Another W116

[Kjhall65]

Canberra can certainly do with more w116 owners Geoff ...and help balance the east / west W116 balance (ever so slightly).  Perth seems to be the place to be in terms of the W116 clan.

[motec6.9]

Hi Kjhall65 if you ever need engine work done i can highly recomend Greg Tarlington at Pro Engines 18 Stephens rd Queanbeyan . Geoff 

[Kjhall65]

The car arrived this morning Straight off the truck and into the garage for a close inspection to see what we really got.  It is borderline as to parting the car or restoring it.  At the end of the morning I decided that parting the car made more sense for us and the W115 and W116 will get a good spread of parts from it.

Here are some pics of he interior, engine etc.  The car is filthy but much is actually in working order and can be cleaned up for the other two cars.

I think Tony was right, the colour is Silver Green


The seats are filthy but other than the base of the driver seat all is in tact.


The centre console is very second hand but the original Becker Mexico still works fine


The dash has a few cracks but all the instruments and switchgear is working as intended


The two front jack points are like this.  Other than that the car seems pretty rust free.

The interior is filthy

[ptashek]

Yeah, that's moss green, known as olive green until, afair, 1975ish. I'd love to have one of those in MB-Tex instead of velours, but it's a quite rare colour option.

[Type17]

Paint and interior seem to be the same as mine - 861, Silver Green and option 006, green fabric. I've never seen any other names like olive for that colour, just 'green', but it does look olive, rather than any other shade.


Seems a shame to part it out, but the interior is very faded, and the mileage (kilometre-age?) is fairly high...

[Kjhall65]

Paint and interior seem to be the same as mine - 861, Silver Green and option 006, green fabric. I've never seen any other names like olive for that colour, just 'green', but it does look olive, rather than any other shade.


Seems a shame to part it out, but the interior is very faded, and the mileage (kilometre-age?) is fairly high...

Type17, it also has a cracked exhaust manifold, the radiator needs replacing and the bushes in the suspension all need replacing as do all the door and windscreen seals.  Basically not economic to salvage the car for a 280SE.   If it were a 6.9, it would have been a different decision....

[Tony66_au]

That upholstery kinda grows on you, its the same type as my 280S but olive green and for its age looks pretty good when compared to my Olive Leather.

[Type17]

... it also has a cracked exhaust manifold, the radiator needs replacing and the bushes in the suspension all need replacing as do all the door and windscreen seals.  Basically not economic to salvage the car for a 280SE.   If it were a 6.9, it would have been a different decision....

Fair enough, it's pretty far gone overall (although the shell is fairly good by northern European standards ).


The irony is that 116's in general are not being preserved because they are worth less than the more iconic (mostly two-door) MB models and, within 116 models, the 6.9 is being preserved more diligently (with good cause). If anyone has an above-average 280, they should mind it carefully, as they will be even rarer in the future.


The same thing has happened in Mk1 Golf (USA: VW Rabbit) circles around the world - no one preserved the non-GTI models, and if you go to a car show now, you'd think that GTIs outsold other models 10:1, when in fact the reverse was true.

[Kjhall65]

You make a really valid point Type17.  If I found a 280 SE or especially an SEL in the same condition as my 450SE I would certainly pick it up and hang onto it.  I think they will be worth more than the V8 at the end of the day.  If my current 280SE was in better condition, I would have spent the time and money doing it up over the next few years.
Ken

[ptashek]

Paint and interior seem to be the same as mine - 861, Silver Green and option 006, green fabric. I've never seen any other names like olive for that colour, just 'green', but it does look olive, rather than any other shade.

The **6 color was known as olive green / moss green according to http://www.meinbenz.de/polster/116/polster116.htm
Cabrio.de, which were the only folks able to still supply that colour in velour call it "moss green" as well.
Some leather dye products reference it as "pebble green" (maybe because of the original leather grain?)

[kru0042]

She is a beaut mate!
My Beaut (girl) is Aussie and we are going to return to her homeland. I can't wait. It seems there is a plethora of W116's on your continent. I don't get it.

I hail from the Great White North (Canada) and have been on this forum off and on since 2008 when I got my first 450 SEL. Must be the climate. There seem to be so many great examples in Australia. I am sure I will fit right in there. Can't wait to get there where I don't have to worry about snow, salted streets, and the wear and tear of starting a vintage V8 in minus 30 degrees Celsius.

[oversize]

Melbourne's the best; forget the rest!!!   

[Tony66_au]

That upholstery kinda grows on you, its the same type as my 280S but olive green and for its age looks pretty good when compared to my Olive Leather.

Leather.





Love or hate MB Tex you cant beat it for durability!

[Kjhall65]

I'm a big fan of MB Tex.  I have it in my 115 and even after 43 years it hardly has a mark on it.  The leather in the 450 is ok especially in the back but the drivers seat has suffered from cracks similar to the pics Tony posted.

The fabric / MB Tex in the 280 has faded but it isn't torn or damaged.  It's good stuff.

[Kjhall65]

After due consideration the 280SE is off the endangered list.  I am going to keep her as a very long term refurb.

I'll have to get in touch with the guy I bought it from and see if the spare motor and gearbox is still available as part of the deal