All Very New To Me

[insayne05]

Hello all, I'm a virgin Mercedes owner as I just bought my very first W116. Being my first it's all very new and strange at the same time. Now I am a bit confused and I must apologise if this seems quite a stupid question.
I bought my w116 as a 1974 450se, (don't have a copy of the rego papers as yet) however, the tag shows it as a 5/75 280se.



I have done a bit of research but from what I can read the 280se was just the inline 6? The 350s had the V8 including the 450se with the 450sel getting the big v8.





Just curious to get your views as I mentioned never owned a Mercedes or even looked at buying one until I saw this old girl.



In any case, she is pretty tidy, had a closed-door respray but is pretty bad up close, rust under the front left windscreen and some at the rear and around the sunroof and there is some inside the doors. drives really well and everything works including the aircon. It is super low and I just love the look. The issue I have right now is that the lower inner control arm bushes are flogged out as well as the cross member bar that these attach to and finding it very difficult to locate these for replacement, any help on this would be great as I have no idea what I am looking for.
Looking forward to reviving this w116 to my standards and will get better pics up soon.

[robertd]

Hello insayne05

Welcome to the forum, looks like you have bought yourself a beauty.

just a few things to point out. the vin plate that you have shown does not match the service book details or what under the bonnet.

the vin 116 024 22 xxxxxx these numbers indicate 6 cylinder W116 standard sedan 280 fuel injected motor with auto transmission and right hand drive.  However your booklet has a different vin number indicating a (450 V8) m117 motor. Also this motor is a later (post 1976) KJet motor.

looks like this has either had an engine swap or the Vin plate changed.

regardless of this it looks like a great first merc, enjoy.

cheers

Robert

[TJ 450]

Great looking car!

If those are the original books, that's a UK car so the compliance plate will be invalid. I'd look to see what is stamped into the firewall in the engine bay to confirm (rectangular spot in the middle below the wiper area).

The velours interior is mostly on the imports only.

Tim

[Randys01]

Well someone has pulled a shifty along the line to get this UK import Aus plate complianced.  The VIN plate isn't even riveted on straight. She sure is a later V8 however.
You might like the lowered look but something cranky is going on here. The front end is more worn than you have first assessed. ..they just do not sit like that.
That said, you should have no problems sourcing any of the bushes/steering parts.  The key is to get the major difficult tasks done first then wade your way thru as time and money permits. You will find all the parts to be "not cheap' but not ridiculous. The labour of tackling some of those sub frame bushes might bring a tear to your eye.
Suggest you join the local MB Car club....you are going to need some help on many fronts as you have bought a very sophisticated car that needs some TLC.. good luck!

[floyd111]

oooh, you scared him off with your insensitive view on what's actually real.

Welcome here, and enjoy the ride. Nice one on the velours interior! Take care of it, especially the drivers chair when getting in and out of the car. Take your car's issues step by step. There's little that can't be fixed and a lot that can be delayed. Beware of overspending without double-checking and you should be fine.

[insayne05]

Hello insayne05

Welcome to the forum, looks like you have bought yourself a beauty.

just a few things to point out. the vin plate that you have shown does not match the service book details or what under the bonnet.

the vin 116 024 22 xxxxxx these numbers indicate 6 cylinder W116 standard sedan 280 fuel injected motor with auto transmission and right hand drive.  However your booklet has a different vin number indicating a (450 V8) m117 motor. Also this motor is a later (post 1976) KJet motor.

looks like this has either had an engine swap or the Vin plate changed.

regardless of this it looks like a great first merc, enjoy.

cheers

Robert

Thanks Robert, the vin stamped on the firewall matches the log book.
The I'd plate and another plate in front of the radiator match. So I will chase up my rego papers see what they have on them.

Thanks for heads up Randys, I have had a couple of guys look at it and both have said the same in that the toe/camber on the front is out, given how low it has been taken they weren't surprised, upon a closer inspection they saw that the lower inner bushes were deteriorated along with the cross frame bushes allowing movement, they did check the upper and other bushes which seemed ok but recommend I have them all replaced which made sense so this will be my first point of call.

Trying to find these rubber bushes is proving the hardest part thus far as I don't have the knowledge on Mercedes as I do with my love of Holden, but it's all about tinkering with a new toy so will learn as I go.

Cheers for the feed back and look forward to more as I get lost in my new ride.

