W116 newb, enamoured but confused.

[Canuck]

I really like the lines of the early S series but I'm a little confused about front end details.  I've seen W116s with square or round headlights but I haven't been able to decipher where to expect one or the other.  My preference (beauty bein' in the eye of the beholder as it goes) is for the round ones but for the life of me I can't seem to figure out what model year or trim or ? brings them out. 

In the gallery, I see both styles but I'm still at a loss...I'd be quite happy with the 300SD of Carlos's and many others, but if I want an 116 with the round headlights, what am I looking for?

[oscar]

Canuckistan 

  I just googled it.  I hope you guys laughed it off.

Anyway, the square headlights are how they were released.  The dual rounds were introduced to satisfy US legislation from (I can't remember what year).  But the dual rounds were just for the US market.   So too the larger 5mph bumpers were also a design change for similar reasons around '74-75. 

Whether Canuckistan were delivered the Euro design or US design I don't know.  I've seen a few photos from there of US cars but they could have just been imported from the US rather than delivered direct from Germany.

[Canuck]

This would be a North American market car then?

That explains how the "same" year and model can have either.  Our proximity to the US combined with our small market size and Canadian/US DOT specification cooperation has basically given us US market cars with KM/H speedometers and French button-label options.  My BMW E12s have the diving-board bumpers as did everything that was sold here during those dark days.  We did manage to get the MB/SMART cars here 2 or 3 years before the US, but well after we saw them running around in Dubai.

This might seem sacrilege to some, but is it a straight-forward swap?  Do the parts on the non-S 300 models fit (cut me some slack, I'm pretty green in MB land).

Canuckistanis grinned and snickered as is appropriate when dealing with those types.

[oscar]

This would be a North American market car then?

Exactly.  One other difference to note as well is that most NA w116's have Climate Control air conditioning.  That pushbutton console with temp wheel.  The rest of us got got a manual dual rotary switch setup with manual vent controls. 

This might seem sacrilege to some, but is it a straight-forward swap?  Do the parts on the non-S 300 models fit (cut me some slack, I'm pretty green in MB land).

Basically yes, a few have posted about converting to the euro bumpers and headlights but there are minor mods involved too. 

[Canuck]

Cool - thanks for the clarification.  I'm not sold on the rectangular lights yet, but they're growing on me.  Tried to snag a 73 450SEL the other day with the proper bumpers and rec. headlights but was a day or two late.  For being such a high-volume car (relatively speaking) they're tough to find up here.

[Papalangi]

One thing to watch out for with the "euro" lights is the difference in light patterns for LHD and RHD.

I have a '76 450SEL with the round lights.  The "euro" lights look cool but I'm thinking that a set of these would be nice, http://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/csr.html

Michael

[Canuck]

What about interiors?  I've seen (in MB-Tex) blue and tobacco, with almost all of them tobacco.  One green, one cloth (?) in parchment but not black and no red.  I've always been a fan of BMW's Ox Blood red - could you get a 116 with a red MB-Tex/leather interior

[s class]

Red leather was available - a fairly bright red - but it is probably the rarest of all interior colours on W116's. 

Go browse around here to see the different options :

Link

Specifically, you can see W116 interior options here :

Link

These are the only pics I've ever seen of a red 116 interior :





W116 paint options are here :

Link

[Canuck]

Cheers for that.

[TJ 450]

I've seen it before, but that colour scheme is intense!
Even at the time it would have been "out there".

Tim

[s class]

and its a manual - oscar? - a new colour scheme for povo?

[oscar]

and its a manual - oscar?

It is too.  I didn't even notice sclass, such is the distraction of the inerior.  I love that red.  Bugger povo, that red in my 350 would be uber cool.

[brettj]

My 75 450SE has the red interior as well! I love it!

[John Hubertz]

Now I know what THESE guys drove here in: