My 1972 W115 220D/8

3ps

Hi all,

I have just imported a 1972 W115 220D/8.

I dipped my toe in "classic" car ownership over a year ago by running a 1984 W123 200T 7 seater and thought it was great. I used it as a daily driver and put up 10k/year.

After a brief rest eriod involving normal car ownership I now own a true classic! (well, I guess some would argue a 4 door saloon isn't a classic!).

I settled on the Merc for a number of reasons:
- reliable. I'm not mechanically inclined and as a daily driver I need something that won't give too much trouble
- looks. I think they look really nice!
- diesel. It keeps running costs down and I hope to convert to veggie oil soon.

I found the car using www.mobile.de which is the german equivalent of carzone etc. I didn't go privately though. I made sure I was buying a car from a classic car dealer/restorer. Once I found a car I was interested in I used Google translate to converse with the dealer. I have no German and he had no English! But we managed OK and from the description and the photos I received of the restoration work I knew that it was as good as i was going to get for the price. Obviously there was some risk associated with buying a car unseen but you have to trust people at some stage and it is his job to restore cars. My impression of him was bolstered by the fact that he also restores motorbikes and had some other unusual machinery too.

So a date was set for a trip over. I decided to bring my 6 year old son with me to give him a little adventure. I set of wiht germanwings.com from Dublin to Koln. The car was located near Hannover but to fly there meant a London stopover and the timing and price were not good. On arrival in Koln we got an ICE (express train) to Bielefed, via Dusseldorf and Dortmund. 200kph and real smooth. Then onto a regional train to Minden. Taxi to the Holiday Inn for a nights rest.

The next morning we got a taxi to the dealer. It turned out that he did have pigeon English and we managed to converse OK. I didn't really inspect the car that much to be honest. I had already paid a large unrefundable deposit so I just got a tour of it and set off! Ahead of us was a 4 hour drive to Rotterdam. I didn't have my GPS with me but I had printed directions but got lost. I ended up just heading for Amsterdam. I knew Utrecht was north of Amsterdam so headed there, and then saw signs for Rotterdam. Got lost in Rotterdam in the city centre but eventually got directions to the Europort. I had left loads of time anyway.

We got the P&O Pride of Hull to Hull of all places... and overnight ferry. Recently refitted and very nice. Arrived in at 8A.M. and headed to Holyhead... another 4 hour drive. I was booked into the 1830 Stena HSS but managed to arrive in time for the 1345. Last car on!!!

The car performed flawlessly on the trip. I was concerned about it so I chose the Rotterdam Hull route over the normal Calais Dover route as it would have added 4 hours driving time. I was well able to keep up with the traffic and cruised at 100kph all the way. The temp needle never budged. Suspension is fine and breaks and fine too. Averaged 37mpg for the first leg and 34.5mpg on the second (but I was pushing it a bit more to get the earlier ferry).

Things I like about the car:
- the wipers fold inwards
- it has a starter button you pull
- the footbrake and release
- the foot pump for the windscreen washers
- the colour... it's ivory not white and looks nice

The car has:
- new paintjob
- new brakes
- new shocks
- full new exhaust
- new rubber seals all round
- no oil leaks, no bad smoke
- rear seatbelts

I've been told the engine put into it has approx 130-150k kms but obviously can't guarantee it.

Jobs I am planning:

- install new radio in glovebox with 4 new speakers and radio control on steering wheel
- additional waxoyling
- perhaps some soundproofing but not sure
- veggie oil conversion

I have decided to go for silver on black plates with "72 D 946"... I like to see the year of classic cars I see.

I'll try to attach some pics from the dealer.
The car now has an additional wing mirror and has ivory wheel trim.

Dades

Hey 3ps, looks like a nice buy. I really like the ivory colour too. Will keep an eye out for it.

3ps wrote:

I have decided to go for silver on black plates with "72 D 946"... I like to see the year of classic cars I see.

So that's about thirteen 1972 cars registered in Dublin since April 2005, when I registered no. 933!

andreas_220D

3ps wrote:

I have just imported a 1972 W115 220D/8.

Hi Paul,

so, now we have two ivory 220D running in Dublin.

3ps

cool :-)

The car was advertised to me as white, and in isolation it looks white but if you park beside something else white it's obviously ivory/cream!

Do you know what it was called when launched?

Also mine appears to have been debadged. Could it have come from the factory like that? If not I will try to obtain a badge for it.

andreas_220D

3ps wrote:

Also mine appears to have been debadged. Could it have come from the factory like that? If not I will try to obtain a badge for it.

do you mean the yellow/red sidemarkers?

3ps

no, I mean there is no "220D" on the bootlid. Check the photos above.

PaulK_CCI

3ps wrote:

no, I mean there is no "220D" on the bootlid. Check the photos above.

Congrats Paul! She looks like a super car indeed. How did you manage the insurance and stuff in the end?

