Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

oldfarmer50 · October 19

ab348 said:

oldfarmer50 said:
<

Today is the last day for my convertible. A 72 degree day and then 50s and downward.
Last day today for this local convertible too. Story was that it was being driven to its winter storage when it all went wrong.

And a Chrysler Sebring at that. Well, mine is safely ensconced in the barn until next spring so unless we get struck by lightning I think I’m safe.

stickguy · October 19

better on the road than in the storage place.

andres3 · October 20

ab348 said:

oldfarmer50 said:
<

Today is the last day for my convertible. A 72 degree day and then 50s and downward.
Last day today for this local convertible too. Story was that it was being driven to its winter storage when it all went wrong.

50 degrees not a problem with that one.

andres3 · October 20

stickguy said:
better on the road than in the storage place.

That reminds me of the dangers of EV's in regards to fires, burning longer, hotter, and tougher to put out (requires more water and fire fighting).

I work in construction management and it has come up a couple times recently:

For parking shade PV (solar panels) structures (outdoors), they are at times requiring expensive and labor-intensive fire-proof painting on "HCAI formerly OSHPD" projects. This is questionable massive expenditure for permitting as all you are saving is parked cars (assume humans would escape before the steel structure and PV panels are melted, destroyed, and fall on someone). Are the tiny chance of a parked car being damaged by the structure because the fire department takes too long to get there or put out the fire for an EV really worth spending more $$$?
For a parking garage structure, the question came up should we have our EV charging parking spaces all on the first level where we originally planned them, but a fire would mess "everything above" up! Or put them on the top level open to the sky so they don't damage other levels and vehicles above? Asked a high level Fire Dept . official and they said leave them on the ground floor, for the main reason that it's 5 to X many levels closer which makes the response faster to put the fire out. Fire trucks can't typically navigate a parking garage anyway; lower to the ground means easier and faster to put the fire out. All the electrical infrastructure would also cost more to put higher, especially since design was already complete, so was an easy decision to leave as-is.

xwesx · October 20

Agreed with both of those! If anything, just design the fire suppression with the plausible scenario of an EV fire in mind in the area of the chargers. I'm sure doing so for the entire garage would be astronomically expensive, at which point you are just getting into the realm of chasing that last bit of risk, which is never worth the cost involved.

fintail · October 21

Highline fintail on BaT:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1963-mercedes-benz-300se-sedan/

Previously bought and sold there in the past. These are very rare cars, and as the records show, can be high maintenance due to their complex suspension and engine - this was high tech. This has to be one of the best in the US anyway, and the owner lavished care on it to keep it up.

texases · October 22

@fintail said:
Highline fintail on BaT:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1963-mercedes-benz-300se-sedan/

Previously bought and sold there in the past. These are very rare cars, and as the records show, can be high maintenance due to their complex suspension and engine - this was high tech. This has to be one of the best in the US anyway, and the owner lavished care on it to keep it up.

$37,000 in work, more than it sold for a few years ago. I’d hate to explain that to my wife!

stickguy · October 22

I glanced at other listings for the heck of it. Saw one custom that was sitting at about $115k bid that had a note about build receipts totaling $425k

tjc78 · October 22

fintail said:
Highline fintail on BaT:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1963-mercedes-benz-300se-sedan/

Previously bought and sold there in the past. These are very rare cars, and as the records show, can be high maintenance due to their complex suspension and engine - this was high tech. This has to be one of the best in the US anyway, and the owner lavished care on it to keep it up.

The exterior looks great, but can I be picky? I think the carpets are the wrong color and the interior could use a fine detail. The headliner is very dirty and the dash and controls all look like they need a go over and maybe some wood polish and leather/vinyl conditioner.

fintail · October 22

tjc78 said:

fintail said:
Highline fintail on BaT:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1963-mercedes-benz-300se-sedan/

Previously bought and sold there in the past. These are very rare cars, and as the records show, can be high maintenance due to their complex suspension and engine - this was high tech. This has to be one of the best in the US anyway, and the owner lavished care on it to keep it up.
The exterior looks great, but can I be picky? I think the carpets are the wrong color and the interior could use a fine detail. The headliner is very dirty and the dash and controls all look like they need a go over and maybe some wood polish and leather/vinyl conditioner.

I think these cars had matte wood from new (as did my car - but the coupes had glossy wood, I am not sure if that carried on to the highline sedans), but the interior does seem like it would benefit from some detailing. I don't think the upholstery texture is correct either, but MB people seem to forgive some of these details. At the least the chrome could be polished, leather conditioned, and maybe steering wheel refinished. It seems prior owners were more concerned with mechanical bits, which might be good for the next owner as these days it may be hard to find someone to work on that car, where cosmetics are easier to deal with. At the current bid a huge bargain, but one must understand the purchase price on a complex model like this is just the first payment. The more simple cars are a little less rigorous.

tjc78 · October 22

I'm curious what it goes for. If it was me, I just couldn't have put all that money in without going one step further and sprucing up the interior.

fintail · October 22

tjc78 said:
I'm curious what it goes for. If it was me, I just couldn't have put all that money in without going one step further and sprucing up the interior.

I have an eye on it just for kicks too - current owner isn't getting that investment back. Even in Europe where such cars have a wider fanbase, they seem to top out maybe in the 50s for concours cars. I suppose after putting 30K into mechanicals, spending a little inside might not be bad. Reupholstery or wood refinishing might be asking for a bit, but a heavy detail and some refurbishment might have an impact.

Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

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