# Mercedes camper fan club



## mariesnowgoose (Oct 15, 2014)

I just love old merc vans (and just occasionally some of the coachbuilts on a merc chassis).

The old ones are chuggers, I know, but so what?! 

One day I hope I will own another one (had 811d once, but parted company with her :sad: )

Ex-MOD models seem to be good, and there's a fairly smart 709d camper on eBay at the mo: Mercedes 709d Campervan 

Anyone else like mercedes? Do you have a mercedes camper and if so what's it like?

I'd love to see piccies! Anyone?


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## caledonia (Oct 15, 2014)

A mate of mine converted an old mobile library and it's lovely inside with plenty room and all mod cons but totally impractical for wilding. It's just too big to get to the nice places I go on my vw t5, also costs of fuel and as you say it's pretty gutless (chugger) on the climbs. Merc dealer parts are very expensive. He does not like it when I call it a German Bedford! Lol


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## vwalan (Oct 15, 2014)

the uk bedford cf is or was built in germany by opel . it was called the bedford blitz . 

bedfords are much nicer than mercs , arent they?
ha ha .
crash hat going on .


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## mariesnowgoose (Oct 15, 2014)

Philistines!


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## Harmergeddon (Oct 15, 2014)

mariesnowgoose said:


> Anyone else like mercedes? Do you have a mercedes camper and if so what's it like?
> 
> I'd love to see piccies! Anyone?



Yep I'm on my 2nd merc now. Mk1 sprinters so oldish.


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## vwalan (Oct 15, 2014)

that white one looks ok though . but might need a good check on the roof guttering . 
i know of a real nice merc but the owner wont sell it yet .
its possibly one of the nicest mercedes vans in uk . 

might even bump into the owner over the next few months .


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## vwalan (Oct 15, 2014)

Harmergeddon said:


> Yep I'm on my 2nd merc now. Mk1 sprinters so oldish.


did you have silver screens on that day . ha ha . 
cant be doing with that snow . follow the birds , much nicer .


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## mariesnowgoose (Oct 15, 2014)

I love what this German couple have done.

sandblech.com

 Loads of vids on YouTube, from concept to acquisition to rebuild, then months of traveling, jammy beggars 

Wish I had mechanical skills! 

[video=youtube;JjFsPxx7QZg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjFsPxx7QZg&index=7&list=PLC3192799E9A2943  D[/video]


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## mark61 (Oct 15, 2014)

Must be on my 20th Merc van, last few have been Sprinters.

It's only the current one that has been a spoiled pampered camper though.


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## mark61 (Oct 15, 2014)

mark61 said:


> Must be on my 20th Merc van, last few have been Sprinters.
> 
> It's only the current one that has been a spoiled pampered camper though.



Memory fail, lol.
I forgot I had a Merc camper in the early 80's.

Then used work vans with camp stuff in back. Van were used for landscaping and gardening, bit like sleeping on a compost heap.


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## n brown (Oct 15, 2014)

i had a few,207,a 307 that refused to die- i sold it in portugal as a nicely running wreck for 300 quid and it was still sending texts from maroc and germany years later !,had a 609,i think it was,with a concrete floor,bit slow but a nice van,then i was looking for a sprinter and this lt35 turned up.
 i've fitted out some really old ones for other people as well-those ex-airport,or emergency services that are 30 years old,meticulously maintained, and 4 miles on the clock [ish !] if you want one,then Germany is the place to look !


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## mark61 (Oct 15, 2014)

And me old mans.  Self build 406D and a Westfalia 307D. Only one he didn't do himself.


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## vwalan (Oct 15, 2014)

hi mark . i keep getting told it was really a hanomag you had years ago . merc couldnt make nice vans or trucks so bought out hanomag . 
so its really a little hano. 
nice round chassis , used on the later mb 100,s as well.


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## Martin P (Oct 15, 2014)

Had a 307 as a work van over 20 years ago , not fast but a great van , only trouble with it was the rad matrix partly disintegrated, didn't leak but always seemed to need the heater on . Used to tow a compressor all round Southern England , stack of ladders on the roof and half a ton of paint in the back. Broke both rear springs but changed them myself , parts were quite reasonable, everything split down into small parts . Good van


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## MJK (Oct 15, 2014)

I have a d207. It is coach built and I love the old girl...
It's 30 odd years old, but we still have fab times in it...


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## mark61 (Oct 15, 2014)

Well, that partly true.

The Merc 206D's origins was the Tempo Matador. Temp were bought out by Hanomag who updated it to the F35/45, Mercedes subsequently bought Hanomag. 

