Musing on a W108

What is the right price Rich?

And what are the danger areas to look out for.

My bro in law has found a rather nice W108 in Green for me in the Cape for about £3k - problem is I haven't got £3k at the moment!

P.

Ah, money... why is it the cars always appear at what seems to be a good price when you're skint?

Don't know what a good price would be for a W108 now; perhaps check out eBay or the ads in Classic & Sportscar for what one would cost here then add the shipping from Cape Town plus duties this end and compare?

Many years ago my father in law had a beautiful low mileage W126 280SE that I could have had at a very good price (resplendent in metallic bronze with biscuit leather interior) but it was a choice between that or double glazing for the house - the house won. :-(

i know both chassis well, so here is my recommendations.

w114/115 bag easier than w108. they have 'proper' independent rear whereas 108 are a odd swing axle setup with the spring over the diff, which runs into issues with cantilevering bags and not much clearance to get to lay out. front end is largely the same, they share quite a few parts, major different is 115 is balljoint, whereas 108 still has what most people would identify as a trunnion/king and link setup. the bagging of both is well documented online, but beware 'muricans who do stupid stuff like running without shocks- they're like a pogo stick if you do this. they're pretty tight on space for the bags at both ends, and you have to relocate the rear shocks, but the chassis side can be made to just bolt on. i favour modifying the lower arms to maximise space but some people do it without.

neither chassis engine swaps well. the subframe shape and steering layout leaves little room, meaning a very specific sump shape is needed. both chassis are fairly narrow, even factory stock RHD cars struggle for exhaust space. LHD cars fare much better. there also various protrusions in the engine bay such as the M/C and the bulkhead braces on 6cyl cars. also neither rear end is particularly strong meaning little point in adding power, or needing to chop and change so much youre risking losing the cars identity.

as noted above, they rot. boy do they rot, and they hide it well under factory polyurethane underfloor protection too. its not uncommon to see cars needing most of the firewall replacing, plus all the usual sills, door bottoms, floors, front wings, rear inner and outer arches, lower rear 1/4s and valances. 115 are better catered for than 108 when it comes to replacement panels. that said, the price of replacement metal pales compared to the price of replacement trim and interior parts. bumpers are particularly difficult and expensive to located for both models.
everything in the UK tends to be massively overpriced, you really need contacts in europe (especially netherlands and germany) where theres a lot more things available, and they're half the price.

id be really wary of buying a shiny, freshly painted one at strong money, id much rather buy a scruffier one with old, honest paint for less and leave a good chunk of the budget to remedy any hidden rot. as a first timer with no experience of the models, id say youre going to likey be better off with a 115 than a 108, as theres more parts backup if and when you run into trouble.

don't let it sound like I'm running them down, I'm really not- i love both models but especially 115 and i only sold mine to finance a shoebox. its jsut out of all the cars you could buy, they're one of the ones you have to tread most carefully with!