The Mercedes 600
An Eclectic Background
This vehicle may have the most eclectic list of notable owners of any car, ever. The names range from George Harrison, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, and Elvis Presley as a preferred car for these entertainers. The only time you will mention Mao Zedong, The Pope, and Pablo Escobar in the same sentence is their love for the Mercedes Benz 600.
Given the wide range of this vehicle’s appeal to notable folks from all walks of life, you would think this car was a fairly straightforward project with an easy fix to make certain these folks could get back into the driver’s seat – or more realistically the back seat so their chauffeur could get back on the road; however, that is not the case.
This vehicle, a 4-door sedan whose production spanned mostly 1960’s-70’s remains to this day to be one of the most complicated automobiles to ever grace the tarmac. The reason for this is not perfectly straightforward. A majority of the enigma that is servicing the 600 is the amount of hydraulics the Mercedes 600’s accessories use. Taking on a restoration project like a 600 is quite the project in and of itself. In that respect, this larger than average undertaking has been documented from arrival to present day. It is currently a continuing project at Motoring Investments.
Arrival Condition
In most cases the restoration vehicles we see roll in do not do so under their own power, let alone with some semblance of good looks. This 600 was an exception, and the exterior and interior were both at least driver level, and it was operational by driving standards. That said, driving standards is not the standard of the client, who expects perfection.
Body Condition
Nothing necessarily to be written home about, however it is in decent condition with little work necessary. Some surface rust and metal issues which could be corrected if desired, which given the circumstances for the build, they were happy and insistent to do so.
Chrome pieces
As one could imagine, a car so opulent and powerful is not without its flair factors. It’s safe to say that this 600 has more chrome than just about any model vehicle we have had the pleasure of restoring. Though not perfectly viable in the images above, the original plating was removed as fading had begun to occur and revealed various pitting and scratch issues on the surface. The client’s preferences was for an all-in rechroming job, so below are the larger listed items that were sent off for new chrome.
Wooden Items
In the same token as the chrome, the wood’s original outer coat of protection had faded as well. Unfortunately when it comes to wood, it is less durable to non-contact issues than the chrome, and wood rot began to take hold on some of the pieces.
Before
After
Interior
The Interior is a currently ongoing process which the team will be addressing in the future as the project comes further along. Below what we do have available are initial shots before the interior was torn down. Again, it was certainly in acceptable shape for many buyers as it was in daily-driver condition. The project of refurbishing the interior of a limousine is not a small undertaking. The team was willing to take on the work only through the insistence of the client.
As of right now, this project is still underway in the M.I. Shops, with progress happening slowly but gradually. We will continue to update the page as it comes. Thank you for your patience in this process.
