1959
Paintjob
Finished
The Mercedes-Benz L 319 was a light commercial vehicle built by Mercedes-Benz between 1955 and 1968. It was larger than a standard delivery van but smaller than a conventional light truck of the period, marking the manufacturer's first model in this class.
The bus that arrived at our workshop was once used by the Swedish Army before moving to Finland.
The bus had already been disassembled and cleaned using soda blasting in Finland. A lengthy article on soda blasting, featuring photographs of this very vehicle, was published in the Mobilisti magazine. The bodywork was also completed, and practically all side panels had been replaced with new, hand-made sheet metal. The work was quite massive and neatly done, so the efforts are commendable.
Initially, we lacked a clear understanding of the sheer volume of preparation work required to perfect a vehicle of this size—and believe us, it was an extensive job. Our partner, A.K. Autoteenindus, spent over 400 hours on the finishing work alone. The bus finally received a beautiful two-tone paint finish both inside and out: light blue and cream shades complement the vehicle's shape well, and the gloss of the Standofleet HS paint is flawless. Naturally, only the high-quality Standox paint system was used for the entire bus. The chassis, axles, and suspension received a semi-matte black finish—just as it left the factory!
The car was finally assembled in Finland and presented at the Tampere Classic Vehicle Show in 2012 on the Mercedes-Benz Club stand, complete with period-specific accessories.
24 Sep 2010
