Help me identify this VDO clock...

[ScooterABC]

Hi, the clock looks just like a typical VDO quartz clock. The enclosure I have never seen before. Anyone know what this is about?

thanks

[kraakevik]

The face and bezel look identical to the instrument-cluster clocks in '68-'76 114/115 sedans and coupes.

The housing may be designed to mount these clocks externally in other models or vehicles


Tim Kraakevik
kraakevik@voyager.net
630 940-2420

[97 SL320]

The bracket has a slight curve on one leg making it look like a steering column mounting. Perhaps it is a tachometer for a non turbo 220 D with 5 people in it and the AC turned on?

Have you opened it up to see if there are any numbers / dates stamped inside?

[ScooterABC]

Originally Posted by kraakevik

The face and bezel look identical to the instrument-cluster clocks in '68-'76 114/115 sedans and coupes.

The housing may be designed to mount these clocks externally in other models or vehicles

Yes, it's the same clock as in a 114 or 108, just setup for a different mount location.

Originally Posted by 97 SL320

The bracket has a slight curve on one leg making it look like a steering column mounting. Perhaps it is a tachometer for a non turbo 220 D with 5 people in it and the AC turned on?

Have you opened it up to see if there are any numbers / dates stamped inside?

Good catch on the slight curve of the base. Yes, I think it is intended to be on the steering column. It is date-stamped for August 1972 and I don't know what the 300 means unless it means this was a setup for a 300 sedan that had a tach to go with a 6.9 or 3.5 engine, but in those situations I'm used to a rectangular clock being mounted in the dash (Fintail clock).

There is a little bag of parts that go with it - a wire, a bulb with wire, and the bracket which is the right size to hold it into the assembly. The bulb I don't understand, as there is a friction ring that holds the clock steady at the face that happens to cover all of the areas where light would go into the clock. So that's a mystery...

Scott

[97 SL320]

The 300 is likely an inspectors mark.

VDO was bought by Continental a while back but still has a strong aftermarket division I'd try to contact them.

The gauge cup might be a universal part and not directly related to the clock, is is marked VDO? Under what circumstances / context did you acquire the parts? That might give a clue to their origin.

[ScooterABC]

Originally Posted by 97 SL320

The gauge cup might be a universal part and not directly related to the clock, is is marked VDO? Under what circumstances / context did you acquire the parts? That might give a clue to their origin.

The assembly is not marked VDO - it has no markings at all inside or outside. I don't remember for sure how I acquired this but my best guess is that I bought it on ebay because I thought it was cool and unusual, years ago. It appears to be new. (both the clock and the holder). I haven't tested the clock yet but will eventually. The cup/assembly does come with a bracket that would only work with a clock of precisely this size based on shape and length of screws. I recognize that there could be different screws or brackets for different applications. The finish on the assembly is black crinkle.

[ScooterABC]

One thing I'm wondering - would a MB with a divider partition have a clock in the rear seating area of the car? Such as a 600 LWB or something along those lines...

[JeffreyNMemphis]

Hi Scott,

I don’t recall seeing a quartz VDO clock in 114/115 or w108. The Grand 600 has a quartz movement which was larger than the mechanical movements.

VDO made clocks for many car manufacturers. Mercedes Benz was likely to have a part number somewhere.

[ScooterABC]

Originally Posted by JeffreyNMemphis

Hi Scott,
I don’t recall seeing a quartz VDO clock in 114/115 or w108.

Yeah, they switched over from the mechanical movement to quartz around 1968. For example, a 1972 W108 isn't going to have a mechanical movement clock. The plus side is it's accurate. The minus side is difficult/impossible to fix unlike the mechanical ones which typically have a burnt fusible link... See the pic of the same clock mounted in a cluster in post #2 above...

[Idle]

Actually.......

Mercedes used the mechanical clock up until 1972 except in the 600 which was quartz.

But if your clock quit and you picked up a new one from Mercedes the only ones they sold were the quartz models. This is because all the mechanical ones were NLA.

So you will see 108s and 114 115s with quartz clocks. But they are replacement ones.

To add to the fun if you sent it to be repaired you would get back a quartz one with the same case. So you could have a quartz movement with an inspection stamp from the late 60s.

But to the clock at hand. It appears to me to be a marine version of the VDO clock. Of course, the clock is the same. Just the housing is different.

Also I can't really tell from the photos but where are the power and ground lines? Is this a self-winding clock? These were popular in Packards from the 1930s and actually don't sell for that much since they were usually three jewel movements at best and pin movements at the worst. A cheap Timex was a pin movement aka: zero jewels.

[ScooterABC]

I would swear I have had/seen quartz clocks with date codes prior to 1972 but it doesn't matter...

I like the idea of this being a marine version of a VDO clock.

The power and ground wires are behind the clock inside the housing. It's not self-winding. There is a small hole in the back of the housing for the wires to come out.

Scott

[Idle]

Originally Posted by ScooterABC

I would swear I have had/seen quartz clocks with date codes prior to 1972 but it doesn't matter...

I like the idea of this being a marine version of a VDO clock.

The power and ground wires are behind the clock inside the housing. It's not self-winding. There is a small hole in the back of the housing for the wires to come out.

Scott

You very likely have seen quartz clocks prior to 1972 but they were all replacements. Original clocks up until then were all electro-mechanical.

This used to confuse me, too. But like you said, it really does not matter as long as it is keeping time. It might matter if you are going for a 100% restoration, but I would say for 99.999999% of older Mercedes owners this is not important.

An interesting historical tidbit.... The 1971 Datsun 240z had a quartz clock. This was an innovation since at that time quartz clocks were insanely expensive. I remember looking at one of these when they came out and the salesman made a big deal out of the clock and how silent it was.

This was a play on the Rolls-Royce ads of the time where they said the loudest sound in a Royce was the ticking of the clock.