Brian Whatcott wrote in
:

On Thu, 17 Jan 2008 07:20:06 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

..
BTW, just last night my daughter called that she was at an accident
scene, where she struck a Mercedes with her Mitsu Eclipse.
He got a ticket, and was towed away with a broken front suspension -
maybe a snapped ball joint. She drove home with a cosmetic-type
scratch on her bumper.
Now you can make all kinds of statements about this incident, but the
only thing I'll say is this:
Larry, when plying around in your fry-oil fueled Merc, keep an eye out
for those little ****boxes. They'll take you down man, they'll take
you down.

--Vic

Which reminds me: my kid was given a Mercedes and had me help him tow
it back from Dallas, until after a hundred miles or so, a suspension
joint gave way, and a wheel went to a curious angle. We consigned it
to a salvage yard, at that point....

Brian Whatcott Altus OK


Ah, too bad. The ball joint simply needed a simple replacement. The
parts are cheap and it's not an expensive job. Mercedes cars are made
to repair, not scrap. Germans wouldn't have it any other way. I've
replaced mine....BEFORE they got so loose they fell apart.

As to the little ****boxes, one of my favorite Mercedes cars was a 1974
240D, the first year of the 2.4L diesel in the body with the huge USA-
mandated bumpers. When she had 482,800 km on her clock, a womanstupid
pulled out of a bank right in front of her doing 45mph in a Ford Escort
FWD station wagon. I caught her just in front of the driver's door and
the old girl went down fighting, ripping the entire front end off the
Ford and sending its engine, transmission, front end, wheels and all
careening down the street into two more cars the womanstupid also had to
pay for. The 74 240D got her front end pushed into her engine block,
which is where the accident stopped and transferred the energy to the
Ford's parts. I was devastated as we had a big party planned for the
500,000 km Award badge from Mercedes to add to her 250,000 km badge. I
have it on a plaque with her grille-top emblem, which escaped the wreck
unscathed, mounted by a friend of mine in that business. This is no
where near the record of the "Longest Running Car on the Planet",
another Mercedes in the millions of miles range. This belongs to a
Greek taxi driver at 2.8M MILES!

Gunness Records refuses to recognize this and says an American (snobs)
holds the record in his 1966 Volvo with a mere 1.6M on its clock.

I have no idea how many miles is on my 1973 220D (also fryoil diesel) as
its clock only goes to 99999 and the number of times it has been around
from the first owner and myself cannot be determined. I've run it
around twice to 00000 since 1992 when I bought it from the original
owner, a retired Navy captain who was a ship engineer. He had tears in
his eyes selling it to me because his wife insisted he get it out of her
garage where it lived since 1972....when he bought it new, delivered to
his door by Langston Motors, the local Mercedes dealer in 1972. It's
sticker says $7684, nicely loaded, but I also have the letter from the
dealer telling Captain McCane to have his check for $6,250 ready to
present to the delivery salesman....(c; I paid him $2,800 for it 20
years later in fine condition. I restored its engine (worn rings only)
and restored its body. It remains my favorite car, one of the only two-
tone Mercedes sedans ever delivered here....Burgundy with a creme white
top...the original colors. It needs some more body work caused by a
leaky windscreen seal, a good washing and polishing and a new driver's
carpet, at the moment. Maybe in spring....(c;

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 02:56:00 +0000, larry wrote:

Brian Whatcott wrote in
:

On Thu, 17 Jan 2008 07:20:06 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

..
BTW, just last night my daughter called that she was at an accident
scene, where she struck a Mercedes with her Mitsu Eclipse.
He got a ticket, and was towed away with a broken front suspension -
maybe a snapped ball joint. She drove home with a cosmetic-type
scratch on her bumper.
Now you can make all kinds of statements about this incident, but the
only thing I'll say is this:
Larry, when plying around in your fry-oil fueled Merc, keep an eye out
for those little ****boxes. They'll take you down man, they'll take
you down.

