I think it was from the heat from over a decade of storage. I don’t recall touching it, but it was probably pretty fragile.
They had a Ponton in another one of Dad’s warehouses, but they sold it. Dang! -D > On Oct 16, 2022, at 3:22 PM, Bob Rentfro via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com> > wrote: > > I’ve never seen a steering wheel get looking like that. Strange. > > All this W123 talk is getting my desire to go slow rekindled. > > AZBob > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Oct 16, 2022, at 2:11 PM, dan penoff.com via Mercedes >> <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >> >> I was contacted by the administrator of an estate about her dad’s 1980 240D >> that she’s trying to sell. Here’s the story: >> >> Dad bought the car at some time in the distant past, he was the second >> owner. Dad was a pack rat/hoarder, but that being said, loved the 240D until >> he bought a Toyota Corolla at some point in the late 1990s/early 2000s. When >> he did, the 1980 240D went into one of many warehouses that he owned in the >> area and has sat there since. >> >> I went and looked at the car today. Here’s my take: >> >> 180k and change on the odometer. Tires are toast, of course. Interior, >> despite being stored in an unconditioned warehouse in rural Florida, is in >> pretty decent shape, considering. A lot less mold and grunge than I would >> expect. However, the heat has really toasted some things like the steering >> wheel, as you’l see. Front passenger window is shattered. Ignition turns >> freely, all of the doors open and close solidly. Trunk was “popped” by >> someone in the past but they really did little damage. The holes for the >> latch in the trunk lid are mushroomed out but could be easily fixed. Engine >> compartment is clean and everything is there. I tried powering it up just to >> see if I could get gauges lit but no joy, probably because the FUSES NEED TO >> BE CHANGED! Some paint peeling around the sunroof. >> >> The thing that took it out of the running for me was rust in the typical >> places in the rear fenders on the trailing edges and around the driver’s >> side jack point. Might just be surface rust there, I didn’t probe, but I >> also didn’t see any holes, just peeling rock guard. >> >> She also had another 240D of unknown age in another warehouse nearby. I had >> a quick look as it was difficult to get to with all sorts of crap around an >> on it. Looks to possibly be a later year as it had at least one bundt on it. >> It appears to be either white or very light gray, difficult to tell with all >> the dust on it. No rust from what I could see and everything in the engine >> compartment appeared to be intact. Lots of crap in the cabin, but I couldn’t >> get the doors to open, so not a whole lot I could see otherwise. >> >> The yellow car was her dad’s and she’s trying to find someone that will buy >> it and put it back on the road, which probably wouldn’t be difficult to do >> based on what I could see. She’s indifferent to the other car because she’s >> unsure of it’s origin or ownership. She has clear title for both cars. The >> yellow car still has all the original books and the dealer metal “stamp” >> thing from the original owner. It appeared to have been purchased in CT, as >> the address on the metal stamp was from CT. That may also account for the >> reason for the rust. >> >> She started with an offer to me for $1800 for the yellow car and $3000 for >> the pair. This is not someone who is in it for the money, for sure, so I’m >> sure she would negotiate if she knew the car was going to be cared for and >> not parted. It’s taken her 10 years to liquidate her dad’s real estate and >> personal holdings and this place is one of the last, so I’m sure she’s more >> than flush with cash. >> >> If anyone is interested, drop me a private email and I’ll provide the >> contact information for the owner. Don’t be a jerk about it if you do, as >> she was a really nice lady who is just being sentimental. We’ve all been in >> this situation looking at cars, and I spent a good hour or more sitting and >> listening to her stories out of respect even though I had no intention of >> buying either one after seeing them. I told her I would share the >> information and that the people I know who might be interested would be for >> the purpose of restoring the car to running condition. >> >> You can see the pictures at the link below. They’re crappy, but it’s in a >> warehouse with no lighting so I did my best. >> >> http://penoff.com/Photo_Dump.html >> >> -D >> >> >> >> _______________________________________ >> http://www.okiebenz.com >> >> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
