42pilot

Our 451 had the flex pipe rust thru, an 2008 with about 45k km. I was told, no not covered & $1,280 for the muffler plus labour. I guess that's MB humour. A Canadian Tire flex pipe & a TIG welder fixed it for $50. MB please note, I will remember your joke for a long time!

The SM has no rust, it was his sunny, Sunday car. It has had some mods so it's not 'collector original'. Stainless exhaust, hydraulic lines to name a few. It has not been driven for a couple of years and needs a battery (on the SM you have to remove the front tire & inner fender for access) (sound like the easy battery access like in a Smart) Would love to find a genuine, caring lover of such strange cars. Spare engine & other stuff too.

We have one of each, an 06 & an 08.Doc P & Leadwing did a fine job at sizing them up. I drive the 06 daily for the greater smile factor. The 08 is for when the wife & I go on a date or as my winter car (when it hits -10 or colder) . As Leadwing mentioned the 450 has an almost heater. Edmonton, winter??? go for the gas. The 450 is a special fun car that I hope to never be without. But then I have a 451 & 2010 Chev pickup (which neither of us drive much) on standby. As Mike T said, you have to fit the car to your situation.

Went into my garage the other day and 2 Citroens, a DS21 & an SM, my past father's toys. Possibly the love for French cars started there. But I'll stick to my 2 Smarts. Anyone want a Citroen or a few truck loads of parts? Sure would like to find a needy go home for them rather than sending it to the scrap. Maybe the spare Maserati V6 engine sitting there would transplant into a Smart?

Yes Alex, right under the passenger seat.

Thanks Mike!Just a few fins mashed & no leaks but not something to chance.Yup, add that one to the parts list.

Just a thought, remove the battery cables & wire brush the battery posts & inside of the terminals. Lead oxide is an insulator & I have seen this kind of intermittent problem caused by questionable power connections before.Good Luck!

A friends 2006 had the misfortune of being attacked on the belly by a stump when it slid into the ditch. The car suffered only minor damage but the rad or intercooler located under the car, behind the battery box is damaged. Anyone know the function of this component? If its for the AC he's in luck, being a cabriolet, he never bothered to fix the failed unit years ago.If anyone has a right taillight, drivers window or left rear wart light please let me know. The plastic belly pan is slightly damaged & still usable but if you also have one, please contact me. Thanks, 42pilot

Great project! Best of luck & please keep us all up to date. It sounds like a few of us have had the same idea, you jumped first! This like may be of interest http://evalbum.com/3612 It has another link on the page to a German company doing this very thing (I think) but the page is in German.

We have one of each. Pros for the 450, great fuel milage, better seats, unique quirks. For the 451, better pick up (a little), a real heater. We have been lucky, neither car has spent much time at the dealer, the 450 more so with its AC issues. We do our own basic service but of the 2, the gasser is easier in that respect. For me the 450 is truly unique, I will keep as long as I can. But then I have the 451 for really cold days! (or very hot days)Cheers, 42pilot

Hi, I install a Curt hitch on our 451 & it worked out well. We pulled a trailer with all our camping gear (total loaded weight about 500 lbs) from Toronto, around lake Michigan earlier this summer. I took pictures of the installation & can post them if your interested (or should I say try). The receiver socket ends up being very low so a step up draw bar is required. Also I had to shim the draw bar in the socket since the fit was a bit loose & it "clunked" on the concrete seams of the USA interstates Etrailer supplied the unit, http://www.etrailer.com/pc-H~11020.htm?vehicleid=2008300527

Hi, We have one of each, a 450 & a 451. We wave, flash our lights & smile at every smartie we see. No discrimination here. Having too much fun in either one!

We too have two fourtwo's! A 2006 pulse & a 2008 passion, his & hers. The 450 is for summer only & I repo the 451 for the winter. If the going gets really tough, we also have an SUV & pickup but they sit idle most of the time. The little cars suit our needs most 98+% the time & are just plain fun.

We have a 2008 gasser & are thinking of getting a 450 to round out the fleet. We have about 14,000 km on our Smartie now & drove it most of the winter (only took the 4wd on 5 bad days). The car heats up fast & was plenty warm (coldest day was around -30c). I did add a pad heater to the pan but on the nights I forgot to plug it in, it started fine. I drove a 450 today and found the power close, shifting may have been a little harsher but the 6 speed was nice. The tank on the 451 is larger holding 33 litres but mileage is not as good from posts I have seen here, I get about 5.8 L/100K driving in rush hour with some highway. The gasser is a couple inches longer but you will never notice it. The front service flap is removable which makes adding washer fluid easier & the service interval is longer.I would be interested to hear from others about other differences between the two models.

thanks for the reply. It's interesting, the salesman at the Smart dealership didn't know.

Can anyone tell me if a 2006 450 would have side air bags? Our 451 has them & it appears they were an option in Europe for 450s. Thanks