Unimogs, Turbo Diesels, and a rare Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 | Barn Find Hunter - Ep. 79
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- Meet Ron Borher, a man who has been a Mercedes-Benz technician for over 49 years. When you have been collecting as long as Ron, you tend to have some hidden treasure. Among the Chevy pickups and Toyota 4Runners lies a true unicorn in Ron's Mercedes Benz line-up, a 190E 2.3-16. This particular model is special because it was the only high-performance version of the 190E ever offered in the United States.
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My one and only complaint - he says " I think we've seen enough." NO, NO , NO Tom , we want to see MORE. Great video.
So happy to see my friend Ron on Barn Find Hunter! When I stopped by to see him at the end of last summer the first thing he said was “they found me!” Haha.
Ron is actually the person that got me into old Mercedes. Years ago when I was a young man I used to drive by his property and he would occasionally have an old merc out front for sale. I fell in love with these old Mercedes and eventually when I became old enough to drive I bought my first Mercedes, a 1966 250S in horizon blue purchased in Traverse City, while on leave from the Air Force fresh out of basic training. 10 years later and many Mercedes later, I returned to Traverse City and finally reconnected with Ron to thank him for getting me hooked on Mercedes.
Ron really is a wonderful man and has the best stories from his many years as a Mercedes Master Mechanic. He even remembers who owned what cars from back in the day and where they lived...gullwings, 6.3s, etc. Thanks for sharing this Hagerty!
Ron, if you’re reading this, I hope to see you soon! I just pulled the W115 out of storage and will be having the subframe mounts and the rest of the suspension rubber replaced later this month. I look forward to visiting once we can.
Your friend,
Curt
Greetings to you and your friend from Austria. Bet he knows Puch and Steyr too. Lot off knowledge from these brands went in to Unimog, G Klasse and other Mercedes cars. G Klasse still gets build in Austria. Maybe he also knows "Magna".
Love that passion. It was a pleasure to watch.
Greetings, Tobi
Great info Curt. Thanks!
This is awesome
Ron is a gem. Can you imagine having such an intimate knowledge of a vehicle as to be able to work on it by feel. Can you imagine the knowledge this man has. Just incredible.
When my father got older and his sight went, we painted all the wrenches different colors for the different sizes. It worked quite well. He loved to work on stuff like this guy does. Thanks Hagerty for these great vids. They bring back many memories of yesteryear.
The gentleman is an inspiration to everyone who has macular degeneration
@Shane Chaffey, I like to think its his generation. My grandfather had the same and he was a carpenter. He bild entire yacht interiors without vision. Lost a couple of fingers in the process though :)
As a Mercedes collector I love this and the other recent episodes featuring the old Benzes
That military Unimog would be a great addition to a ranch!!
I got a c43 amg 1998 I daily drive lol the 4 banger a joke 2.3l
I wish that some like this one were longer. He was a firecracker of a man just crying to be heard by the younger generation. His 51 chev five window setting among the rust and corrosion ... a old international, that red truck not talked about... I have a long deep love for them as they truly never got the exposure of value given the american people. They made the long slow trek to alaska where I am at... about four hundred short of where you did a walk about in fairbanks airport. I can't leave alaska being tethered to a machine that keeps me alive. Longer videos please
I wish this ''barn find' BS didn't exist. Now every chump is out there buying up all of the good stuff. Some things don't need to be on the internet.
@@TheFogLakeshore I know one super bad thing... people who own this stuff and are not doing anything with it, get a false sense for the real value of said item cause they see dollars and the buyer can't pay this inflated rate and come out on a build. A bair frame or part of cab and maybe a fender does not make a race car or a vintage automobile 🚘 It takes money to get them to the point where most would even ride in it.
What a genuine humble human being, thanks for that episode
I could listen to this gentleman all day. Just a great video, the Unimog with bucket and backhoe is really interesting. Very enjoyable video from an old man whose first car was a 1958 DKW, and owned a Willys FC150 at one time. Thank you my friend !
I live in Germany now. Never tire of seeing Unimogs. They're everywhere.
Anybody who has the need to learn about vehicles what a way to start a friendship that would last a life time, just by helping be his eyes (honestly) it's amazing the knowledge in your back yard ! These people are from a time period of hard work got you somewhere, A simpler time of life!!!!
Found my fair share of barn find and hidden cars over the years meeting some great people (every car has a story). Thank you for posting and always fun to watch!
Ron Borher, what an amazing person and a gentleman. Another great show. Thank you, Tom.
What a class act you are Tom along with your crew. I could be wrong, usually am, but I don't think that this is what you expected for a find... But after Mr Borher surprising you saying how much he enjoys your videos, what's a gentleman and his crew to do? Continue making the top shelf videos you always do. Near the end you even ask Mr. Bother what his intentions where for one of the mercs , I hoped you were going for Unimog. Not that I don't like mercs. Thanks to you, the crew and Hagerty. Class acts all.
this episode was a bit more soothing because this is an old-timer who has trouble seeingbut yet still maintains his fleet of amazing antique automobilia an amazing inspiring story thanks
I will bet that Ron has forgotten more about Benz' and Unamogs than any current Daimler Benz top mechanic will ever know. What an amazing man and what an inspriation. Thanks for sharing Tom!!
