Off topic - How to arrive at your class reunion

246K miles Eric, barely broken in.

I have only owned one Mercedes, a lovely car. But I'm British to the core and I seem to take delight in confronting difficult things, hence my obsession with British cars.

The Mercedes with proper maintenance will last a long time, but if repairs are necessary bring your wallet.

Bob

I would go for an early XKE or maybe an Austin Healey 100M but that’s just me.

Eric, here in Europe that model is quite rust-prone. Of course they are getting old by now so rust is a natural thing to happen to a car that otherwise just keeps on going year after year. We probably have a lot more salt on the roads too in the wintertime, and almost half the year is wintertime around here. Most of the time the rust seems to be in the usual spots like wheel arches and also hidden by the door trim plastic, door bottoms and the edges of the hood and trunk lid, so you may want to look closely at those.

Mechanically it should not have anything serious at those miles, they were widely used as taxis here and it is quite common to see high mileage ones still going strong. The interior is also high quality, so the seats usually don’t sag, and all the buttons and levers should work just fine.

The rust had something to do with the new EU-mandated water-based paints or so I hear. Vito and Sprinter vans were even worse, but they were made in another factory location (Spain) so there may have been other process related ”issues” there too.

I have been thinking about an SLK of the similar vintage, they are getting relatively affordable (for a German two-seater with a steel convertible top anyway). Maybe for a 50th birthday present for myself

I'd prefer a Bently for my prom night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0AneyM4kpc

Thanks Bob and Kari , i will look at these things for rust , i dont think it has any from the looks , and the reunion thing if i had it would bee .. file:///C:/Users/Eric/Pictures/ferraripista.webp  or just ..

Sorry, I'm an Amurrican.  Only good, old fashioned Amurrican metal for me.




The 'Murican Mark

ticomareado wrote:I'd prefer a Bently for my prom night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0AneyM4kpc  

AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! My Eyes! My Eyes!!!

So who wants to build a model of my Bently on a Cox Riviera chassis?

my version (yes I had this truck) of the 69 Rolls Royce

How about combining the best of both?



Always liked the crew cabs

Cribbs74 wrote:I would go for an early XKE or maybe an Austin Healey 100M but that’s just me.

Everyone knows what a Jaguar XKE looks like but maybe not the Austin Healey 100.  Perhaps the smoothest looking sports car ever.



And Victor, that Bentley conversion may not be my cup of English Tea, and it did send my computer into the never zone (actually).  But a lot of work went into that and you have to appreciate the effort.  It's gorgeous in a terrible way.

It really wasn't a Bentley. It was a Fake Bentley (Chrysler 300) in case you missed it. Or maybe we could call it a badly bent Bentley. But it's definitely Weimar Amurika in terms of toilet aesthetics.

ticomareado wrote:It really wasn't a Bentley. It was a Fake Bentley (Chrysler 300) in case you missed it. Or maybe we could call it a badly bent Bentley.  But it's definitely Weimar Amurika in terms of toilet aesthetics.    

With all that cladding and body work it was hard to tell, but yes, looking at the trunk area it has Chrysler 300 written all over it.

But a Bentley conversion would not break anyone's pocket book, at least initially. Bentley's and Rolls of the 60's can be found rather cheap.

This is an example.



On ebay right now for $10,750.

fredvon4 wrote:



my version (yes I had this truck) of the 69 Rolls Royce

Love your truck Fred, passed I guess but it would scarcely get noticed at my class reunion.  If the mates aren't driving one a hundred or so could be found within shouting distance.  

Now if you drove up in one of these:





The back seat stories would flow...........