The MB 100 have a different history. Around about the same time as buying out Henschel Hanomag, Mercedes also owned Auto Union (Audi). Auto Union had a van called DKW F1000 or Auto Union F1000, built in Spain and powered by Mercedes. These eventually I believe became the MB100. 

Can still see a few of the F1000's in Spain and Morocco.


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## st3v3 (Oct 15, 2014)

Not quite as old, but wouldn't be without my 308D Sprinter now


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## mark61 (Oct 15, 2014)

vwalan said:


> hi mark . i keep getting told it was really a hanomag you had years ago . merc couldnt make nice vans or trucks so bought out hanomag .
> so its really a little hano.
> nice round chassis , used on the later mb 100,s as well.



lol, I ain't biting 

What is very true though, after the take over of Hanomag, Mercedes had an abundance of top engineers which lead to some of the best built cars, vans & trucks. Wish they were still there. 

Another oddball, a rare Hanomag badged Dusseldorfer.


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## vwalan (Oct 15, 2014)

yes, audi cars looked like mercs years ago. even nsu were great little cars . 
the motoring history is definately a tangled interesting thing to study. 
remember my german car history. 
bmw were made in the wartburg factory and were austin dixies made under licence . thats how bmw bought rover . 
the merc van was known as a dusseldorfer for years . 
its all interesting . have loads of books here on german car history . even full catalogues and sales literature for a few . 
got a full set of merc from 68 i think it is . 
all being kept out of interest actually oct 69. 
still in an original envelpoe from mercedes benz  great britain , great west road,brentford , middx 
a freinds dad gave them all to me years ago. .plus i have vw literature and things from way back . 
almost like living in a museum .ha ha .


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## Deadsfo (Oct 15, 2014)

I have an ex Nato reserve ambulance Merc 508 3.7lts   it had 2815 kilometrs on the clock when I bought it ,the Dutch Army took them out of storage every year charged the battery did a service on them and waxoyled the underneath (they had to be ready to face the Russians at the dropp of a hat LOL),hence the underneath is 1/4" thick waxoyl, makes working underneath very messy, it chugs  along at 60/65mph and  the OM316 Engine gives the impression it will do it forever.
        Love driving it despite no power steering ,it handles really well considering its a very tall,very heavy vehicle ,having just about finished converting it to a camper I'm looking forward to next year and getting out there,after cutting various holes into it I can't believe the thickness of the steel it does'nt push in and out and make bobbling sounds like modern vehicles but 24mile per gal is'nt a bad price to pay.
       And the floor wont rust because its plywood!! There are still 1000s of them flying ,well chugging around South America


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## leosaphira (Oct 15, 2014)

Have a 96 611D self built camper bit poorly at mo so sorting out diesel and cut off valve issues.


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## molly 2 (Oct 15, 2014)

Harmergeddon said:


> Yep I'm on my 2nd merc now. Mk1 sprinters so oldish.



Bloody hell the express is right.


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## Deadsfo (Oct 15, 2014)

molly 2 said:


> Bloody hell the express is right.


  The Express said we were going to have the summer to end all summers ,they got it half right and will probably get the winter prediction half right in other words we will have our usual winter!!


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## mariesnowgoose (Oct 16, 2014)

Deadsfo said:


> I have an ex Nato reserve ambulance Merc 508 3.7lts   it had 2815 kilometrs on the clock when I bought it ,the Dutch Army took them out of storage every year charged the battery did a service on them and waxoyled the underneath (they had to be ready to face the Russians at the dropp of a hat LOL),hence the underneath is 1/4" thick waxoyl, makes working underneath very messy, it chugs  along at 60/65mph and  the OM316 Engine gives the impression it will do it forever.
> Love driving it despite no power steering ,it handles really well considering its a very tall,very heavy vehicle ,having just about finished converting it to a camper I'm looking forward to next year and getting out there,after cutting various holes into it I can't believe the thickness of the steel it does'nt push in and out and make bobbling sounds like modern vehicles but 24mile per gal is'nt a bad price to pay.
> And the floor wont rust because its plywood!! There are still 1000s of them flying ,well chugging around South America View attachment 25486View attachment 25487View attachment 25488View attachment 25489



I hates you!  :lol-053:


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## Deleted member 775 (Oct 16, 2014)

vwalan said:


> the uk bedford cf is or was built in germany by opel . it was called the bedford blitz .
> 
> bedfords are much nicer than mercs , arent they?
> ha ha .
> crash hat going on .



