280" Concourse; Diary of a layman

[Jed]

Thanks gavin!
I just ordered a pair.
36 euros each (without VAT)

[UTn_boy]

Bullocks!
Off to get a refund..
Thanks for the heads up!

You're very welcome, Stan. 

Jed, I think you're right.  I don't think the late W108/W109 style lighters are available any longer.  Luckily, they were used in R107 and W114/W115 up until 1976, so there will be many extras out there for many years to come. 

Speaking of radio parts.......I recently made a very expensive discovery.  I ordered a set of speakers for a customers W116 280S from Becker Autosound here in the U.S.  Nearly $500 for all of them.  I had a hard time believing that price.  Well, one night I was tooling around with the new speakers.  I peeled the "Becker" sticker off of the back of the speakers, and guess what they said under the "Becker" speaker?  KONIGS!   They're buying EVERYTHING form Konigs and jacking the price up.  This includes speakers, knobs, bezels, faceplates, and other various parts.  So heads up.  If you want to save some money, then buy from Konigs. 

[Jed]

Funny you should say that UTnBoy,

I bought a pair of front speakers for my '79 6.9 last month from ebay from BeckerSound. They were not cheap. Maybe $80 each BUT they were exact duplicates of the old rotted ones I took out. Koenig also sells w116 front speakers with the same 3 hole mounting pattern however they are not original in appearance.  Actually they look very different but I assume will also fit. So don't feel bad, not everything they sell comes from konigs.

[UTn_boy]

Why in the hell is Europe getting such a break on pricing from Becker?  The ones I got were exact duplicates made Konigs, but both Konigs and Becker offer an "upgrade" style speaker, which is probably what you're speaking of. 

[Jed]

No, I didn't buy the "upgrade" speakers.  They cost $99 and look different according to the BeckerSound website. I just looked my purchase up and yes they were $80 for each front speaker.  The Beckersound website directs you to an ebay auction. 

http://beckerautosound.com/mercedes-benz-speakers-72-95/3129162

[UTn_boy]

I guess they charge more money to the U.S. buyers.  I clicked on the link, which took me to the website, and then I clicked on the front speaker.  Doing this took me to the ebay listing, and the price shows to be $115 each.  Go figure.  Nonetheless, I think it's very sneaky and corrupt of them to resell the speakers from Konigs while withholding that fact.  That practice itself is commonplace for car parts in general, but something as big as this is inexcusable, especially at that high of a mark-up. 

[floyd111]

I avoided all of that by simply buying Focals in the right size. Full kit of 2, with crossovers and stuff.
Check ebay.it for the best supplier. No idea how Italy manages to get pricing for Focals like that, but I'm happy.
Beats the hell out of whatever Konigs is selling as Becker replacements. Once installed, nobody's gonna see them, but the sound difference is huge!

[ptashek]

I avoided all of that by simply buying Focals in the right size. Full kit of 2, with crossovers and stuff.
Check ebay.it for the best supplier. No idea how Italy manages to get pricing for Focals like that, but I'm happy.
Beats the hell out of whatever Konigs is selling as Becker replacements. Once installed, nobody's gonna see them, but the sound difference is huge!

Which Focals did you get Stan? I'm suspecting 100AC for the dash, and 130AC for the rear?

[floyd111]

Front, Focal KRS 100. Per set, 280 euro

[ptashek]

Front, Focal KRS 100. Per set, 280 euro

Interesting. The woofer goes into the dash space, but where did you hide the additional tweeter?

[floyd111]

They'll have to be in the top dash corners., on top, normally, but I want to see if I can attach them under the roof liner, pointing downwards

[ptashek]

They'll have to be in the top dash corners., on top, normally, but I want to see if I can attach them under the roof liner, pointing downwards

That should be possible, there's plenty of space there to fit them for sure, and it's out of sight.
Cables should be routable via the A-pillars.

[floyd111]

Yeah I thinks so too. I like the idea of them being invisible, hiding behind the roof liner.
One would just hope they don't break down too often. Replacing them would be a nightmare. It would make sense to fit a secondary set, with wires but not connected (yet)

[floyd111]

Is this lighter correct?

[floyd111]

Well, it has to be. It's a w116 number, so I got it b4 it was gone.

Also scored this one..brand new instrument panel for 280 engine, with rev counter.