[rumb]

upper control arm R/L 123334707/1233304607
torsion bar to upper cntl arm bushings x4 1163330117KIT
lower inner bushings x2 1163300175
ball joints x2 1163330927
bushing for cross bar  x4    1163335615 
front springs x2 1163240804 or 1163213204 need to verify

I'll let the aussies inform you of suppliers down there.

Lemforder is good supplier

up here AutohausAZ is good.

This is not all that hard to do, get a good/correct spring compressor.  the bushings and ball joint a machine shop can press in for you.

These cars are best for doing your own work on.  mechanics will consume a lot more of your funds.

http://handbook.w116.org/  will show you how to work on your car

[insayne05]

Great looking car!

If those are the original books, that's a UK car so the compliance plate will be invalid. I'd look to see what is stamped into the firewall in the engine bay to confirm (rectangular spot in the middle below the wiper area).

The velours interior is mostly on the imports only.

Tim

Hello Tim, Yes the velour is in pretty good nic as it looks like it had sheepskin seat covers protecting it for some time, it is a bit sun faded on the rear seat and there is a small tear on the driver's seat but all given its age I am very surprised. The interior trims are brittle and have cracks but that's ok I'm not too fussed about that right now.  Its had a big stereo system at some point and they glued tweeters to the top of the dash which isn't a great look as the glue can be seen.
So the vin stamped in the firewall matches the log books



but the id plate and a second plate match also




and then there is this plate that I can't quite make the details out on

[insayne05]

upper control arm R/L 123334707/1233304607
torsion bar to upper cntl arm bushings x4 1163330117KIT
lower inner bushings x2 1163300175
ball joints x2 1163330927
bushing for cross bar  x4    1163335615 
front springs x2 1163240804 or 1163213204 need to verify

I'll let the aussies inform you of suppliers down there.

Lemforder is good supplier

up here AutohausAZ is good.

This is not all that hard to do, get a good/correct spring compressor.  the bushings and ball joint a machine shop can press in for you.

These cars are best for doing your own work on.  mechanics will consume a lot more of your funds.

http://handbook.w116.org/  will show you how to work on your car

Thanks rumb appreciate the details for those parts, I had considered doing this myself just wasn't sure given I have no experience working on a Mercedes. I will chase the parts then see how I go.

[Randys01]

You could start with MB Spares in Canberra. there may well be other suppliers in WA. Again, the recco to join the local MB car club short circuits your voyage of discovery.

[TJ 450]

Yep, there's a few places in WA you can go to for certain parts, filters and quite a lot of other parts can be purchased from Lintrex. I use them occasionally, but most parts I buy from the USA, from FCP Euro, Pelican Parts, and MB Classic Irvine, CA... it is far better than dealing with local prices for genuine parts. There's also eBay as well, and there's quite a few enthusiasts here too.

Tim

[s class]

The firewall stamping and log book indicate a later spec (kjet) 450SE, and evidently UK market supplied.

The Aus compliance plate and the vin plate (silver/black plate on radiator support) are from a different car, namely a 280SE 6-cylinder.

THe body-coloured tag next to the vin plate is the build plate, and it indicates a 450SE, and is presumably original to the car.  The number appearing there 116 032 22 00068 is actually the build number, and it is normal that it is not the same as the VIN, although the first 6 digits will always be the same as the first six digits as the VIN.

[s class]

In the middle of the build plate you see the code 737G - that is the paint code for the car.

[nathan]

I wondered where that chopped 280 went! was it on gumtree or carpoint? the car looked alright from the pics, the VIN plates are odd!  nice original  WA plates too! hopefully we will catch up at the next 116 meeting in perth, you are luckily in the most enthusiastic 116 state in Australia! (take that Vic

[insayne05]

Thanks for all the info guys, has been a help as well as a guide to what is going on. Have been able to track down the data card for the car thanks to Ricky at European Car Parts. Certainly appears that the Merc has had an engine change at some point.

Looking into locating the rubber bushes required now so I can replace the worn out ones and get the front end wheel alignment sorted.

Anyone here had issues there Kjet running rich, when I say rich the fumes are quite strong when driving. More so when the car is at operating temp and it puffs a bit of blue-white smoke at the lights, not all the time though?

I wondered where the chopped 280 went! was it on gumtree or carpoint? looked alright from the pics, the VIN plates are odd!  nice original  WA.plates too! hopefully a catch up at the next 116 meeting, you are luckily in the most enthusiastic 116 club in Austin! (take that Vic