The seller of this 1973 Mercedes-Benz 300SEL has several classics stashed in his garage that will not being seeing the road under his stewardship, so he’s decided to put each car up for sale. The Mercedes is one of two, with the other being the red 220SEB coupe it’s parked next to, and a Dodge Polara sedan. Each car has a few bids at the moment, and all three are offered at no reserve. Details are scarce but it’s safe to say they’ve been sitting for quite some time. Find the 300SEL sedan here on eBay with bids to just over $2K and located in Dayton, Ohio.
The Mercedes is equipped with the desirable 4.5L M117 V8, which paved the way for the company to enjoy a legacy of building high-powered highway cruisers, culminating with the bonkers 6.9. While undoubtedly complex compared to other offerings of the era, repairing this land missile back to road-going condition will absolutely be worth it when finished. Known for its smooth power and unwavering road manners, the W108 and W109 cars are sought after today for these reasons and more. If this one isn’t rusty, it’s a worthwhile project. The missing taillights suggest an attempt at restoration was made at one point.
The interior is in fair condition, but this is pretty typical for Mercedes of this era. The missing Blaupunkt radio will be a pricey part to replace, but at least the dashboard isn’t cracked. The seats are also holding up well, but Mercedes’ interiors of this era are known to be hard-wearing. The seller doesn’t provide any insights into electrical issues, so hopefully, the aftermarket radio on the console was removed due to being faulty as opposed to gremlins developing in the HVAC controls. The door panels show signs of deterioration, but the wood trim looks reasonably intact on the dash.
The bodywork – from what we can see – looks fair, but given this car is in Ohio, who knows what the undersides look like. The seller does share that the cars have been in his garage for over 20 years, so hopefully, they haven’t seen much road-going use at that time. A few months ago, I sold one of these with quite a bit of rust but a complete interior to a collector in San Diego, as he was hot for the unobtanium trim pieces and sweet V8 mill. I could see the same thing happening with this car, but hopefully, it has a better shot at being restored.
Forget the Benz; I’d like to see more of the 1960 Dodge Polara sedan next to it.
If click on the seller’s See Other Items link, you will find the listing for the Polara.
It’s rough, and will likely end up as a parts car for a hardtop or convertible restoration.
The M100 V8 that was built in 6.3 and 6.9 liter displacements was introduced in 1963 with the Mercedes-Benz 600. The M116 that the M117 was derived from didn’t arrive until 1969. The 300SEL 6.3, the first high performance Mercedes-Benz sedan, arrived in late 1967 as a 1968 model, well before the 1971 arrival of the Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 4.5.
The seats are from another car.
This model had leather standard – those are MB Tex.
The least of anybodies worries on this should be the radio!!! The air ride, and many other items on this Mercedes will make it an expensive proposition to restore. I agree with a post above, a great parts car!!!!