My 1958 Mercedes-Benz Type 180a Ponton

nishsingh · 15th March 2023, 21:55

I have no words to share on how beautiful the car looks. Pure eye candy!
Thanks for making my day.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbz180

. One chapter in my life is now over

Beg to disagree; this is more like the start of a lovely new chapter!

Congratulations!

HooghlyBoy · 16th March 2023, 12:34

Lovely to see these beauties....Missed The Statesman Car Rally. Wish to visit it next time. A friend of mine won the Best Restored Car this year for his Standard Herald.

mbz180 · 16th March 2023, 13:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by HooghlyBoy

Lovely to see these beauties....Missed The Statesman Car Rally. Wish to visit it next time. A friend of mine won the Best Restored Car this year for his Standard Herald.

Your friend won the best restored car award in the Indian Heritage category.

Regards,

Prithvi

Mechb63 · 17th March 2023, 11:31

Reading this thread from start to end was quite an experience. Many congratulations to you for achieving. Your commitment to perfection and doing things the right way has been quite motivating.

I am sure it has been quite a journey for you, your mechanic, and everyone else involved and the end result sure looks amazing. Wish you many many happy miles in this lovely car.

knightfurry · 24th March 2023, 01:42

I was feeling exhausted restoring 1985 Suzuki AX100 and then I came across your post, read from the day you started restoring. Almost a decade is a very very long time. Salute your persistence and patience. You Sir, inspire many noobs to like us. I’m going to our Ancestral home tomorrow and getting the 1974 Vespa chassis out. Restoration brings tomorrow. Wish me luck!

mbz180 · 13th April 2023, 11:18

Hello Bhpians,

You may be happy to know that since the restoration, I have been using the Merc, named Panzer by my late father, regularly. In fact, till date I've covered nearly 1700 kms which has included 4 out of town trips.

The Ponton is very stable at speeds upto 100 kmph (I've not gone beyond that) and the mid range grunt from the 1.9 litre OHC engine is good. The suspension is unbelievable. With every rubber bushing and silent block replaced and OEM Bilstein shocks all round, the all independent suspension is just superb. Gearshift lever action is smooth & requires minimal effort, the clutch pedal action is light, the brake system assisted by the optional power booster gives good stopping power. In 1958, the driving experience would have been pretty impressive for a humble sedan, I'm sure.

In short, Panzer is a very comfortable car and comes into its stride on the highway. However, with regular driving, I do know some areas which require attention.

Will update this thread whenever I have something.

Regards,

Prithvi Nath Tagore

I am enclosing some photos of my last out of town trip with Panzer (last weekend), I hope you like them.

16th March 2023, 12:34	#392
HooghlyBoy BHPian Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: KOLKATA Posts: 78 Thanked: 131 Times	Re: My 1958 Mercedes-Benz Type 180a Ponton Lovely to see these beauties....Missed The Statesman Car Rally. Wish to visit it next time. A friend of mine won the Best Restored Car this year for his Standard Herald.
	(1) Thanks

17th March 2023, 11:31	#394
Mechb63 BHPian Join Date: Mar 2022 Location: Mumbai Posts: 49 Thanked: 163 Times	Re: My 1958 Mercedes-Benz Type 180a Ponton Reading this thread from start to end was quite an experience. Many congratulations to you for achieving. Your commitment to perfection and doing things the right way has been quite motivating. I am sure it has been quite a journey for you, your mechanic, and everyone else involved and the end result sure looks amazing. Wish you many many happy miles in this lovely car.
	(1) Thanks

24th March 2023, 01:42	#395
knightfurry BHPian Join Date: Jun 2022 Location: Pune Posts: 72 Thanked: 147 Times	Re: My 1958 Mercedes-Benz Type 180a Ponton I was feeling exhausted restoring 1985 Suzuki AX100 and then I came across your post, read from the day you started restoring. Almost a decade is a very very long time. Salute your persistence and patience. You Sir, inspire many noobs to like us. I’m going to our Ancestral home tomorrow and getting the 1974 Vespa chassis out. Restoration brings tomorrow. Wish me luck!
	(2) Thanks

13th April 2023, 11:18	#396
mbz180 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Kolkata Posts: 893 Thanked: 1,023 Times	Re: My 1958 Mercedes-Benz Type 180a Ponton Hello Bhpians, You may be happy to know that since the restoration, I have been using the Merc, named Panzer by my late father, regularly. In fact, till date I've covered nearly 1700 kms which has included 4 out of town trips. The Ponton is very stable at speeds upto 100 kmph (I've not gone beyond that) and the mid range grunt from the 1.9 litre OHC engine is good. The suspension is unbelievable. With every rubber bushing and silent block replaced and OEM Bilstein shocks all round, the all independent suspension is just superb. Gearshift lever action is smooth & requires minimal effort, the clutch pedal action is light, the brake system assisted by the optional power booster gives good stopping power. In 1958, the driving experience would have been pretty impressive for a humble sedan, I'm sure. In short, Panzer is a very comfortable car and comes into its stride on the highway. However, with regular driving, I do know some areas which require attention. Will update this thread whenever I have something. Regards, Prithvi Nath Tagore I am enclosing some photos of my last out of town trip with Panzer (last weekend), I hope you like them. Last edited by aah78 : 13th April 2023 at 23:51. Reason: Pictures inserted in-line.
	(9) Thanks