I consider myself lucky enough to have experienced the days of car buying before the internet. Circling newspaper ads, leaving notes on windshields and endless dead-end phone calls. Today, many of us start the day surfing Craigslist, Auto Trader, Bring a Trailer and more…looking for that next car, next project or hidden gem. When I decided on a 1971 Super Beetle for my last project it took me almost two months to find an acceptable starter. There are millions of beetles out there, but I wanted an example from just a single year. Imagine the challenge of finding not a single year, but a single VIN! A good friend of ours, Dave Koszegi, is doing just that.
Once Dave begins to tell the story, it’s not hard to figure out where his love of cars came from. Throughout his youth, Dave’s dad would always talk about his favourite car; a 1968 Mercedes Benz 300se. “My entire life I heard stories about that car,” Dave tells me. “Dad would talk about how fast it was.” The car was special ordered with the 3 litre, fuel injected six cylinder which I understand was similar to that used in the famous Gullwing. The car was also specified with an Automatic transmission, MBtex interior and a maroon paint. “The paint,” Dave begins, “Dad would always talk about the paint job. He really loved the colour.” Anytime the two of them passed a vehicle with a maroon paint job, Dave’s dad would start telling him stories about his beloved Mercedes. Purchased new from the dealer in 1968, Dave’s father owned the car for just four years. The arrival of Dave, brother to four other siblings, meant the 300se was traded in at the local Ford Dealership for an LTD woody wagon with more seating capacity. But the Mercedes was never forgotten.
Dave’s father passed away about five years ago, and Dave has been on the hunt for this specific Mercedes. He’s been able to trace the car from 1968, right to the year 2000…but then the trail goes cold. After it was traded into the Ford dealership the car was sold to private owner located in Edmonton Alberta. In the ’80’s she contacted the family to say the car was running great, and then later placed it up for sale in the 90’s. The car was sold to another Alberta owner, who kept it insured until 1999 or 2000…but that is where the trail goes cold. Dave has checked with Alberta registration, sea and rail shipping companies, and believes the car is still located somewhere in Canada…probably Alberta. Dave has tried getting help from Mercedes Classic in California, suggesting they pass his contact information onto anyone who’s purchased parts in the last 10 years. Unfortunately, to date he’s been unable to generate any assistance.
Classic Car Adventures would love to help Dave be reunited with his Dad’s old car, and has the VIN number for final identification. With the unique and special-order build, finding the specific car is certainly a more realistic proposition. Is it sitting in a barn waiting to be found? Perhaps it was parted out for it’s unique engine? Either way, we’d love to help Dave find his needle in a haystack.
Vehicle Details:
1968 Mercedes Benz 300SE (Four Door Sedan)
Engine: High Compression, 3 Litre Fuel Injected Six
Transmission: Automatic
Interior: Beige MBtex
Color: Maroon
VIN: Final digit is 7, full VIN to be used for identification purposes.
If you’ve got any information or leads, please contact us using mercedes@classiccaradventures.com, or use the comments section below.
The W108 300SE was relatively uncommon, 2737 over three production years. Most of the W108s I see have just been old cars for quite a time now, with delayed oil changes, neglected mechanicals and poor cosmetics, all of which make resale difficult. Many have now been consigned to the scrap heap, so this really is a difficult search.
The 300 SL that went out of production in 1963 had the M198 engine with 212-222 hp, whereas the normal W108 300 SE had an M189 engine with 195 hp. It seems unlikely that MB would have supplied the out-of-production M198 hooked up to an automatic, but I’ve learned that anything was possible with enough influence.
The maroon colour was also unusual. I looked at an ex-Alberta 1972 280 SE 4.5 (same body but a 4.5 L V8) being offered for sale in the Victoria area in October. Like Dave’s car, it was maroon with cream MB tex, and I was there because this car had paper to support its indicated mileage of under 31K. The maroon paint, not my favourite colour, nevertheless went well with the upholstery but was, like other MBs of this period I’ve seen in the same colour, badly oxidized where the sun had got to it. The red pigment did not do well in the sun.
I wish Dave well with his search but can say that I don’t think I’ve seen the car he’s looking for on Vancouver Island in the last few years.
Bob (President, Vancouver Island Section MBCA)