1959 Mercedes-Benz Type W120 180a Ponton Sedan

Hello, 

Here is the story of how I rescued a 1959 Mercedes-Benz Ponton from California and restored it in Toronto, Canada. 

I was in San Francisco in January 2004, and saw this 1959 Mercedes-Benz Type W120 180a Ponton sedan sitting in the back yard of a repair shop. It was in bad condition, and the owner of the garage said he would sell it. So I made the deal on the car, rented a small U-Haul trailer, towed it to my sister's house. Then, I left California for my home in Toronto (Markham) Ontario, Canada were I have lived for the last twenty years. After three months, I managed to have the Ponton shipped to Toronto so I could begin my project. I went online and discovered the www.mbzponton.org website, and it was very helpful. I finished the project in August 2007.

I really have to say that the information provided on this website was very helpful to make my Ponton project a success. Since the day I arrived back from San Francisco in 2004, I spent many nights on my computer reading the valuable information found on the site. With the ownership of this 1959 Type 180a Ponton sedan (originally from California) in my name, I was able to prevent this beautiful automobile from dieing were I found it. When I found your website, I was able to meet with Bob Graham from Prescott, Ontario. He has a 1961 190Db Ponton sedan. He also bought a 1960 Ponton from Ohio, USA through the links on the site. So he rebuilt one car from the two cars and ended up with lots of useful parts just taking up space in his garage at home. He was only a three hour drive from me, and I had a cargo van at the shop at the time. On a Sunday in March 2004 I picked up almost every thing from Bob for may be $400 CAD. That was a big push forward for my project. My brother, who is a gifted licensed automotive technician with over twenty years of experience in European cars helped me with the engine and electrical work. I took the car apart myself, slowly striped the paint off the body, sent it to be painted (the same colour) and I sent all the chrome bits off to be re-chromed. I also replaced the seats, headliner, windshield, installed a complete rubber kit, new 13 inch tires, and much more. The only thing I have yet to replace is the rear tail lights. The ones Bob gave me from his 1960 (with "b" style tail lights) do not belong on this 1959 Type 180a. I have the original tail lights, but the lenses are and frames are broken. Miller's Inc. has the correct lenses (early style for the Type 180a) for $85 USD. I will correct this, and send you new photos, and more photos of the inside when I get them installed. By the way, I fell in love with the Mercedes-Benz Ponton body style when I was 8 years old and going to school back in the streets of Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Best Regards,
Nizar Shahin
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
May 31, 2008

New Photos Added April 8, 2024

Steering wheel, and dashboard.

Dashboard, and front seats.