Matchbox Mercedes Benz 220 SE (235) conversion to a 300 SEL 6.8 AMG

On the bench today is a Matchbox Mercedes-Benz 220 SE. It's a replica of Ewy Rosqvist-von Korff's 1962 220 SE. That was the year she became the first woman in history to win the Argentine Grand Prix. It was originally made as a promotional model (between Matchbox and Mercedes-Benz) to be handed out to kindergarten children in schools.

Compare the Mercedes 300 SEL 6.8 AMG that I got it in a mega mail call from JC Hayes in Albuquerque, NM. As an experiment I thought I’d try to do a conversion on the 220 SE to make it look like a Mercedes 300 SEL 6.8 AMG.

The Mercedes-Benz W111 was a chassis code given to a range of Mercedes-Benz vehicles produced between 1959 and 1971, including four-door saloons (1959-1968) and two-door coupés and cabriolets (1961 to 1971). Their bodywork featured distinctive tailfins that gave the models their Heckflosse nickname — German for “fintail".

Ewy Rosqvist-von Korff, one of the most successful rally drivers ever from Sweden, won a number of European championships, as well as the ladies' classification in Rally to the Midnight Sun (four times, now called Rally Sweden). Her most notable accomplishment was the overall win in the Argentine Turismo Standard Grand Prix in 1962, with Ursula Wirth as her co-driver in this Mercedes 220 SE.

Another racaing story begins on a Saturday afternoon 52 years ago in Belgium, when a big red four-door sedan sat on a starting line nestled amongst lightweight, full-bore touring cars. And it was mocked. Mocked enough to earn it a rather unflattering nickname. ‘Red Pig’, they laughed. A racing Mercedes-Benz W109? The AMG engineers, however, had prepared this Benz comprehensively. The V8 was enlarged to a mighty 6.8 liters, producing 428 hp. It had a 0-100 km/h time of 6.1 seconds, which, for a 1971 car weighing 1,635 kg was more than acceptable.

This is the car that put AMG on the world of racing map. It was tough enough to actually finish the endurance race. More cars retired with problems than finished the 24-hour race, and only 18 made it to the checkered flag. The mighty SEL finished just three laps lap down on the winning Ford Capri (311 laps versus 308) in second place, and likely would have won had it stopped less for fuel. And tires. A moral victory, nontheless. From then on, the name AMG began to resonate on the European circuits.

Want to learn more about Mercedes-Benz 220 SE?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercede...

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Coffee For Teddy
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original video:    • Coffee For Teddy   no copyright Jazz Blues...  
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