Hooniverse “Big Ass” Convertible Weekend – A 1966 Mercedes-Benz 250 SE Cabriolet
This is a late entry into the Hooniverse “Big Ass Convertible Weekend, and it is an unusual entry to be sure. Usually, when you associate “Big Ass” Convertibles, you think of the Detroit Land Barges that I have already covered here so far, not a lithe and lovely Mercedes-Benz. However, this Mercedes-Benz was one of he heaviest models available at the time, right behind the 600. The 250 SE Cabriolet were produced between 1962 and 1967, with only 708 ever built. Lets take a look at this truly stunning car.
According to the listing dealer, this car has only 7,900 miles on the odometer, but color me dubious. It is still an exceptional car equipped with a 2.5L in-line 6 cylinder engine, a 4-speed Automatic, a Manual Convertible Top, real wood trim, black leather seating, Power Windows, Power Brakes, Power Steering, and 14″ Wheels. Not a hint as to whether or not the car has Air Conditioning, but the lack of an under-hood compressor is a telling sign.
While it looks like the original Becker Radio is still in the dash, the previous owner installed a Kenwood System in the Glove Box, which I’m not sure adds anything to the value equation. The 250 never saw the sales number that the later 280 versions did, so this could be a bit of a bargain, if the mileage indicated is accurate. The color is cool and subtle, and looks better on this car than any of the later models that came in this shade.
The buy it now price for this particular ride is $44,900, which is all the money in my opinion. What does this pricetag get you? well, it will get you a rather rare Mercedes-Benz, and open-top Mercedes models always command extra. This 1966 model is approaching 45 years old, so the price for this car won’t be going down in the future. See the listing here.
Related posts:
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- Hooniverse Fabulous Fins Weekend – A 1963 Mercedes-Benz 190
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I like it, but not for 44 grand. For half that price, you could get the previous 1965 Mercury AND a nice R107 SL.
Considering that later 280SE 3.5 convertibles in excellent shape go for far more, this seems like a good buy. However, it needs to be closely checked by an expert. It definitely doesn't have A/C because there would be a large add-on unit below the dash (see picture) – Mercedes wasn't integrating A/C into the dashboards yet because it was still a quite rare option in Europe at the time. Having a manual top in a four-seat luxury car seems a bit weird in that cheap 1966 US cars like Mustangs mostly had power tops.
<img src="http://assets.hemmings.com/uimage/8273733-700-0.jpg?rev=1" width=500>
It's a nice original car (it's gotta be 108,051 miles), and it's probably a bargain, but it looks like it needs some work. It needs an exhaust system, for one thing. These are the same guys that were selling a wrecked 1,227 mile ZR1 a couple of years ago, that was mentioned on AutoBlog:
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/04/ebay-find-of-t…
I emailed the dealer about the car, asking why it was being sold, and not repaired, and since the car was sold by a dealer in San Antonio, into a fleet in Oregon, but titled in Manhattan Beach, CA. This is the reply I got back:
"Anybody that has a house in every city listed will not drive a wrecked car.. Thanks, ______"
Clarification: the 250SE version of the W111 cabriolet was added in MY1966. The earlier W111 coupes and cabriolets were the 220SEb, with the 2.2-liter six. There was also a W112 300SE version, with the big six from the old 300-series cars. The 250SE was fairly short-lived, superseded by the 280SE and then by the 280SE 3.5. For some reason, it was apparently not imported to the States in '67 — I don't know why, but since they were about to drop both the 250SE and 300SE, my assumption is that they wanted to clear existing dealer stocks.
Some would call the 250SE the one to have, since it's got the same interior as the earlier 220SEs (check out the wooden binnacle holding the speedo and tach) with the added benefit of 300 extra ccs, a stronger injection pump and seven main bearings instead of four.
When I build a time machine, I'm going to go back to 1966 and order a 250SE coupe with the ultra-rare ZF 5-speed.
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