door seals as they have perished (understandably), and the front windscreen rubber cos it leaks when it rains. Im waiting on the above parts coming in, and Steve (my mech) is going to run a 'leak test' on the cylinders while he has the car, to determine if she'll need a head job, or any valve work in the near future.
The carbs need fettling, but she's not running too bad at the mo, get about 20-22mpg.

Tony

PaulK_CCI

hi tony, good to hear you found your way to the boards.ie forum. Yes, "mr kanters" likes to frequent these pages now and again... to keep his ear to ground, so to speak

But seriously, you will find there is a lot of expertise floating around here... a good and quick response to queries, and sound (and perhaps sometimes not so sound ;-) ) advice.

Thought I'd upload a few pics of your 'ole gal' , just before she went to Ireland in July of last year, if I'm not mistaken...

tc20

Hey Paul,
thanks for posting the pics, thats her alright, on her interim Dutch plates.
Ive been on a similar US forum (mercedesshop.com and the MB club in the UK, but its great to find like minded souls a bit closer to home..im sure i'll be frequenting here a lot more.
:eek: lunch over? better get back to work, later dudes.
Tony

MercMad

Looks like a really nice car indeed !

Best of luck with her and as Paul says there are plenty of us around willing to offere help should you need it, touch wood you dont !

RobAMerc

Nice car tc20 - Some yokes for 30 somethings eh?

Well ware.:)

tc20

Thanks guys,
and thanks again Paul for posting the pics - i dont have the hardware to do
all that techno mumbo-jumbo.
Yeah Rob they're pretty robust, goes to show you how well built and over engineered they were. My car is just a workaday motor, not a sports number or anything near that, yet she feels like she could drive to the moon and back (probably has, as theres only a 5digit odo on it )
Even the little things, like the chrome strip on the lip of the glovebox is secured by four screws fer chrissakes - it'd just be glued on, badly, on a modern motor. Or, as i recently discovered, it has those childproof locks on the rear doors, pretty neat for its time allright. Oh yeah, love those fly-windows as well, and the clap-hands wipers..

Tony

atlantean

PaulK_CCI wrote:

That is only fantastic

MercMan Ben

Hi Tony,

I am glad to see another W114 230.6 in Ireland. My car is originally from South Africa, so its a RHD, but not as lovely as yours. I think my 230 had a rough life as a Taxi in SA and at least half a million miles on the clock :-)
If you need any parts for your car, just give me a shout, I'd be glad to help...


Regards,
Benjamin

tc20

thanks for all your comments guys regarding my car.
Ben its good to see there's a few of em still kicking around. Did your car spend some time in the fatherland? And those little lights either side of the grill, what are they for? Am familiar with US cars having big indicators there, but they dont seem like that.. Like the white steering wheel :cool:
RobAMerc - was going thru the 'saw a classic and took a pic' thread, and saw your coupe- beautiful man. Is it a 250, 280? I was on the hunt for a coupe initially, but to find one in good nick is rare, so i went with the saloon to start with.
I think the W123 series (coupes) were the first to really catch my eye as a kid as being good looking cars, and but for the punitive road tax i would have gone for one. When i digged deeper and came across the W114s, i liked their lines just as much.

3ps

Hi all,

I have just imported a 1972 W115 220D and am very happy with it. I will upload pics and info later.
Got over 35mpg on it on the drive back from Hanover.

tc20

Hi 3ps,
jeez the 114/115 movement is gathering momentum here!!
Would like to know how you sourced your car, is this your initial foray into oldie ownership? mpg sounds great, and a nice way to bring the car in, driving it overland..
look forward to pics & info

Tony

MercMad

I suspect some vegetable oil conversions are on the way ................

Anyway these are mine..............





:cool:

3ps

Hi tc20,

I searched for the car on www.mobile.de and when I found a decent looking one at a classic car dealer I asked for more info. I got alot of restoration photos.

I flew to Germany with my son and drove it back via Rotterdam Hull Holyhead. It was great fun. Yes it's a LHD but that doesn't bother me.... I'm not going to overtake anything in it and I'm on dual carriageway most of the time.

I really like that green. In fact I nearly bought one that exact colour combination. I love green and tan.

Obviously nobody is going to restore a 1972 4 door diesel saloon to its former glory as it would be too expensive but it's a pretty convincing job and I'm happy with it!

I thought my car was white but it's actually "ivory" (my term).

tc20

MercMad - they're two gorgeous cars you got there. They both look in superb nick. Just love the silver coupe (not sure of the designation W111/112?) I think they are among the most beautiful big mercs of all time. I have an inkling that the W126 coupes will be thought of in a similar light in the next decade or two.

3ps I dont think you'll have much opportunity to overtake in a 30+ y/o diesel
anyway just kidding. Mines a left hooker too, and altho ive driven abroad (lived in Germany for 2years) i'd never driven on the "wrong" side before. Doesn't take much getting used to, just turning and parking initially. i think it adds to the 'cool' factor as well, and insurance companies dont penalise for LHDs now. The 114s afford pretty good all round vision anyway.
I had a quick scan at the website- pretty good. did you get your car at a dealer who specialised in classics? Is the car for yourself, or have you given your son the bug now?

Tony

3ps

Hi tc20,

My son is only 6! I thought it would be a good trip for him... a plane, 2 trains, a classic car and 2 boats :-)

The car is for myself as a daily driver about 12k miles/year.

I got it a classic car dealer. He had quite alot of stock, mostly mercs, but also had some motorbikes too.

