My pops worked for Lockheed Skunkworks for 35 years. He taught me how to wrench when I was a kid. Before he passed away last year, I showed him a couple of your videos. He was in awe, as am I, of the engineering that goes into these newfound masterpieces.
My Pops also worked at Skunkworks under Ben Rich; he was great at teaching me math; but couldn't repair jack. Just imagine, all the data on the YF12 & SR71 was on huge reels of magnetic tape. I went on to be a gear-head/auto tech and I have to say, this is a terrible waste of an original 6.3 car when 3.0 and 4.5 cars are plentiful.
Talk about working in the king of shops! I have often dreamed about what it would be like to work in Burbank at the original Plant 42… before they moved out to Lancaster. It must have been amazing. Everything was done by hand, or with primitive NC ( numeric control) Pratt-Whitney horizontal milling machines. Not to mention the “hot” part ( when they were forging the Titanium rough parts)
Wait… did he say it has a Dana 60 in the rear!!!! Jesus! This thing is insanely bulletproof. The whole frame from Art Morrison.. then a blown and built LS9
Jonathan, you genuinely have a gift for communicating your passion. I sit in awe of your presentational skills. Yeah, I'm a car nut, but your massively entertaining description of this project is the best example of delivering minute technical details in a way even someone who has never turned a wrench can appreciate. Bravo, sir.
In 400 years, Icon one offs will be looked upon as we look upon the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel today. This is fine art, and all of us are lucky beyond words to get to enjoy it so easily. What an accomplishment.
Fresh out of the Air Force in 1980, I landed a job at a Mercedes-only repair shop in California. My first job was putting a transmission and rear brakes under the boss's 6.3. The subsequent road test yielded triple-digit speeds on the old Embarcadero freeway. I absolutely love what you've done with this. The only caveat is that I wish you'd started with a 6-cylinder car.
I honestly feel like we are watching Dr/Professor Ward presenting another Icon magnum opus. On the outside we have the classic Mercedes lines, and below the surface we have a rowdy beast. I’ve been waiting for this video from the day this project first was mentioned. The fact that the car arrived already lowered on defunct shocks was an omen of what was to come. Congratulations to the entire Icon crew, their design partners, and the owners of this amazing ride. Mr/Dr/Prof Ward😉 this isn’t just a home run, it’s a grand slam walk off in the World Series. Love to see this in person one day, for the full sensory overload, but until then this video will have to suffice. 👏👏👏
W109's had air suspension .It wasn't lowered,it's air springs were deflated.Lots of W109's were scrapped because the costs of repairs to the air suspension was unaffordable.
I cannot come up with words to express how unbelievable the engineering and the attention to every minute detail is handled on this car. My mind is permanently blown. I wish I could work in a shop directed by such an inspired mad man.
I'm still recovering from the shock and awe... this is my first ICON video and I AM FLOORED! The curiosity is burning inside, to know just how much did this cost the owner? Love the calm and detailed narative and your leather jacket is on point! Bravo!
Pleasure listening to someone who can actually talk with flow and no distractors in their speech. Counted only three uhms in almost forty minutes. Well done. Oh, and the car is awesome to. Love all of Icon's work.
I love these ICON "presentations"! Jonathan is like a modern day Bugatti in that each of his creations is "one man's vision" of how it should be done, and the results speak for themselves. The devil is in the details (as they say), and Jonathan sweats the details like no one else. Any ICON vehicle is a work of art, and you could spend hours just staring at it and discovering new items and treatments for the entire time. So glad he takes us along on these well-crafted videos... also love it when he shows up at Jay Leno's garage!
Fantastic build...beyond fantastic. I'm a huge vintage MBZ fan, have owned a '66 250SE Coupe for 30yrs, and absolutely applaud what you did here. Thumbs up to the client who wanted this created!!
