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1969 Mercedes-Benz 250 C Cabriolet [W114]

1969 Mercedes-Benz 250 C [W114] in Le retour des Charlots, Movie, 1992 IMDB

Class: Cars, Convertible — Model origin: DE

1969 Mercedes-Benz 250 C Cabriolet [W114]

[*][*][*][*] Vehicle used a lot by a main character or for a long time 

Comments about this vehicle

AuthorMessage

sixcyl FR

2010-09-01 20:12

[Image: 261282-MB_CAB_AA.jpg] [Image: 261283-MB_CAB_AC.jpg] [Image: 261284-MB_CAB_AE.jpg] [Image: 261285-MB_CAB_AF.jpg] [Image: 261286-MB_CAB_AK.jpg] [Image: 261287-MB_CAB_AM.jpg] [Image: 261288-MB_CAB_AP.jpg] [Image: 261289-MB_CAB_AS.jpg] [Image: 261290-MB_CAB_AU.jpg] [Image: 261291-MB_CAB_AW.jpg] [Image: 261292-MB_CAB_AY.jpg] [Image: 261293-MB_CAB_AZA.jpg]

Did Karl Deutch or Karmann made conversion on 250C basis ? or is it a local body? Nice work by the way :)

dsl SX

2010-09-01 20:30

Crayford did similar convertibles in UK in very small numbers, but no idea if they were ever exported or used LHD cars.

cl82 DE

2010-09-01 23:55

I might be wrong as well, but I think both Deutsch/Cologne and Karmann can be excluded. Deutsch went out of business in ca. 1970( while W114 coupés debuted in 1969), and Karmann did not coorporate with MB until much later- at least as far as I know. However, there is a small company in Ingo's area (Hagen/North Rhine-Westphalia) called "Bähr" which turns classic Mercedes coupés into convertibles. Not my cup of tea actually ( I would not even think of turning a classic Mercedes coupé into a convertible), but they are said to do a good job. They even add a massive extra-frame in order to strengthen the structure of the car. Here's their homepage and their "portfolio": http://www.baehr-cabrio.de/cabrios.htm
Almost everything seems to fit, even the shape of the "top" made of cloth. There's only one -major- flaw: They didn't start making convertibles before 1991, so I doubt that the car shown here ( although it doesn't get destroyed)was modified by Bähr as their conversions have always been quite costly: http://www.baehr-cabrio.de/preise.htm

DynaMike NL

2010-09-01 23:58

Interesting link, Cl82. But the folded down roof on the Bähr Cabrio is much higher than the one on this Portuguese car...

cl82 DE

2010-09-02 00:51

Yes, the Bähr-roofs seem to be more massive. I guess they use thicker material. As I said before, I don't think it's modified by Bähr because even back in the 90s their conversions cost more than 10.000 DM as I've just read in an old volume of "Oldtimer-Markt" from 1997. But before I looked that up in my "archive" I searched the web for other coachbuilders. I stumbled upon something interesting in a W114/115 forum where some members talked about a small company in West-Berlin named "Braun" which allegedly converted a couple of these cars when they were new. Unfortunately, Braun apparently ceased to exist more than 22 years ago, and since I'm not a member of that forum, I wasn't able to get access in order to see better pictures of the car in question. Otherwise, I would have been able to check whether the roof looks roughly the same or not. http://www.mercedesclubs.de/bb/wbb/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=1147

All in all, I wouldn't be surprised if this particular car was converted by a bunch of highly skilled Portugese mechanics.

Edit: Oh dear, "Braun" was a false alarm as I was finally able to get some -quite good- pictures. The "Braun" conversion doesn't look bad, but it's not as elegant as the one in the movie; besides, it has additional windows, and the cloth of the roof is attached to the body with the help of lots of chromed metal "knobs". Here's the link: Link to "www.google.de"

-- Last edit: 2010-09-02 05:04:52

sixcyl FR

2010-09-02 17:52

dsl wrote Crayford did similar convertibles in UK in very small numbers, but no idea if they were ever exported or used LHD cars.


But I guess not many Crayford had been built as LHD?

DynaMike NL

2010-09-02 22:11

On the other hand, relations between Portugal and Great Britain have always been very warm...

sixcyl FR

2010-09-02 22:14

DynaMike wrote have always been very warm...

You mean 19,5° around ? :D

DynaMike NL

2010-09-02 22:21

A bit more in Portugal, a bit less in UK :)

sixcyl FR

2010-09-02 23:36

Well , I wasn't talking about air or water temperature, rather about some famous wines :D

DynaMike NL

2010-09-02 23:39

Ah! Not a bit too warm, then ?

dsl SX

2010-09-02 23:58

sixcyl wrote But I guess not many Crayford had been built as LHD?


It looks as if Crayford only produced 12 W114 convertibles, based on the later 230C and 280CE during 1978-81. So a blind alley for this example, even if LHD Crayfords existed (for which I have no information either way.)

Ingo DE

2010-09-04 01:11

sixcyl wrote Well , I wasn't talking about air or water temperature, rather about some famous wines :D


Portuguese or British ones? :??:

dsl SX

2010-09-04 11:19

Famous British wines??? Beers, yes. Marmite, yes but wines .....!

Ingo DE

2010-09-04 17:37

@dsl: it's joke about British wines. :p


:no: Even with British/Scottish beers you have to be very careful! Once I've been with my father in an original Scottish pub in Dumfries -he wanted to go there at our Scotland-round-trip- and we catched something absolute disgusting beer! It had similarities in the taste with the ugly "Desperado"-stuff (which is from France). I cannot remember its name. Later on we've read in our travel-guide, that it's a very unique speciality from this area and that it's still brewed, because some local hardcore-fans want to keep it.

O.k. It was a rare, local speciality, whih you cannot find outside - but it doesn't taste good anyways.

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