News:

The ORG - 100% FREE advice!

Main Menu

Steering wheel differences

Started by ptashek, 18 January 2016, 04:54 PM

floyd111

Guess it makes sense when I hear this, but I always presumed column shifters were not an option, but an age thing or a country-specific requirement.
An option to choose from, from 1972-1980, really? That is remarkable, considering they are rare as can be, from my perspective.
I really like them. It really places the car in the 60's-70's era..

ptashek

#16
Quote from: floyd111 on 20 January 2016, 07:41 PM
An option to choose from, from 1972-1980, really?

Offered as option 421 for 1943.60DM extra in 09/1979 (price list 28), the same cost as floor shift auto (420) for the 280/350.
Offered at no extra cost for the 450.
Not offered for the 6.9.

There's no data for the 300SD.
The 300SD was also not available with column shift.
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

UTn_boy

Well, they're not rare to see in the States, at least.  Nonetheless, there were many of them out there back in the day. 

Ptashek, I'll have to respectfully disagree with your comment.  I've seen both 6.9 and diesel models with column shift. Few and far in between, mind you.  Maybe it was a U.S. thing.  Not really sure, but they did exist on those two models. 
1966 250se coupe`,black/dark green leather
1970 600 midnight blue/parchment leather
1971 300sel 6.3,papyrus white/dark red leather
1975 450se, pine green metallic/green leather
1973 300sel 4.5,silver blue metallic/blue leather
1979 450sel 516 red/bamboo

floyd111

wow..a 6.9 column shift.. Must be a lovely drive!

UTn_boy

I certainly wouldn't want a 6.9 with a column shift.  I feel that column shift set up's are bulky, awkward, always in the way, and rather unattractive cosmetically.  I have also always felt that any column shift set up was the cheap alternative to anything else.  But.....growing up in the U.S. has probably made me that way, as most automatics, if not all, were column shift from the 1970's forward.  Up until sometime in the mid 1980's, if Americans wanted an automatic with a center console shift, they had to pay extra.  Conversely, the Europeans had to pay extra for column shift automatics.  I guess it makes a difference as to which side of the pond you're on, huh?  The only column shift that I am ok with is my truck, but it's a standard shift on the column. 
1966 250se coupe`,black/dark green leather
1970 600 midnight blue/parchment leather
1971 300sel 6.3,papyrus white/dark red leather
1975 450se, pine green metallic/green leather
1973 300sel 4.5,silver blue metallic/blue leather
1979 450sel 516 red/bamboo

gavin116

Hi Aaron


That's interesting about the column shift part numbers.  I always thought that it was not an option on a right-hand-drive car, and indeed some of my UK W116 sales brochures say it's not an option.  I wonder if anyone on the forum has a right-hand-drive column shifter, and if so, can they post a few pictures?  Assuming if they used a default left-hand-drive column shifter to the right of the steering wheel, then it would likely interfere with the combination and cruise control stalks in a right-hand-drive car?  Would they have made it rigged to the right then?  Some things just didn't work or get mirrored to work in right-hand-drive vehicles, for example the foot operated parking brake, or vacuum controlled headlamp levellers.


Looking on the internet didn't reveal much, but I did come across this rare beast, a W124 column shifter...
1979 450SE "Mrs White"
2022 Touareg-R 3.0TSi Hybrid
[url="http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/my-first-w116-here-at-last/"]http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/my-first-w116-here-at-last/[/url]
[url="http://forum.w116.org/the-org/british-near-london-meet/msg97613/#msg97613"]http://forum.w116.org/the-org/british-near-london-meet/msg97613/#msg97613[/url]

Beastie

A big reason for the advent of the column shift, at least initially, was to facilitate a front bench seat. That was a big reason for them being so popular in the US. The column shift is more complicated and delicate because of the extra linkage. They're really not a cheap alternative, but I understand the perception. I don't know why they would be an enduring popular option when no front bench is installed. My W108 had a column shift and I always liked it. It always fell nicely to hand and I would barely have to take my eyes off the road to see which gear I was in or to shift. Plus, column shifts seem rare here so to me it was a nice, odd little unique feature.
I remember reading years ago that the W108 had the factory option of a front bench seat (mine had buckets). I looked into trying to find a bench to install in my car but they're very rare, and this was a bit before the internet was as useful as it is now for finding that kind of info. Then I ended up selling my car and that was the end of that...

