450SEL in Ireland - Where to get parts?

[ianc99]

I've just bought a '74 450SEL in Malta and shipped it home to Ireland. It's actually a RHD Japan sourced car which spent all its life there and was recently bought by the dealer in Malta along with a few hundred Jap Imports.

I've had a preliminary look around it and need to source some suspension and other parts. Whats recommendations do people here have for good Ireland/UK/EU based parts suppliers?

Many Thanks

Ian

[ianc99]

A picture

[marku]

Car looks great. Many places for parts ebay new and used here and the USA and Germany. If you want new then obviously Mercedes  are the only source. Used to deal with Mercedes-Benz of Poole who were a classic partner and had a dedicated classic parts department but they were taken over a little while ago and something went wrong. The SL Shop here sells many parts for the 116. A good idea is to subscribe to, or join the Mercedes-Benz Club here where its free, the online Electronic Parts Catalogue which will give you all the part numbers then all you need is a friendly Mercedes dealer. But generally if you look long enough they usually turn up and of course there is the Shop on the forum here where members are only too willing to help.  Best of luck

[ianc99]

Thanks Mark.  I will join MBC.

[ptashek]

I've just bought a '74 450SEL in Malta and shipped it home to Ireland. It's actually a RHD Japan sourced car which spent all its life there and was recently bought by the dealer in Malta along with a few hundred Jap Imports.

I've had a preliminary look around it and need to source some suspension and other parts. Whats recommendations do people here have for good Ireland/UK/EU based parts suppliers?

Many Thanks

Ian

Hi Ian, it's great to see another W116 in Ireland!
As for aftermarket parts autodoc.co.uk and onlinecarparts.co.uk are both good for pretty much anything consumable. I've bought a lot of stuff there, never had issues with delivery or quality. There used to be rexbo.eu as well, but I've just learned they've gone out of business. I personally steer clear of the "SL Shop" due to their pricing policy.

Suspension/steering parts should be readily available, and the brands to go with are:

- Lemförder, for the lot
- Febi/Bilstein as above, plus springs
- Stabilus, for the steering damper
- Sachs, for shocks

Meyle is generally regarded as poor.
Opinions on Febi differ.

If you want genuine MB, you will get re-packaged Lemförder, Sachs, Stabilus, and sometimes even TRW (the rear sway bar link on non-anti-squat rear axles, for example) at a hefty premium. MSL in Dublin are the local go-to guys. I buy most of my OEM parts from Autohaus Dröge in Germany (https://www.online-teile.com/mercedes-ersatzteile/) as they're cheaper, with delivery, than MSL in the vast majority of cases - if you don't mind waiting the extra few days. All OEM parts are shipped from one central warehouse in Fellbach, Germany anyway.

Below are part numbers I have on my suspension and steering list (mine's a 1979 450SE, with anti-squat rear axle).
Do check with your specific VIN though, as there are many subtle differences across years, models and markets.

Shock Absorber, Rear Axle   A1263200931
Shock Absorber, Front Axle   A1163200030
Coil Spring, Rear Axle   A1163240804
Coil Spring, Front Axle   A1163213304
Rubber Buffer Suspension, Front Axle   A1233211584
Rubber Buffer Suspension, Rear Axle   A1153252344
Rubber Buffer Suspension, Semi-trailing Arm   A1153200344
Rear subframe mount kit   A1163500075
Tie rod, front axle, centre   A1234601505
Steering shock absorber   A0004635132
Steering control arm, front axle, mounting kit   A1264600819
Tie rod, front axle, left   A1263300603
Tie rod, front axle, right   A1263300503
Track control arm, front axle, upper right   A1233304707
Track control arm, front axle, upper left   A1233304607
Support/Steering link ball joint, fron axle, lower left/right   A1163330927
Control arm, mounting set   A1163300175
Front subframe bearing   A1163335615
Mounting kit, control lever, rear axle left/right   A1263520165

The part names may differ from online descriptions, but with access to the EPC you can search by part number and see it in an exploded view.
It'll all make sense then

[w116john]

hi
just to second what ptashek said, great to see another 116 in ireland.

john

[Type17]

Hi Ian, welcome to W116 ownership, from another Irish owner! 


You might also find some of the good brands that ptashek mentions at OTTO (otto.ie) in Tallaght, Dublin, as they specialise in German car parts, and the owner, Barry, has a gorgeous German-market W116 280SE in Milan Brown.

[ianc99]

I don't have access to EPC anymore (I used to have my own copy) but I thought it only went back to '87?
All of the online VIN decoders are complaining saying I need a 17 digit code.  Mine is 116.033 22 028242.

Thanks

Ian

[ptashek]

I don't have access to EPC anymore (I used to have my own copy) but I thought it only went back to '87?
All of the online VIN decoders are complaining saying I need a 17 digit code.  Mine is 116.033 22 028242.

The EPC, as far as parts catalogue goes, covers cars earlier than 1987, but the electronic production data cards only start around the time of the 2nd-gen W126, maybe even a bit later. They definitely are available from 1993 onwards, as my W124 did have one. Also, the quality of the exploded parts views for the W116 isn't near as good as for later cars, since the drawings were scanned from microfiches.

The W116 VIN doesn't hold much information. The options plate under the hood is a better source of detail. You can also request a copy of the original data card from Mercedes-Benz Classic, upon proof of ownership. Try prefixing it with WDB in the decoders.

Your VIN would decode as 450SEL (116.033), RHD (2) automatic (2), chassis #28242 in the 450SE/SEL model range (the 6.9 had its own sequence).

[ianc99]

WBD in front came back with a checksum error.
Just signed up for MBC UK but was told the EPC access may take a few day :-(
Need to join anyway.

ptashek - Mine is a '74 116.033 so I think the part numbers you list are not 100% the same on mine.

[Squiggle Dog]

WBD in front came back with a checksum error.

Maybe it's just a case of having the letters in the wrong order? Try "WDB". Very sharp-looking car you have! We're starting to see a lot of older Japanese imports coming in to the USA--right hand drive tuner package Mercedes, ricer cars, diesel SUVs, and funky family vans.

[Type17]

All of the online VIN decoders are complaining saying I need a 17 digit code.  Mine is 116.033 22 028242

VIN codes are 17 digits, but they only exist on cars made after 1980 or so - most W116's have chassis numbers, which can be any length, but MB chassis numbers of the 60's and 70's were 14 characters, like yours. (some smaller manufacturers' chassis numbers were just simple numerical serial numbers like 02468).


There's more info about W116 chassis numbers here: https://forum.w116.org/mechanicals/w116-datacard-and-body-plate-info/


PS: In VIN's, the first three letters define the country of manufacture and the manufacturer - W = Germany and Mercedes = DB (Daimler Benz), so post 1980 Mercs from Germany will always start WDB. (My daily driver Audi VIN begins WAU, but my sister-in-law's Golf began VWV (built in Spain, at the SEAT factory).

[marku]

I didn't know that - thanks. Often wondered what all the model prefixes on the EPC referred to so what would WDF be?

[Type17]

Actually, things are a lot more complex than we thought - here's a link I found. (WDF = Mercedes Commercials, but I also see that some other German-made Mercedes could be WDD as well as WDB)

[marku]

Yes you would think that but it is not a commercial and was sold exclusively by the car dealers. There was so much confusion over this that Mercedes now calls it the V-Class which it was many years ago and which the site I found says it refers to. As far as I knew the Viano was made in Spain.