It's actually not that slow. I cruise along a 90-100kph on the motorway and I can quite easily get it up to 120kph to overtake slower trucks and it can go up to about 140/150 but I wouldn't do that to it!

Blue850

Anybody here driving a white W114 LHD between Galway and Loughrea i saw Saturday evening?

tc20

3ps im sure that trip will have a lasting imprint on your son, what a cool intro for him to the joys of classic motoring.. I also use mine as a daily driver, im lucky in the fact i only live about 5miles from work. i got insured with First Ireland, as i believe they are the only insurance co. that will allow you to have your classic as your main or only car. I think most others will insure you if its a second, or weekend car. For my first year they wanted me to provide them with the mileage, which i did, but when it came to renewal time, they didnt ask for a mileage check. to the beat of my knowledge they operate three bands of mileage (a) upto 3000miles pa, (b) upto 5000 mile and (c) a max of 10000miles pa. I think the clocks on those 114/115s has a habit of stopping every now and then
They sit quite comfortably at 120-130kph alright, i did open mine up to see what she was capable of and got her up to 155. (on a closed road your honour) Felt like there was a bit left but didnt want to burn up on re-entry.
Happy motoring

Tony

andreas_220D

Blue850 wrote:

Anybody here driving a white W114 LHD between Galway and Loughrea i saw Saturday evening?

I'd been there, maybe it was me?

andreas_220D

3ps wrote:

Obviously nobody is going to restore a 1972 4 door diesel saloon to its former glory as it would be too expensive but it's a pretty convincing job and I'm happy with it!

Mine is going to be restored by Benjamin next year.

Nice to see more and more W114/115 and - of course - especially Diesels

And much better: you brought it from the County of Niedersachsen were i was born - probably the same route i choosed when i braught my 1970 220D to Dublin.

Next month another W115 240D will arrive. Maybe we should arrange a W114/115 meeting. What do you think?

andreas_220D

MercMad wrote:

I suspect some vegetable oil conversions are on the way

Well, the parts for my sweethearts new (old) W115 240D are ordered :-)

MercMan Ben

Hi Tony,
yes, the 230 spent some time in the fatherland :-) - a friend of mine always wanted a RHD, so he found this one. However after 2 years he had enough and gave it to me.
The little lights are just reflectors, they were fitted in SA. They will be the first thing that I remove, if I ever start a restauration...
The Coupe is a 250CE (first elec. Injection System fitted in a Merc :-)
You've made the right choice in buing a sallon, especially concerning the Irish weather. The /8 coupe is not made for rain, lots of water traps :-)
Regards,
Benjamin

3ps

Hi Andreas,

When I say restore I mean a nut and bolt restoration. Perhaps you are slightly mad... but a 4 door diesel is never going to be worth too much... so you can only spend so much restoring it... unless you are mad!

I too will be doing a veggie conversion.

Yeah, I bought it in Minden but I don't have a clue if that is in Niedersachsen or not!!

andreas_220D

3ps wrote:

but a 4 door diesel is never going to be worth too much

wait until petrol/diesel prices are so high that nobody can pay it any longer... your old to veggie oil converted diesel might be very worthy then

andreas_220D

Blue850 wrote:

Anybody here driving a white W114 LHD between Galway and Loughrea i saw Saturday evening?

just had a look at the road map, it was definitely me you spotted there...

tc20

Andreas thats a nice looking car ya got there, bodywork seems in good shape.
Its surprising how many 114/115s there are out there. Ive seen an eggshell blue saloon around Bray a few times, a coupe in the same shade in Dundrum, another saloon in that sort of 'hearing aid beige' around Stillorgan - driven by a girl (early 20s id say) Nice to see them around.

Tony

andreas_220D

tc20 wrote:

Andreas thats a nice looking car ya got there, bodywork seems in good shape.
Its surprising how many 114/115s there are out there. Ive seen an eggshell blue saloon around Bray a few times, a coupe in the same shade in Dundrum, another saloon in that sort of 'hearing aid beige' around Stillorgan - driven by a girl (early 20s id say) Nice to see them around.

Tony

Hi Tony,

well, it has some little scratches and little rust. Normal for a daily driver, but not severe at all. Another blue one (1975 240D) to be driven by a girl (hehe, my girl ) will arrive in Oktober.

If the numbers of W115/Diesels continue to increase, LIDL/ALDI/TESCO has to stock up the veggie oil

Andreas

tc20

Hey Andreas good to see another 114/115 on the way, and no, i wasnt trying to muscle in on your gal , just its not all that often you see gals driving oldies (easy gals i'll explain, or dig a bigger hole for meself here!)
the gals i have seen driving classics are mostly in MGs, Beetles or Minis - all cool cars for sure - just from memory i think i've only seen one lady driving an old MB. It was a dark green (poss dark blue) 114 coupe driven a classy mature lady thru deansgrange a good few years ago. Yep ive seen gals driving W123s/124s/126s, but not anything else, 'part from the gal i mentioned in prev post. We need more gals!!!

3ps

Hey Andreas,

Is the blue one a French one?

Blue850

My father ran a 71 280E in 1982-83 it was "duck egg" blue, after he passed away ,it was sold and fitted with a diesel engine, appears to have been scrapped in 88. VIE 650 was the reg. Still have the owners handbook and European dealer list and map.

G Luxel

nice shape mercedes from the late 60s. Ive spotted 4 of these cars in the last year, all on original Irish plates and all on the road and in very good condition....... I also notice that there are a few 250 SE class from this era too but these all appear to be recent imports....