w126?

[carl888]

Sounds a bit of a simular story to our bmw318is of the 80s vs the one from the 90s,  more modern extra refinement takes away the raw drivers feel of a car. Those photos are of two very tidy looking cars! has the 116 been repainted and recarpeted? Very impressive to say the least!  I prefer the interior of a 126 personally. So can you get a w126 with fully manually controlled seats? this i feel would be a bonus as its one less thing to break.

The W116 is a totally AMAZING car isn't it gf?  Imagine what one would have been like in 1972, hopping out of a kingswood into a new 350 SE?  It must have been mind blowing, as well as mind numbing, a new one in Australia was $19,000, you could buy a single story Victorian cottage in inner Melbourne easily for that back then.

There are no excuses for my cars not looking good, the W126 has 98,600 kms on it, the W116, 96,000.  Even so, the previous owner of the 116 was a very fussy elderly gentleman who claimed he had not driven it in the rain since 1979 after cleaning the underside.  So I bought a good car to start with.  I had to go right through it though, if you search the threads under my name, you will see.  The interior is original, the carpets have just been kept clean.  The only job I have done cosmetically is to re-dye the centre console and repair damage from a very poorly installed radio. You can see the job here: 

http://forum.w116.org/interiors-and-exteriors/280-se-interior-makeover/


The 116 was painted up to the doors in 1990, it carries the original paint on the roof structure.

Don't be scared of W126 electronics.  They are very reliable.  Electric seats only came in the 380's from 1983 model year as standard, before then, an option.  280's never had electric seats unless it was ordered as an option.

No Australian 280/380 ever had an airbag.  Airbag's were only available on the series two W126 the 300/420/560 when they were released in 1986.  The 560's always had a bag, the 300/420 only from 1988 with the introduction of the soft look leather unless ordered as an option.  Only series two W126's had seat belt pre-tensioners.

I also like the interior of the W126, it's a nice place to be, a few pics:







Regards,

Carl.

[TJ 450]

I love that colour combo, refering to the 126! It's so warm and inviting.

I agree, the 116 is totally amazing... replacing one with a 126 would leave you wanting.

Edit: BTW, my '84 380SE has the pretensioners... it must have been optional, bearing in mind that the 380 was the top/largest engined model in Australia until the 560 came in, in 1986.

Tim

[WGB]

The 126 added a number of electronic components - all of which gave trouble when the car was new. How they have held up over 20 years I can only guess.

Having said that a 126 is a better and quieter drive but the 116 sits flatter on the road and I think handles better.

Bill

Another couple of items to remember.

1) 126 went to plastic and aluminium radiators as well as (I think) aluminium airconditioning evaporators which may have some maintenance issues as the cars age.

2) Don't write off a 6 cylinder 126 before you drive one. I owned a 1987 300SE and it could show a clean set of heels to a 420 that I test drove at the time  as it had a very revvy motor and a short diff ratio. The South African/Euro high compression 280's were only slightly slower. The 380/420 was usually saddled with a long diff ratio for fuel consumption benefits that took the 500/560 motor to overcome.

Bill

[TJ 450]

Yes Bill, aluminium A/C evaporators and aluminum/plastic tanked heater cores with o-rings sealing the inlet/outlet pipes. You know what this means, but at least it's easy to remove the dash.

Link

Unlike the 116 where the heater core should see the car out, you could expect a nice coolant leak in the cabin at some stage in a 126's life. It's no different to any other 1980s+ car though.

Tim

[carl888]

The 126 added a number of electronic components - all of which gave trouble when the car was new. How they have held up over 20 years I can only guess.

Having said that a 126 is a better and quieter drive but the 116 sits flatter on the road and I think handles better.

Bill

Another couple of items to remember.

1) 126 went to plastic and aluminium radiators as well as (I think) aluminium airconditioning evaporators which may have some maintenance issues as the cars age.

2) Don't write off a 6 cylinder 126 before you drive one. I owned a 1987 300SE and it could show a clean set of heels to a 420 that I test drove at the time  as it had a very revvy motor and a short diff ratio. The South African/Euro high compression 280's were only slightly slower. The 380/420 was usually saddled with a long diff ratio for fuel consumption benefits that took the 500/560 motor to overcome.

Bill

Hi Bill,

I have a theory about these 80's heater cores.  I have never seen one leak in any car where the coolant was changed every two years.  The radiator top hose mount does break, I made an alloy inner sleeve to stop this happening to mine.

The 420 should have easily beaten your 300.  You did make it start in first gear right   BTW, Australian 380's had a 3.45 final drive, the 420/560 a 2.67.

My dad bought a 380 and a 420 new, he did a water pump in the 380 but that was it.  Both cars were totally reliable.  The number of high mileage ones around now suggest that's still the case.  The 420 was a far better car than the 380, the transmission shifted smoother and it was more refinded. It also did 850 rpm less at 100 km/h.

Regards,

Carl.

[bahnstormer109]

i had a 116 280SEL and then 450SEL and now i have a 126 560SEL.

with the 116s i found i had to fix the central locking, aircon and cruise in both. in the 126 they were all working.

the 126 also has factory wax rustproofing inside the doors and body cavities. the 126 drives and handles much better. i prefer the V8s with 4 speed autos rather than the 116 3 speeds. my 126 was a neglected example that ive been slowing improving as i drive but it has never not started first go and has never stopped or given any problems. anything ive fixed ive only had to fix once and its been pretty easy to find parts and fix myself.

the 126 is a superior car to the 116. however it lacks the 116's glamour and comfy laid-back interior.

in fact, i really miss my 450SEL and im quietly looking for another one, this time in gold.

[gf]

Thanks for all the technical info everyone ill keep this in mind when/ if i ever get to owning the two cars!

[W116 Heaven]

I know I'm a little late on the reply, but figured I would add my 2 cents.  The W126 is quieter and has a more refined interior.  My 300SE is what I use for road trips as well as my weekend driver, as it's good on gas and does many things well.  But the W116 is much more toss-able and driver oriented I would say, and really doesn't show its massive weight as much as you would think.  My 280S is stable, reasonably quick, and feels quite well on the open road.  I enjoy them both for their individual attributes and cant see myself living without either one.

[gf]

from what everybodys saying about the 116 it makes me wonder was it mainly built to compete with what bmw was pumping out at the time? compared to a 126, the 116 sounds closer to a bmw. Really firm ride and lots of road noise.