Johnathon, this W109 Mercedes Benz Icon Derelict is superlative, so well done. A vehicle like this would be a joy to own and use. The design, thoughtfulness and execution is beyond reproach. Great tool roll too ! Unfortunately it’s beyond my means, but that doesn’t stop me appreciating its beauty. Love what you do and the clever ways you go about that. Australia
I love it. I could not possibly achieve this level in my little hobby shop but you inspire me to do my very best to pay attention to details and strive for excellence as I build my own "hobby car"! Thank you!
Jonathan once again you have nailed it what a flawless work & achievement honestly I am screaming waited for this video 4 a long time the way you have explained in detail not many builders can do well done.
My father had a battleship gray 6.3 with a lipstick red interior. That car and the history behind it looms large in my car universe. If there's an afterlife, Waxenberger, Ulenhaut and my Dad are cheering right now. What a glorious project. Kudos to you and the person with way more money than sense that commissioned. Pure awesome.
What Rudolf Uhlenhaut did at Mercedes-Benz is beyond your knowledge and imagination, dude! Don't take his name, to "justifying" such disgusting US tuner crimes on a German classic car from Mercedes-Benz, you clown! Putting a fucking dumb "LS9" engine in a classic Mercedes-Benz is more than just sacrilege, dude! You are pure DUMB, that's all! Greetings from Stuttgart, Germany
What a mind blowing build. The effort and commitment, the enhancement, the respect for the original design and engineering has left me speechless. Greetings from Denmark.
This is an amazing car, what a project. As a Benz fan it doesn't sit well doing it to a 6.3 litre 300 SEL, there are plenty of W109 6 cylinders out there and 4.5 V8s, so to my mind it's like taking a 67 fastback GT500 Shelby Mustang and using that as a project base. That said its undeniably one amazing project. Bravo.
Amazing! The attention to detail and the approach you have to the modifications and evolution of the build... Stunning! I am so happy that shops like yours exist and hopefully thrive! Love your videos 😍👌🏽
I noticed the video was 2 months old and surprised I missed it when it came out. Of all the derelicts you've done this is extraordinary. undoubtedly The Best of the Best
These are the kind of Icon cars I like the most. They may not be as profitable, however the design expertise required to do this work is what defines the Icon brand… (IMO).
@@hagestad Simple, to fit the chassis underneath. There is no way a stock car was going to deal with all that power. It would just tear itself apart. Have a look at Project Binky, the mini with a turbo AWD system in it, same thing, very little of the underneath of the car left.
@@Emily1963eh are you joking? there are companies in germany doing exactly that. this old chassis is probably stronger than corvette that this engine was design for. The icon approach basically changed entire car - that is why im saying its pointless to start with genuine mercedes in the first place apart from probably legal perspective.
The 300SEL 6.3 is one of my dream cars, and personally I wouldn’t modify it like this, but you can’t say the workmanship and quality of this is nothing else but impeccable. Just hope the owner has a healthy tyre budget!
I have been patiently waiting for this video and I am not disappointed! Once again an absolutely stunning automobile in original condition has been completely rebuilt. If only I had a such a discretionary checkbook to do a project such as this. Thank you for sharing! Cheers Doc
Absolutely unfathomable amounts of time, engineering, fabrication, attention to detail and professional skill throughout! What can be said? W O W ! ! ! Freakin’ amazing Jonathan!
its beautiful to see a persons passion and a end product just come together so well ... this has to be the most satisfying content that I've seen for quite a while ... thanks for making this masterpiece of a video and sharing with us the build ... you've definitely inspired many folks with these videos
Wow, this car turned out absolutely beautiful... A true sleeper, modernized while maintaining the heritage of the original classic Mercedes car... Such amazing craftsmanship and attention to detail!!! Amazing job!
YOU GOTTA BRING THIS ONE BY JAY LENO HE LL LOVE IT !! OMG the level you create these works of art WOW you leave no stone unturned when designing and building anything JUST SIMPLY AMAZING, WE LOVE IT ALL
wow Jonathon you are a living legend. Another incredible project. Thanks for taking the time to share the details... many of which you could hoard as trade secrets. This is by far my favorite build you have done and I hope I get to see it sometime. Thanks again and keep it up!
