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1953 Rare 220 Suicide Door Sedan

Kent has to let this exceptional example go - you finish!

Item: 1953 220 Sedan
Price: $19,500.00
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Note to interested parties:  If you have additional questions about this car or are interested in a possible purchase PLEASE DO NOT CALL. Questions and offers must be submitted by email so Kent will be able to respond. Our phone staff will not be able to answer your questions. The car is also for sale on eBay this week. 



After working on this rare Mercedes for almost 10 years now, Kent has had to finally admit he is just getting too old to have the time and energy necessary to finish it. Here is what he has to say about this unique Mercedes:

 

 

I am going to have to punt and pass it on to a - next generation - Mercedes enthusiast. What attracted me to this car in the first place was the suicide doors and the look of a mid 1930's American car. I had 1933 and 1934 Fords back in my high school days and being the Mercedes fanatic that I am, I could just not resist buying this car. I had originally considered turning this into a Street Rod with a newer engine and drivetrain, but decided to keep it original. In its original form it is a good driver and can keep up with modern traffic. What other sedan produced by a factory had this classic look and had independent four wheel suspension,overhead cam six cylinder and very effective hydraulic brakes?

Before reading further, there is one very important thing you must understand. The car is NOT running, the engine is NOT fully assembled, the body is NOT fully bolted together, and there are lots and lots of parts in boxes. In fact when shipped the car will be full of boxes of goodies. When I made the decision to sell, I knew I would have to partially assemble the engine, put it and the transmission in the car and minimally bolt the fenders and running boards on to make it possible to ship it damage free and without the loss of key parts.

To complete the car you will need to unbolt the fenders, hood, grill, bumpers etc, remove the engine from the car and take it apart to install pistons, bearings, gaskets etc, they assemble the car again. Of course if you are a street rod enthusiast you could install newer running gear. Just look at that rigid boxed in X frame under the car! This original 1952 220 engine and transmission are very desirable and valuable so you could sell those separately. You would not see another one like it at the local hot rod meet....

Now lets get on to the details. I know this is going to be lengthy, but there is just no other way to present a thorough and honest description.





BODY AND SHEET METAL: I consider this the absolute biggest plus of this particular Mercedes. Before I found this one, I had purchased another 220 sedan in Canada that had significant rust out in the body. I wanted the car so badly that I tried to overlook all the sheet metal replacement that would be required. When I found this 220 in Seattle, Washington I first crawled around under neath it and was amazed at the lack of any cancer in the floors and underbody channels. Sure there was a little surface rust - but considering these cars were never important into the U.S. I found its body condition unbelievable. I realized I had found a virgin 220 in the rough. It turned out the car was brought over to the U.S. in the mid 1950s by a US Military person and then sold to the person I purchased it from in 1961. Since that time until I brought it to Bellingham it spent all its life in a covered garage in Seattle.

I have since done extensive work that has included stripping all the removeable sheet metal and 80 percent of the body of its original paint. There were only minor dents in some areas so only a small amount of body filler was used. Hours and hours of two part priming and block sanding have been done to bring the body to a condition where its body panels and fenders are straighter and smoother than they were from the factory. The car has been repainted the original color and as you can see by the pictures it is gorgeous.

 





CHROME AND TRIM: Over $4000 has been spent in rechroming the original parts. As you can see in the pictures these parts are just beautiful. Especially the front grill! Other high quality triple rechroming includes the bumpers, bumper guards, head light and tail light bezels, exterior and interior door handles, and other trim parts. Brand new tail light lenses are included.













INTERIOR AND GLASS: Interior is ALL original as it came from the factory. I have not done anything to it. This will give you an idea of the good original condition of the vehicle when I found it. Seats look ok but they as well as door panels and headliner really need to be redone to match the restored look of the body and chrome. All door panels are there. All the side and rear window original glass is in good condition. All the wood window surrounds are in superb condition. No water damage or delamination. The door wood has been stripped and is ready for refinishing. Window cranks all work properly. New front windshield has been cut and a new front windshield seal is included to complete installation.









ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION: The engine was in the process of being completely rebuilt. Block has been honed and pistons fitted to block. New rings are installed on the pistons. (Note: Pistons were not installed when block was put back into the car.) Honed cylinder walls were carefully greased during temporary assembly to prevent rusting. Cylinder head has been rebuilt, valves ground, new guide seals. The camshaft and rocker arms are in excellent condition will no scoring on the lobes. Crankshaft is in excellent condition. New owner will need to purchase crank and rod bearings. A complete engine gasket set as shown (from Mercedes Benz) was purchased and will be included. Car was driven by me on numerous occasions before restoration was started and the transmission shifts through all the gears very smoothly. Radiator is in excellent condition.









SUSPENSION AND UNDERCARRIAGE: The suspension and undercarriage are in the good condition. Note the advanced engineering considering the year the car was built. There is an elaborated suspension oil system that oils the all the wear points will a few pumps of a pedal. Other than brakes components have not been totally restored, but have been cleaned, inspected and painted. Brakes were rebuilt about 6 years ago. Car handled and braked well before it was taken down for restoration. Exhaust system is solid with newer mufflers. 6 original wheels have been painstakingly cleaned and painted and 4 new tires installed. 2 unmounted wheels will be included along with the factory tool kit, jack and trunk tools. Fuel tank has been boiled out and internally coated.





OTHER PARTS: All the parts not mounted on the car have been placed in boxes inside the car. Some extra parts may even be included. There are boxes of extra chrome goodies, engine parts, trim pieces, rubber seals, etc. I have tried to pack and pad all these parts in categories with great care to prevent damage. They will be packed securely in the car for shipping without risking damage to the car itself. All the parts are there for a complete car, but due to the possibility of mistakes I can not "guarantee" that you will receive every last part, bolt and screw needed to reassemble the car.







MANUALS AND PAPERWORK: Along with the car you will receive an original owners hand book and complete service manual. The car has a clean Washington State Title which along with a bill of sale will be sent to the new owner once payment has been verified.

 

 Buyer will have to arrange for auto trunk transport. All parts will be carefully boxed up and placed inside the car for safe shipping. Payment must be made by bank wire transfer.
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