Topic: Hello from a "newbie"

[BCDC]

I’m a newbie according to this forum which is fine although I am not new to the W116. My father had one when I was young and I idid get to drive his from time to time. Many years intervened. Having my 280SE for a few months now and driving it regularly I have to say this is the best car I have owned by far. I had been looking for a W116 for a while and when this “low milage” just over 94,000KM one came up I bought it. Initially I was looking for a V8 but I am so glad I went for the straight six now. These engines are a masterpiece of engineering. All the Mercedes knowledge from the 3 litre SL’s from the fifties and onward have gone into making the most sweet well balanced engines. The ride is also a revelation as i am accustomed to driving a work ute mostly so the change is radical to say the least.
The car being 42 years old, I am going though everything I can to maintain it in good condition. The car came with all the books and service history even including the factory cards that are stamped for the key numbers etc.
The first thing I did was go to a mechanic friends workshop and we put it on the hoist and dropped the engine oil and changed the filter, then checked everything underneath, We are going to next replace all the exhaust rubber hangers and some brake lines and flush the fluid. The SLS system looks fine but I flushed new hydraulic fluid through anyway. It looks like quite a lot of the front end steering has been replaced over the years which is good. The rubber parts look good.
There is the usual locking system vacuum leak which I will attend to at some stage along with new door rubbers as the are hard and cracked but apart from that she is pretty good. I really like this car and it deserves to be maintained and driven,
It is wonderful that this forum exists. Thanks to everyone involved.

[TJ 450]

Sounds like a good score BCDC,

There would be quite a few owners with similar stories I think. We've had numerous benzes in the family for many years.

Yes I think personally the M110 is a very underrated engine, runs very smoothly if a little noisy due to solid lifters, but that's OK.

The W116 too overall is a very robust car except for rust issues common to a lot of cars of the era, and are great to drive. I find they are quite agricultural compared to later models, but that's a good thing and all part of the experience.

Welcome to the world of W116 ownership, this forum is probably one of the best resources I'd have to say.

Tim