Today's Shoot: 1969 Mercedes-Benz 220 W115

[cawimmer430]

For sale, only 26,130 km (after the shoot). That's 16,331 miles! 

Excellent condition, zero rust and very comfortable. The choke was interesting - when the engine was started it needed a different mixture. Carburetors, so old school! 

Here are some snapshots from after the shoot.

[giant_mtb]

What is LMKU?  Is that the radio brand name or are those distinctions between radio bands like AM and FM?  And why are there two U buttons.

[cawimmer430]

What is LMKU?  Is that the radio brand name or are those distinctions between radio bands like AM and FM?  And why are there two U buttons.

I have no idea, to be honest.

My Google searches brought up a potential name for an old radio, the Becker Europa LMKU. But on this one it says Blaupunkt... beyond me. I've tried finding some results for "LMKU" on old radios but I'm not getting a clear answer.

[giant_mtb]

I have no idea, to be honest.

My Google searches brought up a potential name for an old radio, the Becker Europa LMKU. But on this one it says Blaupunkt... beyond me. I've tried finding some results for "LMKU" on old radios but I'm not getting a clear answer.

Same. I Googled it as well and found a similar lack of information. Blaupunkt is a brand...didn't know they went that far back. But, yeah, not sure about the LMKU.

[FoMoJo]

Same. I Googled it as well and found a similar lack of information. Blaupunkt is a brand...didn't know they went that far back. But, yeah, not sure about the LMKU.

Could it be the equivalent for AM and FM?  Just guessing.

[giant_mtb]

Didn't see the Blaupunkt on initial inspection, either. Was too focused on the LMKU.

[giant_mtb]

Could it be the equivalent for AM and FM?  Just guessing.

That's what I was initially thinking. But four different bands?  There are buttons for each. But who knows, I wasn't using radios in Germany in the '60s. 

[FoMoJo]

That's what I was initially thinking. But four different bands?  There are buttons for each. But who knows, I wasn't using radios in Germany in the '60s. 

Two for AM and 3 for FM.

[giant_mtb]

Two for AM and 3 for FM.

Low. Medium. Kaiser. Upper?

[Galaxy]

L = Long wave (I think those are not used for civilian radio in north America)

M = Medium wave, or what you call AM

K = short wave (Kurzwelle)

U = Ultra short wave, or what you call FM.

Not sure what the second U is vor.

[Laconian]

Are they all amplitude modulation except U?

[Galaxy]

Are they all amplitude modulation except U?

Not 100% sure about this, but I believe that yes, all radio transmissions, except for FM use amplitude modulation, even though only medium wave is marketed as AM.

[dazzleman]

Beautiful!  Mercedes weren't common cars in the US back then, so I haven't seen too many of them.  I love cars from that era.

[93JC]

Seems funny it still had a manual choke. (Most) American cars had automatic one's by then.

[FoMoJo]

Seems funny it still had a manual choke. (Most) American cars had automatic one's by then.

They may have been automatic, but they weren't particularly clever.  If, for some reason, the engine got flooded, and it happened a lot in cold or wet weather, you could spend a lot of time trying to get the damn thing going.  By flooring the gas pedal, on most cars, it would force the choke plate open so that it wouldn't keep sucking gas in.  Oddly, most people didn't know that.  On a cold or wet morning, up and down the block, you would hear engines grinding over with a sputter and a gasp, over and over again.

[93JC]

Oh believe me, I'm quite familiar with pumping the accelerator pedal to get a carbed engine to start.

[cawimmer430]

Beautiful!  Mercedes weren't common cars in the US back then, so I haven't seen too many of them.  I love cars from that era.

To my knowledge the US only got the 240D and 300D (called 240D 3.0 in Europe) and the 250 and 280 - and no 280E. The majority of the cars you got were probably diesel-powered.

[cawimmer430]

Seems funny it still had a manual choke. (Most) American cars had automatic one's by then.

You should see how an old W115 diesel was started.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9Ay4_nOtGI

[Soup DeVille]

Seems funny it still had a manual choke. (Most) American cars had automatic one's by then.

Many times though, I remember wishing for a manual one.

[cawimmer430]

Many times though, I remember wishing for a manual one.

Automatic chokes screwed up most of the time?

[cawimmer430]

The finished light photos from the shoot. 

[shp4man]

Very nice. It will be a while before German A/C will catch up with ours, but never the less, a well built car. An inline 6 gasoline engine, if i remember correctly. The diesel ones were incredibly durable. Many were taxis.

[cawimmer430]

Very nice. It will be a while before German A/C will catch up with ours, but never the less, a well built car. An inline 6 gasoline engine, if i remember correctly. The diesel ones were incredibly durable. Many were taxis.

The 220 is a 4-cylinder. The inline-6s for the sedans were the 230.6, 250, 280 and the rare 280E.

The W114/W115 holds the record for the Mercedes-Benz with the highest recorded mileage: a 1981 240D  Greek taxi with 4.6 million km!

[cawimmer430]

I do prefer the original pre-facelift models. They look more late 1960ish. Back in the day this was a common sight. 

Germany's oldest taxi which is still in service is a W115 220D or 240D in Cologne.

[Soup DeVille]

Automatic chokes screwed up most of the time?

Not always, but in really cold conditions they would take a lot longer to respond, and many times a manual would have just been easier than waiting for the engine to warm up enough.