From my knowledge I have never come accross a factory 'deleted' bootlid badge, so it must have been done by a previous owner...

Good luck with her :-)

3ps

Thanks PaulK,

Well I have 2 (or is it 4) weeks E.U. insurance on the German export plates.

In the meantime, I am going with First Ireland. They broker for St. Pauls for an unlimited mileage policy as a daily driver. Myself and my wife TPFT for €660. You can get it for €550 with their own policy but there is a 10k limit and I do about 12k/year. They require a garage inspection.

I think the badge might have been taken off in the respray. I'm not embaressed to put it back on! I drive a slow four dour diesel and I'm proud!

You don't happen to know the offical colour name do you?

A few other questions!

- behind the steering wheel on the dash is a circle with a number of holes in it. Directly under the instrument display. Whats it for?

- when I pull the starter button out I've just been leaving it a while before trial and error starting. Is there a buzzer? Is that what the above holes are hiding!?

MercMad

You don't happen to know the offical colour name do you?

.......Paul it depends on the actual colour code of the car, assuming it is painted in its original shade. This is normally stamped on the chassis plate, not the VIN plate and would be a 3 digit number with possibly a letter after it.

I am not sure where this would be on a W115 but on the W111/112 & 113 it is on the left side under the bonnet near the suspension mounting.

Merecedes Benz had a huge selection of colours which all sound and look similar until you see them in the flesh together, like White, Grey White, Ivory, Light Ivory, Cream, Beige, Sand, Beige Grey, etc........

Who knows what was available for the W114/115 but take a look here to see what I mean, this relates to the old Ponton...........

http://www.mbzponton.org/ponton3/colorcht/colorcht.htm#ftn1a

tc20

Hey Paul (3ps) she's a fine looking car for sure, and i bet you and your son enjoyed the comfy armchair feel on you road trip - excellent way to go. I lived in Aachen for a couple of years and got to see a good bit of the continent while i was there. (Aachen's right on the Dutch/Belgian border, bout an hour from Cologne,Dusseldorf,Bonn. Amsterdam was 2.5 hours)

On your queries, and a few of my own

-i wasnt aware of starter buttons on these cars, or is that just for our oil burning brethren? Is that the switch located between the key barrel and the circle beneath the clocks on the dash?

-is that circle with the holes thingy an after market fit for an auxiliary power outlet?

-whats the green pull knob beside the hazard lights and rear window demister for? Is it aircon or fog lights? (i only have the haz lites & demister on mine)

-my car has the shorter stubby gearstick, altho there both '72 build

-i'll have a look at my catalog when i get home for the part no for the badging. I wrote to (or emailed, cant remember) MB in Stuttgart for some literature regarding the W114 and bought thru them a parts catalog c.EUR20.
Its in German, but features exploded diagrams for pretty much everything bar the engine. i can copy this for you if you need anything, or give you a loan.

With regard to an engine workshop manual, or similar with exploded diagrams and parts nos, i'm on the lookout for same. If anyone has any info on where i might pick up such a thing, id be very grateful

Tony

3ps

Hi,

I think it's just for the diesels. You pull it to activate the glow plugs and then pull further to start!

The green knob is for fog lights. I dont' have any but the button is there!

I'll be looking for manuals too!

PaulK_CCI

3ps wrote:

Hi,

I think it's just for the diesels. You pull it to activate the glow plugs and then pull further to start!

The green knob is for fog lights. I dont' have any but the button is there!

I'll be looking for manuals too!

Hi Paul

I was merely referring to how you manage to drive the car through Germany, as that was what you were asking me some time ago. :-) Good to hear Germany has export license with insurance too, as in Holland. I didnt know that.

Regarding the colour, MercMad is right, there is a set of chassis ID plates on the striker plate of the bonnet at the front. One aluminium plate contains the chassis number and body type and engine type, and one usually painted plate contains the paintcode and a set of 3 digit numbers, that tell you exactly what options the car left the factory with. Root around on the internet and there are loads of sites telling you exactly what each 3 digit code stands for...

The round thingy with the holes on the dash "hides" a glow spiral, and yes, it's only on the Diesel versions.
When you pull the starter button out, you hold it until you can actually see the glow spiral behind the small holes turn red. Generally you cant really see this when the day is bright, but try it the next time in the dark. Great fun! When it's glowing red, you pull the knob further out to activate the starter....

Correct, the green knob on the centre console is for the fog lights, and the knob with the white circle is for the rear windscreen demister.

Regarding steering wheel and gearknobs, the transition year was 1972. Model year changes happened in August, so model year 73, ran from August 72 until july 73. So if you have the short stubby moulded plastic gearlever, yours is late 72, early 73. If you have the needle pin with the knob, the car is early 72.

3ps

Thanks PaulK... I guess I have an early 72 model, although it seems to have been first registered on 9th Nov 1972 so it must have been sitting around for a while.....

