Hi
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 5
Hi
Hello everyone , my name is Derek and I have been a Mercedes fan all my life having been brought up around the cars and have always owned & driven Mercedes over the last thirty-something years .
That's me in the front passenger seat !
And another picture of it with my dad's caravan
I learned to drive on my dad's 1970 W115 220/8 , shown here
After my dad replaced this car , it became mine and I kept it until it was written off in an accident when a drunk driver came round a bend on the wrong side of the road and hit me head on ! He broke both legs & one arm ; I stepped out of the Mercedes unhurt - after that experience there was no other make of car for me .
In 1982 , I bought my first Mercedes with my own money , this was the 1957 219 which I still have today !
This car celebrated its 50th birthday last April and , while it still starts and drives , has not been on the road for a number of years . I am currently collecting parts for the restoration which will commence when I finish restoring the W111 Fintail I bought a little over a year ago . The 219 was my everyday car for about 15 years and always got admiring looks wherever I went in it . These cars were designed by engineers , for engineers and have always been so easy to work on . They were made during the post war era when Mercedes-Benz were out to show the whole world just how well they could build cars !
I am only the car's third owner since it was imported to the UK in 1964 - don't know the history before that - have now had it for 26 years and will pass it onto my daughter when I'm gone (hopefully not for a while yet) .
After the white 220 was written off , I replaced it with a W114 280E . This was the rare 5 speed manual version which at the time was something of a 'flying machine' .
I ran this car for many years , bought it with 48,000 miles on the clock and eventually sold it with 272,000 miles on it !
After this car , was a W116 280SE - sorry I don't seem to have any pictures of this car .
Next was a W123 280TE in Champagne Gold , this was the first of a series of estate cars , again I don't have any pictures of this one scanned into the computer , must get round to it as a lot of my photographs are still on 35mm slides or negs . Like so many of my cars , I ran this one up to a high mileage , in this case just under 200,000 .
There was also a W123 280CE in there somewhere in Petrol Blue - nice car - the friend I sold it to still has it .
Then I got a W124 300TE , in Nautic Blue with mushroom leather .
The M103 engine in this series of cars I always remember as being particularly smooth and pleasant to drive .
Sadly , this was the only one of my many Mercedes cars to suffer a serious breakdown when the ASD diff failed at 240,000 miles .
I ended up selling it for parts and replaced it with the 24 valve version , which was every bit as smooth and even faster ! Here is that car in Almadine Red , again with mushroom leather .
And the wonderful M104
Sadly , this car , which had ran up to 430,000 miles - yes FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY THOUSAND - came to an untimely end when a drunk driver , with no insurance left the road outside my home , crashed through my garden wall and wrote the car off in my driveway !
Somewhere in there , I bought a 190E as a stopgap - after the diff went on the first 300 I needed a car in a hurry and saw this one for sale just down the road .
This was a very early W201 , from 1984 which ran on 14" wheels , had a non-jumping wiper and was a very pleasant and reliable car . I was so impressed with this 'entry level' model that I ended up keeping it for over 3 years and used it as my 'daily driver' . I only parted with it last week , giving it to a friend for his mum & dad to use in their retirement , as I just got the 190E 2.6 and was running out of space .
About 18 months ago , I got the chance of this W111 220S Fintail , which I am currently working on to get it ready for the road .
(The blue lights are used in connection with my job with the Fire Service , but I really don't anticipate using this car for work , they look good on it though ! )
The most recent acquisition has been the 190E 2.6 which I recently obtained from a fellow member of the Mercedes-Benz Club ( I have been a member since the mid-1970's and used to run the Scottish Section , which I started circa 1979) . Anyway , here is that car .
The '2.6' is in the garage today being MOT'd and will hopefully come back later with a clean bill of health . I'll then look forward to putting some miles on it .
That's me in the front passenger seat !
And another picture of it with my dad's caravan
I learned to drive on my dad's 1970 W115 220/8 , shown here
After my dad replaced this car , it became mine and I kept it until it was written off in an accident when a drunk driver came round a bend on the wrong side of the road and hit me head on ! He broke both legs & one arm ; I stepped out of the Mercedes unhurt - after that experience there was no other make of car for me .
In 1982 , I bought my first Mercedes with my own money , this was the 1957 219 which I still have today !
