1966 Mercedes-Benz 230 S

1966 Mercedes-Benz 230 S

Our 1966 Mercedes-Benz 230s is a moderately rare example with 4-speed floor shift and factory air conditioning. It's a running, driving car in need of some TLC, so follow along as we get to know the "heckflosse" or "fintail" Benz.

Latest updates

May
08
May 8, 2014 | Mercedes-Benz
The Mercedes Makes Power

Our project Mercedes-Benz 230 S gets a workout at the dyno. Check out the results.

Apr
21
Apr 21, 2014 | Mercedes-Benz
Christmas for Car Guys

We get some parts from Mercedes-Benz Classic Center.

Apr
10
Apr 10, 2014 | Mercedes-Benz
Autocross Our 230 S? Yeah, We Did That.

Think you can’t autocross your vintage car? Think again.

Mar
26
Mar 26, 2014 | Mercedes-Benz
To the Front

Our front end needed to undergo a facelift—of the ball joint kind.

Mar
21
Mar 21, 2014 | Mercedes-Benz
Testing Out the Bigger Engine

We should now be calling it a Mercedes 280 S.

Mar
14
Mar 14, 2014 | Mercedes-Benz
An Expert's Analysis

Nate Landers of Mercedes-Benz Classic Center helped us improve our Heckflosse.

Mar
11
Mar 11, 2014 | Mercedes-Benz
Cars and Coffee at Amelia

As the sun came up, we were on the lawn talking Mercedes.

Mar
07
Mar 7, 2014 | Mercedes-Benz
Finishing up the Orange Blossom Tour

We only had a couple minor fuel issues on the long tour.

Mar
05
Mar 5, 2014 | Mercedes-Benz
A Successful Start

We embark on the Orange Blossom Tour with our Mercedes Heckflosse.

Mar
01
Mar 1, 2014 | Mercedes-Benz
Heading Into the Orange Blossoms

Our Fintail Mercedes departs for the Orange Blossom Tour.

Oct
11
Oct 11, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Final Touches

We adapt the accessories and install the new engine into our Mercedes fintail.

Sep
20
Sep 20, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Swapping Engines

On the hunt for a more powerful engine.

Sep
05
Sep 5, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Finding the Oil Leak

Our tired old engine is burning and leaking oil.

Aug
05
Aug 5, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Tunes for the Open Road

A road trip calls for a good stereo.

Jul
15
Jul 15, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Making a New List

With the old 230 S safely home, it was time to make a new list of things to fix and decide what event we wanted to run in next.

Jul
15
Jul 15, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
We Made It Home

Driving home in our Mercedes-Benz 230 S after our family vacation was a ride to remember.

Jul
15
Jul 15, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Rear Vibrations

With our alternator repaired, our biggest problem was a vibration coming from the rear.

Jul
02
Jul 2, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Stopping for Help

Our modern devices put the drain on our old alternator.

Jul
01
Jul 1, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Extra Brake Cooling?

We try out some cooling fins.

Jun
25
Jun 25, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Taking a Family Trip

We had to leave our tools and spares at home, but that didn’t stop us from taking our Project Benz on our 3400-mile family road-trip vacation.

Jun
25
Jun
24
Jun 24, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Upgrading the Differential

A two-in-one upgrade: rear discs and limited slip.

Jun
24
Jun 24, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Making Sure the A/C Works

It's getting cold in here.

Jun
20
Jun 20, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Ready to Rally

We give this Benz the rally look.

Jun
20
Jun 20, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Off to Pinehurst

Our visit to the Pinehurst Concours was memorable, though not fruitful.

Jun
19
Jun 19, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Finishing Up

We fire up the old Fintail's engine and go for a drive.

Jun
18
Jun 18, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Taillight Restoration

We literally cut our lens out with a Dremel tool.

Jun
14
Jun 14, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Dealing with the Chrome

Chrome doesn't get much better than this work by Graves Plating.

Jun
04
Jun 4, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Rearing the Rear

We disassemble the rear end of our Mercedes-Benz 230 S.

May
30
May 30, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Emptying the Engine Bay

We took out the engine so we could properly paint the engine bay and refresh the driveline seals.

May
24
May 24, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Carpets and Headliner

We cover the top and bottom inside our Mercedes Heckflosse.

May
22
May 22, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Beginning Reassembly

Our Benz has fresh paint, so it's time to put it back together.

