How to dismantle a Ponton

Dismantle a Ponton is not that difficult. You "only" need the right tools so that you don't damage anything. And that you follow the intro in my "Todo list" under Restoration. Buy the workshop manuals etc....!

Ponton-Mercedes Typ 219, 1956-1957, (C) Daimler AG

"Ponton-Mercedes" Typ 219 (mit Kennzeichenleuchten der ersten Ausführung), 1956-1957. © Daimler AG

The boot

Hmm, putty on top of the paint around the spare wheel recess as well as sound proofing. More closely to the centerpiece, not visible on the photo, were also sound proofing material in the stiffening corrugations.

  • Picture of the boot showing the putty on top of the paint

The coupe

These photos lies a little bit. In reality, the color is more dark grey than it appears to be here. Observe the blue paint around the rear window!

  • Rear interior of a 219 Ponton with sound dampening
  • Front door from the inside in a 219 Ponton with sound dampening
  • Rear door in a Mercedes 219 Ponton with sound dampening

These photos have a more correct gray color. Here you can also see the reparation solution for the thrust arms.

  • Picture showing the rear interior of a MB219
  • Picture showing the rear and middle interior of a MB219 with sound dampening and paint
  • Picture showing the rear floor of a MB219 with sound original dampening and paint
  • Picture showing the front floor of a MB219 with the original two layer sound dampening and paint
  • Picture showing the bare frontal parts of the interior of a MB219 with its sound dampening and paint.

Coupe dark grey, almost everywhere, but look at the glove compartment. I cannot remember if it was black or DB7164, Tiefdunkel grau, probably the first one. Send me a mail if you know!

  • This shows the bare frontal part of the interior with the glove compartment and its paint

These two pictures are supposed to show you the anti-squeek in the ceiling (jute felt with paper filler). But it also gave me an opportunity to display myself again, still having hair in the face as well as on the head. The latter is now gone, RIP.

  • The anti-squeek in the ceiling of the Ponton, jute felt with paper filler
  • A nice picture of me, beside the Ponton in my parent's garage

Engine compartment

Here goes the motor and gear box. I didn't use the "standard procedure", to remove the motor together with the front axle support. I wanted to be able to move the car around easily... And no, the motor is not supposed to be red. My father painted it in this color when he made a general overhaul of the engine. Reason; rust in one or two cylinders due to a longer stand-still 1978.

  • Lifting the engine together with the gear box

Yes, wrong hose clamps, my fault...

  • Right side of engine compartment, facing the firewall and the battery compartment
  • Right side of engine compartment, slightly from above and hence giving a better view the Ponton battery compartment

Based on what I saw I bought a new, complete cable set for the car, with the original color on all the cables as well as the original cotton coating. I included in the wiring all the options that I could find at that time, including radio, motor compartment light and towing hook. I bought it by Krieg Kabelbäume in 1994. With the original color coding of the cables, his numbering of all the cables as well as helping me out with some detail questions 20 years later made the wiring of the car a piece of cake!

  • Detail of rear side of engine compartment, with blower, wires and hoses
  • Another detail picture of the right side of engine compartment, without blower but with the wires, hoses etc visible

Forget the color of the master cylinder and the tank for the brake fluid. They "changed" when I restored the brakes, years ago...

  • Left side of engine compartment
  • Left side of engine compartment, however facing the firewall and the ATE T50 brake booster
  • Right side of engine compartment, however facing the firewall and the battery compartment

A new, temporary home

As mentioned above I dismantled the car in my parents garage. You can imagine what my father thought about this process... That's why I in 1994 had it transported to Mårten. He had the space needed for the rest of the work on the chassis, knowledge about the rest of the restoration process as well as contacts for welding and painting.

  • The Mercedes being prepared for being transported to Mårten in 1994
  • The Mercedes finally on the trailer, leaving for new adventures
  • The Mercedes finally on its way, behind a W123

Unfortunately the restoration came to a stand still and was also moved to a new place. At a certain point in my life, more precisely 1998/99, I thought it was a good idea start to work with the car myself. This is how it looked like before I started the grinding. The chassis has recently been stripped from it's front axle support but does still have the rear axle mounted. The rear axle was taken off in April 2001. And then there's a photo of me and Mårten Borgny, my "Ponton advisor" in Kisa. The car is laying on its left side, giving me a better position to clean it from dirt, oil, rust and whatever you may find under a car.

  • The Ponton is now striped and only the rear axle is still there, rear view
  • The Ponton is now striped and only the rear axle is still there, front view
  • A picture showing me and Mårten beside the Ponton in Rimforsa, Östergötland