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Garage => Test Drive => Topic started by: marku on 07 June 2022, 10:21 AM

Title: What a shame
Post by: marku on 07 June 2022, 10:21 AM
https://stanceworks.com/2020/10/the-king-of-rollers-jose-torress-1973-mercedes-w116-450se/


What people will do. Ought to be a crime.
Title: Re: What a shame
Post by: gurrier on 07 June 2022, 12:37 PM
Not to my taste either - the bad fitting of the front bumper is in itself annoying.
However - his car, his choice.  At least it is one more example that will presumably survive
even in a bastardised form.
Title: Re: What a shame
Post by: raueda1 on 08 June 2022, 12:15 PM
Dear god!  What a travesty.  We must hunt down this "Jose" character and re-educate him with rubber hoses.
Title: Re: What a shame
Post by: marku on 08 June 2022, 12:27 PM
Quite agree if that car has a soul it must be suffering.
Title: Re: What a shame
Post by: Nabstud on 09 June 2022, 06:34 AM
I don't mind it too much, mods look to have been done to a high standard.

My 280S is in great condition inside and out, but being a carby 6 cylinder isn't worth a whole lot of money. Currently running great but if the M110 dies, repowering it with a V8 of some description (non MB) is high on the list. If I ever get sick of the looks I'll probably change the suspension and wheels to whatever I fancy at the time. I'll get as much enjoyment from doing the mods as I will driving it afterwards.

Others tell me not to ruin such a nice car, but on the otherhand no-one wants to offer me any money to take it off my hands so they car keep it original. Until they do I'll modify it if that's what tickles my fancy! I am enjoying the standard look so no mods planned for the near future....

There isn't a huge demand for these cars and the prices reflect that. Modifications done properly won't affect the prices too much, I reckon the W116 looks great so the more that are saved the better, original or not.
Title: Re: What a shame
Post by: Neil4speed on 09 June 2022, 01:22 PM
This looks amazing! Not for me, but as been done at a very high standard as @nabstud mentioned. These cars are not THAT rare, and there are still many remaining for the purists. The other fate for this car may have been the junkyard "There it was, parked under a tree. Three years of rain, snow, leaves, and dirt shrouded what was once a beautiful example of a 1973 Mercedes Benz 450SE, but instead, it sat with 3 inches of standing water inside of it, along with an abundance of mold and resident spiders, living lavishly by most measures."
Title: Re: What a shame
Post by: marku on 09 June 2022, 02:46 PM
Maybe in the US but not here where there are not that many. Last time I looked there were 17 on the road.
Title: Re: What a shame
Post by: gurrier on 09 June 2022, 03:25 PM
Marku,

Maybe we should start another thread on the issue of rarity.

I originally believed that there were nearly only single figures of W116s left in the comparatively small market within Ireland.  While we do not have access here to figures which I believe you have in the UK in relation to vehicles on the road and SORN (Register of Vehicles off the Road) my research suggests that there could be 40 examples in Ireland.

I would be very interested in getting the factual up to date figures for the UK.

 
Title: Re: What a shame
Post by: ptashek on 10 June 2022, 04:08 AM
Quote from: gurrier on 09 June 2022, 03:25 PMmy research suggests that there could be 40 examples in Ireland.

That's very unlikely, unless they're kept under wraps in private collections, or are rotting by a shed somewhere.

Extrapolating from the numbers I've seen on the road across the country in the past decade, I'd say even half that number is optimistic.
Title: Re: What a shame
Post by: marku on 10 June 2022, 10:32 AM
Quote from: gurrier on 09 June 2022, 03:25 PMMarku,

Maybe we should start another thread on the issue of rarity.

I originally believed that there were nearly only single figures of W116s left in the comparatively small market within Ireland.  While we do not have access here to figures which I believe you have in the UK in relation to vehicles on the road and SORN (Register of Vehicles off the Road) my research suggests that there could be 40 examples in Ireland.

I would be very interested in getting the factual up to date figures for the UK.

 

More than I thought

6.9     25 on road   40 SORN
450SEL  35           49
450SE   12           40
350      2            1
280      2            1

Supposed to be official figures but look a bit suspect.
Title: Re: What a shame
Post by: gurrier on 10 June 2022, 11:29 AM
Taking account of my mythomania (did I mention that mine is the oldest) here are my preliminary figures:-

                                                   6.9      3
                                                   450SEL   6
                                                   450SE    5
                                                   350SE    6
                                                   280S     9   

Another Car Club that I am a member of has a register of vehicles on line with reg. nos. and
in some cases photographs of their examples.  Another club in Ireland beetle.ie has a lavish what they call census listing.
Title: Re: What a shame
Post by: Type17 on 10 June 2022, 01:15 PM
Quote from: gurrier on 07/06/2022, 18:37:51Not to my taste either - the bad fitting of the front bumper is in itself annoying.However - his car, his choice.  At least it is one more example that will presumably surviveeven in a bastardised form.

True, given that it was three years under a tree and full of water inside, I'd say if Jose hadn't have done this to it, it would be a cube by now.

Regarding scarcity, there are always more models of a car than you might think - when I was involved in restoring Mercs in Ireland a few years ago, we worked on a few W100's (600/Grosser), and ended up meeting a few owners, and hearing of others around the country - when we counted up one day, we realised that we had got to hear of/see about 10 of them, even though only three were ever registered new in Ireland (BTW, one was written off in a crash, one (reg: PZO 200) is now in the UK, and the other (reg: GZU 150) survives near Dublin, and was treated to new paint, chrome re-plating and interior/engine tidying a few years ago).

I'd be confident in saying that there are more than 20 W116's in Ireland now, but less confident that there are as many as 40 (and original Irish cars are probably low single figures).
Title: Re: What a shame
Post by: gurrier on 10 June 2022, 03:41 PM
Two Original Irish including mine is all that I know of.
Title: Re: What a shame
Post by: Mattr on 11 June 2022, 07:28 PM
This looks gorgeous, to me. I would absolutely love to put airbags underneath my 450SE. Unfortunately, I lack the expertise and time to do it.

I also would love to adjust the settings on my 6.9 so that the level pushed in is slammed, first notch is drive height, and all the way out is fully lifted. That one's pretty easy to do, I simply haven't had the time.

More importantly: in an era when W116's can be had for next-to-nothing, and many get scrapped, don't criticize someone doing an amazing quality restoration/repair work, and keeping it on the road.
Title: Re: What a shame
Post by: marku on 12 June 2022, 10:07 AM
No way round it but that it looks gross.
Title: Re: What a shame
Post by: Sensh on 01 September 2022, 03:17 AM
That's the thing about customizing a car, isn't it?  You're going to infuriate some purists.  I would argue it's part of the whole point of doing it.  Making a statement that you KNOW will be a little polarizing.

It's like punk rockers in the 1970's and '80's.  It's not like they thought most people would love the way they looked, or they hoped everyone would feel comfortable with the way they looked.  If everyone would have loved it they wouldn't have dressed that way.  The shock value was part of the whole exercise.

I build a lot of custom cars.  Some for myself, but mostly because it's my job.  I don't slam things and fit airbags, because I demand a car that corners and handles and brakes and does all the thing a car is supposed to do, but that's just ME.  And it doesn't mean I don't get fifteen emails a month from people telling me I am a butcher for sullying some vehicle they think should be seated at the right hand of the father.

When I'm done with my 280SE, I will post photos of it, and I hope it is received well.  I suspect it actually might be received well.  But when I post the photos I also fully expect to get some shade slung my way, and if I do, I will not lose any sleep over it.  Frankly, I would be more worried if I didn't.

There are plenty of w116's around, and yours belongs to YOU.  You can do anything you want to it.  That's awesome.  But mine is mine, and Jose's w116 is Jose's.  And that's what makes the automotive hobby such an involving and varied tapestry.

Rock on, Jose.