Mercedes Benz 240D W115. 'My father's car'.

It seems like such a short time ago that we were in primary school. That we dreamed about cars. And we all have memories of our fathers' cars. That was way after the T Fords and that kind of endearing free-range animals, but before cars started to droop from the sensible and nonsensical electronics. Such as the Mercedes-Benz 240 D W115 in this article.

A pleasant evening

Due to a pleasant nostalgic conversation last night, several 'fathers' cars' passed by. And my father's second-to-last car ('the company', then without addition, if the mileage registration was improvised enough? That was a Mercedes-Benz 240 D of the W115 series from the year I had to do military service: 1976. Some 240 D was a car for small dignitaries and the better traveling salesmen.My father belonged to the latter breed.He was a representative for the NVCP, the Dutch Sales Office for Chemical Products, later bought by the AKZO.

Started with an 200D

His first Mercedes was a 200 D from the time when Mercedes Diesel drivers were simply seen as colleagues by truckers. In cold, misty weather, the 200 D ran just ten kilometers faster than normal and was also able to compete nicely with the petrol burners when it comes to acceleration. The Mercedes-Benz 240 D was a much more civilized, much faster car.

My father's Mercedes

My father's Mercedes-Benz 240 D was a W114 and W115 from the Mercedes-Benz series as it was built from 1968 to 1976. This series is also referred to as /8 ("Strich-Acht") because of the introduction year 1968. In 1976 the car was replaced by the W123 with the horizontal headlights. By the way, that was the last car my father drove before his early retirement.

W114 or W115?

Furthermore, the differences between the Mercedes-Benz W114 and W115 are not easy to see on the outside. The difference is in the number of cylinders. The six-cylinder and coupes are Baureihe W114; the four-cylinder and diesels are W115. During development it was still the intention to release the Mercedes-Benz W115 as a separate model – 20 centimeters shorter model and with horizontal headlights. But that never happened.

The Strich-Acht is an extremely user-friendly classic. The parts are not expensive and generally easily available. Only interior parts are hard to find. Tinkering with the car is also easy. The engine with gearbox is easy to install and remove, and the technology is also simply efficient, but above all, durable and of high quality. The diesel engines are, of course, hard to break and the petrol engines also run well on LPG.

Feels almost modern

Due to its innovative technical design of the car and chassis, a Mercedes-Benz /8 drives like a modern car, you only have a little more noise in the interior. Some optical changes were made to the Mercedes-Benz W114 and W115 in 1973. For example, the typical ribbed taillights made their appearance, which are less likely to get dirty. People with a somewhat older model saw an opportunity to upgrade their possessions: They bravely mounted ribbed taillights on their 'old' Benz.

Owners of such a Mercedes-Benz find their fellow believers, a lot of knowledge and pleasant contacts within the W114-W115 club. And a fine example of such a Mercedes-Benz 240 D – in even the same color as my father had – we once found at our advertiser Marcel Kappen from Dalen.

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Then also read:
- Mercedes Benz W114/W115.
- Mercedes Benz 280 SE 3.5 Coupe W111
– Driving with a Mercedes Benz 240D 3.0
- Mercedes-Benz W123
- A brand new W123 from 1985. With 30 kilometers on the clock.