--Vic

Which reminds me: my kid was given a Mercedes and had me help him tow
it back from Dallas, until after a hundred miles or so, a suspension
joint gave way, and a wheel went to a curious angle. We consigned it
to a salvage yard, at that point....

Brian Whatcott Altus OK


Ah, too bad. The ball joint simply needed a simple replacement. The
parts are cheap and it's not an expensive job. Mercedes cars are made
to repair, not scrap. Germans wouldn't have it any other way. I've
replaced mine....BEFORE they got so loose they fell apart.

Since the only car I ever had a ball joint break was VW squareback
with fairly low miles, I might agree the Germans make 'em to break.
I was lucky to being going past an empty bus stop at night, which
the car pulled itself into with a cock-eyed wheel. I did fix that
car, and continued to fix it, and fix it, and fix it.
To be fair, I think my daughter hit the Merc - a new big sedan -
directly on his turned wheel as he turned in front of her. She went
into him in ABS mode, and her airbag didn't even go off. Off course
maybe her ****box airbag doesn't even work.
I guess the reason I even mentioned this in a thread where somebody
asked about pounding on a particular cat, was to point out that
conventional wisdom isn't always correct, and digging in for actual
experience, and even gaining that experience yourself if need be, will
get you closer to the truth that is your truth. That's what makes
newsgroups and inet forums so valuable.
The car comment was a tangential and maybe clumsy analogy to searching
for the "right" boat, which in the end is a "personal" decision.
Now having said that, I hereby snip and discount all of Larry's
mythology about 1.6 million mile Mercs, and will continue to drive
Chevys.
Cause I know 'em and like 'em.

--Vic

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:51:00 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

I hereby snip and discount all of Larry's
mythology about 1.6 million mile Mercs, and will continue to drive
Chevys.
Cause I know 'em and like 'em.

Nearly anything can be made to last nearly forever. I know a guy who
has been driving the same VW beetle for fifty years. He is a pilot who
lives more than fifty miles from the Des Moines airport. How many
miles, I don't know.

Casady

(Richard Casady) wrote in
:

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:51:00 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

I hereby snip and discount all of Larry's
mythology about 1.6 million mile Mercs, and will continue to drive
Chevys.
Cause I know 'em and like 'em.

Nearly anything can be made to last nearly forever. I know a guy who
has been driving the same VW beetle for fifty years. He is a pilot who
lives more than fifty miles from the Des Moines airport. How many
miles, I don't know.

Casady


Those of us who have escaped being debt slaves also know that cars hardly
ever have their wheels fall off. My "new" car is a 1983 300TD Benz
wagon...(c;

larry wrote:
(Richard Casady) wrote in
:

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:51:00 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

I hereby snip and discount all of Larry's
mythology about 1.6 million mile Mercs, and will continue to drive
Chevys.
Cause I know 'em and like 'em.
Nearly anything can be made to last nearly forever. I know a guy who
has been driving the same VW beetle for fifty years. He is a pilot who
lives more than fifty miles from the Des Moines airport. How many
miles, I don't know.

Casady


Those of us who have escaped being debt slaves also know that cars hardly
ever have their wheels fall off. My "new" car is a 1983 300TD Benz
wagon...(c;



Had a SAAB once, the wheels almost fell off; the uni-body where the
trailing arms mounted rotted completely away, made for a real
entertaining ride! I guess the folks in Sweden didn't realize that
Canadians sprinkle copious amounts of salt on our roads in the winter.


Cheers
Marty

Martin Baxter wrote in :

Had a SAAB once

2 stroke or 4 stroke engine? I remember the Saab chain saws...(c;

larry wrote:
Martin Baxter wrote in :

Had a SAAB once

2 stroke or 4 stroke engine? I remember the Saab chain saws...(c;



4, maybe about 2 litre. Loved the key between the seats, always freaked
out the new passengers.

Cheers
Marty
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