Hitchcock Needs a Heart

Marcal Eilenstein

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Comments

IMG_2946-1

I’m continually surprised by the sheer variety of cars in this area; just a few weeks ago, I was sitting in traffic next to a black MP4-12C. I’ve seen a blue Superbird on the highway. I’ve seen bro trucks, low riders, ricers, and rally cars (on a trailer this weekend!). If the Seattle area has anything to offer the car scene, it’s variety. Click past the break to meet Hitchcock.

This is Hitchcock, an apt name for a car, if ever there was one. It’s a 1972 Mercedes-Benz 220 sedan. It’s hard to believe that in Bellevue, burgeoning metropolis that it is, you could find a decent old Mercedes, parked behind an actual HOUSE (not a high-rise condo) that doesn’t move but runs like a top! As the seller indicates, it does need a new transmission. I’m not a Mercedes aficionado by any means, so some of you can weigh in on how reliable these transmissions were.

Like Hitchcock, it’s a little rough around the edges,

IMG_2944
Bit of rust behind the wheel

but imminently loveable.

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If only Hitchcock could talk, he could probably tell a few tales.

Over to you – would you adopt this understated little Merc? It’s hard to beat for the price.

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Marcal Eilenstein

Marcal Eilenstein

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30 responses to “Hitchcock Needs a Heart”

  1. CABEZAGRANDE Avatar
    CABEZAGRANDE

    Oh man, I've been wanting one of these for years, but all the ones in my area have more rust than I want to deal with. I envision a RB26 with a nice big single turbo system under the hood, because why not? It's a damn good thing for my girlfriend that this is too far away from me, or she'd have another project sitting in the driveway 🙂
    That's a damn good price for the apparent condition. Sure, it'll need some love, but the body looks to be very very solid, and a great place to start a restomod project from.

    Reply
    1. Alcology Avatar
      Alcology

      My wife told me that by the end of the day there better be one less project sitting in the driveway so I moved my lawn chair into the garage.

      Reply
      1. mdharrell Avatar
        mdharrell

        Pushing one or more cars onto the lawn is an equally valid strategy.

        Reply
    2. SK Avatar
      SK

      Ranz Motorsports put a 2JZ in a 280 Coupe. http://badcopnodonuts.com/2012/10/28/ranz-motorsp…

      Reply
  2. oldcarjunkie Avatar
    oldcarjunkie

    That is less rusty than most. I'd take a look at the driver's floor too but looks decent from the photos. It has the later plastic grill but still has the nice older style interior and tail lights. Usually it is the carbs on the gas models that go back on these. I've got a spare 4spd from my parts diesel but not sure if it would swap over.
    Here is mine – 1970 220D bought for $500. I bought the parts car for an extra $250.
    <img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8224/8355904639_888d71489d_n.jpg&quot; width="320" height="240" alt="1970 Mercedes-Benz 220D rear">

    Reply
    1. Hatchtopia Avatar
      Hatchtopia

      I sense another entry into a Hooniverse calendar…
      Awesome photo.

      Reply
      1. oldcarjunkie Avatar
        oldcarjunkie

        Thanks – I hope to get the car looking a little better by summer time. Some rust repair needs to be done.

        Reply
  3. MVEilenstein Avatar
    MVEilenstein

    The carpet is pretty dirty, and around here, I would pay careful attention to any moisture inside the car. You wouldn't believe how fast stuff can start growing in wet carpet.
    Barring that, it seems like a pretty good deal to me.

    Reply
  4. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    Growing up in Bellevue, these were plentiful. But that was when you could rent an older ranch house with it's own yard right in downtown … for cheap.

    Reply
    1. mdharrell Avatar
      mdharrell

      You've been away from Bellevue a while, haven't you?

      Reply
      1. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        Oh, I know what it's like today but I also remember what it was like when nobody wanted to live in the Seattle area. If only I'd started buying real estate when I got out of school.

