Lot Ended
Description
Original UK car; few owners; lightly restored in 1985; recently
recommissioned and repainted following 20+ years in storage; running and driving
nicely on site; super cool Cold War classic
Just oozing Cold
War chic, the Mercedes ‘Fintail’ saloon of the Sixties reeks of shady
doings at dark border crossings, headlamps ablaze as Smiley’s people
bundle some dazed defector into the boot while guard dogs bark in the
distance.
Introduced in 1959, the W111 Series
was styled by Paul Bracq and earned its ‘Heckflosse’ ('Fintail') nickname after
the distinctive raised rear wing tops designed to appeal to a US market that had
gone fin-crazy at the time – though it has to be said that the Mercedes fins are
mercifully muted compared to a Cadillac or Buick from the same
era.
The tailfins were reduced still
further on the two-door Coupe and Cabriolet models, which had lower, sleeker
lines and are highly sought-after and very expensive today. With an immensely
strong unitary construction body shell and the first car to have built in
crumple zones, the W111 was a famously safe and sturdy
machine.
Initially available with either a 2.2 or
3.0 sohc straight-six engine, the cars had all-independent suspension and
all-round disc brakes from 1962 on. The twin-carb 220Sb (as here) produced
110bhp which gave it a top speed of 103mph and a 0-60 time of 15 seconds.
Beautifully proportioned and exquisitely
detailed, the W111 Saloon remained in production until 1968 when it was replaced
by the equally handsome W108 Series.
First
registered in London in January 1965, this 220Sb comes with no early history but
the V5 shows that it was owned by a Mr J Clarke of Corbridge from 1980 – 1993.
Invoices show that much work was carried out on
the car by Franklin Motors of Shrewsbury in 1985. This included repairs to the
bodywork; new sills; new front and rear chassis cross members; cylinder head
overhaul; reconditioned radiator; work to the brakes and suspension; new exhaust
sections plus much else besides, the mileage at this point being
c.31,000.
Various old MOTs and tax discs show
that it was in regular use up until December 1994 by which time it was showing
42,358 miles.
The next owner was a Mr S
Henderson of Hexham who was to keep the car for 20 years but seems to have never
really driven it (the odometer currently shows 42,393
miles).
Our vendor, a professional car mechanic,
acquired the car in 2017 and has spent much time and money on it since, as
detailed in notes and many parts invoices on file.
To give a brief summary, the bodywork was restored and treated to a
glass-out repaint with new front and rear bumper bars; the front grille and rear
wing strips were rechromed; new rubber seals were fitted to the doors, boot and
front/rear windscreens.
The braking system was
fully rebuilt with new front discs and pads; rear shoes and wheel cylinders;
master cylinder; hand brake cables; all new pipes etc. The suspension was also
overhauled with new shock absorbers all round and various new bushes as
required.
The
engine was thoroughly serviced with new ignition parts; water pump; fuel lines;
coolant hoses; radiator etc. New Weber carbs were also fitted along with
electronic ignition.
The interior appears to be
all original and needed nothing more than a good clean. All four tyres are new
and there are a few spares in the boot along with two highly detailed original
parts catalogues. The V5 records just two former keepers since 1978 as the
vendor has not put the car into his own name since buying it eight years
ago.
We are told that the car now runs and drives
well and it has certainly been starting promptly and driving nicely as we have
moved it around on site, with healthy oil pressure. It still has that ‘hewn from
granite’ feel so characteristic of Mercs of this era, easily dismissing the big
pot-holes at the bottom of our yard with not a rattle or a squeak.
As you can see in the photos, this super-cool
Cold War classic looks most attractive and will draw loads of attention wherever
it goes. They don’t build cars like
this anymore, and this freshly rejuvenated example no doubt has another 60+
years of useful life ahead of it.
Consigned by James
Dennison – 07970 309907 – [email protected]