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What would cause a man to leave Italy to find a gorgeous classic car?
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Films:
The Mercedes-Benz 280 Is A Bulletproof Beauty
WOW! I never expected that you would make a video on my favorite benz decade – the 70s! I’m just amazed! And my own story is so similar to the Bernard’: my grandfather also had W114 250 СЕ and W116 280 S ’77. And to me – nothing outstands these cars.
Everyone, who doubts bullet proofness of W114/W115 recall the following: Greek taxi 240D has covered 4.6 million kilometers on the same chassis. Which is the second result in the world after famous Volvo. And there are loads of W116, W123 and /8 with more than a million km with the same engine. Yes, they tend to rust, with w123 body being a bit better because it’s zinc-plated, but still – it is greatly overengineered car. No manufacturer before and after (including Mercedes itself since late 80s) does as much testing and researching as they did back in the day.
Normally I wait for the evening to watch Petrolicious Tuesday video and I am looking forward to it the whole day but today I couldn’t, cause of the Mercedes /8. My father’s first Mercedes was a /8, not a 280 but a 230/6. It was green like an olive. I learned driving in that car and until today I just can not forget that car. It was solid, quite quick but not fast and almost never left us stranded. Of all the cars my Dad and later I had, this one is kind of special to me. Thank you Petrolicious and Mr. Bredehorn for bringing back these memories and good luck with this beautiful /8 in the future.
First of all .. it is a beautiful example of an early 70’s 280 . Nicely and respectfully restored and hopefully used regularly .
But … as solid and reliable as the 280’s are there is no such thing as a ‘ Bullet Proof ‘ classic Benz of any year or model . And as a member in good standing in the MBOC who pays attention to such things I can guarantee you the owner is severely overstating the case of his cars reliability . No doubt in order to add significance to the video that it does not need and in fact does not exist . And in that vain the engine number is in fact rather insignificant . It may mean something to the owner .. but to the rest of the Mercedes Benz world … its just a number .
Once … just once I’d like to see a video like this where the owner is being truthful about the pitfalls and foibles of owning a classic car rather than the delusional over romanticized images being put forth/ portrayed by said owners the majority of the time !
As I’ve stated clearly before . Go into the hobby with ‘Eyes Wide Open’ and you’ll set yourself up for a positive experience due to the correct and accurate expectations you’ll have
Go into it with ” Eyes Wide Shut ” though and guaranteed you’ll be one seriously frustrated [ or worse … delusional ] individual who’ll be looking for a way out sooner than later .
Dear Mr. James,
Why must everything with you have a “but” attached to it? Why must there ALWAYS be a thorn on the rose for you? Why must there ALWAYS be a hole in the top of a piston created by that dropped valve?
I do respect your views as I enjoy all the people that express their views on the website. If I disagree with them, or if they disagree with me I try to learn something. However, if I want to see the “Eyes Wide Open” end of life I will turn on the news. Thank God we have Petrolicious! One bright spot in our lives. I don’t even care if it’s all a pack of car lies. Is that not what we do when we sit around someones garage while we debate who’s car is better? It’s FUN! That’s what this website with it’s superb (FREE) videos are all about. IMHO.
Personally, I understand that we all have this romanticized version of our automotive lives hiding in the back of our heads. Driving down a twisty back road completely alone with the sun nearly completely set over the hills to your side, engine humming perfectly and nowhere to go but anywhere you feel like it. These type of videos put me in that mindset again, and it’s a refreshing break from the reality that all of us face in reality. These videos are a gentle lullaby, or a love song, to the cars we cherish above all other material. Let me have my peace and tranquility to recover from the stress and bloody knuckles.
