1971 Mercedes 280SE

1971 Mercedes-Benz S-Class SE Description:

I am selling my 1971 280SE Mercedes. It has records going back to 1971. No rust, no body issues. Original paint is in decent shape for its age, though I tried to touch up some chips and did an amateur job of blending. The bonnet also has some tiny dings in the valley, where I forgot to take the wrenches off the engine before I closed it. Factory tint, air (needs some R12, but the entire system just got overhauled relatively recently) and rear window defroster (working). I have replaced the alternator, both engine mounts, transmission mount, slip joint boot, inner and outer left and right tie rods, viscous fan coupling, all injectors with genuine replacements, camshaft and bearings, driver's side window motor and regulator with genuine, new Mercedes parts, replaced rear window roped-in gasket, turn signal-emergency switch, dropped the transmission and sent it to California to be rebuilt by vintage Mercedes transmission specialist (same one who does work for the Classics Center), and replaced the ignition and distributor with solid aluminum billet 123ignition magnetic (old one works fine and I have it). Had a new radiator water core fabricated last summer, and when they welded it into the frame they left a pinhole somewhere, so that would need to be addressed at some point; though I've driven it back and forth from New Orleans to Florida with no problems. I retrofitted the hydropneumatic compensator with the correct spring. I also replaced the three valve cover towers with heavy-duty Mercedes models, replaced the valve cover, timing cover, high-pressure oil lines, almost all hoses, replaced differential fluid with correct aircraft-quality, all-synthetic fluid, replaced torque plate, thermostat, and all filters and fluids, including the mechanical fuel injector filter and the ceramic hydraulic reservoir filter. I’m sure that there are other parts I replaced, that I just can't think of right now. Car rolls like a bat out of hell. I actually got an Associate’s of Applied Sciences in automotive technology (finished in May of this year) just to work on this car. Car has the usual small seepage around gaskets one expects with a fifty-year old automobile—specifically, the steering box preload tensioner gasket and the differential crush washer gasket. Neither has made it to my to-do list because they are insignificant, and I check the fluids regularly. Message me to arrange an inspection and drive. I also have the original Mercedes manuals, paperwork, and vintage German tools that came with the car, in their little roll-up pouches.