Are you looking for a LeMons ride but are sick and tired of all the fox-body stangs and e30 bimmers? Do you need a gunsight to line up the apex of a corner? How about a support vehicle to go along with your racer? Well, if you’re anywhere near Milwaukee Wisconsin, then we should talk. 24 Hours of LeMons forum member TWHansen has a deal you’re not going to want to pass up. He has a 1972 Mercedes Benz 280SE with the 4.5-litre V8 that you could drive away for only $500. Not only that, but he also has a Toyota Space Wart mini van that would either make an excellent LeMons support vehicle, or track star in its own right. And he’s only asking $500 for that as well.
While you may consider the W108 Benz to be too heavy to be competitive, you can take heart that this one has already had its fair share of lightening done to it.
The automatic gearbox will let you concentrate on dicing it up with the traffic. And that JVC cassette deck is looking pretty tasty.
Fuel injection, single overhead cams and 230-hp await under the hood of this burgundy beauty.
The Toyota van is appropriately hued for LeMons, and while it would swallow all your support gear for the race, its mid-engine layout and near neutral weight bias (/sarcasm) would make a day on the track an interesting and entertaining experience.
So somebody ought to jump on this deal before it’s too late – $1,000 for two potential LeMons racers – that’s a bargain that doesn’t drop in your lap everyday. Hit up Tim at 262-325-0346, or jump on the forum and cut him a deal.
You can check out some more details on both of the cars here and more pictures of the Benz may be found here.
Source [24 Hours of LeMons Forums]
Oh Lord, Won't You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz, My Friends All Drive LeMons, I Must Make Amends
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I almost bought a 220D… These are great looking cars, but the rear really lets me down on style. That, and a 80hp diesel with a 3 speed auto did not sound too lovely.
But it was white with porn star red interior. -
God… I want that Benz SO BADLY. But not for a race car… it’s far too beautiful for that. It’s just gorgeous. I’d prefer to make it a daily driver or car-show beauty.
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See now, I’m totally picturing you driving the Toyota. . . naked.
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There’s a mental image only a wife could love…
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With a sack full of candy.
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well played…
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Muchas gracias. I figured I’d better jump, or someone else would have.
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OH BOY, FREE CANDY!
Wait… what?
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I’m… not sure why you’re picturing me like that. And I’ll be honest, I’m feeling a little bit frightened. And maybe a little excited?
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Excited? Me too! Is that wrong?
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Naked, save for the cow slippers and a moose hat…
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I agree, that car is way too bee-yu-tee-ful for LeMonaide. Those body-color hubcaps alone take me back to the Benzs of my childhood.
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I agree. Sure, you’d be upside down on your investment just repairing the rot on the rocker panels, but you would be STYLIN’.
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Terrorist van, come get your terrorist van…
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I thought terrorists drove VW Buses.
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Oh god, they found me. I don’t know how, but they found me. RUN FOR IT MARTY!
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my sister seems to think they drive toyota hiace..
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Movies also put them in a lot of Toyota HiLuxes
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I was terrified of VW buses as a kid because of the terrorists that drove it in that movie. As an adult, I’m just annoyed at the hippies that drive them in real life.
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Seems to be any older van really. The VW in BTTF always just seemed to friendly to want to kill everyone. Like it went for a ride to the liquor store and waited outside while his friend went inside, little did he know he would wind up with a warrant for his arrest in a few short minutes.
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VW vans that can somehow keep up with a DeLorean. (Which, let’s face it, was a bit of a turd. But it wasn’t that stinkin’ slow!)
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see now, in a car like this you could enjoy the 18 hours in pure german comfort. while race preparing you would need not remove the interior accommodations. just fit your cage in and enjoy watching all the other races drive past you in the hight of discomfort.
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I happen to think they’re both rather too nice for LeMons… but I desperately want a space-shuttle-themed Toyota Van (or Ford Aerostar) now.
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For some reason I’m really wanting a turbo 4 cylinder Chrysler minivan.
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much like the lovable nsu. so rare it would be a shame to have a 3% chance of being cursed.
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I like the idea of a GM Dustbuster van, with the front bumper removed (for that proper overbite look), painted pistachio green, and with a couple Planet Express logos slapped on.
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There’s at least one person hoping to run a GM U-body van (the dustbuster) in next year’s Lemons.
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I like the idea of one of those painted flat grey with an enormous fiberglass handle on the roof.
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After watching the Simca’s I looked at today become total fail this is almost one I’d want to grab up. Must.Resist.The Benz…..
