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The design was penned in 1968 under the guidance of Friedrich Geiger and production of the R107 ran for 18 years with the design not materially changing throughout that time – it was the second longest running passenger car to be built ever by Mercedes-Benz. There were minor updates to the car throughout this time, namely in 1979 with major updates to the interior that happened across the Mercedes-Benz range and again in late 1985 for MY1986 cars. These updates were included from the larger S-Class models to the brakes, suspension and steering as well as minimal styling changes with recessed flush door handles, different alloy wheels and a front air dam that signifies earlier cars from the final models.
From the outset I was quite against buying a non-Australian delivered car, however having looked at many examples for a solid year, I came to realise that really there was no difference – Later cars were galvanised and were pretty on par in terms of issues that the Australian cars had and were the ones to get. This car was owned by a couple who had owned it for over 20 years and had imported it to Australia from the UK in the early 2000’s. It hadn’t been driven much in the last five years only covering less than 1,000 miles in that time and it was very original with low mileage. Upon seeing that it had all the books and service history from new and after getting it checked up on a hoist by a mechanic, I was sold on it – and also the fact that it looked exactly the same as the one my grandfather had!
It also runs on 98RON fuel, benefitting from the fact that the M103 in this car was designed from the outset to run on unleaded fuel, so no real hassles with additives or special maintenance which is great. The thing that surprised me the most was how much this car doesn’t feel like a 35 year old car to drive – it’s quite comfortable and easy to live with, which is a real testament to why they stayed in production for so long. You have to remember this car was effectively designed in the late 1960’s so it’s pretty incredible when you think about it. What helps this is that the cabin is compact – which by comparison to the overall size of the car is quite perplexing. You don’t realise how compact it is until you get inside, but it’s by no means an effort to drive at all.
As I’m doing a rolling restoration on the car, I made sure I did my research in terms of parts availability. Given these cars globally are quite popular and are now becoming collectible, parts are relatively easy to get – mostly from the UK. Having a good specialist helps as well when it comes to the more complicated bits however this car is relatively easy to work on, because it’s very much like an older car: everything is washers, Hex bolts and screws so really all you need most of the time is a socket set and a screwdriver – and that’s the fun part!
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