Mercedes 220 ‘Fintail’
The Fintail was the popular name given to a range of Mercedes-Benz cars and coupés built on the W111 chassis. Robin Thomson from Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth owns this superb example of these now very desirable saloons
How this good looking saloon was rescued from an abandoned project.
The German motor industry was on its knees at the end of World War Two and it would take time to recover. Mercedes- Benz rose to the challenge and by the early ‘ Fifties was building expensive 300 Adenauers, and 300S Grand Tourers. These cars were a byword for luxury and performance and enhanced the German manufacturer’s reputation.
Ironically, it was still the simple unibody Ponton models that were bringing in most of the revenue. The name Ponton comes from the German word for ‘Pontoon’ and referred to a popular post-war slab sided styling trend. These cars were rugged, reliable and inexpensive to build and would provide the company’s main source of income for the next fifteen years.
By 1956 work to replace the Pontons was in full swing and Mercedes- Benz decided to focus on comfort and safety. The basic Ponton cabin was widened and squared off and large areas of glass were used to improve the driver’s visibility. A ground breaking feature was the front and rear crumple zones, which were designed to
absorb kinetic energy on impact. A lot of car accidents in the ‘Sixties resulted in fatalities and placing the passenger compartment in a safety cage managed the crash energy by absorbing it within the outer parts of the vehicle rather than transferring it to the occupants.
Staying on the safety theme, Mercedes- Benz also patented retractable seatbelts.
In contrast to the workmanlike Ponton, the new body was modern in design and borrowed heavily from American-style tailfin cars. The driving force behind the concept was designer Karl Wilfert, and resulted in the models nickname of Heckflosse, which in German means ‘Fintail’. The new range of cars was popular with customers and the wraparound windscreen and rear glass was a winning formula. Engine choice included four- and six- cylinder petrol or diesel engines and an optional Bosch fuel injection system was also available. The models were highly specified and this appealed to buyers after years of post-war austerity.
Robin Thomson is the proud owner of the Fintail featured here and he lives in
Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth, one of the busiest ports in the UK and the top container terminal in Scotland. The town’s biggest employer is the Grangemouth refinery, which is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. Robin by trade was a process operator at the refinery and has lived in the area for fifteen years.
“I first got interested in classic cars when I was a teenager,” explained Robin who has recently taken early retirement. “I had a number of BMC 1100s back in the day and was particularly keen on a Ford Zodiac MkIII. That was a nice car and I ran it for several years. Looking back, I probably should have kept the Ford but ended up trading it for a Zodiac MkIV that ironically caused me lots of problems.
“I started to get interested in old Mercedes cars on the run up to the Millennium. My first one was a black diesel W126, which I bought at a local auction for a knock- down price. The model was only just out of production but there were several issues with this particular car and it needed a lot of work. My regular transport at the time was a Citroën XM, but I eventually stopped using it in favour of the Mercedes. It certainly impressed my friends, because they thought I had won the lottery!”
Robin and wife Carollann are heavily involved with car clubs and are Central Scotland regional officers for The Mercedes- Benz Club. They are also committee members of the Stirling and District Classic Car Club and help organise the annual rally at the Bridge of Allan. "Mercedes cars cost a lot of money even back in the early ‘Sixties,” explained Robin. “The advertisements at the time claimed ‘not all Mercedes are expensive, you can buy this for under £2000 pounds.’ To put this into perspective, in 1964 you could buy a new-built three-bedroom house around here for just £3000. A Hillman Imp cost £550 and even a performance car like the Lotus Cortina only weighed in at £1100. The Mercedes advert was also referring to the manual gearbox version of the car. This
cost £1994 6s 3d, including Purchase Tax. If you opted for an automatic, that would cost an additional £180 17s 9d and brought the total to £2175 and four shillings.”
Robin had been aware of this Fintail for several years before he finally got the opportunity to acquire the car. “I had known about the car for some time, as it was parked outside in the back yard of my local Mercedes dealership,” recalled Robin. “I was also aware that it had been in the care of one owner for most of its life. They had taken the car into the garage for routine repairs and then unfortunately passed away. It was then kept in the yard for nine years until the car’s ownership finally reverted to the dealer.
“The Mercedes was then sent to the dealer’s accident repair shop in Perth to have the bodywork restored. I’ve been told that the plan was to keep the car as an interesting display item in the showroom. Unfortunately once the vehicle was actually stripped down, little progress was made. The
dealer must have lost interest at some point, because the car was finally offered for sale on eBay. Luckily I spotted the advert, put in a bid and ended up winning the auction".
Now that Robin was the proud owner of the Mercedes, it was time for him to take stock. “It soon became apparent that all those years sitting outside in all weathers had taken its toll,” explained Robin. “The car was covered in rust and the panels and underside had to be restored. In most instances this involved cutting out the corrosion and welding in new metal. Apart from these repairs, the panels are the same as when the car left the factory. During the restoration I also fitted a replacement second hand rear bumper half, as the original had been corroded by the acidic exhaust gases. Ironically the nearside half was still in decent condition and could be saved".
According to Robin this is only part of the story, as finding the missing half involved a lot of detective work.“I contacted several German breakers yards without success,” he recalled. “This took plenty of time and effort. Fortunately good old eBay eventually came to the rescue. Better still, the previous
owner of the bumper only lived 25 miles way. That well known auction site also provided the stainless steel exhaust, courtesy of another vendor who lives just round the corner from my home. Bearing in mind the rarity of these items, this was quite a coincidence.”
Having seen what the effect of exhaust fumes could do to the Fintail’s bumper, Robin was not taking any chances. “I made sure the exhaust outlet was extended beyond the bumper,” he explained. “I also renewed most of the braking system along with the springs, shock absorbers, steering and suspension bushes. As each body panel was refurbished it was painted on both sides and given a final ‘blow-over’ after final assembly. I was particularly grateful to my friend and fellow petrol head Graham Forster for some beautiful gas welding and general help with the body preparation. We also repaired all the stone chips on the underside of the car and repainted it in its original colour. This is called Dunkelblau (dark blue) in German.”
Robin had put in a lot of hard miles by this stage, but there was better news in store. Although the Fintail’s bodywork needed a fair amount of work, the mechanics appeared to be in reasonable shape. “Although I removed the engine and gearbox and spruced them up, they were both quite sound,” he recalled. “There were a few age related items that needed replacing, like the hoses, pipes, water pump and exhaust manifold but these were all fairly straightforward. Fortunately, the power steering was still working okay.”
The restoration ended up taking the best part of seven years. According to Robin the car is a pleasure to drive and the odometer is still only reading 29,000 miles.
“I can’t prove that’s accurate, but it makes a lot of sense,” he explained. “The 220 has not believed to have been used since 1992 and the overall condition of the car is still fresh. The Mercedes dealer was a personal friend of the previous owner and had known him for many years. I understand the owner was a bit of a Sunday driver and the car was rarely taken out except on the occasional trip". Apparently the owner used to spend a lot of time just polishing the car and now it’s Robin's turn!