Highlights

• Full interior and exterior restoration to high standard
• Fascinating and well-documented history
• Fully rebuilt engine
• Period cabriolet conversion

The Appeal

The History & Paperwork 

• The 170V was a pre-war design that remained in production into the mid 1950s
• It debuted in 1936 powered by the M136 1.7litre 4cyl engine 
• There were a variety of body styles including 'Cabrio Limousine' with a full length canvas roof
• Built in August 1949 when only four door saloons were available 
• Converted in period to Four-door ‘Cabrio-Limousine’ model carried out to production standard
• Registered in Germany in September 1949
• First owner being a man named Herman Hölter
• He competed in the Pentathlon at the 1928 Olympics and served on the 1936 Olympics committee 
• He rejoined the army for World War II and following his release from Allied captivity in 1947 acquired this 170V 
• Originally finished in grey, the car was later sold and imported to the UK in 1958
• It remained with an Exeter-based owner until the 1970s
• The Mercedes was exported to Jersey in 1975, returning to England in the early 1980s. 
• During its life it has been painted in green and beige camouflage and used for shows and filming 
• Within the last decade it’s had a full restoration to the condition in which you see it today 
• This rare and unusual car comes with a sizeable history 
• The V5 lists the date of its first UK registration as June 1st 1958
• Recently issued certificate from the Homologation Department of Mercedes-Benz Cars UK 
• This confirms this to be a German-built model assembled in August 1949
• Photocopies of the full owner’s manual
• Grainy printouts of old photos of the car with uniformed German soldiers 
• It’s unclear whether this was in period, or latterly costumed in filming
• Original UK-issue logbook 
• This shows the 1958 owner to be a Horace Stickland of Exeter, 
• At this point the car was still painted grey
• 2009 documents shows efforts to reunited it with the registration number VLF 88
• Receipts and invoices from German specialist Werner Karasch & Co GmbH for spares 
• Engine rebuild in 2013 is fully documented
• Photographs pre-restoration with its camouflage paint 

The Interior

• Carefully retrimmed during restoration to a high standard
• Sparing use ensures it looks much as it did the day it was completed
• Berber-style carpets with red piping 
• Battery compartment below driver's seat
• Original gauges and switchgear 
• Original dash-top ash tray with lighter 
• Door cards retrimmed to match seats 

Over the course of the recent restoration, the interior was beautifully retrimmed to match the fresh exterior makeover. The seats are trimmed in light cream upholstery with red piping, and are all in very good condition with no rips, tears or separating stitching – there are some stains to the rear bench, although this should be simple to remedy with the right cleaning products and equipment.

The carpets are tasteful Berber-style items, again with red piping and in very good condition. The driver’s seat slides backwards to reveal the battery compartment. The dash is tastefully painted in body colour, with all the original gauges and switchgear in place; the dashtop-mounted ashtray has its original lighter in situ. The doorcards have been retrimmed to match the new interior, and (aside from the aforementioned staining) it all presents in show-ready condition.

The Exterior

• Originally supplied in grey and has worn various colours over the years
• Attractively restored in red and cream two-tone colours to a high standard
• Very well presented exterior with only small scuff to bumper to note 
• Colour coded wheels with quality crossply tyres fitted
• Removable canvass roof in good order and fastens correctly
• Underside presents well with no issues to note or report 

Having originally been supplied in grey, and spent a great many years dressed up in wartime-pastiche camouflage (which, being frank, is somewhat incorrect for a 1949 car), the recent restoration has really invigorated the vibe: the red-and-cream colour scheme suits the curvaceous lines perfectly, and the paintwork has been carried out to an extremely high standard.

All of the correct chrome trim is in place, and in excellent condition aside from a minor scuff on one of the front quarter-bumpers. The doors open and close as they should (the fronts need to be held throughout their arc as they can bash into the rears if swung open unsupported – this isn’t a fault, it’s the way they’re designed), and all have decent shutlines. The wheels have been colour-coded and wear quality cross-ply tyres with very little wear. The removable canvas roof is in very good order and fastens correctly, and the thorough restoration work continues to the underside of the car, which all appears to be straight and solid.

The Mechanicals

• 1.7litre M136 4cyl side valve Mercedes-Benz engine developing 37bhp 
• Engine rebuilt by ADAC Engineering in 2013 at cost of £2,000
• All synchromesh 4spd manual gearbox 
• Considerable maintenance file
• Notable work includes full wiring loom costing 850Euros
• Brake master cylinder, water pump, distributor and thermostat replaced

Aside from fully overhauling the aesthetics, a key part of the restoration involved rebuilding the 1.7-litre engine. Invoices in the history file show that this was carried out by ADAC Engineering of North Yorkshire in mid-2013 at a cost of almost £2,000, comprising new Mahle pistons, reground crank, re-metalled con-rods, welded repairs to the cylinder head which was then refaced, and boring and honing the block.

The car reportedly runs and drives well, with the all-synchro gearbox operating smoothly. We can see among the paperwork that a large amount of money has been spent on replacement mechanical parts too, including the full wiring loom (at a cost of €850), brake master cylinder, water pump, distributor, thermostat, camshaft bearing, intake and exhaust valves… by all accounts this is a complete and readily usable example of this obscure and interesting classic.