It’s easy to see why our W116 restoration is overlooked by all but the most ardent of Merc-ophiles, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a closer look, not least as it easily counts as one of the most demanding rebuilds we’ve yet undertaken – these are not simple cars!
The good news is that the guys over at Classic Cars magazine are only too aware of the complexity of the original S-Class, and we were therefore over the moon when they asked to feature it. The photos below detail the scale of the task at hand and also the quality of the end result, something we’re all proud of.
“It was pretty sad. Some of the rust was obvious – you could see the valances and wheel arches had decayed – but I knew we’d find a whole lot more. And we did.”
“We ordered everything that our supplier in Germany had, but it wasn’t enough. So we had to ask them to talk to their other clients and find out if there were any pieces left over anywhere. Eventually someone said we could have their off-cuts, and that meant there was just enough…as long as I didn’t make a single mistake, that it.”
“John Shackles reckons his choice of restorer to be a fortunate one, ‘Getting the car back was like having a new one delivered, except it’s better than new. Retropower was just great; nothing was too much bother, though I thing they tore out a lot of hair!”
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