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PreWar Mercedes Benz


alsancle

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#35342

 

1928 SS-Type>SSK-Type Rennwagen replica

Engine:   Komm: Reg:

History

#35342 is another car with little history. It was a US delivery via Mercedes-Benz NY to Mr. Cobb Darien although any further history is unknown.  It was restored and upgraded to SSK spec in the 1970s and then sold by the restorer via Christies Pebble Beach in 1990 where it fetched $990kimage.png.44921f8826c5638c1d006d57ab5f2c98.png

 

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#35350

 

1928 S-Type

Engine:   Komm: Reg: YW3470

History

Delivered to Capt. Kruse. Capt. Kruse in the UK. It later passed through the trade in the 1950s and eventually sold to the Vintage Car Store in 1960. I have no further information but should still be in the USA. image.png.c4f1d655d6beb66d6b43e7e02b8eb78f.png

 

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#35903

 

1928 S-Type Saoutchik Tourer

Engine: #68659   Komm: Reg:

History

#35903 was built for the Vicomte (Vicome?) de Rivard of Paris, France. It was sold to the USA where it had just one owner for five decades. Most recently it has been owned by Howard Farfard in the USA. Fafard (1940 - 2021), a Massachusetts native and his wife became property developers in the 1980s and made enough money that they could indulge in their passions for fine Mercedes and this car was acquired in the 2000s.  If anyone knows its US ownership history I would be grateful for the information. image.png.c37401273b907528023ef19aab857a5a.png

 

 

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#35908

 

1928 S-Type > SSK-Type Rennwagen

Engine:  #68662   Komm: Reg: NJ6004>XV7730
 

History

And now things get really complicated. #35908 was built for Nina Mdvani, a Georgian socialite and serial marrier of celebrities, then married to Denis Conan-Doyle. Its unclear who actually got the car but the Conan-Doyles supposedly met von Oertzen, the Mercedes-Benz CEO, and he agreed to supply a new SSK-Type chassis in 1934/5 and the car was rebuilt around it. The Conan-Doyles are supposed to have raced it widely and it was sold in the late 1940s to the USA where it was owned by Mallay, Kennedy and Edward Trager. The car ended up with Lee Gohlike who is said to have only lightly modified it. It was soon sold to Germany and then on to Fred Simeone in the USA before seizure by Gohlikes bank before sale to Switzerland and finally Peter Agg in the UK who had it restored. Brooks offered this car at their 1996 Stuttgart auction and it sold to Germany soon after.image.png.a4768165ba64b73bd854a92dd6e9555e.png

 

 

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I know of one that appeared out of the mist in the green mountains of New England back in the 80s. Rumor has it that it’s been done over a few times, I have no clue where it ended up. 

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On 7/23/2021 at 11:23 AM, edinmass said:

I know of one that appeared out of the mist in the green mountains of New England back in the 80s. Rumor has it that it’s been done over a few times, I have no clue where it ended up. 

I would love to know more information, see any pictures. Very interesting 

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#35920

 

1928 S-Type Buhne Tourer

Engine: #68674   Komm: #39901 Reg: BYM244>9-449

History

#35920 was delivered to Louis Delling/ Prince Hohenzollern in Dresden and he commissioned Glaser for coachwork in 1928. Its unclear what happened to the car but British dealer Bunty Scott-Moncrieff found it in 1935 and sold her to Peter F. Whalley in 1938. The car passed through various hands in the post war market for as low as 395 pounds. The car eventually sold to a Walter Stocklin in Maryland in 1954 and shortly afterwards to Leo Pavelle of the Pavelle film developing process fame before finally passing to Ed Jurist in 1970. John Riegel of the du Pont and Riegel fortunes found the car there in 1970 and bought her. After several decades of ownership DL George restored the S-Type while retaining its originality and finally in 2017 the family offered the car at Gooding Pebble Beach where they refused $5 million for it. Soon after the car returned to DL George and was refurbished in Black and in August 2021 will be a star at Bonhams Quail Lodge sale, estimated at $3 - 4 million. image.png.2e0a51ab16cbe5347c6ce26c4c52c45f.pngimage.png.dc65e0c33dc8556d95cafb86b65356f7.png

Edited by Timmmy22 (see edit history)
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#35937

 

1928 SS-Type Tourenwagen > Erdmann & Rossi Tourer? > SSK-Type Rennwagen Rep.

Engine:   Komm: Reg: IIIA 12934>?

