Looks can be deceiving

I decided to name my new C114 Jade, not only because of her colour, but also because that was the name of the street on which I found her.

Not long after the tow truck delivered Jade to my house, I couldn't stop myself from giving her a wash. I was excited to see what she looked like with her wheel trims on, and the years of dirt and grime removed.

 These are the tools I am confident with

WOW!  What a difference a wash makes

Knowing the wealth of knowledge that is held within the Facebook Group W(A)114/115, I had remembered to take a picture of the chassis plates the first time I went to see Jade.  I wanted to share the information with the group and see what anyone could tell me about the car.

I had already noticed the engine bay was a different colour (grey rather than green), so I was suspicious that green was not the original colour.  

What we determined was that the original colour was 124G Arabian Grey, and also that the car was not originally built for Australia, instead it was imported at a later stage.  I have no idea when this would have been, but the number plates on the car are from 1997, so perhaps that is a clue.

In addition to the original colour, we also determined that the car was an import.  All Australian delivered cars have the number 625 stamped on the plate.  As you can see that number does not appear.

Here you can see evidence of the original colour 124G Arabian Grey

I actually really like the grey, and would have loved for the car to have remained that colour, but the previous owner must have really disliked it.  The level of cover up of the grey is incredible, there is literally no trace of it anywhere other than in the engine bay. Take the door reveals for example, there were so clean you could eat of them!

Door reveals are in amazing condition, with no trace of the original colour

This stunning /8 is an example of what the original colour would have looked like. In my opinion this has got to be one of the best colour options available.  I cannot understand why you would want to cover it up!

Image reference: David Saffioti via Mercedes-Benz W114/W115 Appreciation Group