Mercedes 450SLC Estate

[TarquinMX5]

Has anybody seen one one of these? - I had a 450SLC but don't recall anything about the Crayford.

Item from 1981 Motorshow magazine:

Edited by TarquinMX5 on Friday 30th July 21:34

[Jader1973]

I’m not sure if it is the same car or not but a quick google suggests Crayford built one as a show car. It was sold to a guy in Spain who crashed it twice. After the second time it was sold and rebuilt with a Vauxhall Cavalier hatch because Crayford only had 3 rear windows made: second one was used to fix the car after the first crash, and the 3rd one wasn’t available to fix it after the second crash.

Pic and a link at the bottom of this page;

https://www.slkworld.com/threads/the-wolf-and-the-...

[TarquinMX5]

Thanks for the link, interesting and no doubt the same car - I liked the look from the front quarter but I'm not sure about the rear.

Having dug further, there are several showing as 'Crayford' conversions which, presumably, weren't converted by Crayford if that article is correct. One has a sloping C-pillar, which looks better, and another has retained the SLC's louvres at the D-pillar.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/356628864240075311...

[shih tzu faced]

SLC is a great looking car, and one that you'd imagine would have the right shape and proportions to be turned into an even better looking estate... but it appears not!

[Dapster]

Personally I think the Crayford C107 looked awful




If you want to make an estate, you have to do better than glue a box onto a saloon. Look at this bloody awful Crayford job with what looks like a conservatory window stuck in compared to Mercedes' own stillborn prototype with more upright C pillars

[Turbobanana]

TarquinMX5 said:

Has anybody seen one one of these? - I had a 450SLC but don't recall anything about the Crayford.

Item from 1981 Motorshow magazine:

Edited by TarquinMX5 on Friday 30th July 21:34

Consider what happened to these featured cars:

Lancia Gamma Scala remained a one-off, I believe
450 SLC discussed above
Avon did make a few XJ estate conversions, I think
Reliant - anyone know?
Honda Ballade found fame (infamy?) as the Triumph Acclaim
Quintet sold a few, but I seem to recall this had one of the worst drag coefficients around when that was a thing
Vauxhall Viceroy made production but is not universally remembered

[Sortie 10]

I think Reliant sold designs to Anadol in Turkey & the car featured may have been produced there. Have never been to Turkey, so have not seen one in wild.

[Dapster]

The FW 11 was designed by Ghandini for Anadol but it was shelved after 4 cars were built. Bertone picked up the design and twiddled with it to be come the BX




Also has a bit of FSO Polonez about it which Guigaro penned. Some skeletons in great closets there....

Edited by Dapster on Friday 6th August 14:30

[lowdrag]

Some estate conversions are downright abortions, but my favourite has to be the Lynx Eventer. It really looks the part of a gentleman's shooting brake.

[Doofus]

Dapster said:

Ghandini...Guigaro

Close enough...

[Dapster]

Doofus said:

Dapster said:

Ghandini...Guigaro

Close enough...

You wouldn't think that Mahatma Ghandini's had the time to work on the styling of the mid range hatchback whilst preparing his views on the Independence of India. It surprised me.

[lowdrag]

It is little known that Ghandini and Houdini were cousins, Who can forget that superb escape trick on the Ganges?

[DodgyGeezer]

lowdrag said:

Some estate conversions are downright abortions, but my favourite has to be the Lynx Eventer. It really looks the part of a gentleman's shooting brake.

those wheels look massive in that pic

[a8hex]

DodgyGeezer said:

lowdrag said:

Some estate conversions are downright abortions, but my favourite has to be the Lynx Eventer. It really looks the part of a gentleman's shooting brake.

those wheels look massive in that pic

They're probably 15" ones, 235/60VR15 tyres were the standard fit on 6.5"x15" alloys were the norm through most of the life of the XJS. They switched to 7"x16" wheels with 225/55VR16s for the final models. The wheels look like the originals so probably only 15" ones. Either Tony or one of the Eventer followers might be along to correct me later. They probably look large until you remember that the bonnet height of an XJS is likely to be less than 1m.

[OverSteery]

Estates that never were? Now there's an idea for a thread.

Oh hang on....

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Good, bad and (seriouly) ugly contained within

[lowdrag]

Maybe it was just the photo. Here's another Eventer sold off by Jaguar this year and part of the James Hull collection they had acquired. This one looks OK to me.

[52classic]

Dapster said:

Personally I think the Crayford C107 looked awful




If you want to make an estate, you have to do better than glue a box onto a saloon. Look at this bloody awful Crayford job with what looks like a conservatory window stuck in compared to Mercedes' own stillborn prototype with more upright C pillars

I thyink the red Crayford has an Austin Maxi tailgate. I also recognise Avon's inginuity with the XK6 estate - uses Renault 5 tailgate and rear pillars.

[lowdrag]

The Eventer uses a Citroen tailgate too. Far easier than making one yourselves and far cheaper too!