Mercedes Benz has always been a part of my life, of my earliest memories in life, I've always remembered being in a 1992 300D 2.5 Turbo. That car got me to where I am now in life. Without that car I don't know where I'd be or where my mindset would be pointed to. Attending McPherson College, studying Automotive Restoration I've been learning all that one could imagine.
For as far back as I can remember, I've always remembered seeing a white 450sel 6.9 on the road as I traveled to school. Everyday I always saw a different angle of that car that made me actually wonder if that car would be there tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. From being a very young kid to now an adult, I still see that car once in a while when I'm back home in Sacramento California. I don't know if it was that i saw it everyday or if it was the fact that it's still been on the road this long. The look of the car, the way it was shaped, the lines that led all around the car made me need it! The timeless styling of it left a mark in my head reminding me to work harder with what I do in life so I could get one.
When I got my license, my first car was a 1992 300D 2.5 Turbo, the same car from my early childhood. Driving around in that car inspired me to want a project car, a W116 was the first thing to come to mind but as usual nothing you want is for sale at the time you want it to be. Some time went by and I found a 1958 180D Ponton. After that at the same time I was festering my eyes upon a W108 280SEL which followed me back to McPherson College as my project car. My being in the Mercedes society back home knew me as the “Young Ponton Boy.”
I currently attend McPherson College in McPherson Kansas, and started learning in 2020. I'm studying the “Tech” side of Automotive Restoration. The Tech side gives a feel for every aspect of the car. Whether it's painting, fabricating body panels, rebuilding an engine, learning the history of cars, and so on. You get to experience it all here at one place. Working one on one with my professors has taught me many things that have extended my knowledge on how certain things work. These certain things have helped me in my personal car projects including my 300SD.
During my Freshman at McPherson College, I started to see a bunch of W116s for sale, whether they were parts cars, cars for sale, or cars that were being parted out, something was telling me it was my time to get one. By the end of February 2021, I found the one I wanted. It was out of commission for some good time (~20 years) hidden away in a barn as I later found out. I drove from Mcpherson to Manhattan Kansas which luckily isn't too far at all. As any Mercedes dieseling person would know, It doesn't take much to make them run. Even though it looked great on the inside and out, mechanically it needed some help. But I didn't want to walk away. As I kept tinkering around with it, I noticed that the turbo was seized, vacuum lines and electrical wires were eaten by mice and there wasn't any hope in moving it since the tires were not qualified to even hold air. My hopes of taking it home that day went down the drain and to even add to that it didn't even want to start. While I was tinkering around with it, a man with a trailer approached me as we were both confused why 2 people were looking at the car at the same time. Fact of the matter was the person who was selling it made the mistake that one shouldn't make when selling a car. So with that I talked to the david who was there with me also looking at the car, we exchanged numbers just in case he needed help with things over the phone since he wasn't too familiar with how everything revolves around vacuum with diesel mercedes. He took the car with him and that day and I drove back empty handed.
The same night I had major medical issues and got the next flight back home as soon as I got out of the hospital. Not being able to remember what happened days prior to the issues I faced that day, I totally forgot about the car. With that I went back home and started to work on Pontons, Pagodas, and Heckflosses when I finished up my schoolwork over the computer. The weekends were for moving classic Mercedes parts from one place to another. My whole summer consisted of doing that.
With my return to school, not even 2 weeks, I'm in Kansas and I get a call from David asking if I wanted it, I couldn't say yes faster than i did. With that I noticed he fixed all the vacuum lines, fixed some of the electrical, and got the turbo unseized. With that I drove it around all day and told him he has a deal.
With the car being originally bought in Colorado Springs. The history of this car was super extensive. Luckily the owners manual had the original owners information in it. Same address, same phone number, and even the original license plate number in it. By the look of everything else written in it, it was maintained by the owner itself. From grades of oil to use in it written out as so “15w-40 Diesel Rated Like Marine,” to where the oil should be on the dipstick (drawn out), and even the valve adjustment clearances. From new the owners requested for the wheel wells to be sprayed in a rubber liner at the dealership when they purchased the car. 40+ years later it still is there, and the request of spraying the wheel wells led to the whole underside being sprayed as well. The services to this car were always done early. Oil changes were done every 3,000 miles on the dot, valve adjustments were done every 9,000 miles, transmission fluid was always done every 30k miles and even the unneeded services of lubricating anything that slid on rails like the seats, sunroof, and even the hood hinges.
