Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
I promise everyone, this is the last Mercedes-Benz R107 for awhile. I am just as sick of writing about them as you are reading about them, but I want to go full circle and look at this 1984 280SL up for sale in California. This European-spec car is the low man on the totem R107 pole but that doesn’t mean it is the worst of the bunch, at least not in my eyes. It uses the 2.8 liter M110 inline-6 that puts out a respectable (for the times) 182 horsepower and 176 lbâ‹…ft of torque.
I’ve said before that I’m a really big fan of cars that are conservatively styled on the outside but have pretty wild or unique interior setups. Today’s car, a European-spec 1980 Mercedes-Benz 280SE, is exactly that. This is a very early build of the W126 S-Class as the W116 was still being sold in North America as a 1980 model year and the new W126 didn’t hit dealers until that fall of 1980 to be sold as 1981 models. The 280SE also was never sold in North America either so this is a rare bird to say the least. But remember how I said about the wild interior? Well, I hope you like the color green.
The majority of the time, I can ”figure out” a car pretty quickly. I usually give them a quick glance, form an opinion on them, then move on to the next interesting car. Not with this one. Not with this 1980 Mercedes-Benz 280SLC.
It started out harmless enough. A listing for a $1,500 for a 280SLC. Naturally I’m intrigued by this. The 280SLC with the M110 inline-6 engine was never officially sold in North America so this was a big plus for me. Then I peeked inside and saw a manual transmission – things are looking even better. Yes, it’s pretty rough looking, but the extra parts the seller is throwing in with the car could make this deal worth it especially since one of the parts looks to be a real pre-merger AMG bumper. But when I really started to do some digging into this car I was just confused.
It’s been almost two weeks since I last featured a G-Wagen, so I figured I’d get back on the saddle and bring to you today a 1980 Mercedes-Benz 280GE up for sale in beautiful Aurora, Colorado. As you might have noticed, this W460 isn’t a stock vehicle but it’s not so crazy that you’ll look like one of those people who drive from Canada to Argentina in one trip. In fact, the only thing that is really different from every other basic W460 out there are some G55 AMG wheels wrapped in massive 35 inch tires, a set of shocks and springs to fit those massive tires, some fender flares to cover those massive tires and some torsion bars to make sure those massive tires actually get can down the road. Notice a pattern here?
I give a lot of love to the Mecedes-Benz W123 and rightfully so, some think it is the best car ever produced. A few even claim that in these Benz models will be the only survivors of in a post-apocalyptic world. I’m not one to argue as I own a 1983 240D and drive it on a regular basis. It is far from perfect and has it flaws, but when I’m driving down the road in it I can’t help but think how satisfied I am in it. When I really think about it, my most my complaints are from the powerplant in the 240D. Sure, it is as dead simple and reliable as the day is long. But on the other hand it is loud, not that smooth, is dangerously under powered at times and leaves a film of diesel residue from the exhaust on the interior when I drive with the windows down. (I’m sure that isn’t great for my lungs either.) The 5-cylinder OM617 solves some of the problems, but it is still unrefined at times. So what are the other options then? How about a silky smooth inline-6? Luckily, Mercedes-Benz offered that option in the W123 and while not nearly as common as the diesel cars, they are still out there.
This 1981 280E for sale in Maryland offers up that inline-6 option. It has everything great about the W123 but also a 2.8 liter that makes a very respectable 185 horsepower! This is a far cry from the 84 horsepower in the 240D and the 125 horsepower in the 300D. The M110 engine uses a Bosch K-Jetronic injection system that is reliable, not overly complicated and though it won’t return diesel-level gas mileage, it won’t break your wallet either.
