As you may or may not know, the members of this forum come from a diverse background and reside in many countries around the world. We're really quite an eclectic bunch, but we share one common interest: our cars! As part of an effort to bring people together locally, I thought I'd like to make a thread for us in the US to check in, so to speak.
I noticed a lot of our Aussie friends seem to have a good bit of online and local, in person support for their fellow 116 enthusiasts. I'd like to try to replicate this great example of being helpful to not only those of us who live across the globe but also those who live in the same city or state. Even if you don't socialize or see one another in the real world, it could be beneficial to you to let others know where you live. There maybe local shops, garages or suppliers you do not know about, but that others who live near you do.
For some of you privacy may be an issue. However, when it comes to getting help for our cars, I cannot stress how important it is to know at least in what country you reside. The 116 chassis series was exported to many, many countries and there are some differences between them on the exterior and under the hood.
So, without further adieu I'd like:
1: all of you fellow 116 owners in the USA to please post here and state that you live in the US (city and state would be helpful, but not necessary).
and/or
2: Modify your profile to state the country (state, too, if willing!) you live in*
*You can do this by clicking Profile at the top nav bar, then clicking Forum Profile Information
I live in DeLand, Florida.
Thanks all
I live in the US of A - Houston, by god, Texas.
Nashville, TN. USA
Neenah, WI. Home of Kleenex, Pierce Fire Trucks, and the Neenah Foundry (think municipal castings like sewer grates)
Marietta, GA. Suburb of Atlanta - home to U.P.S., Coca-Cola, CNN, the Braves, Falcons, Hawks and Thrashers.
I'm in Knoxville TN I've had my 116 for 3 years and have only seen 1 other in town :(
Living in Minneapolis, Minnesota temporarily. My 116 is waiting for me back home in Vermont.
sblakely,
What brought you to MN? I went to college in Northfield just south of the cities.
Nice to meet all of you.
Ponton & Sblakely,
I also lived up there. In Pine City, MN and Cloverton, MN.
T,
Did you grow up in MN or work? Those are some pretty small towns. Its amazing how small this world is becoming, hopefully I will have the pleasure of meeting you folks in person some day.
I did, yes.
I was actually born in Texas, but I lived in MN from age 7-13 and have a lot of family there in the areas I mentioned. I think the entire county of Pine County has only 25k or less people hahaha :)
Some of my best memories of being a kid are of being up there and running around the woods, watching wildlife, driving on the ice, fishing and making snow houses that lasted for 4-6 months. 8)
I do miss the outdoors there, with the white birch trees, mountains of leaves in autumn and temperate spring. But.. it was no fun to be that far away from a city when we got snowed in (last time, it was for 1.5 months!). I would like to have a cabin up there eventually, though.
Adam
Hi all. Maryville, TN here, just about 15 miles outside of Knoxville, TN. My life work is Mercedes and other European marques. Love to help out, and I always have odd ball stock piles of various W116, W108/109, and W111 parts lying around.
Crs79 and WBrian63....we should get together. I think it would be fun. AARON
UTn_boy, I was just through Maryville last week on my way to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge for a long weekend. Maryville is deceptively large. I'd love to come up and look through the stock piles.
Ponton-
I moved here in January hoping to find work using my fancy new B.S. in geology with one of the new mineral exploration companies on the north shore of lake superior. Sadly they're not doing much hiring as of yet... I'll probably be moving again soon. I also wanted to spend some time with my sister and her daughters, she's lived here since she went to college at St. Olaf.
Did you go to Carleton or St. Olaf? My sister was there in the late 90s
Hi,
I am from Western Massachusetts. I think I'm the only W116 owner left in my area. You never see any W116's here. But since I live in a college town, I do see tons of W123's and W126 diesels. The college crowd love those particular models for veggie conversions.
Brett
Mike here from Central New York. I've had a 116 for a few years now and picked up a second last fall. It's great to see more 116 owner's stateside as I think they are grossly under appreciated. Perhaps with a few more years they will be of more interest as they continue to become older and more scarce.
Is Yesmar still around? I never did have the chance to meet up with him...
I live in South Miami Florida... Quick question: anyone know of a paint specialist that works on classic Mercedes benz. I can throw a rock and hit a paint shop down here and I know a few of them but I rather do it with someone that knows and has taken apart and worked on the classic MB.
Robert
Been quite a while since I posted... I'm in Orange County, CA. I have yet to see another 280 SE on the road. It seems like most of what's left around here are the diesels. I think their popularity is due to the veggie oil craze.
I've had mine for 6 years now and drive it regularly. If I have my way, I'll have it long after I'm too old to drive it. :)
Las Vegas (Sin City), NV USA here. I have had my 450 SEL for some time now. My Dad bought it in 1998 or 1999 with 28k miles on it. When he passed away (2003) he left it to me. The car has a lot of sentimental value to me. I recently got it repainted, new windshield & seal, new back window seal, and it is in the shop as I type this to get the upholstery redone. I also just ordered new bundts from adsitco.com
Port St. Lucie FL
Have been driving a 126 for the last 4 years. Just bought our 116 and working on getting it on the road. After seeing Storage wars on tv I heard about a MB that was in a warehouse for the last 7 years. Went to the storage sale and vola we now have a 116. 113,000 miles 42gallon fuel tank, new tires, real barn find. My wife made me sll the 82td as she felt we did not have room in the driveway.