Thank you for uploading this video. Always nice to see someone so nice and knowledgeable as Ron. I love the Mercedes Unimogs. One of the nicest people by far.
I hope they never stop making these episodes, these guys are true car people and it’s honestly delightful to see that each person has their own taste and preferences
I'm 28 and I truly have a lot of respect for these old guys, they have been in cars forever, they know so much about everything. We really see that he shares his passion and knowledge that's so nice to see. True master of past generations. For those like me who likes old rides, having a talk with people like that is priceless human wise. Some guys don't talk much, but after a while you can just have a little hint of what they know. Thanks for sharing that with us !
Gotta love the old W123's, this fellow must be an absolute fountain of knowledge!
Wish I could get him to do some magic on mine!
What a cool old petrolhead - or should I say dieselhead! Great episode and well-earned recognition for you Tom!
This is the mechanic I dream of finding. 4 decades of experience and despite blindness he can still repair a car just from knowing and touching. Absolutely amazing. Great find Tom
That's a great video and song. The music we usually use in our videos is stock production music that's not publicly available.
I'm a Unimog guy and loved seeing these examples. Always happy to see your program thanks for the treat.
It's amazing how passion brings people together! I too have been approached by a complete stranger once while riding my motorcycle and we talked for 20 minutes straight and parted ways. Awesome vid!
What a great chap and font of knowledge - should have been a longer episode to record this marvellous mans experience for posterity!
Finally some Mercedes Benz diesels on the show.
Just because of that, this is the best episode as of yet.
Great episode. I love that he recognized Tom. I love this show! Keep up the great work.
Love Unimog's! Those are two really good one's too. All the good attachments. Just need front and rear pto- or hydaulic winches :) And it'll never get stuck again!
Great episode, I wish it were longer. It's no wonder you have 2.5 million subscribers. The content and production values are fabulous. Thank You
In the 70s and 80s Mercedes built cars been known as rocksolid and very reliable. Back in the days the cars were developed, tested and sold. Not compareble to the Customer-Beta-Test-Cars today. Additionally there was a recognizable and unique design til the 90s. Fotunately we have a lot of these cars in Germany left. Unfortunately a lot of them have the "Non-Sunbelt-Issues", too! 😁 It's great to see a guy like Ron, not getting of his passion - even by a major health problem. All the best for Ron! Greetings from Germany, TOBi 💪😉👍
Another great episode of BFH. Tom C. (along with Jerry Heasley - check his channel out if you
haven't already) makes this show (along with Davin over at Redline Rebuilds) the best programming
at Hagerty because they are genuine car guys - car guys with the experience, the knowledge and
most importantly, the RESPECT required to do an honorable job of bringing us these wonderful
people like Mr. Borher.
You don't have to be a particular fan of Mercedes to love this episode, just an old car guy in general.
Man, all the stories out there, all that experience, all those cars!
Tom will never run out of places and people to visit on our behalf and we're blessed to have him
for as long as he's willing to keep doing it.
THANK YOU MR. BORHER!
-Ed on the Ridge
Not just great old cars, but a great ol' guy!!
That’s just amazing his memory is so strong and he knows his way around the cars despite the loss of most of his vision. Great video!
Can we start a fundraiser or something to get this man some quality braille wrenches? I love that he does it despite his blindness. I couldn't imagine what its like to not be able to drive the very cars you built.
Really great video. Thank you to Ron for showing his collection.
I really enjoyed learning from this video and about Ron who still fix cars despite being legally blind just by touch. :)
This is what I really like about this channel is the people and the history they share.
Unimog = Universal Motorgerät , means universal motorized device ^^
Ron is a guy I'd like to have coffee and talk cars with, all day long. What a wholesome chap.
We need a Unimog or OM352 Rebuild! 😍
Unimogs are one of my favorite vehicles.
I wish this show was on everyday. Keep up the awesome job Tom.
You have a knack for running into a heck of a lot of really top notch people!
Yes! A Great Morning! Thank you Hagerty gang!
Love those Mercedes Episodes!! Thanks for that!
"Mercedes Barn Finder" -why not? :)
I stumbled across a Unimog museum in Germany once, those things can climb up almost anything anywhere. I’d say they are the most capable off road workhorse on the planet
I'm sure that guy has forgotten more about repairing Mercedes Benzes than any of us have ever known. :-) I owned a 1980 240D for several years (bought it from the original owner) and I did all my own repairs and maintenance on it -- they are amazing cars to work on because the engineers, back then at least, actually * designed * them to be worked on! They were the best cars ever to repair and maintain.
