When a car wears a paint color you don’t often see, it can transform your opinion of it almost instantly. A W109-series Mercedes-Benz sedan is a vehicle you associate with staid colors and restrained appearances, so seeing this 1969 300 SEL 6.3 wearing Moss Green paint is a treat. Hopefully, that will be enough to convince someone to take a chance on this project-grade car which has been parked for years with a failed head gasket. The 300SEL is listed here on Facebook Marketplace for $17,975. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Zappenduster for the find.
Curiously, this mighty 6.3 sedan is parked next to a desirable BMW E9 coupe. Is that for sale as well? It’s a worthwhile question, as the seller is the same individual who listed this rare early 1960 Citroen DS19 we featured a few days ago. He has a few other vehicles many of us would enjoy to own as well, but today, we’re talking about the 300 SEL. Mercedes basically wrote its reputation for building high-performance sedan into the history books with the 6.3-powered sedan, as it was this engine and model that showed sleepy four-doors could be legitimate rocket ships.
A headgasket repair on an M100 is not small task, however. The DOHC top end will require sensitive disassembly, and one has to wonder how many original parts still exist, assuming some level of breakage upon disassembly. The Mercedes Classic Center does an excellent job of stocking hard-to-find components, but that comfort doesn’t come cheap. A machine shop will also be needed, and I suspect the pricing for machining components off of a vintage European engine will come at a premium compared to a run-of-the-mill head. The seller goes so far to claim it needs a complete tear-down and rebuild, so perhaps he has more insights on the history of this car.
The black cabin is an attractive pairing with the green exterior, and the floor-mounted shifter is a more sporting option than the traditional column-mounted assembly. The cosmetics appear sound throughout, thanks to many years of indoor storage. The seller claims it is 99 percent rust-free, which is a powerful selling point for a vintage Mercedes that has been sitting idle for years. This is a tempting project, but keep in mind the engine rebuild is just one undertaking that will need to be performed on a complex piece of machinery like this. Would you rescue it?
That’s a pretty grungy car with a bum engine for that kind of money. Bet the air bag suspension won’t be cheep to fix either. Not quite special enough to mess with.
I love these 6.3s, but this would drain your bank account in short order. It would turn into a six figure labor of love. A proper rebuild of the M100 engine alone can easily run $20,000–40,000, and sometimes considerably more if major hard parts are worn. They’re magnificent engines, but they are not small-block Chevys! And this is even before you get to all the things you’ll need to address due to its lengthy hibernation, which probably would include everything made out of rubber.
Engine issues. Rust issues. The seller is dreaming with that price.
Wow. This was an amazing car but sadly will require more repairs than it is worth. I drive a E350 that may need a timing chain and that is estimated to cost 10K. Great car but it will need a mechanic to buy it and cut the labor costs.
In their November 68 issue, Road & Track took one of these “Q” ships to a drag strip where it ran 15.1 times and beat a 427 auto Corvette. Hope it gets saved but you’ll definitely need deep pockets or lots of older MB mechanical experience or both
Brakes must have been stuck on the Vette.
Did they have a couple plug wires disconnected on the Corvette?
I had one exactly like this, same year with a darker green color, about 25 years ago but in decent running condition. It had similar rust issues around the four jack points. I replaced the air bag assemblies myself for about $1000 in parts back then. The bigger issue was a leaky foot long mechanical fuel injection pump that sits in the engine valley. It has its own oil sump. Very dangerous if left alone. That issue, the rust and the unnecessary poor fuel economy made me trade it, along with $5000 for a totally different MB, a 300SD five cylinder, no comparison and reliable, economical, rust free. This car is good for parts maybe for much much less, not worth the cost to restore at any price.
99 percent rust free ?? did he mean 9 percent ? ,did he not see the photos ? dreamer …
Not a DOHC engine, unless you count that it has two single-overhead camshafts, since it is a V8 ?
Gorgeous car but a hard pass for me. Again like the Rolls Royce I just commented on, this could just be a pretty lawn ornament with a waterfall fountain coming out of the grille. Importing parts from Germany for it can put you in the poorhouse fast!😝🤣
If I were younger and still mobile, I’d be interested in taking this and turning it into the ultimate “sleeper”!
Joe, be glad that you’re not younger, as I was 25 years ago. There are many way more affordable “sleepers”.
if you have never driven one, they are a rush like no other. the color was not unusual for the 109 chassis (the car used in the movie “the exorcist” was this green as well. elegant, restrained. the car: you better have a pocket full of cash if you want to take this on. to spend upwards of $100m to make it really correct would not be a stretch, then you will have car worth just under the buy and restore figures. kind of like buying DJT on the NY stock exchange, you know it will go down.