I own a 1977 280SE, has owned it since 1994. Has not been on the road much, working on getting back on the road. I plan on putting on a new Bosch fuel pump and Meyle Fuel Filter tomorrow. I live in North Carolina, near Raleigh and Fayetteville, and I don't see any W116's 280SE's, 450's or 300SD's. There is a guy in my neighborhood with a W116 300SD. Other than that, I do not see these cars anymore. Whenever I do drive mine, it attracts a lot of attention because it is so rare. It is dark brown with tan MB Tex, I will be replacing that color with a navy blue like new interior that I stripped from a 1979 300SD from LKQ in Raleigh and painting the exterior a silver blue color, which should look pretty nice. I also have a nice black dash that is in new condition as well that I purchased from ebay some time ago. I have all of these interior parts up stairs in my attic. Can't wait to get started on that project!
I'm in Maryland. I intentionally removed my location information from my profile and don't want to be specific as to exact location, because I'm weird. But I think I must be the only W116 driver in this entire state, because I've never seen another one on the road here - you see some old coupes and the occasional W126/W124, but none of the older sedans.
Quote from: Luke1 on 01 October 2011, 04:14 PM
It is dark brown with tan MB Tex, I will be replacing that color with a navy blue like new interior that I stripped from a 1979 300SD from LKQ in Raleigh and painting the exterior a silver blue color, which should look pretty nice.
To each their own, but I'd really advocate sticking with the stock color in this case. The dark colors contrast with the chrome more and demand a lot more attention. I drove a beautiful ivory 300SD (was parked in a garage for 17 years) around for months with no comments at all, then bought a dark red (almost brown) 450SE with rather deteriorated/oxidized paint, and get frequent compliments on it. Go figure.
Quote from: macatron on 29 March 2011, 11:24 PMIt seems like most of what's left around here are the diesels. I think their popularity is due to the veggie oil craze.
I've owned six Mercedes diesels and never once used veggie oil or biodiesel. When in good repair, they're very good cars, and I'd take one over a gasser any day. My ultimate dream is to one day be able to afford to put an S420 or S450 CDI engine into a W116 long-wheelbase, and have a 450SDL that does 0-62 in 6.6 seconds, top speed of 155mph, and gets 25mpg... :) 4matic would be nice too.
Luke 1,
I agree with Casey, try to resist the temptation changing the color of your car just to match the interior you found. The darker hues just make the lines and details on the 116 stand out more.
It is great that you got a good interior in blue but why not have it dyed to match the original color on the car? besides a black dash with a blue interior is not going to look right... but if you current have bamboo seats for example , the black dash is going to look perfect, and with re-dyed seats the end result will be stunning, just may opinion....
Tks,
Joe
Live in Port St. Lucie FL
Very seldom see a 116 300sd around here. I do have a bunch of MB and the reason I am addictated to them is I have a pacemaker/Icd and the company that built it explained that I would not be able to work on IC engines or lawn mowers or chainsaws. My boss has been mowing the lawn and I since have bought an electric chainsaw. We do have a 95 S420 sitting at our river place up north but we do not drive it. 156,000 miles and a broken A/C unit. It was actually cheaper to buy my diesels than fix the A/C. They wanted anywhere from 3,200 to 4,600 to fix it. Most independents wont touch the vehicle.
Just bought my w116 a month ago
I live in Bellevue WA.
Hello everyone!
It seems like we have a lot of Florida guys in here, I myself live near Homestead.
BTW, I have some 123 parts and a few 116 parts, including a diesel injector pump.
Hello fellow 116 lovers
I live in Foster City, California. Unfortunately, this has become tech capital of the world. Great for home values, but further limits access to open road driving(which I love).
I thought it might be great if in each state(somewhere central), there might be a once a year w116 rally. I personally would love to see a fleet of these beauties!!
Is anyone in Calif interested in organizing such an event???
Hi Ziper,
What W116 parts do you have for sale?
Brett
Just to freshen the thread again... I'm in Rockmart Georgia. Closer to Rome, GA than Atlanta.
We have some great roads out here. Not too many Mercedes though and very few "classics". There is an independent shop about 30 minutes away that is willing to work on the older cars.
Nice to have you all! I'm looking for another 116. I parted the other one out and just made a little over even considering the cost of the car and parts.
Hi
I live 60 miles outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pahrump?
Welcome! I would love to see your 6.9.
Bill
Hi Bill
Check here:
http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/new-forum-member-attempts-6-9-resurrection/
The car is still in St. George, UT where I bought it.
I will get it to Pahrump some day.
Do you know of any Mercedes groups / clubs in Las Vegas?
