Mercedes W125 pictures and bonnets

Hi

slowly hunting down all the historic pics of w125's I can find.

I am more intrigued by the bonnets, it appears they used several different sorts, most having an indented handle some with straps, and some with no indents.......did they use different bonnets on the same car?

Does anyone know a good source of w125 photos? I know Bernie;s car is the ex Crabbe car out of Eastern Europe but which actual car is it?

Cheers

Hi

slowly hunting down all the historic pics of w125's I can find.

I am more intrigued by the bonnets, it appears they used several different sorts, most having an indented handle some with straps, and some with no indents.......did they use different bonnets on the same car?

Does anyone know a good source of w125 photos? I know Bernie;s car is the ex Crabbe car out of Eastern Europe but which actual car is it?

Cheers

Sorry, but even though my father was a panel beater for the pre-war Mercedes GP team, I have no photos

In Autosport August 5 1971, pps 18,19,20, Doug Nye does a 3 page profile of the Crabbe car and the W125s. See also Jenks' The Grand Prix Mercedes-Benz Type W125, 1937, publ Lionel Leventhal, London. More details may emerge via Crabbe's scheduled autobiography
Roger Lund

Paul:

The first book I would reach for would be Karl Ludvigsen's Mercedes-Benz, Quicksilver Century, followed by Chirs Nixon's Racing the Silver Arrows and Louis Suguhara's Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Race Cars, 1934-1955. The first is out of print and almost impossible to find; the latter contains illustrations of many variations on the basic themes, so it may be most useful to you.

Frank
www.toadhallbook.com (hint, hint)

I'd also include Geeorge Monkhouse's "Motor Racing With Mercedes-Benz", and the White Mouse published volume of Monkhouse's photos.

Woody

I know Bernie;s car is the ex Crabbe car out of Eastern Europe but which actual car is it?

It is numbered as 'W125/2' but this number was derived from Jenks's research in the Daimler-Benz archives which revealed chassis '2' as having been Caracciola's most successful mount during the 1937 season. To the best of my knowledge I believe there was no surviving serial number found on the chassis frame as retrieved...

DCN

Edited by Doug Nye, 26 May 2009 - 19:07.

It is numbered as 'W125/2' but this number was derived from Jenks's research in the Daimler-Benz archives which revealed chassis '2' as having been Caracciola's most successful mount during the 1937 season. To the best of my knowledge I believe there was no surviving serial number found on the chassis frame as retrieved...

DCN

Hey Doug....


good to see you are still in one piece:).............the reason for the query is that an old client/friend of mine ( Dr Geoff Davis),who apparently used to be in business with CC in Antique Automobile, some time ago told me that when they bought the car the bonnet that it was carrying was pretty scruffy so it was taken off and replaced, and he had the original it "hanging in the back shed".

I knew Geoff on and off for over 20 years and he owned some very serious cars in his time, was a great collector and a great raconteur. Anyways he passed way late last year and the bonnet has turned up after his estate was sold. The chap that bought it bought it as a memento of Geoff and has it hanging on his wall but just as an exercise I was curious to see whether the tale could be proved.

I have had a look at it, and it has enough age, and the rivets on the inside seem time and age appropriate but looking at a lot of the pcitures I have seen of w125's most have an indent front and back on the bonnet, presumably to lift them off easily, but there are also a number that do not have these indents ( the bonnet in question doesnt), so thus the reason for the first queries.

I have no doubt that this has been on a car, its just a matter of what car and when. It is also curious in that it has 3 catches on the right hand side but only 2 on the left. I think a mate of mine has a copy of Jenks' book so I will have a hunt for it. The pics I have of the car when CC was racing show an indented bonnet........any other assistance or opinions greatly appreciated.

Cheers from a wet and rainy Sydney

Hey Doug....good to see you are still in one piece:)...........
Cheers from a wet and rainy Sydney

Good heavens (for the second time today). Not THE Paul Clark? What-ho...that bonnet sounds like a very nice piece. Any chance of a photo or two - inside and out???

All the very best.

DCN

Hi

I have a lot of pictures of the W125. Perhaps if you could post a couple of pictures of the bonnet here, I could help to find it among those pictures.

Good heavens (for the second time today). Not THE Paul Clark? What-ho...that bonnet sounds like a very nice piece. Any chance of a photo or two - inside and out???

All the very best.

DCN

haha yes it is me......dont tell anyone that I am actually still interested in cars I like to keep the enigma thing going:)..........I will pop over and grab some pics and work out how to load them on here........all the best


Paul

Hi

I have a lot of pictures of the W125. Perhaps if you could post a couple of pictures of the bonnet here, I could help to find it among those pictures.

Hi Arturo,

thanks for that I will pop over and get some pics in the next few days and post them here, if nothing else its a bit of fun tracking down the veracity of a good tale!

Cheers

Paul