One of the rarest mercedes, a w208 clk with no rust!

[Deleted member 11979]

I’m a bit unusual with my CLK, I’m going to attempt to put it back to standard, getting rid of the body colour coding and amg alloys and replacing them with a set of polished rim 5 holes which would have been standard at the time, hopefully to look like the car in this photo

 

[moodi]

No it's not, I've been all underneath the car and it's pretty much perfect, I've waxoyled all the areas that they normally go, even had the sill covers off expecting rust behind but nothing. This is on a car that's done 175k and lives outside. I've had these where the rear arches come off in your hand and you can see the floor through the inner wings. I dont understand why this one is so different.

I meant what you cannot see until you start grinding back paint, etc. Hope it is just surface.

 

[moodi]

I had an amazing 230K W208 some 11 years ago which was black with a black grill and anthracite AMG monobloc wheels, cream and black two tone interior and all the usual refinements. Manual too. Loved it and it made a great sound when you removed the plastic baffle inside the supercharger housing and other subtle modifications.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

I’m a bit unusual with my CLK, I’m going to attempt to put it back to standard, getting rid of the body colour coding and amg alloys and replacing them with a set of polished rim 5 holes which would have been standard at the time, hopefully to look like the car in this photoView attachment 94550

So it was facelifted and you have de-facelifted it? Interesting!

 

[Deleted member 11979]

So it was facelifted and you have de-facelifted it? Interesting!

Half a job

 

[KillerHERTZ]

I see what you mean.

If it were me, id source some facelift bumpers and side skirts however.

 

[SpoonJar]

Some pics.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Nice! - Needs Monoblocks instead of those W212 wheels?

 

[Hawkwind]

Very nice Spoonjar.

 

[BlackC55]

Most 208's we see are hanging on.

Its the underside that just wears so badly like 203's and 202's. The front lower arms corrode from the inside and snap in half for example.
Its is strange though, I do have a soft spot for a cabriolet.

 

[SpoonJar]

Nice! - Needs Monoblocks instead of those W212 wheels?

These wheels were on the car when I bought it. I had them refurbed about 5 years ago. I thought about monoblocks but they look a it plain to me.

 

[Deleted member 11979]

I see what you mean.

If it were me, id source some facelift bumpers and side skirts however.

I prefer the pre facelift look, like I said, I’m unusual

 

[MarkPortugal]

I recently found this car in Lisbon for 3,500 euros.
380,000 km. Needed brakes,tires, and the AC didn't work. Stank of cigarettes inside.
But it has NO RUST. I mean; there has to be some somewhere, but I still haven't found it.
So it needed a clutch, has a glitch in the EIS, and there's accident damage I only found when I got it home.

 

[twinstar]

It is strange how some rust and some dont, I guess the climate has a lot to do with it, I think my own car has spent a lot of time abroad before my ownership. I have just bought another which is completely the opposite but a lot later car, 2003 with rust in all the usual places but it is a 320 final edition in jasper blue with good spec and history for £500, could you ever imagine a few years ago that by 2020 a four seater merc convertible could be had in the sub £1k price bracket.

 

[MarkPortugal]

They eat fuel like a rich man's car...
South where the roads are never salted, and here in Portugal most people keep their cars inside.
The ones left outside for 20 years only lasted 10 of them.
The sun here will peel the paint right off, and the interior will turn brittle, shrink and crack.
Of course you UK people have the driver's side problem so importing a car from down here wouldn't be so great.

 

[W20855amg]

I've just taken this car in part ex and have decided to keep it as there is not a single blister on the car anywhere, I'm after some more info on it as I don't know how to get the data card details. It's a 1999 facelift clk 320 cab with every single option, even the Bose sub and full amg kit and suspension, xenon, etc. I think it must have spent its life abroad due to the condition of the body despite its 175000 miles. I already own a 2004 27k cl55 Komp but to me an old w208 with no rust is just a rare beast these days.

Love c208 55

 

[Jobsworth]

My 430 is still nice. It’s only been used for summers, and stored in the winters since 2009, so is still rust free. A roof limit switch packed up towards the end of last summer. I’ve replaced dozens of that particular switch for customers over the years, but was shocked to find Mercedes have discontinued the part. I managed to find a secondhand one on eBay fortunately, so it was back into service for this summer. It’s put away now until next spring

Nice ones are really getting rare now.

 

[Darrell]

My 430 is still nice. It’s only been used for summers, and stored in the winters since 2009, so is still rust free. A roof limit switch packed up towards the end of last summer. I’ve replaced dozens of that particular switch for customers over the years, but was shocked to find Mercedes have discontinued the part. I managed to find a secondhand one on eBay fortunately, so it was back into service for this summer. It’s put away now until next spring

Nice ones are really getting rare now.

I always wanted that car in that colour.