This car celebrated its 50th birthday last April and , while it still starts and drives , has not been on the road for a number of years . I am currently collecting parts for the restoration which will commence when I finish restoring the W111 Fintail I bought a little over a year ago . The 219 was my everyday car for about 15 years and always got admiring looks wherever I went in it . These cars were designed by engineers , for engineers and have always been so easy to work on . They were made during the post war era when Mercedes-Benz were out to show the whole world just how well they could build cars !
I am only the car's third owner since it was imported to the UK in 1964 - don't know the history before that - have now had it for 26 years and will pass it onto my daughter when I'm gone (hopefully not for a while yet) .
After the white 220 was written off , I replaced it with a W114 280E . This was the rare 5 speed manual version which at the time was something of a 'flying machine' .
I ran this car for many years , bought it with 48,000 miles on the clock and eventually sold it with 272,000 miles on it !
After this car , was a W116 280SE - sorry I don't seem to have any pictures of this car .
Next was a W123 280TE in Champagne Gold , this was the first of a series of estate cars , again I don't have any pictures of this one scanned into the computer , must get round to it as a lot of my photographs are still on 35mm slides or negs . Like so many of my cars , I ran this one up to a high mileage , in this case just under 200,000 .
There was also a W123 280CE in there somewhere in Petrol Blue - nice car - the friend I sold it to still has it .
Then I got a W124 300TE , in Nautic Blue with mushroom leather .
The M103 engine in this series of cars I always remember as being particularly smooth and pleasant to drive .
Sadly , this was the only one of my many Mercedes cars to suffer a serious breakdown when the ASD diff failed at 240,000 miles .
I ended up selling it for parts and replaced it with the 24 valve version , which was every bit as smooth and even faster ! Here is that car in Almadine Red , again with mushroom leather .
And the wonderful M104
Sadly , this car , which had ran up to 430,000 miles - yes FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY THOUSAND - came to an untimely end when a drunk driver , with no insurance left the road outside my home , crashed through my garden wall and wrote the car off in my driveway !
Somewhere in there , I bought a 190E as a stopgap - after the diff went on the first 300 I needed a car in a hurry and saw this one for sale just down the road .
This was a very early W201 , from 1984 which ran on 14" wheels , had a non-jumping wiper and was a very pleasant and reliable car . I was so impressed with this 'entry level' model that I ended up keeping it for over 3 years and used it as my 'daily driver' . I only parted with it last week , giving it to a friend for his mum & dad to use in their retirement , as I just got the 190E 2.6 and was running out of space .
About 18 months ago , I got the chance of this W111 220S Fintail , which I am currently working on to get it ready for the road .
(The blue lights are used in connection with my job with the Fire Service , but I really don't anticipate using this car for work , they look good on it though ! )
The most recent acquisition has been the 190E 2.6 which I recently obtained from a fellow member of the Mercedes-Benz Club ( I have been a member since the mid-1970's and used to run the Scottish Section , which I started circa 1979) . Anyway , here is that car .
The '2.6' is in the garage today being MOT'd and will hopefully come back later with a clean bill of health . I'll then look forward to putting some miles on it .
Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 2
From: Louisiana
Hi everyone
Hello,My name is Mike and Ive always loved mercedes. I have owned one for less than a year and even though its currently down I still think they are classic pieces of motoring.
I hope I will get to know and learn from many on this site.
Thanks in advance
Derek, the pictures were great! What history!
I hope I will get to know and learn from many on this site.
Thanks in advance
Derek, the pictures were great! What history!
Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 10
Greetings Derek and All:
I enjoyed your narrative and the photographs of your historic life long Mercedes-Benz ownership. You are indeed the epitome of a true "Enthusiast". I have also been a MB owner and Enthusiast for 40 years, so we must be of the same vintage. Thank you for sharing your rides down memory lanes with us. I will look forward to more of your posts.
Best regards,
Doug / "1985W123"
I enjoyed your narrative and the photographs of your historic life long Mercedes-Benz ownership. You are indeed the epitome of a true "Enthusiast". I have also been a MB owner and Enthusiast for 40 years, so we must be of the same vintage. Thank you for sharing your rides down memory lanes with us. I will look forward to more of your posts.
Best regards,
Doug / "1985W123"