Sitting a little above 90k miles she still purrs. Having to put a great amount of TLC into it over the time I've owned it has made me appreciate the build quality of the W116. The OM617 has really shown me how these have earned their reputation from all the enthusiasts. While working on the car, I've noticed that a great majority of all the factory markings on the parts are still marked and visible to the eye. So far I've replaced/repaired the original engine mounts that really weren’t horrible, replaced the alternator since the electroids were not good anymore replaced the flex disk, replaced all the fuel hoses and filters, multiple coolant flushes, transmission shifter bushings, all new fluids, installed the factory air cleaner, and little things here and there including a Valve adjustment. For the future, I plan on redoing all the vacuum lines in the engine bay, fix the wiring correctly, rebuild the injectors, figure out what's causing the transmission to always start in 2nd, and possibly rebuild the turbo.
Getting ahold of the original owner was like a reunion over the phone. The first words she said to me were “I wish I never sold my Diesel Mercedes.” That was shortly followed up with this. “I've been thinking of my Mercedes since I sold it 22 years ago, and I regret the minute I sold it.” After hearing that over the phone and from many others who've owned the Diesel lineup from Mercedes, it makes me see that I'm not the only one who has a bond with their car. With the conversation lasting over an hour, from how the car was treated, how many times it was washed in a week, who got to drive it, and who even got to sit in it made me feel like I got the one. She talked about how her husband used to work on it and vigorously clean it almost every other week. When she went anywhere she always parked as far away as possible. It was always washed by hand and they even used Mercedes branded cleaning supplies. Her sentences always started with “My Mercedes…” in the conversation. Her reason for selling it was because “it was too loud and everyone knew who I was by the sound of that engine from blocks away.” When she sold it in 2000, tears led on as the car drove away. Telling her where it went from there devastated her. From when she sold it to where I saw it, it sat in a barn for years… It was eventually pulled out of the barn in late 2019 where it sat for another year untouched in front of a shop. During the time of it being in the barn, rats and mice made a mess out of it. There were 3 nests in the engine bay, and they feasted off of the vacuum lines, wires, and hoses. Luckily the interior remained untouched. Sealed away from the infestation and the 20 years of life hidden away. With the car finally finding a new life, everything got cleaned up and it got to a state of “getting it running.” Vacuum lines were connected together with rubber vacuum hose and bare wires were wrapped with electrical tape, the original air filter setup was taken away and a cone filter was thrown on the turbo. Many things needed great attention when I purchased it, but hey, it was running and driving!
Since I’ve owned the car, I’ve noticed many things that surprise me.
Electronics: Everythings seems to function how it should minus the cruise control. I'm overly surprised that the ACC II is still the original one that came with the car and still functions perfectly. *Knock on wood* With the fan speed slowly increasing and decreasing to the desired temperature in the cabin, it's definitely a miracle it still works.
Vacuum: With it sitting for years and years untouched, the door locks actuate instantly as you turn the key in each direction. The engine does the same when you turn the key to the off position. With how it has faced the weather over the years, I'm still surprised it's working the way it was like when new.
Mechanical: No leaks to be found or heard of! It even starts up in -4 degrees without a hiccup or a block heater!
Originality: Oh it's there, It stares you right in the face! A glance of the outside assures you its original, light cracking but shiny white paint. A glance into the engine bay may lead you to astonishment, belts dated from 1978 to the notorious old style primer pump and even the original coolant hoses that still shine to this day.
Interior: A time capsule. The uncracked dash is hidden beneath towels I place over it in order to preserve it. The carpet is just as lushish and perfect as it was new. The front seats are still new to the look and feel and even the nets on the back are perfect. Although the rear seat needs a new horsehair pad, and a button is worn down a bit on the dash, I couldn't ask for anything better!
The W116 today: The W116 has always stood out to me as one of the best “S-Klasse” lineups out of them all. It is a structure and design that is quite underrated. The 6.9 is undoubtedly the biggest engine that Mercedes Benz has shoved into an S-Klasse. Going 120+ in a car that floats down the road comfortably is something that was almost unimaginable back when it came out. The sheer design of the W116 makes it a timeless classic and a stand out compared to the generations that superseded it. The bulky interior, the mechanical build, and overall design it possessed layed a foundation for the W126. And the foundation that was laid for the W126 didn't leave much to change from the W116.
