What are your opinions on this car? Both 6 and 8 cylinder versions. Thanks

 

I love the look and style. I owned a 70 300SEL 6.3 and a 73 280 SEL 4.5. Great nostalgic cars, reminds me of the cars on Mission Impossible when I was a kid. Go for an SEL and the V8, a floor shift with the gated shifter (a flick of the wrist drops you from 4-3 very fast) is much more desireable and rare but not mandatory. MB Tex is better than old dry leather. The 6 cyl with a manual 4 speed is not bad, but in the US not nearly as desireable (far fewer buyers at your price when it is time to sell). A Euro model with rear head rests, rear shoulder belts, and child safety locks is a bonus. My 6.3 was like this and I regret ever selling it.

 

Hey thanks for that. Just wondering, how bad was the mpg on your 280? Is it intolerably low, or not too bad? Also I have heard that parts aren't really hard to find. Is this true? Thanks a lot.

 

I never had a problem with parts, these were popular cars in their day. I did not have any problems getting the few parts I needed for my Citroen either. These cars drink gas, plan on 13/17 tops with ignition, timing, plugs, wires, injection in top condition with a V8, I never owned a 6 manual but it can't be much better. I did have a 73 BMW Bavaria with a 3.0 inline 6 and a 4 speed and it got 9/13 with twin Webbers. I drove it from Houston to Richmond VA and had to fill up every 200 miles. I don't expect a vintage MB with fuel injection (the E in SE) to do that poorly but it won't be great especially if it is not in superior tune. Think of all the money you save over new that could pay for gas and all the strangers that want to talk to you about how nice the car is.

In addition to changing all the fluids and filters (that means ALL including the differential and brake fluid, the most neglected fluids in a car) you will want to replace the 35 year old seat belt material. Also, if it has the Kangol clasp buckle without the traditional locking buckle with the red release button, you will need a new buckle assembly as well since the Kangol is prone to failure.

 

Hey thanks for all of your great info. These cars are really amazing. If I find one in pretty good condition I might just get it, and if for some reason it gets too expensive to drive (gas or parts) there is nothing wrong with taking care of it and using it as a weekend car or something.

 

I have both a 1970 6cyl and a 1972 8 cyl 280 sel. The six is pretty quick, but is dezigned for 96 octane fuel, and it's impossible to detune it enough to run on 91 octane with out a major sacrifce in power and mileage. It is also geared impossibly low, designed to turn about 4500 rpm at 65. I solved that problem by installing the rear end from a V8 which helped immensly, the motor now turns at about 3500 RPM at 65, and I have never seen the top end which I imagine to be well over 120. I can get a solid 20MPG on the highway now, too. The other drawback to that particular motor is that it runs hot. REAL hot. Some kind of design flaw having to do with coolant circulation at low speed. I took an electric circulation pump from a 123, put it on a thermostatic switch and solved that problem too. The V8 is smooth, powerful, fast and likes gasoline, but will run on regular and never gets hot at all. You don't want to have to work on the heaters in these cars, by the way
[align=left] [/align]