I think you should show that car to Mercedes Benz! That is alot of improvements and I love it! Beautiful project, Johnathan! Chip Fooze would be jelous! I think it will win some awards at SEMA!
When I first saw this car, I had to do a double take because the patina on the body didn't jump out at me at the first glance. Your work on these vehicles is extraordinary. I can only imagine the look on a person's face driving a sports/muscle car seeing this Mercedes "sleeper" blow their doors off at a stop light. Kudos to you and you marvelous staff for all of the wonderful product that you build. Keep it up!!
Do you really think that the folks at Mercedes Benz are going to appreciate someone who ripped out the glorious 6.3 liter M-100 V8 engine and replaced it with a Chevy?
I kept smiling and paid full attention throughout the entire video. I was in a good place afterwards. My brother has one. I'm going to forward this video to him. Simply AWESOME. KUDOS!
Wow! Impressive work and kudos to the client for selecting such an interesting car. I always want to know who commissions a project of this magnitude. 5,000 hours of labor was mentioned. If the labor rate was charitable at $150 per hour you are looking at $750k in labor + at least 750k in parts…after a few brainstorming sessions you can land on a cool 1.5 million dollar budget. Then again, budget must be loosely defined in this space 😊
This is a really, really great car. I love that the LS9 fits behind the front wheel line👍🏻 Bonus points for filming in the Back to the Future tunnel 😁 Your audio is really messed up in a few places. As always... SIGH
A few errors in the intro. W109s were made from 1966. The 6.3 version came out in 68. Erich Waxenberger built a personal car using an M-100 engine in a W112 300SE coupe chassis. Perhaps the biggest error is the claim that the 6.3 was only sold in North America. That's nonsense. The 6.3 was sold worldwide from day one. Of the 6,526 built, only 1,839 were sold in the USA. The biggest single market was Germany. A large number of right hand drive 6.3s were also built for countries like the UK, Japan, Australia, and South Africa. The easiest way to tell a North American market car from the rest of the world, is the rear license plate lighting setup. Non North America cars used a single light set into the top of the rear bumper, rather than two lights flanking the plate in the bodywork. The thing about having all four lights on when using the high beams is just the standard US four lamp headlight setup at the time. There was a 5006 dual filament sealed beam in the upper position for both high and low beam, and a 5001 single filament sealed beam in the lower position as a supplemental high beam. All four lights are on when the high beams are selected. Radio options varied by country. The Becker Mexico cassette wasn't available until 1971, towards the tail end of production. Most US cars were fitted with a four band Becker Grand Prix with self seek automatic tuning. The wood choice depended on the interior color. Blue interiors had a straight grained French Walnut. Other interior colors had either Macassar Ebony like this car, or Walnut Burl. Contrary to many comments here, Zebrano wood was never used in a 6.3. Things like AC and rear reading lights were standard on US cars, but often optional in other countries. The only options in the US were a sunroof, fitted luggage, and a rear window defroster. Velour seating was a no cost option. Things like picnic tables or rear curtains were strictly custom special order items.
@@ICON4x4Design I guess the tough question I have, is that if you're going to destroy one of these cars, why why WHY did it have to be a rust free 6.3? We estimate that there are now fewer than 200 drivable and registered 6.3s left on the planet, make that 199 after this project. You tossed out all of the parts that make a W109 and a 6.3 unique, M100 engine, air suspension etc, so you could have just as easily started with a W108, and created exactly the same car.
@@ICON4x4Design That doesn't answer the question. You could also buy a Stradivarius violin and then smash it with a hammer. That doesn't make it right.
Really? In Europe, good restorable 6.3s are very hard to find because of rust issues. So, cutting up a very solid 6.3 to put a chassis(!) underneath it should be illegal. Installing a GM engine instead of the sublime M100 and replacing the super engineerd airsuspension by a coil setup...I guess it's an American thing. This I know : for the money and effort spent here, an original 6.3 with mild power increase could have been build, and on top of that, it could runs circles around this hybrid. I normally like the Icon Derilicts and have been watching the channel for years but this one is a sacriledge to Waxenbergers masterpiece. I'm afraid the owner will grow tired of it very quickly, as has happened with the Derilict Rolls.