Thanks
Tom
I just read your thread. Wow! I do not know of any Mercedes groups or clubs in Vegas. Sorry. I do however have a very good Mercedes Mechanic but it appears you are pretty handy.
Bill
I think the Mercedes Benz club of America has a section in Las Vegas.
I try to do as much as possible by my self on the car, but it looks pretty bad.
Every time I remove something I find a other surprise.
hi all, live in Meridian, Ms, father of country western/ Jimmy Rogers and home of Peavey electronics , i have 3 116 cars 1 77 6.9 euro rust bucket slowly bringing back to life once owned by Willie Nelson nephew. also have a 79 6.9 USA and 1980 450 sel that i'm parting out. like to get together with you Georgia, and Tnn. gents since we all live so close together
Greetings for Seattle , WA (no, not Western Australia, though if i put my GPS on female Aussie accent she keeps referring to West Wallaby Way?)
Going on about 3 years or so with the 116 and slowly working out the minor kinks. Just replaced the steering box.
Chris
USA - Portland Maine. Owned my 74 for six years and have done ALOT to it, paint, steering, brakes, everything under the hood, short of rebuild, tires, repaint and body work. I now need to refurbish my odometer, it quit working last winter. She's a great car and not my daily driver. I only use in spring/summer/fall.
If you are not doing your odometer yourself check out http://www.speedometer.com/
He did an awesome job on mine.
Bill
This is MarkM
A recent transplant from the Atlanta area to Boca Raton Fl. I can honestly say that my '80 300 SD is more rare than your average Bentley down here. And the beach isn't bad either!
Matt
Lynnwood, WA
2001 CLK 320 Cab., 123k mi
1989 300SE, 164k mi
1980 300SD, 171K mi
1982 300D-T, 140k mi (Sold)
1974 240D, 284k mi (Gone to the great junkyard in the sky)
Hi all,
I live in So. California, have a 450SEL Crayford and 3 x 6.9 needing just about everything.....
Chris
Hello everyone,
I live in Damariscotta ME
I have a 1973 450se and a 1980 300sd I also have a bunch of other Mercedes odd balls but truly love w116's
Hello everyone!
I am a mechanical engineering student at Georgia Tech and I own a 1980 Orient Red 300SD and a 79 Silver Grey 300SD. I bought the 80 as my first car this spring and the 79 as a parts car about a month later. My family also own a smattering of old Benz, including a 240D and a 190D 2.5 and a few other projects. Build threads hopefully will happen in the future, but school has me hopelessly busy most of the time.
Hi,
Muskego,Wi. checking in.
Hello All
I'm Rodger in central New Mexico, USA
I bought a 1980 450SEL today.
Welcome
When this post was first started, I checked in, but that was back in march of 2011. So I'm checking in again. Knoxville, Tn. 1976 280S, one prior owner, 69,000 miles. Astral silver with blue MB Tex. If any of you local fellas are in the area, then stop by! :) That goes for anyone else that may or may not be passing through, as well.
I'm a would be owner of a W116, but waiting to see if I can find a local mechanic who will be able to work on one! Anyone in the central NJ, or Eastern PA (Bucks County) area who knows of a good mechanic please contact me, thanks! best, James
Try Star Motors on Endicott.
...
Checking in from Los Angeles, CA with a 1980 300SD. Very little surface rust leads me to believe it's been a California car all its life but I just don't know much about her history.
I'd be interested in a W116 meetup or just connecting with other members in the area. I'm specifically in the San Fernando Valley.
Steve in Newport Beach, Orange County, California USA
Auburn Hills, Michigan. Bought my 1975 280s at a local auction 3 years ago for $600.
Hello all,
My mistress and I reside in Austin, Texas. She is much better looking than me -- a 1979 6.9 in 930 silver-blue over blue leather. There are not so many 6.9 owners in Texas! I have never seen another on the street. Heck, W116's in general are pretty thin on the ground here. You see a tired old 300SD occasionally and that's about it.
--Jordan
Harrison Twp, MI (suburbs of detroit)
looks like there are at least two other guys in Metro detroit....Maybe a spring ride?
Good evening my fellow Americans. (Always wanted to say that)
I'm from Pittsburgh, PA and a new member of the Pittsburgh chapter of the MB owners club. I just bought a 1977 450 SEL which is at the Mercedes dealer getting a look over by a mechanic that goes crazy for the older cars. I also just picked up the last new 2019 GLS 550 they had, big discounts to be had. So far all that needs done on the 450 is timing and idle adjustments.
Interestingly a dude pulled in the service reception with a race fitted AMG beast and saw my car and had tons of questions. Interesting that somebody who probably gets a lot of questions about his machine found my 1977 450 SEL interesting. I put a photo of the AMG and my car in the breezeway along with some other photos of the 450.
Hi,
Just bought my first W116, a 450 SEL in Byzantine Gold. I live in Los Angeles, California.
Thanks!
Vallejo, CA. '77 Black on black 6.9. Converted suspension. Recaro front seats and a Becker Grand Prix Radio.