Sold 1964 Mercedes-Benz 220SE Cabriolet 2146353523 Tweet

This car is not currently located at Fantasy Junction, but is expected to arrive December of 2017.


1964 Mercedes Benz 220 SE Cabriolet
s/n 11102310026883 Eng. no. 127.984.10-002983
Dark Blue with Cream Leather

Introduced in 1961, the W111 and W112 generation of Mercedes-Benz S-Class replaced the famed Adenauer cars as well as the Ponton cars in two-door form. They incorporated a number of advanced technical and convenience features including independent suspension all around, fuel injection, and disc brakes. In cabriolet form, they are particularly elegant and desirable, and this examples appeal is further enhanced by its elegant color combination and the rare fitment of a manual transmission.

This particular 220SE cabriolet, with full European specification, was purchased when about a year old by an American working in Switzerland. Upon returning to Palo Alto, California at the end of his employment contract, he brought with him the car. The car has been in California since about 1965 with the same owner who passed away in late 2010 or early 2011. During his ownership, the car was repainted, dash top wood refinished, the seats recovered, and a beautiful tan canvas new top installed. He also performed extensive mechanical work, although his widow was unable to find the invoices. Fantasy Junction sold this car to a longtime customer and collector on the east coast in 2011, and he retained the car until the previous owners son arranged to buy it back via Fantasy Junction in 2014.

As part of the European specification, this example features European gauges, headlamps, a 4 speed manual transmission, power steering, and an original AM/FM/SW radio. The car shows just under 9,000km, which is believed to be 109,000 kilometers or about 67,500 miles. Select records confirm that the car was repainted in 2000, with considerable upholstery work carried out in 1999. The east coast collector spent several thousand dollars mechanically and cosmetically sorting the car during his ownership, including new clutch, pressure plate, release bearing, muffler, new carpets, sound proofing, heat barrier, jute, top boot, new trunk mat and new firewall heat pad. At this time, the firewall on the engine compartment side was restored and detailed to high standards and remains very fresh. The car has seen a few additional service items since, including new rear wheel cylinders and fluid changes.

The car has tremendous visual presence and is distinguished by its excellent body. The car is reported never to have had any metalwork and is extremely sound, even in vulnerable areas such as the spare tire wells, trunk floor, and jack points. The body is extremely straight with great panel fit and a paint job that was obviously performed to high standards. Aside from some swirls that could be rectified with a sympathetic paint correct, there are few paint blemishes to speak of: just a few chips on the front of the car from road use. The chrome is very good, with very light pitting and swirls, and a scuff on the right front corner; certainly nothing worth redoing. The lights and glass are also very good although there is a crack in the right rear tail light lens and a chip that has been touched up in the windscreen, which appears to be original. The European headlamps are very good to excellent.

The interior presents very nicely as well. The leather is lightly mellowed with minor creasing on the front seats but no other signs of aging or wear. The carpets are excellent as is the dashboard. The wood around the windscreen has been redone and is extremely glossy while the remaining wood is less glossy and shows a few small cracks. The car is fitted with Blaupunkt radio.

The engine compartment is extremely clean and is about as tidy as is possible for a car that has not been restored. The firewall and the various wiring and hardware attached to it has been restored and is in excellent shape. The remainder of the engine compartment is honest, clean, and attractive: consistent with a car that has been well-maintained and never needed to be restored. The trunk has a new mat and appears to be in otherwise well-preserved unrestored condition. The spot welds are still present on the sheetmetal and aside from some surface rust on the trunk floor, the trunk is in beautiful condition. The original jack is in place, along with the spare.

This is an excellent S-Class cabriolet that will appeal to the collector or the enthusiast. One of the best things about this car is its superb structural condition, a reflection of the fact that it has spent almost its entire life in Northern California with very few owners. It is also well-equipped, including manual transmission, and has a great color combination. Perfectly walking the line between a restored car and a low mileage original car that has never needed to be comprehensively restored, this is truly a top drawer example of what was one of Mercedes most prestigious models. It comes with miscellaneous records from the last 15 to 20 years as well as an original 220SE brochure.


This car is not currently located at Fantasy Junction, but is expected to arrive December of 2017.