Today’s theme is that sometimes the cool cars are close by, and sometimes they are far away. But the key is that people are out there using them, and even if they get dirty or chipped, they’re not half as much fun sitting in the garage. The first car is in an office development fairly close to RustyButTrusty world headquarters. R107 Mercedes SLs are not such a rare find, and would not ordinarily show up in this context, but this small-bumper SL is probably a 1972 or 1973 model. Complete with personalized blue California plates, it looks the part of the executive from one of those newfangled chip manufacturers. Can you imagine, some people were born and made it nearly through high school without Mercedes revealing a new SL?
Posts Tagged ‘mercedes’
RustyButTrusty on the Street – Mercedes, Alfa, and a VW on Street View
November 26, 2013Budget Benzes – 1969 Mercedes 220D and 1965 Mercedes 190
November 16, 2013When you drive a car with a fancy grill and a hood ornament, people assume you’re made of money, even if the car is 30-40 years old. However, there are plenty of older Mercedes out there that can be had for a song, and that’s not just that clapped out mid-1990s S-class with the chrome dubs on it. In spite of the image they’ve tried to cultivate with their modern cars, the older Mercedes do range from plebeian (4-cylinder sedans) to patrician (600, 280SE 4.5 cabrio). Which end of the spectrum do you think we’ll land on? You can find your answer, this 1969 Mercedes 220D for sale for a mere $2100 in Federal Way, WA, just north of Seattle.
Cheap Cossie – 1986 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16
October 22, 2013Cosworth-powered cars are fairly rare on North American soil. Compared to what was available in Europe, we only received the Chevrolet Cosworth Vega, which was a great concept that fell down in the execution, and the Mercedes 190E 2.3-16, which was a great car that has lived in the shadow of the contemporary BMW M3. Mercedes had originally asked Cosworth to develop an engine for a rally version of their new 190E, but when Audi came out with the all-conquering Quattro, Mercedes side-stepped and took its car to touring races. This required homologation sales, so the road-going 190E 2.3-16 was developed for sale. Adding a twin cam 16-valve head, lightened pistons and upgraded rings yielded 49hp over the regular 2.3’s 136hp, though the engine was detuned to 167hp for the North American market. You can find your own Anglo-Teutonic screamer in this 1986 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16, available for $3500 in Berkeley, CA.