/I know nothing of Benz’s, BMW is my euro brand of choice. -
I love these old W108/W109’s, and it would hurt me to see it Le Mon’d. However, ze Germans had no compunction about wailing on their Merc’s. Hell, they even rallied W108’s!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3501/3969767310_cd502619c1_o.jpg
Why? Cause they were built like frickin safes, that’s why? The W108/W109 were the LAST of the hand-assembled Mercedes Benz’s. When the final W108 rolled off the line in September ’72, ze Untertürkheim plant vas closed und ze robots vere brought in to modernize ze facility in preperation for the neu S Classe.-
Dammit, Scrogzilla! Every time I settle on a car for “my next project/ rally ride” you come along and post a picture of a car so unbelievably awesome that I have to have it.
What I really want is a European model short wheelbase W108 with the high-compression 3.5-liter V8 (more powerful than the 4.5 we got stateside) and the available 4-speed manual.-
Stick with the Fintail rally car, Armand. Though a 280SE 3.5 with 4 speed would be cool.
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Roten sau sie sie gut, ya!
As for the yellow van, I can think of no better theme than:
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I’m trying to resist the urge to buy this for my burgeoning LeMons team. For the good of my marriage.
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Hey, there are women everywhere, but a $500 Benz is pretty hard to come by. Just a thought…
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On the other hand, a divorce would quickly make that the most expensive $500 car you ever bought.
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A rusty Mercedes is probably doomed to be the most expensive $500 car you ever bought anyway.
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But nothing is more expensive than a free Lotus.
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Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to convince Mrs. engineerd that she needs to be a part of a LeMons team. You know, for you guys to spend some quality time together. I mean, it’s only fair, what with all those trips you’ve taken to Bed Bath & Beyond with her. That’s you feigning interest in things that she likes, it’s now time for her to feign interest in things you like. That is the balance of things.
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I like the way you think!
To Mrs. engineerd’s credit, she does feign interest in my hobbies. She spent the afternoon at the Dream Cruise with me and Mike the Dog, and she is going with me this weekend to the Beer Festival. OK, the second one is to ensure I have a sober ride home, but still. I also have her convinced to be my co-driver for some road rallies next year.
I really do need to get Project House Hell done, though. Then we can feign interest in each others hobbies to our heart’s content! That could include her being on a LeMons team with me!-
Just do what I did and find a nice house that’s already fixed up. Buy it, move, then let the old one sit for a while, making mortgage payments on a house you’re not living in. Oh, wait, maybe that’s not the best idea? In my defense, I did then get to run Lemons and The Wife had a great time. (And wants to participate, if we could find a car she would fit in.)
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Every time I see a W108 or similar, I always picture Kim Jong Il for some reason. This will always be a dictator’s car to me- not my style, but still it seems like a good powerful solid car for LeMonsing.
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I feel like the universe is trying to tell me something, this is the third cheap W108 I’ve seen in two weeks. The other two were even on the same day, although admittedly, I sought one of them out.
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Just found out about Hooniverse from fellow LeMons Supreme Court Justice Lieberman. Will one of you schmucks please buy this damn car and race it? Thank you.
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The Saucy Minx graces us with her presence! We’re not worthy, we’re not worthy!
While I think it would be a fantastic LeMons racer, I can’t help but think it’s just too pretty. I mean, look at it! It would be like sacrificing an early-60s Continental to the cause. A noble sacrifice, but heartbreaking at the same time.
Still. If properly done up a la Tin-Pot Dictator, complete with flags and waving mannequin in military uniform standing up in an improvised sunroof, the awesomeness might just overcome the heartbreakiness. -
Whoa, is that the real Murilee? Be still my heart!
Welcome to our little corner on the fringe. -
There goes his star…
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Seriously, I just now heard about Hooniverse, thanks to Graverobber and Judge Lieberman today. Perhaps I should, like, read the comments on Jalopnik during the week, and keep up with the drama.
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Drama is highly overrated, I wouldn’t bother if I were you.
And I actually meant my previous comment sincerely. Very, very glad to see you here, Murilee. You’ve obviously been a huge influence on what we’re trying to do here.-
Dearthair to Murilee:
Drama is definitely over rated!
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Ah! I have a ’71 280SE. Only 160hp for me, but in better shape – not restored or anything, but no rust, interior and it runs (well). Seriously, that thing is crazy solid for being almost 40 years old. To cliche it up, it feels like a tank. I’d feel horrible to LeMons one of these, but I really want to see someone do it.
Also, I have this feeling that the previous owner was a total badass. Once, after a water jug-spilling incident in the back seat (yeah, don’t turn quickly with one of those water cooler jugs with no lids in the back seat), I took out the rear sear, and found an old set of keys buried in there, with a keychain that read “Carol’s Keys.”
What was Carol doing in the backseat 😉 ? -
Useful information, many thanks to the author. It is puzzling to me now, but in general, the usefulness and importance is overwhelming. Very much thanks again and good luck!
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