Topic: US Members: Check in!

[MB_Mike]

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...

[Stork]

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

[macatron]

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.   

[zedster]

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

[curbill]

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.

[Luke1]

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!

[Casey]

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.

[Casey]

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.

[Casey]

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 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.

[jbrasile]

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

[curbill]

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.

[GypsyKingg]

 Just bought my w116 a month ago

I live in Bellevue WA.

Hello everyone!

[ziper1221]

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.

[r5149]

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???

[brettj]

Hi Ziper,

What W116 parts do you have for sale?

Brett