So... after many years of half-looking for a nice 6.9 (and lurking on this forum), I have bitten the bullet. I made a modest offer for a 1976 6.9 being advertised on eBay and the seller has accepted! I now have to wait a few weeks for the car to be shipped to London (from California) at which point I will find out exactly how stupid I have been.
It's a Euro car, VIN 11603612001831, and appears to be largely original. The data card suggests Astral Silver with black leather, which is what it has today. It came with the following options, all of which seem to be still there except (unsurprisingly) the last one:
228 AUXILIARY HEATER (Webasto, does anyone know what this actually does?)
260 ELIMINATION OF MODEL DESIGNATION ON REAR LID (it has no 450SEL emblem but has the 6.9; is that normal?)
261 ELIMINATION OF MODEL DESIGNATION V12 (intriguing! but maybe this is code 261A for black leather somewhere else?)
291 TRUNK SET CARPETING
502 RIGHT OUTSIDE MIRROR (it's a LHD car)
511 BECKER RADIO/CASSETTE (I think it's a Mexico, which is nice)
531 AUTOMATIC ANTENNA
640 ALUMINIUM DISC WHEELS
991 AMG EQUIPMENT INSTALLED AT AMG (even more intriguing!)
This is the seller's description, which I hope is accurate:
"The car has a good running motor and the transmission shifts as it should. Fuel distributor was rebuilt, a new fuel pump, and a NOS gas tank installed. The car has never been wrecked, rare Webasto heater option, over $2,000 in new parts recently installed; including, a new battery, new Febi suspension canisters, rebuilt fuel distributor, fuel pump and filter. In addition to the spare tire the car comes with lots of extra parts that were collected throughout the years. Mileage is 220,000 KM, which is a little over 130,000 miles. Clear and clean title.
Exterior
The exterior is very solid and straight. The hood and trunk lid are aluminum. All the chrome is there and in good condition. Rear bumper rubber is included with the car. The car is 100% complete. All the glass is nice and clear.
Interior
The interior looks very presentable. The seats are clean and have no tears. All the lights and gauges work. floor are solid."
I'm expecting it will have quite a few things that need doing, but hopefully I can enjoy driving it in the meantime. The same seller had a US-spec car in better cosmetic condition for more money, but it was a non-original colour and more importantly I understand that the US engine is down on power and the changes aren't easy to reverse. Not much point having one of these unless it's powerful!
I will keep you guys posted once it arrives. Wish me luck! Thanks for this forum, which is incredibly informative.
Jonathan
Welcome, looks like a fine specimen.
Webasto heater - I have one and a fair amount of knowledge on them if you need.
Alum lids - trunk lid from a diesel model I think, but hood? never heard of one.
Unfortunate the AMG is all gone.
Most euro had the 450SEL, most US not, but it was a delete option when ordered. for some the mere 6.9 said it all!
THese option codes changed meaning over the decades. In the context of the 70's cars,
260 meant deletion of the "450SEL" badge
261 meant deletion of the "6.9" badge.
My red car also has both of these options.
Your car would have had the 6.9 badge retrofitted by a previous owner.
"991" typically means simply that there were other options not listed on the main data card, and only visible on the main produktionsauftrag.
In some cases, 991 can mean AMG equipment, but this is not the default meaning.
Quote from: rumb on 09 March 2018, 07:58 AM
Alum lids - trunk lid from a diesel model I think, but hood? never heard of one.
As far as I know, all W116 300SDs came with aluminum hoods, but I have found only about half of them to have aluminum trunk lids. I'm not sure if aluminum hoods and trunk lids were offered on any other model of W116, but they might have been offered as part of an AMG package?
Congrats! Looks like a fine example.
I'd say it takes a lot of guts going into a 6.9 without seeing it first in person, but either way, welcome to the "asylum proper".
Please post some more pics when it arrives :)
Wondering what rare parts may be lurking in the trunk..
Jonathan, congratulations on your purchase. You are joining a very very exclusive club of 6.9 owners in London. :) Let me know when you get the car, I'd love to come and see it.
Thanks everyone. 'Guts' is a very polite way of describing an unseen purchase of a 42 year old car (known for its complexity) from a complete stranger many thousands of miles away. That said, I have made similar unseen purchases several times before and they have alternated between successful (e.g. Lamborghini Countach, Bentley Turbo R - both needed initial work but ended up as wonderful cars) and less successful (e.g. BMW 850i, Matra Murena - both needed ongoing work and never ended up as good as I had hoped). If this pattern continues, the 6.9 will be a success! You can probably guess by now that new cars bore me.
I'd be very happy to meet other 6.9 owners in London once my car is here and confirmed roadworthy. I have memories of a very smart dark blue or black 6.9 with the distinctive registration XWX 1 regularly driving past my house (in NW3) some years ago. According to DVLA records it's still on the road. I wonder if it belongs to someone in Michelin UK? Maybe they can get me a good price on a new set of tyres...
Jonathan
Quote from: JonathanE on 12 March 2018, 08:16 AM
Thanks everyone. 'Guts' is a very polite way of describing an unseen purchase of a 42 year old car (known for its complexity) from a complete stranger many thousands of miles away. That said, I have made similar unseen purchases several times before and they have alternated between successful (e.g. Lamborghini Countach, Bentley Turbo R - both needed initial work but ended up as wonderful cars) and less successful (e.g. BMW 850i, Matra Murena - both needed ongoing work and never ended up as good as I had hoped). If this pattern continues, the 6.9 will be a success! You can probably guess by now that new cars bore me.
I'd be very happy to meet other 6.9 owners in London once my car is here and confirmed roadworthy. I have memories of a very smart dark blue or black 6.9 with the distinctive registration XWX 1 regularly driving past my house (in NW3) some years ago. According to DVLA records it's still on the road. I wonder if it belongs to someone in Michelin UK? Maybe they can get me a good price on a new set of tyres...
Jonathan
Good luck and you are in good hands on this forum. By far the best 116 resource on the planet!
BMW 850 ouch that must have left a rash :o I've only heard horror stories on these.
Cheers
I hope that is a very nice pickup. Looks promising so good luck. One day I will bite in on the world of 6.9's while holding my breath. :o Of course I have never been able to actually drive a 6.9 in good condition. They have always been mangled, broken down and rusted out. The only good ones I have seen are in pictures and movies.
What I will likely do is contact Pierre Hedary and have him find me one. He's about an 11 hour drive from where I will be moving next year and that's not all that bad considering.
Car looks good Jonathan! I'd say it's a solid buy, of course if being LHD doesn't bother you. I'd say sourcing a California car (especially a W116) is one of the smartest things to do.
So my car has now cleared customs in the UK (5% VAT rate for older cars, which helps a bit) and will be on its way to my garage on Friday. I still haven't seen it in person!
To get it registered to drive on UK roads it needs to pass an MOT (roadworthiness) test which is a bit ironic because this requirement no longer applies in the UK to cars over 40 years old, but it makes sense for me to do it anyway. I will need to convert the headlamps from LHD to RHD (they are Euro spec lamps, but the car was first delivered in Germany). Does anyone know what's involved in doing this - new lenses? If so, can anyone recommend a supplier?
Thanks
Jonathan
PS I am kicking myself because a set of 15" original bunts came up on eBay less than 5 miles from where I live, for £200; I hesitated after haggling the seller down to £180 and someone else bought them. With refurbishment they would have cost around £450 in total, which is less than a new replica set. I won't hesitate the next time! My car will almost certainly need new tyres, and the wheels and 15" tyres would still have cost less than a set of 14" XWXs (no other type is available in the UK for 14" wheels).