1974 Mercedes-Benz 200-Series

This is a great example of a very restorable 1974 Mercedes Benz 230.4 W115 chassis car. The W115 Chassis was only produced in 1973-1976 and complimented the W114 chassis, the main difference being that the W115 primarily referred to those with 4 cylinder engines. The W115 uses essentially the same steering and suspension as the very popular R107 chassis SL roadsters produced 1971-1989, even the part numbers of the front and rear subframes and control arms is the same on W115’s and R107’s. These vehicles drove and handled very well. The W115 cars had 4 wheel disc brakes, independent front and rear suspension, and a two piece driveshaft with center support. Unfortunately due to the limited numbers of gas W115’s produced and them being on the lower end of the Mercedes line, when they had served their purpose most of them have since been disposed of. 87,765 230.4’s were produced from 74-76 for the world market. On a Benzworld post that is no longer there, there were reported to be less than 750 230.4 vehicles still registered in the US as of 2010. The 230.4 was the first 4 cylinder 230 replacing the bulky dual carb inline 6 cylinder 230 that was made previously. The number 230 designates the displacement in CC. The 230.4 uses a Stromberg side draft carburetor with automatic cold start enrichment and a single metered jet with a piston and diaphragm controlling position of the needle. This carburetor design is so efficient that it needs neither an accelerator pump nor idle jets. The engine is an overhead cam design with solid valve tappets which requires little maintenance. The service interval on valve adjustments is every 30k miles, but in my experience they are still within spec after double that. The engine produces 109hp and drives a 3 speed automatic 722.0 automatic transmission. The transmission is flex coupled to a 3 piece driveshaft with dual center supports. The braking system is 4 wheel disc with pneumatic power assist. On this particular vehicle the steering is through a manual gear box. Now for the history on this particular vehicle… I purchased it in 2000 from the original owner in Point Pleasant NJ. The original owner bought the vehicle in Stuttgart Germany and used the vehicle for transportation around Europe as a commercial sewing machine technician. Upon his return to the states in July of 1974 he had the vehicle shipped to the US. The original purchase invoice for 15,400DM as well as all of the customs documentation and the freight receipt are still present in the glove box. The original owner drove the vehicle as a second car until the early 80’s and put only 90,000 Km on the vehicle before giving it to his son. His son parked it under a cover where it sat until I purchased it in 2000. It was originally purchased as a parts car for another 230.4 project that I had going, but upon seeing this vehicle I couldn’t bear to part it out. I drove it from NJ to my home near Atlanta, GA, where I too parked it under a cover for the past 12 years. I realize that with family life and work that I am not going to be able to get to this project in the foreseeable future and I would like to find someone that will love this car and restore it. Mechanically it is in pretty good condition. The engine starts right up, after sitting for as long as it has the only thing I did was pour a few gallons of gas in it and put in a battery. After about 30 seconds of cranking, it fired right up. It could obviously use some maintenance, belts, hoses, standard items that you would expect on a nearly 40 year old vehicle. It is very low mileage, the instrumentation is still in KM and only shows 90,000, the original owner stated that it is original mileage and from the condition of the interior I don’t doubt it. There are no leaks of any kind. I included pictures of the underside of the engine and transmission. I checked all the fluids before starting the vehicle and they were all up to the proper level. The transmission shifts smoothly through its range. The brakes function and feel fine but I have not pulled any wheels to inspect them. The a/c doesn’t have a charge but the compressor is not locked up. The interior is overall in nice condition, excellent for its age. The carpets are all original and in great shape. The seats are still firm, the original horsehair padding still feels perfect and there is no evidence of it beginning to flake apart. The door panels are very nice and there is really no sun fading as it was kept under a cover. The dash has a small crack by the front speaker grille and the front speaker grille is missing. The seats upholstery is clean and supple. There is a small tear on the side of the driver’s seat bottom. The headliner is overall in good shape with a small hole about the size of a quarter on the driver’s front. The visors are in good shape and so is the console. The instrumentation is all original including the Becker Mexico Radio that functions perfectly. The a/c and heater blowers do not run, I suspect either fuses or the pneumatic changeover switch on the a/c box near the accelerator pedal. I have not investigated this issue. This vehicle is street legal, all the lights and horns work properly. The only thing that would worry me is the condition of the tires. The exterior and body are what will be the primary focus of the restoration. The paint is absolutely terrible from sitting beneath a cloth cover for the better part of 30 years. There is minor surface rust over a large portion of the body. On the passenger’s side of the floor beneath the front seat there is a spot of rust that is completely through. This was unfortunately very common on W114 and W115 cars because they used a very thin gauge (22) sheet metal for the floor pans in non-load bearing areas. This vehicle has significantly less floor pan rust than the last few of these cars that I have restored. The last owner removed some of the trim which is placed in the trunk and around some of the holes where the trim is secured the rust is somewhat major and might require fabrication, especially on the passenger’s side rocker. There is a forum for enthusiasts of W114 and W115 cars at http://stroke8.org/ and there is tons of restoration advice and support from the members. I will be available to show the car at my home in Rockmart, Ga or send videos or photos of whatever you might like to see. I can work with you to find vehicle transportation for long distance or international shipment. This vehicle might be driveable as is, but I wouldn’t recommend it without first replacing the tires, and then it is still a bit risky. The last maintenance on this vehicle was probably 30 years ago. It does run and drive well though, and I trust the driveline completely. I would recommend flushing out the gas tank as well before putting the vehicle into daily service. In the walkaround video I mentioned that the throttle sticks. I will disassemble and lubricate the linkages before the auction ends. The auction has a start price of $600 which is around the market price of this car for scrap and selling the radio on ebay. I could definitely part this car out for significantly more than the starting bid, however, since I have such a love for these vehicles I would much rather see it go to someone that would restore it. It is a euro model, so it has the euro bumpers, and tag spacing. If you have any questions please e-mail, or call or text John at (404)538-6655A walkaround is available at http://youtu.be/6Mywyx_RYmw