        Reply
        1. MVEilenstein Avatar
          MVEilenstein

          Bellevue was originally the rural alternative to living in Seattle. Ferries ran across the lake every day, so you could go to work in Seattle, and be home working the garden in the evening.
          Bellevue was famous for its strawberry crop. Where Bellevue Square now stands was a strawberry field.

          Reply
          1. rennsport964 Avatar
            rennsport964

            The patches (strawberries, blueberries) still exist. You just have to look for them a little bit.

          2. MVEilenstein Avatar
            MVEilenstein

            True.Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

    2. MVEilenstein Avatar
      MVEilenstein

      The only standalone houses I can think of anywhere close to downtown Bellevue have been converted to small businesses, and even those are disappearing fast. They tore down two of them just recently to build another mixed use tower.

      Reply
      1. rennsport964 Avatar
        rennsport964

        There are still a bit of them between 17th and 12th west of 112th. Also south of old Bellevue. But yes, they're getting more rare.

        Reply
  5. Irishzombieman Avatar
    Irishzombieman

    Love this body style. Love the paint color and the patina. I could drive this car for a long, long time.

    Reply
    1. MVEilenstein Avatar
      MVEilenstein

      Send me $800 and I'll pick it up for you.

      Reply
      1. Irishzombieman Avatar
        Irishzombieman

        ¡Ay, caramba! That is seriously tempting.
        But my wife will kill me if I buy another car before finishing the three in the back yard.
        Ooooh, Valentine's Day is Thursday. Maybe I could buy it for her.

        Reply
        1. MVEilenstein Avatar
          MVEilenstein

          I'm just sayin . . .

          Reply
  6. dead_elvis Avatar
    dead_elvis

    What's going on in the middle of the hood? Looks like something tried to escape the engine bay.
    <img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/redlabelmoto/RLM%202/IMG_2957.jpg"&gt;

    Reply
    1. SSurfer321 Avatar
      SSurfer321

      ***FREE NACA Duct engine cooling upgrade***

      Reply
      1. mdharrell Avatar
        mdharrell

        Now* with color-shifting paint stripes!
        *Limited time only.

        Reply
    2. Alff Avatar
      Alff

      That's the John Hurt edition Mercedes.

      Reply
    3. Irishzombieman Avatar
      Irishzombieman

      'Twas a baby Alien.
      <img src="http://successwarrior.typepad.com/chronicles/images/2007/09/02/alien.jpg&quot; width=300>

      Reply
  7. joshuman Avatar
    joshuman

    I work in southwest Bellevue (Factoria/Eastgate area). Downtown is a few minutes away. My lunchtime run loops me through largely residential streets where I frequently pass interesting machinery. While Lexus, Audi, Fisker, and Telsla Model S may own everything east of I-405, you can find an E-type, Rolls, and some sweet Chevy trucks if you know where to look closer to Lake Sammamish. There was a corner house that had no less than four Pugeot 405s in the driveway. One of them probably ran. Just down the road, a gangster Mercedes 560 coupe with WSU plates sits dripping oil on the driveway. I really should mix up my route to see what else I can find.

    Reply
    1. mdharrell Avatar
      mdharrell

      I got my former Sonett from a guy who lived along Lake Sammamish. By "lived along" I mean that his house was served by a short, steep driveway which ended at the lake. It was a little unnerving dragging the car out of the spot where it had been sitting for about 25 years, as, absent any working brakes, it would have taken a swim had it gotten away from us. The seller insisted I pay cash, in full, first.

      Reply
      1. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        If you'd lost it you would have made a swan song from a Sonett.

        Reply
        1. Rover 1 Avatar
          Rover 1

          Ha! – excellent!!

          Reply
  8. guest Avatar
    guest

    Meh! Drop in a MB 3.5l baby V-8 and get rid of the 3-piece driveshaft. Put in the 2-piece unit and the later model rear pumpkin. Leave the brown cancer in with a coating of Rustoleum primer as q-ship camo. Awesomeness unbounded…pz.

    Reply