History

This is believed to have been an experimental SS-Type built on a S-Type chassis for the Nurburgring '28 where Walb and Werner finished 3rd, it was then sold to Willie Rosenstein and used widely in hillclimbs and road races with some success through 1930. Apparently this car was then used by Manfred von Brautisch in '31 and seized by the Nazis before passing to Andrei Fritsch in Argentina. Luis Brosutti raced the car for Fritsch and continued to race it through 1954. An Argentine dealer found the remains in the '60s and restored it as a SSK-Type and sold it to Terry Bennett who offered the car at auction in 1991 where it sold with two other Mercedes for $2 million. The buyer never paid and while the car was still in Bennetts garage a clothes drier malfunctioned and the SS-Type was burnt badly. The remains passed to Markus Kern and then to Alfred Richter in 2003 who claims it is a legitimate SS/SSK-Type but I wouldn't want to make any judgements on that.

image.png.ac77fdd0b68a96bf99a83e0a04eeb695.pngimage.png.6bced671227e06868783e11b49a62ea0.png

Edited by Timmmy22 (see edit history)
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#35942

 

1928 S-Type Saoutchik Cannes Roadster

Engine:   Komm: #42079 Reg: BF5153

History

#35942 was delivered to a Cobb in New York, USA and was later shipped to the UK where it was stored until ‘63?, via Sothebys ‘80s, Sold $680k, via Axel Schuette ‘10s, shown at Retromobile ‘10s, to Uwe Schuler.image.png.18a75cbb4b29e84e776b131737fd1894.png

Edited by Timmmy22 (see edit history)
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#35947

 

1928 S-Type Sindelfingen Sport/4

Engine: #71819   Komm: #40647 Reg:

History

#35947 was built for Al Jolson in 1928, it possibly passed to Fred Thorsen and then to Pierce Carlson. Either way Brooks Stevens owned it in 1948 and it remained in his museum until the late 1980s when it passed to Don Williams of Blackhawk fame. The car was offered several times through 2006 when it finally sold. RM offered the car in 2017 where it failed to sell at $3.5 million and it later passed to Europe where it is regularly offered at around the same money.image.png.bad30d51066b24b626dd1c8c93a01f23.png

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/26/2021 at 9:49 AM, Timmmy22 said:

#35920

 

1928 S-Type Buhne Tourer

Engine: #68674   Komm: #39901 Reg: BYM244>9-449

History

#35920 was delivered to Louis Delling/ Prince Hohenzollern in Dresden and he commissioned Glaser for coachwork in 1928. Its unclear what happened to the car but British dealer Bunty Scott-Moncrieff found it in 1935 and sold her to Peter F. Whalley in 1938. The car passed through various hands in the post war market for as low as 395 pounds. The car eventually sold to a Walter Stocklin in Maryland in 1954 and shortly afterwards to Leo Pavelle of the Pavelle film developing process fame before finally passing to Ed Jurist in 1970. John Riegel of the du Pont and Riegel fortunes found the car there in 1970 and bought her. After several decades of ownership DL George restored the S-Type while retaining its originality and finally in 2017 the family offered the car at Gooding Pebble Beach where they refused $5 million for it. Soon after the car returned to DL George and was refurbished in Black and in August 2021 will be a star at Bonhams Quail Lodge sale, estimated at $3 - 4 million. image.png.2e0a51ab16cbe5347c6ce26c4c52c45f.pngimage.png.dc65e0c33dc8556d95cafb86b65356f7.png

 

 

There has been some controversy if this great S was bodied by Buhne, Berlin or Gläser in Dresden, who did many fantastic Horch bodies. Has this been cleared up for the next auction?

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Here is a curious one for you all. I have searched for hours upon hours online trying to find an image of this car from the past (including viewing auto show videos and such) and have come up with NOTHING!  It is a 1940 Typ 320 W142 Cabriolet with coachwork by Rometsch.

 

Edited by bugnbox (see edit history)
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4 hours ago, bugnbox said:

Here is a curious one for you all. I have searched for hours upon hours online trying to find an image of this car from the past (including viewing auto show videos and such) and have come up with NOTHING!  It is a 1940 Typ 320 W142 Cabriolet with coachwork by Rometsch.

 

 

Very cool!   Since those are post war pictures that car must exist somewhere.  I've never seen it before.

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On 9/5/2021 at 3:59 AM, alsancle said:

 

Very cool!   Since those are post war pictures that car must exist somewhere.  I've never seen it before.

 

Here is another photo of it (along with the guard dog ;)

I have sent the chassis number and details to Mercedes and am waiting for whatever they can provide, but I am really wondering if someone in Germany (or elsewhere) might have some vintage photos of it anywhere...and any knowledge of who it was originally built for.