It's really interesting for me as an German to see which cars are in the America, and how the people love and respect the cars is really nice.
Exactly :)
What a nice man and inspiration!
Always a pleasure to watch one of your videos.
Another great episode brought to you by people who have a passion :) , I remember my experience in a 190E Cosworth can't be many around where i live wonder where it went
What a wealth of knowledge. This may be the best episode ever.
What a kind and cool old dude
The Unimog SEE trucks were only used by Marine and Navy personnel. I was an equipment operator in the Navy and we trained on them in 99. We were told then that they were being phased out and to not expect to use them in the field. They were the best part of A school by far.
Thanks for posting and sharing. Nice to hear from the owner about the cars.
Such a cool guy, he’s probably got many story’s that haven’t been heard!
That was a really awesome episode that guy had a lot of knowledge especially for his age can't wait to see what you find next👍👍👍👍👍
What a great segment. Such knowledge. There treatments available if the ailment is caught soon enough.
Oh man i would love for that legend to work on my car . Amazing
Years ago I was a military instructor on the unimog. I think it cost only about $70,000 u.s. new. The front bucket was under powered, the case back hoe worked great and the hydraulic chain saw had more power than you could imagine!.
I still riding my w123 300td and i love these old mercedes so much. Great episode👌🏻
Great video - I'm glad you didn't get shot at! I just wanted to say that for about $30-$40 you can purchase sets of spanners that are coloured. Each size is a different colour, making it easier for those with poor sight to identify.. just Google "coloured metric spanners". A set might help this gent with his workflow a little.
Remarkable man. Great collection. Love the unimog and 190E-2.3
It is always neat to see the out of the ordinary Mercedes vehicles. Cool interview!
What a great old guy Knows his stuff.
Nice to see a guy storing some of his cars somewhat responsibly (up on blocks) and actually fixing them
What a nice old boy he is 😃🇬🇧👌
"I think we've seen enough" I'll be the judge of that. Maybe Ron was getting tired, but this should have been a 2 part or 30 min segment. 15 min was way to short.
Very cool encounter!
Talk about skill wow thanks Mr Tom another awesome show 👍🏼
This world could use.more people like Ron.
Tom I really like your Barn find series, I watch it all the time. I don't know if your ever in SoCal. Costa Mesa to be exact. But there is a guy across the street from my son and he has about 8 old cars and trucks in different stages of repair. 50's 60's and 70's. I have talked to him quite a bit and you should come and check out his stuff if your ever down this way. 68 chevelle, 70 or so nova 56 I think Buick special, some trucks and an old bronco and some other stuff.
Very knowledgeable gentleman!
Imagine the stories that he can tell or the thing he could fix,one cool grandpa
Engineered like nothing else in the world, fully demonstrated here👍👍
The knowledge of the old timers never ceases to amaze me. The amount of knowledge that is going to be lost in 15-20 years when all the old boys like this are gone.
"they gave me cars..." (Mercedes) hahaha, one of the greatest lines ever
I was always thinking about barn find hunter soo badly then this thing came...oooh peace
I had the channce to test drive a 190E « hot rod » when they came out. Awesome. Wish I Have one now...
Excellent video. Very informative and well filmed too!
I have a 'Mog like Ron's, with a loader, backhoe, three-point hitch, 10-foot V-plow on an adapter plate, and other bits. Takes big wrenches and sockets! You should have showed the gearbox - there are 8 shift levers. The lowest gear (super-crawler range) gives you 0.08 mph at redline. Hagerty says they'd insure it, but only if I stopped digging and plowing with it. I do drive it to local car shows. It will only go 45 mph if I'm wearing ear plugs.
Ron seems like one of the coolest people ever. Glad you didn't get shot!! ;O
Those mercedes trucks are called unimog. And we love them because you realy can do anything with them
I know Mr C loves the cars but some more episodes featuring any vehicle would be great as well...love the shows
I wish I had got to see that collection back when I lived in TC.🏁
You could make a great video at the Antique boat show on West Bay.
Unimog undoubtedly the best off road vehicle ever.
What a great stop! Good guy!
Hard working guy.....all is life
I had a cherry 190e 16v about 20 years ago. Loved that car. I’d have kept it, had that Buick not turned left into me.
That's a great collection. Enjoyed the video.
love this...Eddbarry Motors just pulled a 57 190SL from a barn...it's up for grabs
What a nice guy, top bloke
I can't believe you said you've seen enough! In my opinion I thought you were just getting started.
This guy is a encyclopedia for MB :) really cool vid im glad i watch it :D
Great episode as usual! Loved the weird tractor / truck / backhoe /
what have you
Amazing video!! Truly awesome! What a guy!!
Mid to late ‘70s City of Cleveland Ohio used some of these Unimogs for snow removal.
Another fantastic show.. thank you and keep it up!!!
UNIMOG is a real Legend.
prayers to him. i wish him many many happy years
What an amazing guy!