What Is The Correct Engine Colour For A 540K ?

[Junkman]

Gents,

What I would like to know is the correct engine colour for a Mercedes-Benz 540K {W29}, i.e. the M 24 II engine. And no, it isn’t as easy as it sounds, I did some research and cannot find a conclusive answer.

Years back, I was told (verbally) by an elderly German gentleman, who allegedly worked as a Cartwright apprentice in the Sindelfingen factory, that black enamel was only used on 'exhibition' cars, while 'regular' customer cars' engines were painted DIN 1844 'Maschinengrün', which is RAL 6011 Reseda Green. Unfortunately, the gentleman has passed away a while back, so I am unable to discuss this issue further with him. But his knowledge of the actual paint norms and numbers would confirm the plausibility of what he said. He also claimed that all restored cars he saw had their engines painted black, which is incorrect in his opinion.

Can anybody confirm/dismiss/correct this statement?

Unfortunately, I can only find contemporary black and white photos or pictures of disgustingly overrestored cars on the internet. None of the latter's engines look anything near authentic to me, what with all this polished and buffed stuff on them. All of the restored ones are enamelled black.

There is one picture I found of an engine which looks like the owner did not max out his Platinum VISA Card when restoring it and this one is indeed Reseda Green:

Does anybody out there know the facts? Or has proper literature? All I come across is a boatload of hype and folklore about these cars, but very little facts.

Cheers,

Christian

[CAL]

Every one I have seen has been black.

A W29 was a 500K

A W24 was a 540K

A lot of these were custom and or specailly built per customer requests.

Edited April 21, 2010 by CAL

[Junkman]

Sorry for the typo, but I also clearly stated M 24 II engine.

I somehow doubt that a customer would have bothered to specify which colour his engine is being painted, or actually had the option. And if, only very few would have done so and why would they all agree on black? Most customers would have specified the body style, equipment and paint, and 70 of them bought only the chassis and had it delivered to their favorite coachbuilder.

That most surviving engines are black nowadays may well have to do with the fact, that Reseda Green is not exactly an appealing colour, but doesn't clarify anything.

[Art Anderson]

Every one I have seen has been black.

A W29 was a 500K

A W24 was a 540K

A lot of these were custom and or specailly built per customer requests.

I might be willing to trust Christian's now-deceased, elderly German source though, if one wants to do a factory stock version. Reason? Almost every Mercedes of those years restored in the decades since has a black block and cylinder head, even black porcelainized intake and exhaust manifolds, which leads me to wonder if restorers, in their quest for concours d' elegance perfection, tend to opt for the factory "show car" look, or simply used black because it looks "better", more teutonic. Most concours restorations seem to be more focused on perfection of fit and finish, rather than absolute accuracy, and looking at the pic in Christian's post above, that machine gun green color is just plain bilious to my eye. Perhaps a post on the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) or the Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) message boards would get you a more definitive answer? You do have to subscribe to both of those forums, but if you are interested in factory stock prewar cars, those are excellent resources.

Art

[Junkman]

To call 'Maschinengrün' "just plain bilious" is nicely put, but imo still an understatement. It makes split pea soup look good in comparison.

Btw, the term translates to 'machine-green' and has nothing to do with machine guns, which were hardly ever painted. In fact, Maschinengrün is widely used on - well - machines to this day:

The tip to ask the AACA or the CCCA is a good one! Thanks for that.

[sjordan2]

You might inquire at the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center – I asked for information about a 1928 SS, and even though they couldn't find the answer, they got back to me in a few days. Astonishingly enough, they said they have very little original documentation on prewar Mercedes. I think there was a factory fire or something. They did e-mail me a basic specification sheet, though. Contact info here:

http://www.mercedes-benz-classic.com/content/classic/mpc/mpc_classic_website/en/mpc_home/mbc/home/classic/classic_center_usa.html

Edited April 21, 2010 by sjordan2

[Junkman]

You might inquire at the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center – I asked for information about a 1928 SS, and even though they couldn't find the answer, they got back to me in a few days. Astonishingly enough, they said they have very little original documentation on prewar Mercedes. I think there was a factory fire or something. They did e-mail me a basic specification sheet, though. Contact info here:

http://www.mercedes-benz-classic.com/content/classic/mpc/mpc_classic_website/en/mpc_home/mbc/home/classic/classic_center_usa.html

Hey thanks for the info.

A factory fire or something is good. I would call it a World War which had the effect that Germany was literally pulverized. There is not much stuff which survived, practically everything pre-war German which exists today has been outside the country during this period.

[CAL]

Hey thanks for the info.

A factory fire or something is good. I would call it a World War which had the effect that Germany was literally pulverized. There is not much stuff which survived, practically everything pre-war German which exists today has been outside the country during this period.

That is what I was thinking too. It was WWII.

In any event, there was a recently discovered 500K series car found in a private collection it is supposed to be the most original one in the world. I will try and find that stuff again.

Also, this engine was used in a number of other vehicles. FWIW.

[sjordan2]

That is what I was thinking too. It was WWII.

In any event, there was a recently discovered 500K series car found in a private collection it is supposed to be the most original one in the world. I will try and find that stuff again.

Also, this engine was used in a number of other vehicles. FWIW.

The Unterturkheim plant was bombed out, but Sindelfingen survived.

[Junkman]

The Unterturkheim plant was bombed out, but Sindelfingen survived.

Whatever wasn't bombed out was raided by the occupying troops. As I said before little or nothing survived and if it did, it was taken out of the country if it was deemed of even the slightest value. Documents in a car factory certainly fell under this.