3DD07B25-0545-42AE-8E36-DE2A2CFB7D0B_1_105_c.jpeg

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6 hours ago, bugnbox said:

 

Here is another photo of it (along with the guard dog ;)

I have sent the chassis number and details to Mercedes and am waiting for whatever they can provide, but I am really wondering if someone in Germany (or elsewhere) might have some vintage photos of it anywhere...and any knowledge of who it was originally built for.

 

 

Unfortunately, most of the 320s were built in Mannheim and the records were blown up.   Hopefully they can tell you something.   I have never seen a picture of that car before.

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This was built at Mannheim according to the tag, so thats a bummer if the original records are gone.  I am curious to see what Mercedes comes back with though, I am sure they must have some information.   I have posted a walk around video of the car on YouTube .  There is a previous video as well that tells the story of how I found it.

Ever since this car has entered my life, from the first photo forward, it is just driving me crazy to figure out its story. Im pretty savvy and connected in the car world, but this one really has me stumped...and that is absolutely keeping me up at night! 

Im hopeful that the Rometsch archives will turn something up...and somewhere out in the world there has got to be some images of this car from back in the day.
 

 

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Neat car, nice lines. Problem is with smaller series cars.........few details usually remain regarding history. Most 500/540 cars have their history lost to time.......and most of them were sold to prominent consumers. It’s not impossible to get lucky and end up with the history........just unlikely. I spent a year looking for history on a important early car, striking out.......until one day I got lucky.........and within a few months was able to trace 105 years of history from day one. Without first having information on “places to look” IE- the car was in this city in 1952..........it’s very, very difficult. Even without history.....the car holds its own. Best of luck in your quest.....

Edited by edinmass (see edit history)
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2 hours ago, edinmass said:

Neat car, nice lines. Problem is with smaller series cars.........few details usually remain regarding history. Most 500/540 cars have their history lost to time.......and most of them were sold to prominent consumers. It’s not impossible to get lucky and end up with the history........just unlikely. I spent a year looking for history on a important early car, striking out.......until one day I got lucky.........and within a few months was able to trace 105 years of history from day one. Without first having information on “places to look” IE- the car was in this city in 1952..........it’s very, very difficult. Even without history.....the car holds its own. Best of luck in your quest.....

Thanks for understanding the quest!  I think at least with the coachbuilt body and that its a 320 and not a 170 or whatever...the chances do come up a notch, but it is a needle in the global haystack for sure.  Im patient and persistent and if I can get a few others on the hunt with me, maybe there is something out there.

The history as I know it so far is that it was in a small town in Michigan since around 1969 and prior to that was in Albuquerque New Mexico.  Prior to that...its all a mystery.

 

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You have a 90% chance it was brought to the US in the late 40s early 50s by a serviceman.   That is basically the story on most Mercedes that were in the US post war.  

 

There is also a possibility the coachwork was done post war.  Although this looks like a late chassis?   The the data plate indicate the 3.4 liter engine?   Does the car have the 5 speed or 4 speed with overdrive?

 

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Oh definitely, I agree that it must have come over with a US Serviceman, it’s doubtful that it would come any other way. The chassis is 1940, all the data tags and numbers match up.  I’ve not investigated the transmission as of yet.

 

I agree on the thought that the coachwork may have been post war. The design looks very similar to the work that Johannes Beeskow did for Erdmann and Rossi pre-war, and I know he joined Rometsch post-war…may have been in his back pocket as a project during that transition?  
 

im very hopeful that the Rometsch records will turn up something concrete on the dates.  I also understand that Beeskow’s personal photo album of all the cars he was involved with , is now in the Volkswagen archives…access to that album could really be beneficial ! I’d be willing to bet that it’s in there somewhere .

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I’m quite confident that I will be able to find its history on my own, in fact this is one of my favorite parts of classic car ownership , that discovery and quest for history.  To pay someone else to do it would be like paying someone to eat my birthday cake for me… I appreciate the thought , but this is the part I want to truly savor .

 

The latest discovery is that it’s believed that Rometsch did the coachwork in 1948.

 

Still chasing who it was done for, and further proof of the above, but I’m getting closer .

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3 hours ago, alsancle said:

 

Nice find.   I assume an internet picture?   The good news is that there is a hard copy somewhere.

The photo came from an automotive historian in Brazil. He did not recall the source , but it was in his digital archives.

 

I think the original is in the Beeskow scrapbook at the Pinakothek museum of Art in Munich… or at least that is my hunch.

 

Hopefully I can find someone there that can help search for it and any other information.

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