My wife really wanted to get an old Benz after her last lease was up but I talked her out of it (mainly because I wanted her to get a truck so I didn’t have to).
Maybe I should have let her…though finding rust free examples of cars like that in the northeast is tough these days.
Damn the tin worm. My brother had a '78 Mercedes coupe when I was in high school ('96 ish). I wanted to buy it, but it had a bum head gasket. He sold it off. Incredible drive. :~(
Nice. Not as nice as a Pagoda, but nice. I usually don’t like the W114 coupes, but that is a nice color and the fog lamps look good. He says it’s an Euro model though, but has US headlights. Would look much better with the one piece glass Euro lamps.
Video makes me wish it wasn’t winter here and I could take my car out of a storage for a drive…
It’s just too nice. I couldn’t bring myself to getting her salty. Not to mention I don’t think it would be that great in the snow. Big, heavy, no power steering and 4speed manual …87 e28 BMW is the winter ride. Figure what it’s worth Id rather save the value of the Benz by keeping the Benz clean. My previous 69 Benz I drove in the winter but regretted it. And regretted selling it. Though that one was not quite as clean. Won’t make same mistake twice.
Given your location “winter storage” shouldn’t be of your concern, Lew. Or is it?
Living within a half mile [0.8 km] of the Pacific ocean takes it’s toll. It’s definitely a “marine environment”; the salt is borne inland by the morning fog. If you hang clothes out on a line they get bleached; the tools inside my mechanics roller cabinet rust; the cadmium plated parts on my '73 BMW Motorrad rust, everything rusts. Even when it’s in the garage.
Over here classic cars with a Californian registration are sold as inherently rust free. Hmm
So how does the pacific air in Los Angeles differ from the air further north? Sales myth?
I know a few guys around here that have used storage bags for the winter months when they put their babies away. Seems to work out well. I dont know what brand one guy uses, but it had a few giant packs that looked like sandbags. I think they were actually silica gel packs to keep the moisture down. May be worth it to check out if you are in a moisture rich area and storing the car for a few months.
I’m not seeing any rust on the chassis or anything like that. Not even on trim. I’ve seen some vehicles that park outside with a little superficial corrosion on trim pieces but nothing that isn’t easily corrected. Also, if you go 5 miles inland this is just not a problem. I’m 1 block from the ocean so I’m getting the worst of it.
Where I’m having issues is tools in the tool box. Steel chisels for example. No Bueno. I thought being in a tool chest which is in the garage would have some level of protection but clearly it doesn’t. In my house, I have a vintage fan collection and a mid century chrome shelving unit and both are showing signs of corrosion.
I remember cars in junk yards in AZ with patina. When you can push the car with your feet out the bottom like Fred Flintstone, I think we can call it rusty. So many poor cars here in Montreal like that. crying