As I’ve shared before, I have a mild fascination with old Mercedes-Benz trucks. I still want to own an old Unimog someday, and as much as it pains me to admit this, I also want this yard-find 1980 L-1116 diesel truck in Vermont. These old workhorses were so distinctive with their rounded cab designs and seriously overbuilt diesel powertrains that they seem like the sort of vehicle you want to keep around for the end times. The truck is listed here on craigslist without much information, but it does appear to be largely complete. The seller is asking $2,900 and notes that it must be towed from the property.
….but does it, really? If I were 20 years younger, infinitely more talented mechanically, and had hours and days at a time to waste, I would be inclined to kick the seller an extra $100 to let me see if I could attempt to start it where it sits. My guess is it’s not outside the realm of possibility that this flat bed-style hauler would at least fire up again; whether it would roll out of there under its own power is another scenario altogether. The tires do still hold air and despite being in Vermont, it doesn’t appear to be a rust bucket. Milton, VT is a fair hike north of Burlington, so bring your cold weather gear if you attempt to dig it out.
Despite an inclination to assume this is a grey market truck imported to the states eons ago, this was actually a pretty popular model for businesses needing a heavy-duty hauler. Like other commercial trucking companies, Mercedes had plenty of U.S.-based outfits for ordering a model like the L-1116 to have delivered with a naked bed ready to accept anything from a tow boom to a refrigerated box. While not considered a true cab-over design, Mercedes engineers did make a point of moving the engine further back into the cab to reduce the truck’s overall length. You can certainly see the Unimog influences in the front end.
Engine-wise, this L-1116 is pretty much perfect: it has the OM352A, a turbocharged diesel inline-six that makes close to 170 horsepower. I realize that doesn’t seem like much by today’s standards, but for a diesel truck engine in 1980, it was impressive. Today, you can find ways to further improve performance, such as by fitting a turbo kit from the likes of AiResearch. The gearbox should be a ZF 5-speed manual, and the seller indicates that nothing is missing from a controls standpoint in the truck. With a desirable engine and a bare hydraulic flatbed, there is all sort of hidden potential on a yard find truck like this Mercedes. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Mitchell G. for the find.
Sadly parts are scarce here now . These were fairly common on the east coast and Midwest in the 80s and 90s but not anymore . The junkyards have been scavenged and most have been sent to Mexico and points south.
I’ve never thought of any particular vehicle, as being useful, during the Apocalypse, but maybe this is the one.
Probably the slowest most underpowered truck of all time. Before Volvo hit the scene, I remember some places going MB, or those awful IVECO straight trucks, and regretted it. Many seen broken down or on the back of a wrecker. M-B diesel motors have made a comeback, of sorts, in modern semis with mixed reviews. I think in a non-business situation where a flatbed is needed, this could work. In Europe, where demands aren’t near as stringent, I think M-B was the biggest, and probably still is.
I would be very suspect of M-B engines. A company that I used to drive truck for had several Freightliners with M-B engines. They were constantly in the shop to unplug the oil passages, the canister oil filters were disintegrating and spreading pieces all through the oil system. Since retiring, I took a part time job delivering parts for a large truck dealership. We had two M-B Sprinter (5cyl turbo diesel) vans that we used for delivery. They were the handiest size for delivering just about whatever you could need for truck repairs. However, one of them was constantly having EGR problems and its engine quit at 266,000 miles the other it’s engine also quit at 289,000 miles. The replacement cost for one of these engines was $27,000. Back about 20+ years ago when I first started driving truck the two most vehicles that I saw parked along the road for whatever reason or reasons was Mercedes Benz and the other was BMW.
I used to hear that MB never broke; they were so well-made that they improved as you put the miles on them (I actually heard a salesman for ‘Toyko Trash cans’ hint at that). But they wore out and failed the same as anything else. Back in the mid-70s when cars and trucks were replacing camshafts by the 24 pack, MB was replacing them too; no one talked about that because to find fault with an import was politically incorrect (I think the connotation still exists). Although no one will readily blame the ones really responsible, I still remember when the API code was changed from SE-CC to SE-CD, camshaft failures began almost immediately in both gas and naturally aspirated diesel engines. MB had a program where camshafts were checked over with every service. The only ones that came through unscathed belonged to those who ran Series 3 oil. The oil spec was changed to SF and low and behold, camshaft failures stopped…
2 of these are sitting here in Timonium Md. at a storage facility. I seriously think they’ve been there since new and they are way more roached than this one. There is also a 65-66 Pontiac 4 door that has been sitting,,,, are you ready?? for almost 40 years. Outside. A cover went on it just this year.. I suppose he’s now ready to restore it…
These had a fairly bad reputation among US truck fleets as being expensive to maintain and poor reliability. Probably a difference in expectations with European users comfortable with careful maintenance and US fleets looking for maximum uptime.
When they first arrived used for city delivery trucks, and when Mack Truck started to sell them we called them French poodles. Not many parts were available and all metric..and not fun too work on…lol
Hub truck on long island ran a lot of them. Great on flat long island. Not good on hills or interstate. Mechanics at hub liked them, same starter, alternator and other parts across models and years. My driver (a frugal scot) took one up to Oneonta, ny. Next time he took the gas international for the hills
I have to say that these were not made for this side of the Atlantic. Not nearly enough power or speed. Fairly reliable but then, so were the trucks made over here. The local Co-op had one for a fuel delivery truck. It worked okay for him but he was used to running a Chevy with a 235 Babbitt-Pounder and 95 hp before he got the MB. I guess anything could be a winner over that. Oh yes, he had an injector stick open and it burned a hole through a piston. When the smoke was cleared he bought a Dodge D-600 and stayed with Dodge until Chrysler pulled the plug on medium and heavy duty trucks in the mid-70s. I think I already rehashed the story about the newer Dodge grenading a transmission but that will have to be told somewhere else…
I bought a 1988 1319 26ft box truck in 1989 for my import delivery company working NJ/NY waterfront. Had the 5sp and granny low. Loved the giant Mercedes wheel and the guide poles on the fenders. The 1319 had 190hp and beefier suspension. Empty? Like flying a B17 over Berlin …on the BQE. There were many 1117’s doing deliveries and then the went the way of the dodo.