Yes Really. They are rare because they only made 6,500 units. On what planet will a 60 to 70 year old 6.3 with a mild power increase “run circles around” a supercharged LS9? - there is not a single spec that supports this claim. All nonsense including the spelling of derelict….
I agree with you .sacrilege ! Being so rare that should not done especially on a clean rust free car makes no sense lets cut of the floors a on a perfect car and make a mew chassis. There are plenty of rust y 108 cylinder models that he could have done the same thing an i would have applauded him. But but the car was spectacular impressive build masterpiece but iregret chopping a clean car
I've owned 230s and a 280 and yes they, and this 300 are very nice cars, but what was done here compliments the original car with modern technology and performance. The same is true for a house. The new owner gets to start with a new slate and the care and expense that went into this build to keep the details of its originality should be commended! This car was rescued from becoming three tin can imports.
@Icon/Sir Ward... The work you do is so beautiful. Everytime I see one of these "restorations" I just wish I had the capital to commission a build. It feels like I fall in love with cars all over again after seeing one of your builds! The desire to sweat the details is so moving. I love it! Please do not ever stop!
I love these sleeper builds that totally update things mechanically and chassis wise. All while keeping the outward appearance stock, even better if the paint has some flaws. That interior is beautiful.
What a beauty. One can only imagine the engineering that went into building this Derelict Mercedes. The craftsmanship is mind boggling to say the least. The exhaust sound when you planted your foot was awesome. I’m sure your customer will enjoy this build too. 👍👍🇨🇦
Dream car build! As always ICON goes way above and beyond with even the smallest details such a cool build and no one out there like ICON. My favs are the derelicts but love every car/truck done.
Jonathan, this is another masterpiece you and your fellow team created there! Cannot appreciate enough how much thought and detail work went into there. As an industrial designer myself I really love your approach on keeping the look stock but adapting it to a modern customer's needs and overall upping the quality of materials and craftsmanship. So good! Best regards from Germany
You're my inspiration, Jonathan. I have a 1972 280 SEL under vinyl cover that I want to restore in the near future. You have given me many ideas of how I plan to resto-mod it.
Quite frankly my friend, I am extremely happy that you chose to continue spending your efforts in your happy place. The fruits of your passion are absolutely brilliant and it’s no wonder that customers with the means continue to come to you for additional builds. The fact that the intention is to build these vehicles in such a way that they could literally be a daily driven car is a massive factor in their appeal. I hope someday soon I’ll be sporting one of your Derelict’s myself!! 👍🏻😎👍🏻
Excellent! The whole icon derelict concept/aesthetic really floats my Automotive/Car-Nerd boat And when that "boat comes in" I'll be booking my flights to LA to immerse myself in such a project....
I love your Derelicts and I love old Mercedes Sedans. This couldn't have been a more perfect combination. It's like you have said before it's nearly impossible to look at this and see anything but an old Mercedes sedan. Nothing really stands out other than the wheel width. And the interior is gorgeous. The amount of hours and design your teams have done is mind numbing. Beautiful car and stunning build. Thank you for sharing this build.
A perfect evolution of your Icon Derelict esthetic! I've been waiting years to see this video. The 6.3 was one of my favorites growing up in the 70s. When my ship comes in, I'll take a Jaguar XJ6 Series 1!
What an unbelievable car. A real beauty. And every detail thought through, improved and brought up to date. Amazing. When I was a child, this car was my dream with these specs, it definitely still is today! ❤
What a great car! I thoroughly enjoyed the video. Thank you for using your talents and passion to bring these amazing builds to life. I hope your client enjoys this one of a kind Benz for many miles and years to come. 🙏
It was great to meet you at the SEMASHOW after the Ev forum. Icon derelict my favorite cars on the planet. Thanks for continuing to share them with us. This car is amazing!!
