Comments on: Barn Finds: A small collection of weathered gems

By: pat

pat — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 16:31:09 +0000

I have had 2 190 sl mercedes. Drove them collectively for 7 years. While I owned the second one, it was not reliable at the time that my dad, living about 45 minutes away, was dying. I could not rely on the car to get me to his side every day,so I sold it to a young man who did not appreciate it and let his girl friend total it. It is one of my biggest regrets, but at the time I had other priorities. I will always be sad about it, though.

By: 300SL Gullwing von Ex – KÃ¶nig Hussein

300SL Gullwing von Ex – KÃ¶nig Hussein — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:57:19 +0000

[...] Quelle: Hier [...]

By: IXXI

IXXI — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:36:54 +0000

Hello

it makes no sense to convert a Coupe into a Convertible.
Most people think it is just cutting the roof away but in fact some 50% from the sheetmetal is different, many parts reinforced, the forward bulkhead with the Windowframe ist different the floorpans are doubeld up the boot lid is shorter,,,

Converting a Coupe to a Cabriolet is runing into a full restoration starting on a frame jig (Celette) with parts who are rare and expensive or reproduktions wich can be spotet by an expert sometime even without opening any door by just looking down the side flanks from the car.

The only way ist to scrap a Coupe for parts to restore a existing convertible.

Most fake Convertibles fech less money then a Coupe in a similar condition.

OK V8 Convertibles are quite rare and one from “the” collectors Benz in the future but most collectors want a Original car if possible down to the way the car left the factory. The marked for faked Convertibles will not be touched from the “weahlty” collectors and the “fun buyers” will not put serious money down to reach a RIO as long you need to pay someone doing the hack up job.

So converting the shown Coupe to a Cab will be wasting money.
On the other side with each salvaged Coupe the marked value for the left overs will rise.

There is a difference in Costumers shoping Coupes and Convertibles. The Coupe shoper mostly likes the sporty handling and how the Merc can be pushed to the limit without “showing off”. The Convertibe Costumer mostly seeks a smoth glider to show off. Most Coupe owners drive them often if not as daily driver while Convertibles are more the Investment bound to garages and some weekend drive outings.

GrÃ¼sse

By: pablo

pablo — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:00:02 +0000

jim rohn , one of the modern greatest business philosophers of our times said …the three things to leave behind in our lifetime are ..pictures, library ,and persoinal journal…allow me to add a MERCEDES.

By: Michel HAUTEKEER

Michel HAUTEKEER — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:17:58 +0000

It’s really impressive and…moving; congratulations for such discoveries and
especially for the soon return on the road in their original state. I wonder a
question. How many searching time on average it is necessary before finding such
cars…? especially the Gullwing. Furthermore it is possible to have a
estimate the number of copies still findable – put out of circulation – to
number of models produced for example?

By: Snowy

Snowy — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 07:03:23 +0000

Converting a 3.5 coupe to a cabriolet is not a good idea. You can never truly disguise one for the other. In the first instance the VIN gives it away. More obviously, the gap between the rear window and the top of the bootlid is different in the two cars and is immediately obvious to anyone who knows anything about the cars in question.

By: Christopher Hayes

Christopher Hayes — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:30:26 +0000

To each his own, but in my opinion it is a travesty to “restore” the W111 coupe to a pseudo 3.5 cabriolet. The honorable thing to do would be to restore the car to its original former glory. It is what it is, and that is a potentially once-again beautiful coupe and not a cabriolet.

The 190SL will be nice when finished!

I hope the burned 300SL roadster and the ex-King Hussein 300SL coupe receive faithful and caring restorations. What diamonds in the rough for one with the requisite skills and wherewithal.

By: Ron Bunting

Ron Bunting — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:08:39 +0000

To Doug Dees, It’s not a big job to remove a coupe roof and convert a coupe to a cabrio ,the differences are really quite minor but it will never be worth much because if the car was ever offered for sale it’s chassis number would give the game away.
The sill panels are heavier gauge,there is a boot for the top behind the rear seats and a tunnel strengthening plate under the trans. The top frames are getting hard to find and top material can be sourced easily .
Budget for a cost approaching $20,000 for a nice conversion .You will then have coupe worth maybe $40,000 reduced to a $20,000 converted coupe cabrio.

By: Ron Bunting

Ron Bunting — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:03:44 +0000

They all make my 1956 220a Steel sun roof Ponton look ordinary. It had sat since 1978 in a barn and because it’s such an unusual car i’m restoring it and i have even spoken with it’s original owners. These barn finds are often harder to restore because long years of ‘storage’ tend to cause a lot of damage. Fortunately for us foolish enough to attempt these tasks parts are available for even the truly rare mercedes.

By: Doug dees

Doug dees — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:51:39 +0000

What should one budget to convert a 3.5 coupe to a cabriolet and who has the skills to do it/
thanks
doug dees