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I bought this car in Madison, WI for $400. I needed it to drive to Kemmerer, WY for my second co-op engineering job at the Kemmerer Coal Company.
In retrospect, it was probably not the best choice of a car to drive half way across the country, and live in a small town in western Wyoming. The greater Kemmerer area (which, of course, included Diamondville and Frontier) had about 3,000 people. Of course, I was not thinking about that when I bought a car that immediately needed about $200 worth of work. But all I could think of was, "I own a Mercedes!"
The car had numerous problems while I was in Kemmerer. The clutch, a hydraulic clutch, leaked. So I had to continually add hydraulic fluid and bleed the hydraulic line. Well, at least until I broke the bleed valve and had to ask my brother Mark to carry a Clutch Kit from Madison for me when he visited Kemmerer on an interview. I found a local mechanic to install the kit and the car worked fine.
It got really cold in Kemmerer, but I never had a problem starting this car. It turns out that this was because the fuel pump was leaking gasoline into the crankcase lowering the viscosity of the oil to the point where it was probably useless. But oddly enough, this wasn't much of a problem until I had to drive to Salt Lake City to pick up brother Chas, who was going to drive back to Madison with me.
His plane got in early, very early, so I had to leave Kemmerer at about 4:00 AM. I can't remember the exact day or date, but it had to be something like December 20th. I could probably figure it out because there was a new moon, and Venus was so bright it was casting a shadow.
I know that because the car broke down on highway 189. At about 4:30 in the morning, about 7,000 feet elevation, and about -20 degrees F.
Not the car's finest hour.
The problem was that the aforementioned fuel pump issue. The car would stop, I would let it rest for about 20 minutes, and then I could drive it again for about 20 minutes. Not the best way to travel 150 miles.
Every car that passed me stopped and asked if I needed help. That was (and is, I guess) Wyoming for you. When the first couple stopped I thought I would be able to limp into Evanston, but then reality snuck in and I hitched a ride.
I was dropped off at a 24 hour truck stop in Evanston, and had to wait for the town to open up. I was probably there, drinking coffee, for about three hours before a tow truck came by. We drove UP to get the car, then BACK to Evanston. We called a couple of parts stores to see if they had a fuel pump for a 1965 Mercedes 220S. That seemed to have caused great merriment in town. I had resigned myself to having to tow the car into Salt Lake City.
I guess I need to explain a little about my situation in Kemmerer. I was a co-op engineering student, so I was being paid like a junior engineer, and I was saving that money to pay for my final year of school. So I had my last paycheck in my hand, all of $600 or so. I had almost no other cash. With this money I had to pay the tow truck driver, the mechanic in SLC (I had an appointment at the Mercedes dealership, as I knew the car had some problems) and my share of the gas to get home.
The tow truck driver was kind enough to agree to charge me for a one-way tow to SLC, so that saved a little money. But when I got to Salt Lake (I remember now - it was a Saturday. What would that have been the 23rd? Chas, were we traveling on your Birthday?) I knew I had to cash that check.
Think about this - a Wyoming Check, a Wisconsin Driver's license, and I needed cash. The funny thing is that I had no problem at all. I found a local bank, told them my story (remember when you could talk to bankers?) cashed the check and moved over to the Mercedes dealer.
They must have felt sorry for me, as my billed seemed unreasonably low. Maybe $200? But at least the car was running.
The drive back to Madison was late, long, and cold. It didn't help that the rocker panels were rusted out and you got -20 degree air blowing in while you were trying to sleep, nor did it help that the A-frame was rusted and the car pulled so hard to the left that you could turn a corner by just letting go of the wheel, but it was a fun ride none the less.
I remember that car fondly.
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