Mercedes Replica Forum

Just purchased a '79 Ford remake of the '27 Gazell.  It was not well kept.  My first priority is to put some chrome wheels on it, but no-one has seen four lug wheels with 7/8 inch posts. any suggestions other than re set the lug bolts to a modern bolt pattern?

Thanks,

Jim  

TxDon, see you got a Marlene kit.  I bought a used factory-built Marlene April 06.  Like it a lot except for the 2.8l v-6.  It's currently getting a transplant, a 302 ford.  

I sent you a personal message, so happy to see another Marlene owner, is yours by Classic Roadsters also?  

I'm new to forums and not don't know where to look for a personal message.  Yes, my car was built by Classic Roadsters in Fargo in 1984.  The running gear was from a '74 Mustang II and the engine, besides being small, is tired.  So I took it to the local garage and they are installing a crate 302.  Rebuilt the C4 tranny and I'm hoping the differential is strong enough.  Otherwise I will have to go to a 9" Ford and that will be more expense.  It has Vintage Aire and we need it here (Texas, also).  

Don't worry, you will pick up the forum stuff quickly enough.  The 302 is probably a good enough engine, I chose the 4.0 V6, 145hp since it is a drop in, same block as the little 2.8 mine was set up for.  I wanted to go with fuel injection and something more modern.
I would love to see some photos of yours.  Mine was shipped out as a kit in 1988 just as they were going bankrupt.  Someplace along the line, the tires, horns, wiper, gas tank, roll up windows and some other stuff got pilfered, so I am trying to replace that stuff with improvements.
You can email me at:  DonGeneda@rgv.rr.com if you wish.  Where in Texas are you?  

TXDon:
Since I seemed unable to find an active forum discussing Mercedes replica cars, I just started one on Yahoo.  If you have a Mercedes replica or are thinking about one, come join in!  Click on this to go there:  
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Mercedes-Replicas/?yguid=188011459

The Mercedes 500K and 540K cars of the mid-1930s commanded European roads in the '30s. They were fast, comfortable, expensive, and exceedingly well-engineered German boulevard cruisers. The K stood for Kompressor. These cars had Roots superchargers and large straight 8-cylinder engines. The kompressor (supercharger) would engage when the driver would tromp on a pedal next to the throttle. Restored original Mercedes 500K and the larger, more opulent 540K roadsters and phaetons will fetch well into the millions, especially if their provenance is of a special nature. Building and owning a replica is a wonderful way to honor these lavish Mercedes machines from the 1930s.  

Two sold just this summer, 4 mil and 5 mil prices.  The 5 liter(500K) and the 5.4 liter(540K) models were essentially identical other than displacement, and perhaps the shiny metal trim on the hood sides.  They were all hand made in the Sindelfingen (near Stuttgart) plant.  As such, there is no such thing as an absolute original master plan to go by. Some sources say they were ALL actually 1934 built models, just took a long time to find a buyer in those days for such a car.  The "Marlene" ediiton was made especially for Marlene Deitrich the movie star, and is a smaller conversion of the big boys.  I have been totally unable to find out how many Marlenes were made, and what the heck ever happened to her personal one.  Any help someone might give would be well appreciated.  I cannot even say for a fact that our Marlenes are a fair resemblence of the original.  

TXDon,
Look for an email...I'll attach a few photos.

Paul  

How do you tell who manufactured the body.  Is there a tag on the body?  Does you '32 have a sloping rear deck, or square like a Gazelle?  
do you have photos that show the rear?
Paul  

Got to remember how to post photos on here, this should do for a rear view.  Not at all like a Gazelle:    

No way to tell exactly I guess, I still have my ID sticker in an envelope.  When you get to looking them all over, it is pretty easy to tell who made what model.
Here is another one, getting a V8 as we speak, see posts above:

IMG]http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x161/Doneda/Marlene202.jpg[/IMG]  

TxDon:
What a beautiful car!  Is this the "Marlene" model?  I'm getting the impression that this model used mid '80's Mustang driveline components.  Was it only available as a turnkey car, or were kits available?  Was there more than one company making this model?  Was it mounted on a custom built frame?  Can you tell me the wheelbase?  

Yes, it is a Marlene, named for the special edition Mercedes made for Marlene Dietrich sometime in the mid 1039's, was available from Classic Roadsters in kit form or turnkey.  It used Pinto, Mustang II, Chevette and other parts.  You could buy a "fitment kit" that allowed you to use various engines, mine came set up for a 2.8liter V6 Ford, I am putting in a 4.0 liter since that is the same block.  It has not been available since 1988, I found a kit never unpacked that a fella bought in 1988 and it sat there until his death a few months ago, his widow sold it.  I could have bought one together cheaper I think, but I wanted the building experience.
I don't have the specs in front of me so the wheelbase will remain unknown for now.  Classic roadsters actually made the frame out of rectangular tubing.  Real neat frame too.
There were several other Marlene kit makers, I don't know too much about them, Bradley was one.  

TxDon:
Thanks for the info. If the car has Mustang II or Pinto front end assy, it probably has rear drive from the same source.  From this I can determine the width of the wheelbase.  The length could vary by altering the driveshaft.  In order to fabricate a frame, one would only need then to identify the body mounting points.  Sure wish I had an assembly manual.  When you got your kit, did it have a floor pan?  Is the grille shell from a 70's model Mercedes?  

This uses an actual frame like the old days.  There is some sheetmetal welded to it, floorboards and firewall.
One could easily use many frames, in fact the Explorer that I am robbing the engine out of for it has a full frame even, would work well.  It is free if you want it!