Buying a W114

[TheDreadedGMan]

Hi there, just wondering if any members have input on what to check when buying a W114

(common rusty areas, or failure-prone mechanisms)

cheers

[Giles]

Leading question there Gman.

Any sign of rust in the firewall, walk away. It can be found in the floor pan, sub frames and boot. Doors and inner front guards are also prone.

Look at all rubber mounts, there's a quite a few. Depending on how you go about it, whether you can spin a spanner or just put fuel in, start with a good body and work from there.

Another problem is the steering box and how it bolts up, the inner guard flexes and can snap bolts.

It would be good to know what you want from a W114, they are a fabulous unit, very classy and if you get a 280 version they can go.

Giles

[thirstymerc]

What Giles said.

They are an awesome car. I love mine.

Yeah, firewall rust is a deal breaker as you will always end up with an ongoing leaky car which then leads to rusted out floor pans.

Always check under the spare wheel in the boot for rust and the jacking points on both sides on the chassis.

Also, make sure the heater levers move freely in the car, as they are a world of pain to get at to fix.

They are a pretty tough and indestructible car and easy to work on for home DIY mechanics.

Good examples are becoming scarce on the ground, so always buy the best one you can with the most you can afford.

Like we all say around here, there is no such thing as a cheap Mercedes

All the best!

Steve

[pastelgrey300D]

Hi Gman and welcome to ozbenz.

As Steve and Giles have said, rust is probably the biggest issue you'll have - I have seen (and driven) W114/115s that have rusted so badly that the body has started to twist and warp out of shape! The firewall and drivers side floors (especially where the floor joins the sills and the accelerator pedal bolts to the floor - lift the floor mats to poke around) are important areas to check.

If the seller will allow, a really simple check is to jack the car up using the factory jack at all four jacking points. If you can lift the car up at each corner until the wheel is off the ground this is a good indicator of how solid the sills are. If you hear crunching or can see the jacking point deforming on the way up (i.e. the jack keeps moving up but the car stays where it is!) then it's badly rusted. Sure they can be repaired, but if you are getting noticeable deformation or crunching on more than one jacking point then be prepared to walk away or else spend time and/or $$ on rust repairs. Also check along the bottom of the doors for rust.

Mechanically they are super robust, a great DIY car and a really practical classic. Boot space is great, they are comfortable and nice to drive.

Are you looking for one as an weekender or a regular driver? The later series 3 cars in particular (73 onwards) with the integrated door mirrors and updated interiors are very capable of being driven every day and (the M110 engined cars) have no problem keeping up with traffic.

[TheDreadedGMan]

yeah sorry about the delay

I bought an excellent Orange one, a 1976 230.6 model
Series 2 (no quarter windows, updated mirror design)

It's pretty nice, small spot of rust on one of the rear door frames, and some minor surface rust at the boot floor

Semi-restored condition, some panels have had a respray, and the paint is excellent all around.

interior is clean and light-cream coloured MB-Tex.

Head and Carb have had some restoration done, so it runs smooth, starts easy.

Sadly it's an auto, but that shifts fine...

Now just need to fix up the steering coupling (2 to 4 inches of steering play) and see if i can find an original steering wheel, the previous owner replaced it with a series one steering wheel (the hand/face cutter one)

A left-hand mirror would be nice (appears only the 250 and 280 got them) trying to source one...

The dual-zone heater is one of the first i've used that actually works well (across various cars i've owned)

Manual Windows whatnot

I need to take some photos

[TheDreadedGMan]

Oh yeah... the tyres are just about shot

so...

Anyone bought Whitewalls in New Zealand?

where do you think I could find some... even a thin 1 inch strip could be good

[same-joe]

try ....www.classic -tyres.co.nz . has a large range including whitewall flappers ... tauranga

[rav3n]

There's a guy selling white wall kits on eBay that look ok. Slip just inside rim aparently

[SBW108]

There's a guy selling white wall kits on eBay that look ok. Slip just inside rim aparently

I got a set of those, they work pretty well