I've never heard of a W116 with a front bench seat but, from the option codes page:

401   SINGLE SEATS
402   SEAT BENCH

Was a front bench seat ever an option on the 116?
1979 280SEL

"She's built like a steakhouse, but she handles like a bistro."

ptashek

Quote from: UTn_boy on 20 January 2016, 10:45 PM
Ptashek, I'll have to respectfully disagree with your comment.  I've seen both 6.9 and diesel models with column shift.

There's also a 6.9 in Germany (featured on autobild.de at some point) that came with cloth interior from factory, and that was not an offered option on the 6.9 either.
MB is well known for accommodating special requests on the S-class. Also, the price lists at http://www.w123-hannover.de/, which is where I got those details from, aren't for the US market and that might add to the differences in "expected" and "observed" state of things.
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

w116john


i will add a pic of a left hand drive column shifter, it is one of the reasons i a would prefer not to scrap this car.

john

gavin116

Quote from: ptashek on 21 January 2016, 04:30 AM
Quote from: UTn_boy on 20 January 2016, 10:45 PM
Ptashek, I'll have to respectfully disagree with your comment.  I've seen both 6.9 and diesel models with column shift.

There's also a 6.9 in Germany (featured on autobild.de at some point) that came with cloth interior from factory, and that was not an offered option on the 6.9 either.
MB is well known for accommodating special requests on the S-class. Also, the price lists at http://www.w123-hannover.de/, which is where I got those details from, aren't for the US market and that might add to the differences in "expected" and "observed" state of things.


That'll be this one
1979 450SE "Mrs White"
2022 Touareg-R 3.0TSi Hybrid
[url="http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/my-first-w116-here-at-last/"]http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/my-first-w116-here-at-last/[/url]
[url="http://forum.w116.org/the-org/british-near-london-meet/msg97613/#msg97613"]http://forum.w116.org/the-org/british-near-london-meet/msg97613/#msg97613[/url]

rumb

My parts car has blue cloth interior.
'68 250S
'77 6.9 Euro
'91 300SE,
'98 SL500
'14 CLS550,
'16 AMG GTS
'21 E450 Cabrio

Casey

Quote from: w116john on 21 January 2016, 04:35 AM

i will add a pic of a left hand drive column shifter, it is one of the reasons i a would prefer not to scrap this car.

john


Wow, seat heaters as well, and I've never seen the console trim for column shift in zebrano - I'd love to get my hands on one of those!

Casey

Quote from: gavin116 on 21 January 2016, 08:35 AM
Quote from: ptashek on 21 January 2016, 04:30 AM
Quote from: UTn_boy on 20 January 2016, 10:45 PM
Ptashek, I'll have to respectfully disagree with your comment.  I've seen both 6.9 and diesel models with column shift.

There's also a 6.9 in Germany (featured on autobild.de at some point) that came with cloth interior from factory, and that was not an offered option on the 6.9 either.
MB is well known for accommodating special requests on the S-class. Also, the price lists at http://www.w123-hannover.de/, which is where I got those details from, aren't for the US market and that might add to the differences in "expected" and "observed" state of things.


That'll be this one

Does that have the switches for all four seat heaters in the front?  Crazy!

w116john



it is nice but the wood has a few cracks and the cubby hole could do with re-flocking??? the interior is lived in to say the least

Quote from: Casey on 21 January 2016, 09:58 AM
Quote from: w116john on 21 January 2016, 04:35 AM

i will add a pic of a left hand drive column shifter, it is one of the reasons i a would prefer not to scrap this car.

john


Wow, seat heaters as well, and I've never seen the console trim for column shift in zebrano - I'd love to get my hands on one of those!

ptashek

Gents, I think the two steering wheels might actually be one and the same thing. Why?
I just couldn't get my head around that sudden part number change, and went looking in my parts stash for the spare wheel off of my 1977 350. It's chassis number (041110) was below the threshold, so in theory it should have had the old part number. And it didn't. And did. Confused? :)

Both the old and the new number are stamped on the inside of the wheel, which leads me to believe they're one and the same thing.

Proof is in the pudding, as they say. Here's some pudding then :)
Click image for full-size version.

1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE