Grosser? 1966 Mercedes-Benz 600
We got a twofer! Not only is it Gullwing Motors’ time, but it’s also time for another installment of, “What in the Sam Hill happened?”, this time the subject being a rare 1966 Mercedes 600. A Mercedes 600 is an exalted car but finding one, courtesy of jonny, in this sort of condition is an unpleasant surprise. Considered a project, this big Benz is located in Astoria, New York and is available, here on eBay for a Classified Ad price of $19,500. There is a make-an-offer option too.
Known as a W100, our subject car is one of about 2,700 produced between 1964 and 1981 and is the more commonly found short-wheelbase model if you consider 126″ to be a short-wheelbase. Also known as the “Grosser Mercedes“, I’m afraid to say that this example is just a gross Mercedes.
There’s really no backstory here but this Benz looks like someone large (really large!) has sat on it – it’s seriously down on its haunches. There’s lots of rust, Bondo, misaligned body panels, missing front bumper and prominent Mercedes grille, and a rear bumper that looks like it’s about to be left on a highway. Note the cheesy aftermarket front wheel opening trim pieces. Such buffoonery on a 600?! This is a seriously sad state of affairs.
A non-runner, the 247 HP, 6.3 liter V8 doesn’t appear to have turned a schnitzel in many moons. There’s nothing immediately obvious that’s missing but there’s no telling what it would take to get this sedan back on the road, under its own power, once again. The transmission is likely a four-speed automatic. As for the air suspension, it appears to be completely kaput – probably a very expensive item to repair.
There’s only one image of the interior, and it reveals little, it actually looks like the backseat and its condition is in keeping with the rest of the car. The lack of a dash/instrument panel image is a significant faux pas, but maybe that’s the intention due to its condition. Typically, cars represented by this dealership are scantly revealed via the listings. If you want to know more, you’ll have to ask, and at the least, get additional pictures. I’d suggest an in-person visual inspection for this one.
So, what did happen here? Neglect, I would imagine. It could be the result of a major mechanical problem that side-lined it long ago, it’s really hard to say without more information. I have to imagine that this will be an extremely expensive, and time-consuming restoration project – clearly not for the faint of heart. This car will require true Mercedes-Benz knowledge and expertise. That leaves me out, how about you?
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Comments
All the kings horses and all the kings men…. Just saying. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Hopefully this will provide needed parts to save another.
Not worth $19.50.
How to become a millionaire: start with 2 million and restore this car.
Bury it with a dead Middle East dictator of your choice. Both long-gone.
Idi Amin’s getaway car.
What a shame.The things some car owners do.Cost many dollars to try and restore this.Not even a good parts car.You could spend $20,000.just to get the air suspension to work.
Well put! “The things some car owners do”. I say that to myself every time I come across a car that the owner wants to sell only after it’s too far gone to fix.
I thot this wuz a low rider.
This is just sad. Such a magnificent sedan to be allowed to rot like this. A surprising number of parts are still available through M-B, but it would cost less to buy a new Mercedes-Maybach S680 than it would to restore this once glorious sedan. The wheel opening moldings, tacky as they are, are stock.
Imagine the scariest movie you’ve ever seen. Then multiply that by a thousand. That’s this car.
This car Will do 60mph ( down hill in a hurricane) I say scrap it
A new high..er……I mean low….for Gullwing
I say crowd fund a Mercedes expert to bring this back to new in a series of YouTube episodes. The complexities of this car is fascinating.
On loan from Gullwing’s sister dealership…BHCC. I don’t think the Grosser Guru in Wisconsin would accept this as a parts car.
“Grosser Guru in Wisconsin” ?
Another name please.
Karl Middlehauve.
If Gullwing dares sell this pile of parts for 19k , they deserve the fire they will have to suffer for eternity!
I believe them wheel trims are factree. Mercedes done it for the “Murican market.
No, these chrome wheel arches were actually standard equipment on these.
I think this was Gordon Gecko’s car –
“GREED IS GOOD”
a “grosser” grosser if there ever was one!…
(in fact, this may qualify as the “grossest” grosser on the planet)
I wonder how much Gullwing stands to profit on this car. Anyone knows that they wouldnt be trying to resell it if there was not a huge profit margin. I’ll bet they bought it for $500….
All that aside, these are awesome cars, it needs to be saved.
Grosser is a good name for this.
I could see this as a movie prop for the next Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Ran When Parked?????
It’s going to take a lot of braun to get this goering without also goebbeling up a lot cash.
Speer clear of this one!
(Too soon?)
@Ensign Pulver:
Very droll, sir. Very droll indeed. But clever.
