In search of a Fintail buyers guide

[muleears]

I'm looking for a Fintail to tinker with. I don't want a perfect one but I don't want junk either. What are the common rust spots on a second generation fintail? I don't want to fix rust, upholstery and mechanics OK, but no rust! Is there a buyers guide I can look at? I want a diesel, no gasser. AC is not wanted but I won't turn one down because of it.... Any common mechanical shorfalls? I know they are generally bulletproof, but I also realize we're looking at a 50 year old car. Any help is appreciated!

[meltedpanda]

took me five years looking on and off to find my 62, and it was a result of good pieces of luck falling into place. I will tell you most ARE rust buckets , and the ones that are not are overpriced. The same rust concerns are with all of these ol gals, rockers , shock supports , floor pans , trunk.

Sign up to receive alerts from craigslist or ebay. Many of the desirable ones ( meaning they need a lot of work , but not a HUGE amount of work ) are on the west coast, I can tell you that for certain, so there may be shipping involved

[JeffreyNMemphis]

There is a tremendous amount of wisdom and experience to be found in this vintage forum. But it has not been boiled down into a buyer's guide. You can search W110 chassis and find several long running threads by owners of diesel fintail cars.

Your signature list of cars demonstrates experience with buying. Rust is the enemy of these cars. As the Panda wisely stated, the best cars seem to come from Southwest dry regions of Texas out to California and up to Washington State. The salt used on roads in the North East was unkind to these cars.

I have email alerts coming from Craigslist. I see diesel fintails fairly often. There was one recently in Memphis that looked good with a motivated seller that may still be for sale.

[meltedpanda]

Mulears, you have the attention of Jeff - he is the ultimate guide to fintails

[Idle]

I always look for rust in the rockers. I don't care if it is a W110, 111, 108, 108, 114 or 115 the problem is:

Rain falls on the automobile. It runs down the window through cracked rubber seals. It collects in the bottom of the doors (which is why you see rust along the bottom of the doors) where it should run out of drain holes in the bottom of the door. These holes get clogged with dirt and you get a collection of water in the door bottom, hence the rust.

If the water runs out the holes like it should then it lands on top of the rocker. This is protected by a rubber sill unless you have a 300SEL and then it is stainless steel.

If the rubber gets cracked the water just stands on the top of the rocker, after it has seeped through the cracks in the sill. Then you get get rust in the rockers.

So look first at the lower outside window seals. If they are cracked and/or gone then look hard at the bottom of the doors and then the rockers. Tap them with a small rubber hammer and you can hear the difference between solid metal that that which has thinned out.

And that rust on the doors? That's not surface rust. It is rust that started on the inside and has eaten its' way through.

Look also in the spare tire wells. Water collects there and, just like the doors, will start rusting in the wells and then start eating away at the outside body of the car.

And none of this info is the last word on the subject. It is, like a lot of info on these cars, a general guide. Before you dive into one of these then study, study, study.

And keep this thread going. Ask questions. No one here is shy about admitting mistakes they have made in buying these cars.

[muleears]

Thanks for the information gentlemen. In my search so far, the decent cars i have found were indeed from southern CA to Washington state. My problem is not being able to visit the car in person. I may have to purchase via pictures and video. Any suggestions there? I currently have my eye on one in OR. I would love to find a forum member nearby who could look at it but chances of that are slim.This particular car doesn't appear to have door or rocker panel rust but it does have spots where the molding attaches along the trunk and rear edge of the headlight trim.
On a separate note, where do you folks buy parts for these? Both new and used. Is there a source for finny carpet, knobs, upholstery etc?

Thanks again for all the help.