i had a cf face lift but the cf1 not the cf2 , with the compas drifter body fitted and it was a great van .its still out there somewhare but its on sorn with no mot but is still insured ,.
 the cf range which replaced the ca was still built in the uk i belive . they were exported to germany under the opel blitz badge with an opel engine fitted when shipped over to germany . . all uk built cf had the vauxhall 2.3 slant engine fitted  as fitted to the vauxhall victor cars ,but they were down tuned . the diesel engine was a perkins in the early days ,but they then fitted an opel unit . . when the cf1 was discontinued and the cf 2 came out they fitted a opel 2.0 l engine to them . diferent types of gear boxes wer fitted at diferent stages of development ,but as far as i know the 4 speed overdrive box was the best one .  the five speed box was reputed to have the same gear ratio on both 4th and 5th gear .

 as for the mercs you mention  theirs not a great deal to say about them except there bullet proof and bomb proof . and now body parts are getting easier to source ,mind you repair panels are so easy to fabricate for the old mercs you dont realy need to buy replacement panels .


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## mickymost (Oct 16, 2014)

I have a 308d 1991 campervan recently bought.We are at the  moment doing some upgrading to interior.it has done 175000 miles.Its called Bertie.Ill post some pics later today.


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## mickymost (Oct 16, 2014)

*Our 308d Mercedes called Bertie*

View attachment 25495


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## ecobob (Oct 16, 2014)

*My 709d*



sorry about the fuzz, (lens is cracked)


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## mickymost (Oct 16, 2014)

*Bertie the camper*

What I find unusual is that our camper Bertie has No Sliding side door as all  the ones recently I have seen for sale similar to Bertie  all have a sliding side door like the vws.Maybe its a rare one now who knows?

regards Michael


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## sam3317 (Oct 16, 2014)

*My first camper*

I've just bought this.

Mercedes MB100D Camper Van for Sale | eBay

I'm loving it so far. I'm just planning a tour of Britain over the winter. Any suggestions of spots I mustn't miss would be great.


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## mickymost (Oct 16, 2014)

mariesnowgoose said:


> I just love old merc vans (and just occasionally some of the coachbuilts on a merc chassis).
> 
> The old ones are chuggers, I know, but so what?!
> 
> ...





Yes Bertie is a chugger but happily sits at 55/60 mph.  The gearbox is old school too, the previous owner to me said it needed replacing saying the syncros are worn and on a test drive (him driving not me)he crunched the gears on several occasions.Well a week after buying him we took him to Scotland over 800 mile round trip and I think I missed the gears about five times only when changing down as its got that reverse type box with 1st being backwards etc so you think you are changing down to 2nd when actually you are in third etc.I feel the gearbox doesnt need changing it just needs respect for his age of 24 years old and you change up and down a bit more carefully compared to modern cars.


regards Michael


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## mickymost (Oct 16, 2014)

Yes I saw this for sale on Ebay and was tempted but left it for you to buy (we now have Bertie):wave:  happy camping....


regards Michael


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## mark61 (Oct 16, 2014)

Looks lovely. Rare find in the UK.


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## sam3317 (Oct 16, 2014)

I know. I planning to spend most of the time on the continent in it so I thought I might as well get a left hooker.


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## mariesnowgoose (Oct 22, 2014)

One for my wish list.

If I was rich I'd have a barn full of all sorts of mercs! 

Mercedes 206d


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## P90RKS (Oct 22, 2014)

I have had two 307d vans both roughly converted to camp and take my MX bikes racing.Had some great fun in them andvtrabeled the UK France Belgium Holland no worries. Not once did they breakdown just the metal mice got to them and they was a little slow.

Now for racing I have a mk1 sprinter 310 properly converted by Ruddock racehomes had this 5/6 year.hadn't been much trouble the aftermarket towing chip/ ECU gave me bother so it got removed. A hose burst no biggy 6 quid back on rd again but the metal mice are taking there toll now its in process of having rust cut out and being welded etc. Its been a great toy got me racing all over UK and camping with the wife which made us take the plunge and buy our Burstner. Would love to do a self build sprinter but the rust issue puts me off a bit but I do like my mercs would love an old merc car too


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## johnandlou118 (May 18, 2015)

*Mercedes 410d*

Still going strong!!
Auto trail chieftain 1991 no power steering , no electronic fuel pumps, no rush or drama!

If it did break there's a pretty good chance of me being able to fix most things on it at the side of the road save for gear box or major drive train failure!!

Now just to tackle that infernal cab rot!!


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## mickymost (May 18, 2015)

Nice to see another old Merc being cherished regards Mike


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