Press On!
Prepping a 1958 219 Ponton for the 2013 Peking to Paris Rally
Article & photography Dirk de Groen
Having participated in tourist rallies in North America and Europe, I was ready for a different kind of adventure and started looking at rallies in exotic places such as Southeast Asia, Africa or South America. The modern Peking to Paris Rally always intrigued me because of the sheer distance, driving through untraveled regions but ending on the spectacular Place Vendôme in Paris.
Choosing my wife Alexandra to be my co-pilot was an easy decision. We enjoy traveling together and she is probably the only one who is willing to put up with me for 35 days in a car. Convincing her to accept was a different story, but since she’s a real sport, she accepted after some initial hesitation and we signed up in September 2011 for the 2013 rally.
Ready for adventure, Alexandra and Dirk de Groen, MBCA members from Florida, were inspired by the achievements of cars just like theirs on the rallies of the late 1950s.
Choosing a 219 Ponton from the late 1950s for the Peking to Paris was also an easy decision because I already owned one. Pontons have a reputation for being very solid cars. They were used for many years as taxis in every corner of the world, and I was inspired knowing that a 219 competed very successfully in several East African Safari rallies in the 1950s and ’60s. I received an encouraging reply from the P2P rally office to my query about the suitability of using a Ponton in the rally: “Strong as a tank, press on!”
Even though I had owned the car for about six years and never had any serious problems with it, a run to the local ice cream parlor is quite different from participating in one of the most grueling road trips that one can imagine. The roads on the P2P are very rough and the route crosses the Gobi Desert where there actually are no roads at all.
Saro Deravakian of Blitzen Benz in South Miami took responsibility for preparing the Ponton for its anticipated ordeals.
I was very fortunate that my friend Saro Deravakian, who owns an independent Mercedes-Benz shop called “Blitzen Benz” in South Miami, offered to do all the mechanical work and generously offered to locate the Ponton at his facility for the time it would take to finish prepping the car. Preparation was a massive undertaking, taking more than a year to finish. The effort included lots of research to figure out how to prepare the car, doing it one way, not being happy with it and changing things around, finding the parts and spares we needed, and so forth. Our thanks to the many Ponton enthusiasts across the globe who contributed time, advice, and hard-to-find parts.
The number plate from the original engine which is being used with only the modification of fitting stronger piston rods and pins from a later 220S.
We took the car completely apart, starting with the engine. Our Ponton still has the original engine as delivered with the car in 1958 – there has been no engine swap. The engine was not in very good shape, with low compression in one cylinder, a damaged piston and cylinder liner. Rebuilding the engine meant boring the block and buying new pistons. However, these days Mercedes OEM Mahle pistons are only available with 22mm piston pin holes while my early 219 engine has 20mm piston pins. I was able to take the piston rods from a later 220S engine that a friend had given to me for parts. Problem solved.
Now I have the best of both worlds, an original early low-compression (7.6) engine with the stronger pins and rods from a later high-compression (8.7) engine. The low compression will help cope with the lower octane fuel we will inevitably be forced to use at times. We rebuilt the engine but made no other modifications. Keeping everything as original as possible is not only in the spirit of the event, it also makes repairs and managing spare parts much easier, and why change a winning horse?
The head when it was first removed was in surprisingly good shape considering the age and mileage of the car, and might have been good for many years of ice cream runs, but would not be up to traveling from Peking to Paris.
In addition, the clutch, transmission, drive shaft, rear differential, axles, brakes, front suspension, steering – every single mechanical component – has been dismantled, inspected, rebuilt and reinforced wherever possible. Philip Young’s book, How to Prepare a Successful Rally Car, was extremely helpful. Young is an experienced rally driver and the P2P rally organizer, and the book offered tips such as strengthening the suspension system, and installing a sturdy skid plate and break-away exhaust system to cope with the rough tracks we’ll encounter. I designed a set of heavy-duty aluminum bumpers and a dual fuel tank system with only one tank filled at each fueling stop so that a tank of bad gas won’t abruptly end rally participation.
After machining, and fitting new valves, the head from the old engine looks brand new and ready to go another 200,000 miles.
At the point of maximum disassembly, the stack of old parts that would all be rebuilt was considerable. The new parts, ready for engine reassembly, were positively inspiring.
This distributor from a junk car would be rebuilt to carry as a spare.
Engine mounts and other wear points were replaced with the best available new parts.
Specific parts, such as these suspension A-arms, were reinforced with additional welds for added strength.
The new suspension should be able to take the punishment anticipated on the route.
Two separate fuel tanks inside the trunk with a total capacity of 23 gallons replace the old tank under the trunk for safety, increase range to 350 miles, and limit problems with dirty gas.
One of the finishing touches was the application of silver vinyl trim to match the fabricated high-strength aluminum bumpers.
A satisfying final step was Dirk de Groen’s application of the driver and co-driver’s names on the doors.
Alexandra puts on the identifying numbers before the car is packed for shipping.
The interior is as original as possible, though the center stack now houses warning lights and gauges and switches for each of the electrical systems, with a bar over the co-driver’s door that provides a welcome hand-hold in challenging terrain.Two separate spare tires are mounted for easy access in the trunk. The rear area has two storage bins, one for spare parts and tools and one for clothing and camping supplies, and the brace for the roll bar that protects the driver and co-driver’s compartment.
Equally important was preparation for everything else imaginable: medical, vaccinations, shipping and travel arrangements, insurance, lightweight clothing and camping equipment – the list goes on and on. In December, we visited the UK for briefing and GPS training. In the Gobi Desert, there are no roads; we will be navigating our way from waypoint to waypoint with the help of a marine GPS.
By the time this is published in early April, the car will have been shipped to Beijing from Oakland in a container together with the 10 other cars from U.S. participants. Alexandra and I will follow a month later by plane. Let the adventure begin!
Peking to Paris 2013
Information about the 5th Peking to Paris 2013 Motor Challenge can be found on the organizer’s website: www.endurorally.com.
Dirk and Alexandra’s Ponton adventure can be followed on: facebook.com/PtoP2013 and tracked on: http://my.yb.tl/2013P2P69
1958 Mercedes-Benz 219 (W105)
TYPE: Four-door, four-passenger sedan (rear seat removed, roll cage installed)
ENGINE: 6-cylinder, overhead cam 2,195 cc
TRANSMISSION: 4-speed manual, column selector moved to floor
HORSEPOWER: 92 at 4,800 rpm
TORQUE: 123 lb-ft at 2,400 rpm
WHEELBASE: 108.3 in
LENGTH: 184.3 in
CURB WEIGHT: 2,838 lb
ACCELERATION: Zero-62 mph: 17 sec
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 16.2 mpg