Yes I paid €200 to get the export docs/ plates (fitted!) and insurance. I think the dealers always add a bit of profit on but it saved me time and hassle!! In order to do this I had to post across an "authority" form with my original signature, allowing the dealers to get the docs on my behalf, plus a photocopy of my passport.

MercMad

BTW You can get a copy of the vehicle Data Card from the Classic Centre which tells you everything about the original build of the car !

I have the contact details somehwere !

tc20

..that spelling doesnt look right somehow

Anyway, i digress..
Paul 3ps - i had a look thru my parts catalog and came across the following -
under the heading "Ausstattung", my germans not that good but i reckon its something like "fittings", maybe Andreas can confirm.
The listing gives quite a few badge/lettering options, but for the record the part no for "220D" is 115 817 0615. Im not sure how the badge is secured on the inside of the bootlid, and im also wondering if this is solely the exterior (ie bootlid) badge, as my car has "230" on the blank cover panel where the radio is housed.
Memo to self - add stereo to list of things to fit

Anyways, id say your looking at around 30euro for a brand new piece.

Tony

3ps

thanks for the info!

I'm known to be a bit of a cheapskate... so I might leave it for a while and spend the €30 on something else!

MercMad

Yeah when you have a new (old) car you need to prioritise the list of things that NEED doing or COULD need doing !

Ausstattung means equipment and is the place where the various option codes would be written !

If the cars, any Mercs oof that era, were not ordered with a factory radio they came with the badge on a blank panel here !

MercMan Ben

PaulK_CCI wrote:

Congrats Paul! She looks like a super car indeed. How did you manage the insurance and stuff in the end?

From my knowledge I have never come accross a factory 'deleted' bootlid badge, so it must have been done by a previous owner...

Good luck with her :-)

...it was possible to order a new Merc without the badges on the bootlid.... it might have cost you something though as it was an extra. So you end up paying more for less :-) well less is more you could say :-)

Regards,
Benjamin

MercMad

Yeah that wouldn't surprise me, I know on the new cars "Badge delete" is an option but I didn't know when the trend started, certainly my research into Pagoda W113 Data Cards and codes did not reveal this possibility !

Maybe it was a 70's thing when similar models could have larger engines !

tc20

Posted by MercMad-"if the cars, any Mercs of that era, were not ordered with a factory radio they came with the badge on a blank panel there"

I reckon i had an after fit stereo (mono ) in my car as there is the stub of an aerial on the front wing. Ive never looked into it, but there is a speaker grill
in the centre of the dash top, i must open it up and see what, if any,speaker lurks under there.
I must also learn how to quote prev posts

MercMad

I reckon i had an after fit stereo (mono ) in my car as there is the stub of an aerial on the front wing. Ive never looked into it, but there is a speaker grill
in the centre of the dash top, i must open it up and see what, if any,speaker lurks under there.
I must also learn how to quote prev posts

........again AFAIK aeriels were fitted with or without radios, and many owners/dealers who then fitted radios kept the blanking panel !

BTW for quoting just place this ahead of the text [qu0te] ....the quoted text goes here and then [/qu0te] goes afterwards. Replace the zero I used for a proper letter "o".

Make sense ??

tc20

MercMad wrote:

........again AFAIK aeriels were fitted with or without radios, and many owners/dealers who then fitted radios kept the blanking panel !

BTW for quoting just place this ahead of the text [qu0te] ....the quoted text goes here and then [/qu0te] goes afterwards. Replace the zero I used for a proper letter "o".

Make sense ??

mm, nearly there Ben thanks, how do i just partially quote, say just a line or two from a large piece of text ?

Thanks

cormee

3ps wrote:

no, I mean there is no "220D" on the bootlid. Check the photos above.

Same with mine - I have a w114 '70 250 CE and it doesn't have any identification on the boot..strange!

3ps

another Merc... check out the other thread for a meetup.

MercMan Ben

cormee wrote:

Same with mine - I have a w114 '70 250 CE and it doesn't have any identification on the boot..strange!

what a coincidence :-)
is it on the road?

Benjamin

MercMad

mm, nearly there Ben thanks, how do i just partially quote, say just a line or two from a large piece of text ?

Thanks

............just insert the text you want bewteen the quote markers !!

Dont forget RobaMerc has a 280CE W114 also !

3ps

does anybody want to buy mine? they are too common now!

MercMad

3ps wrote:

does anybody want to buy mine? they are too common now!

.........you know if it was any other colour..........!!

andreas_220D

3ps wrote:

does anybody want to buy mine? they are too common now!

Sure, how much?

3ps

make me an offer I can't refuse!

andreas_220D

3ps wrote:

make me an offer I can't refuse!

You'll get attendance of my friends from Sicilies.

cormee

MercMan Ben wrote:

what a coincidence :-)
is it on the road?

Benjamin

Intermittently

Nah, it's been behaving very well recently. I only drive it on weekends and mostly around the city centre and the northside/Drumcondra area.