Category: Mercedes

Mercedes W111 Coupe/Cabriolet RHD Manual vs Auto 4

Mercedes W111 Coupe/Cabriolet RHD Manual vs Auto

I recently had a question on my previous post around RHD/LHD 111 Coupe/Cabriolet about the numbers of Automatics vs Manuals. This is an interesting question and not one that I have the answer to.   However from my own observations of RHD models for sale and at shows,  manuals are fairly common in the 220SE, rare in the 250SE and 300SE and then extremely...

After 10 years of ownership, the SLC finally leaves me stranded 1

After 10 years of ownership, the SLC finally leaves me stranded

During the 10 years and around 40,000 kms I’ve owned the 450SLC, it’s proven to be extremely reliable.   Sure i’ve had a flat battery once a couple of times, and a fuel pump that would cause the engine to occasionally stall until it was replaced, but it has never left me stranded, until this weekend. About 100 meters from my driveway, the engine...

450SLC gets a new blower 1

450SLC gets a new blower

I’ve had issues with the blower on the 450SLC for a few years now.   I would get all sorts of noise and irregular operation from it.     Unlike in some models, the blower is actually pretty easy to get to in the 450SLC, but the problem was new blowers were very expensive (I was seeing them for over $1,200) and used units...

2013 ACT German car show 2

2013 ACT German car show

I was in Canberra this weekend, so I went along to see the annual German car show (organized by the various ACT clubs including the Mercedes Benz Club ACT), which was held in the carpark near the treasury building.   it is normally held on the lawn in front of the lake but poor weather forced the change.   Poor weather was also most...

SLC Heater trims 0

SLC Heater trims

The plastic trims around the heater controls in the SLC have been broken since I got the car.   I noticed when buying another part that new trims were available and they were a reasonable price.   So I purchased them – although it turns out the right hand one was out of stock so I got a refund on it. Still, replacing only...

Extrapolated Production Figures 1

Extrapolated Production Figures

 Mercedes W111 220SE/250SE Coupe/Cabriolet For reasons of their own, Mercedes gave the 220SE and 250SE models the same designator (111.021 for coupe and 111.023 for cabriolet).   In addition, the chassis number was shared with the 220SE sedan.   This was not continued for the later W111 coupe and cabriolet that have their own model designator and sequence. From what I know there were:...

W123 280CE further evaluation 0

W123 280CE further evaluation

I got the W123 280CE out again today and gave it a quick wash down.   It was covered in bird poo from it’s time for sale and I doubt I’ll have much time to work on it until later this year so I wanted to get that off. Drove it around the industrial complex where the garage is and the more I look...

Leaky coupe 0

Leaky coupe

Yesterday I put the 280CE up on the hoist to see where the water leaks were coming from.  I had bought the car knowing it was leaking, presumably from the radiator.   From looking underneath, it looks like the leaks are actually coming from the water pump, not the radiator. That should make the job more time consuming, but cheaper overall. In addition, I...

Road trip to Canberra 0

Road trip to Canberra

I had to go to Canberra for work today, so I decided to take the 250SE on a road trip.    I hadn’t taken it for a long drive for a while, and I thought a road trip would do it good.   It was too cold to open the roof, but It was nice to get the car out on the open road....

Another pillarless coupe joins the garage 0

Another pillarless coupe joins the garage

I’ve always been partial to Mercedes-Benz pillarless coupes, owing a 450SLC, and having owned two 560SECs and a 250SE coupe.    That means I was unable to resist a 1982 W123 280CE on ebay that I wasn’t planning on buying.   The CE looked like fundamentally a nice car that needs a few things done to get it back to where it should be....

The SLC blows again! 1

The SLC blows again!

I had been unable to use the blower in the 450SLC for the last couple of weeks as it was making a terrible scraping sound when I would run it. About two years ago I ‘rebuilt’ the blower with a new motor, but with my existing case and fan cages.   A new W107 blower motor from Mercedes is prohibitively expensive, but you can...

450SLC – ready for another year 0

450SLC – ready for another year

The 450SLC spent the last two days at Arthur Rizzo Motors getting ready for the next year on the road.   The car was hesitating a bit, and not idling quite right, but a new set of plugs seems to have fixed that. (#1 was a bit coked up).    The steering was feeling a bit floppy – so a new tie rod end...

Mercedes W111 Coupe/Cabriolet in right hand drive 16

Mercedes W111 Coupe/Cabriolet in right hand drive

I’ve always regarded the Mercedes W111 Coupe and Cabriolet range as the pinnacle of the regular Mercedes-Benz models.   True there were always Gullwings and 500K roadsters, but they are really in a class of their own.  They were always rare cars, but the W111 Coupe/Cabriolet in right hand drive are that rarer again. I’ve owned a 250SE coupe (LHD), and currently own a...

Classic Jalopy