May
01
May 1, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Trim Prep

This Mercedes has lots of brightwork

Apr
12
Apr 12, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Painting the Fintail

Two tones for the tub

Mar
29
Mar 29, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
So, what color do we paint this thing?

We looked at an original Mercedes sales presentation book to decide.

Mar
20
Mar 20, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
The bodywork begins

We were very pleased with how nice and straight our nearly 50 year-old Mercedes turned out to be.

Mar
15
Mar 15, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
A trip to the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center

They're a great source of parts for your old tri-star.

Mar
13
Mar 13, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Off to the body shop

We don't have the time to do the body ourselves, so we called up the professionals.

Mar
06
Mar 6, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Front rocker panel repairs

The next ones to need attention on our Mercedes Fintail are the fronts, of course.

Feb
27
Feb 27, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Rear quarter repair

These problems weren't as minor as we thought.

Feb
20
Feb 20, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Installing a new trunk floor

Our hole-riddled trunk receives a much-needed replacement.

Feb
08
Feb 8, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Repairing the front crossmember

We begin an adventure into rust repair.

Jan
07
Jan 7, 2013 | Mercedes-Benz
Getting Started

Rust repair is the first order of business.

Dec
21
Dec 21, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
Taking a Ratty Benz to a Concours

We've done rallycross, soon it's time to bring the dirt to the show circuit.

Dec
14
Dec 14, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
Restoration Creep

We repair our fintail’s rusted front crossmember.

Sep
26
Sep 26, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
More Interior Restoration

We continue restoring our fintail Benz's interior on the cheap.

Sep
12
Sep 12, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
Starting our Benz's Interior Restoration

We got our seats all awesome.

Jul
18
Jul 18, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
Tearing apart our parts car

We're very happy with our parts car.

Jul
05
Jul 5, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
In search of a parts car

We looked for a parts car to source some much-needed interior pieces.

Jun
15
Jun 15, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
A cheap fix for our transmission

We were frightened by the $3000 repair bill, but we found the real problem with our transmission was an easy fix.

May
30
May 30, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
Our Second Rallycross

We took our Benz to another rallycross—and then swore we wouldn't do another until we get the gearbox fixed.

Apr
25
Apr 25, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
Fixing the exhaust system

The loud exhaust on our fintail Benz was driving us nuts. Nuts, we tell you.

Apr
23
Apr 23, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
Because Shifting Gears Is a Good Thing

Fixing our Mercedes-Benz's shifter bushings.

Apr
13
Apr 13, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
Getting Our Benz Ready to Rumble

We head out for a little off-road shakedown to make sure our Benz is ready to rallycross.

Apr
11
Apr 11, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
New Subframe Bushings

It's a good thing we checked the subframe bushings before our first rallycross.

Mar
30
Mar 30, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
Can We Get a Reading?

We either need an accurate odometer or a working fuel gauge.

Mar
23
Mar 23, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
License, Insurance and Registration, Please

We make our Mercedes fully street-legal.

Mar
20
Mar 20, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
Time to Weigh In

Let's check out the weight distribution on our 1966 Mercedes-Benz 230 S.

Mar
13
Mar 13, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
A Place To Rest Our Heads

It's time to reinstall the factory headrests.

Mar
06
Mar 6, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes Rallycross Debut

TIme for some good, dirty fun in our Mercedes. Let's go rallycrossing!

Mar
02
Mar 2, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
Carburetor Rebuild

Refreshing the Zenith carburetors on our Mercedes-Benz 230 S.

Feb
02
Feb 2, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
Wheels and Tires for Our Classic Mercedes

We're getting ready to rally with our Mercedes 230S project.

Jan
26
Jan 26, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
Fighting Corrosion and Carelessness

The devil is in the details, and our Benz 230s has a lot of details.

Jan
10
Jan 10, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
Better Braking for Our Benz

Our fintail Mercedes gets some needed stopping power.

Jan
06
Jan 6, 2012 | Mercedes-Benz
Fixing Doors and More

We prefer our Benz to have working windows and doors.

Dec
27
Dec 27, 2011 | Mercedes-Benz
Beginning With the Benz

This '50s-looking car isn't fast, but it's fun to drive and handles like it's from the '80s.

Dec
20
Dec 20, 2011 | Mercedes-Benz
Merry Mercedes

Meet our new project. These fintail sedans are rugged as hell and have a great rally reputation.

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