1. Radiator curtain: found on early models; remember that this car war designed in northern Europe and starting a 170S in the winter probably gave rise to this option. Next to my left knee in my first '52 was a plastic 1" black ball attached to a chain and cable that ran to a roll-up window curtain assemblage in front of the radiator---pull the ball and up went the curtain.

2. Plastic covers to fit precisely in front of the radiator grille were also available; mount one when parking in the evening if you expect an overnight freeze; adjust patches to match driving conditions. My guess is these were after-market masks as I have two different versions, click the image to enlarge it.

3. Crank hole with cover at the base of the radiator shell; these are 170S items that either the factory or a "restorer" mounted on a 220 out of necessity. The long hand crank supplied with a 170S is a very rare tool to find today.

4. Wheels: the first 220 had rims riveted to the hubs, after '52 the two parts were welded together. The four small slots near the edge of the rim are for the now very rare special Daimler-Benz lead balancing weights. If the slots are missing and threaded studs are found, then these are for balancing 170S wheels.

5. Sideview mirror; a factory option for the left side only. I have made some mirror image (pun unintentional) ones for the righthand side for fitting onto lefthand drive cars to pass the Japanese vehicle inspection rules but they are not functional. If you actually want to see in your blind spot,
Buy a small $5. adhesive-backed convex mirror and stick it on your righthand sunvisor.

6. Valve cover knobs: the early one are fairly rough castings, they get much better by 1952.

7. Valve covers: some of the last are not aluminum casting, rather they are smooth and lighter magnesium.

8. Radios: a factory option; the earliest ones were generally round-faced Beckers but the could have been Blaupunkt or Telefunken. As car radios improved, newer and smaller models were installed; my 1955 sunroof coupe and cabriolet both have the then top-of-the-line Becker Mexico AM-FM radios with signal seeking bar. The factory installed antenna was generally starboard-
mounted and attached to the windshield post.

9. A curved windshield first showed up in a new sunroof coupe in late 1953 and cabriolets there- after. This and other significant changes are not clarified in the 1952 -printed 220 parts catalogue. In 1979 a Stuttgart DB archivist, who was looking forward to restoring his own '54, could not find an up-to-date parts list for it. If you have one, please fax/call 310-399-6196.

10. Door restraints/detents: some early '51-2 units limited door swing with heavy leather straps which reached from low on the doors through chromed bezels in the back seat armrests to special hardware on the wooden chassis "See Tech Tip Article 2 Pictures". This 170S equipment eventually was replaced; the 220 upgrade modified the upper hinge to include an adjustable two-position detent and rubber-shocked door swing limit. To service or adjust this; lift up the leather ¼ panel.

More items to come......

Copyright 11/02 Bob Silver