Good luck…
In his Facebook ad he claims it only had 26,200 miles on it. Sure it does it’s a 5 digit odometer so I am certain it’s rolled over once or twice. So this is a RUN away not a walk away !!!!
The air suspension is clearly shot judging by the photos. This alone can approach $25k to remedy! However, keep in mind that pristine 6.3’s are in the $130k neighborhood, so this may be a decent find for someone with the expertise to take on this challenge. I’ve read that these will cruise at 130 mph, which means that suspension system needs to be perfect!
Repair parts are readily available from Star Motors near Binghamton, NY. My son had a MB 6.9 and purchased all the hydraulic bits, flex disk, etc. from them. The 6.9 accelerated rapidly through 120 mph and felt like it would never stop, an amazing engineering marvel. There are 6.3s in similar condition for less money.
I recently tracked down one of these in a small town near me. It had been imported from Germany by a returning Air Force Officer in the 70s. It had been parked in a barn since the early 80s. The original owner recently passed away, and his widow was prepared to sell it. She was well-aware that it was a desirable 6.3, but more realistic about price. She wanted about $7K US for it. I like these, but after having a close look, and doing the math, I reluctantly passed. Even doing much of the work myself, I would likely be upside down long before I was finished. The car sold within the week.
The car for sale here requires more work than the one I passed on. The restoration required to make it right could cost double of what “driver condition” examples are currently selling for. Another hard pass.
If you want to head down an internet rabbit hole, read up on Erich Waxenberger, the creator of the 300SEL 6.3. At that time Mercedes had a reputation for reliable but boring cars. Waxenberger gave the 300SEL the 300hp engine from Mercedes 600 Limousine, and these beauties came to be. As new, these were 0-60 in under 7 seconds, with a top speed of 140mph+. It’s a bucket list car for me (but not this particular one :)
There was a chap in Finland who raced Waxenburger 6.3s in saloons there. Cannae mind his name off hand, but he appears in a book about the old Keimola circuit to the north of Helsinki.
It’s an amazing story.
Rebuilding the complex Dunlop-derived pneumatic air suspension on a vintage Mercedes-Benz W109 (such as the 300SEL 6.3 or 300SEL 4.5) is very expensive. A full system overhaul or specialized master valve rebuild can easily range from $3,000 to over $6,500 in parts and specialist labor alone, making it one of the most costly maintenance items on these classic cars. There are four special control and leveling valves in the Mercedes-Benz W109 air suspension system (such as the 300SEL): one main control valve, two independent front axle/leveling valves, and one rear axle/leveling valve
1) Scarcity of Parts: Brand-new original parts are largely obsolete or no longer manufactured, forcing owners to rely on rare New Old Stock (NOS) or specialized restoration services.
2) Specialized Labor: Core components like the master height-control valves, individual bellows, and pressure regulators require precision instruments, vintage expertise, and specialist rebuilding rather than standard mechanic work.
All of the above comments can be summed up by a statement made by a former customer and collector:
“There is no car that’s more expensive than a cheap old Mercedes.”
If you want go down another Rabbit Hole check out Red Pig racing. My son almost bought a junk 6.3 to make a “Tribute” Red Pig racer. Thankfully he changed his mind. It would have been a real hit at the vintage races.
https://dyler.com › blog › tale-of-the-mercedes-red-pig
A few lifetimes ago, my daily was a ’72 280se W108 with the gas 6-cyl. A few doors down and across the street, the tenants moved out. The landlord was spending a lot of time there fluffing the place up for new renters. I was outside one morning, my car out front. Landlord came out, opened the garage door. There was a 300 6.3 sitting low, it’s bags not inflated. He fires it up. The low rumble of that 6.3 reverberating in the neighborhood, as the car slowly rose. He carefully pulled it out of the tight, San Francisco garage. He saw me staring, dumbstruck, mouth agape. Pulls up next to my 280se. Rolls down the window. “Ah…I see you have the cheap one” and roared off.
Like some of today’s high end cars, with all the “toys” like self driving and 5 foot long electronic dashboards, hybrid “hyper drives,” etc. The original owners will be long gone when the bad stuff happens. And the costs of fixing it outweighs the value.
I liked reading the comments from some of the owners experienced in this model Mercedes. I just had to find out though, could you SBC it and replace the air bags with springs and shocks. The Internet was aghast. You’ll destroy the value!