RB
Once upon a time, I transported one of these,but a short wheelbase model, in my enclosed trailer from the owner near New York to a specialist in the woods of New Hampshire. Picked it up in the evening to deliver it the next morning. When I picked it up, I was not informed of one very important fact; that the suspension will not hold the car up very long after it is shut off. When I checked on it the next morning, it had settled down completely between the inner fenders of the trailer. Fortunately, I left a rear window down and was able to climb in and over the seat to start it and regain the clearance to open the door. Front window was left down for the rest of the (enclosed) ride north.
It will be a long time before this one gets to that point…
Jay Leno, your next project is waiting!
Forget about restoring it. Just swap
in a 454 Chevy V-8, mate it to a beefed up T400 transmission, rebuild
the air suspension with American spec parts, and the rest you could
finish when time permits. And when
it’s finished, you’d have nice German
car with the reliability of American
parts that can be found at any parts
store here in Polk County Florida.I say
this because in the mid ’80s when my
Wife and I moved here, foreign cars
Were seldom seen here. And those
that broke down were either parked or taken to Gershman’s U-pull-it and
scrapped. You should’ve seen all
the Mercedes, Yugos, and Rolls Royce’s in there! You wouldn’t have
believed it! Saw one of these tooling around Winter Haven on a Chevy 1 ton 4X4 truck chassis in the late 90s
What a sight that was! While I haven’t
Seen anything like that in 25 years,
I’ll bet they still do it.
454 Chevy + T400 = a sacrilage that only the hillbilly who built it would like and whom then next owner is the junkyard.
…turn a schnitzel…LOL
I’m totally surprised that Gullwing would even put this on their floor? What a disgrace. The uninformed might be somewhat impressed by the name “Gullwing Motor Cars”. Assuming he paid $500, or hopefully less, for this apparition, it totally obliterates any possible good vibe created by that name. I’ve said it before: “The most expensive car in the world? A free car.” Some say it is a parts car. Fine. Haul it to a wrecking yard, where it belongs. Maybe it was abandoned at his door step??
Gullwing to me always equalled car flipper taking advantage of unsuspecting people with an old and valuable car in their garage. I never was impressed by them, it’s all about money..
This was a sin to let a 600 deteriorate. This one is complete toast as others have noted. Restoration would exceed $200k and would be worth just about that when finished. These flagships, while uncommon, still pop up a few times a year. My advice? By a complete running unit then retain a qualified tech, because it may well exceed $20k annually just to keep it on the road, which will only amount to a few weeks a year while waiting on parts.
I got to ride in a very fine SWB version as a kid, what a car! Seeing this breaks my heart!
Brokered a sale on a nice, low mileage 2 owner 1964 example in very original and good running condition for $70000 last year. And even that car had needs worth another $X000 for a serious owner.
Maybe there are parts on this which could make someone happy, but I´d like to see it as a low-rider in LA. Those guys would love it, get it and give it another life.
Huh??
One of the most cost effective things you can do with this one would be to replace the pneumatic suspension with conventional springs and shocks for starters…That almost might save enough to try to address the rest ….which is going to be no small feat…
It’s no longer worth the asking price. But I would donate any usable engine and tranny parts to someone seriously restoring one. And completely restomod this ones she’ll and interior.
Given the gamut of comments, would guess the consensus of a classic lost. Perhaps taking the body of this car and splitting it lengthwise to make a large dramatic wall relief over a bar in a German restaurant. The rest would be parts needed for other 600’s.
In 1976 the local M-B dealership had a LWB version traded in on a new M-B. the 600 was tired and stopped running on the dealer’s back lot. When the used car dept manager [who I knew] heard I was interested, he sold [dumped] it on me for $2k. That’s when I found out it needed a new starter motor, at a cost of almost what I paid for the car.
I put an ad in Hemmings and sold it to a collector in Europe, as is.
If anyone needs or wants another grill shell, I have a nice example of a 600 grill, the outer shell only, $1,500 takes it [That’s really cheap!]. I was going to install a series of clear plastic shelves in it & hang it on the wall to display some vintage M-B toys in my collection, but like a lot of my little plans, this one never got done.
Which ocean did they drag this out of? Atlantic or Pacific?
This looks like the car owned 20 years ago by a former New Car Dealer in Towanda, PA
The 2 first owners had taken care of it and as longer as more
experienced mechanics disappeared to maintain it properly.
Then after a long time in hibernation some blokes bought it
as it is big, and it uses a V8 – without any knowing mechanic
to fix it and when you want to fix it its expensive. A service
manual is available.
Well overpriced from my view 1950$ worth
Kind of like old Rolls Royces; rich people bought them and dealer maintained them. Then they bounced around from owner to owner, then storage, then eventually into the hands of hillbillies who restomodded them, then to the junkyard.
I’d buy that……………….for a dollar.
It says make and offer, how bout $100!
Yes, RR’s from the Vickers era are much more complicated
and vulnerable to malfunction as this 600’s. Its again the huge
difference of German logical thinking vs. the half baked anglo
else/if-method.
The comments here explain the level out of ignorance as
the W100 is best quality of materials and engineering.