Mercedes-Benz Ponton Radiator Blind

Dan Diamond / Toronto / dda.nhl@sympatico.ca / July 8, 2003


The radiator blind was a cold climate option. I have seen it on a number of Pontons delivered in Canada. It pulls up like an upside down window shade and is spring loaded in similar fashion. The cross piece that pulls the canvas blind up stays in position via a small rubber wheel that runs in a steel channel that runs vertically in front of the radiator, right on the centerline of the car. A steel cable in a housing like a big fat choke cable connects the blind to the cabin.

In the cabin, the cable is attached to a chrome chain that ends with a black bakelite ball or dice from a Leas Vegas casino if your bakelite has crumbled. To raise the blind, you yank the chain. (Now you can yank your Ponton's chain instead of the reverse!)

There is a bracket that allows you to wind up the excess chain that is in the cabin when the blind is up. The hooks on the bracket secure the chain and keep the knob from swinging back and forth.

My car is a 1958 Type 220S sedan which I have owned since 1972.  It was delivered to a Canadian serviceman in Paris, destined for Canada, and came with a radiator blind.  The canvas has since rotted out so I do not yank its chain any more.  But when I drove the car in bitter cold winters long ago, it was a big help.

Lubricate the cable the same as a choke or heater cable and replace the canvas. The hard part is anchoring the new canvas to the horizontal bracket that moves up when you pull the chain. If you figure out how to do this, let me know and I will do mine as well.

Dan
1958 Type 220S sedan / Toronto


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