I am the proud owner of an 1984 AMG '1000SEL' (no kidding!--the tag on the trunk lid, left side says it is so!) I bought the AMG after my 1985 500SEL lost its timing chain and I wanted a full-size car with even better open-road handling than the '85, which I consider an outstanding road car.

There are no obvious changes in the engine compartment, although I still fumble somewhat with the two-handed safety latch procedure required to open the hood. Those Euro-style lights are nice, and the inside headlight adjustment reminds me how bad road conditions can be in other climates.

I believe the AMG was purchased in Germany and shipped to the U.S. by the original owner.

I have several questions and hope you guys can give me some answers or clues on how to find the answers. A little while back, I happened to find this site and now I believe I have found a home.

I have a few minor problems with my '84, but I have learned more about maintaining Mercedes automobiles in the last few days on this site than I have learned in my eleven years as a Mercedes owner.

Also, I hope to retire within the next two years and I plan to spend a lot of time upgrading the AMG with the extras that are on what I now consider my 'parts car'. My questions concerning the AMG follow:

A) The car has a sliding roof that is tinted glass (moon-roof?). Is this an AMG extra or an aftermarket item?

B) Despite the extra 1/2" that 16" wheels provide, it still sits about three inches lower than my standard suspension W126 with 15" wheels. It definitely handles much better than my '85. Did AMG provide a lowering kit with their product or was the suspension mainly modified with stiffer springs and sway bars?

C) The front suspension definitely needs work, because the bushings tell me so. Could I expect the bushings, balljoints, and other normal-wear parts to be standard MB parts?

D) The AMG has an earlier climate-control system that has problems (it has large fan speed and vent selector switches, two temperature selection dials and a few rocker switches, all located on a panel above the radio). The climate control in my parts car (the standard pushbutton type) works fine. Would it be feasible for me to upgrade the climate control by removing and replacing the components and wiring?

E) How much trouble would it be to move the anti-lock brake system over to the AMG? I really like that feature. The first time I locked up at ninety on wet pavement, I couldn't believe it! My mother could have handled the situation!

F) It has the usual chrome wheel well trim moulding, AMG front and rear fairing, etc and what I consider a poor-taste chrome 'air foil' on the trunk lid. Was the 'air foil' part of the AMG package? To me, it seems out of place. Actually, when I first got the car, my nineteen-year-old grandson kidded me, naming it my 'pimp-mobile'--that is, until I showed him how to straighten out hairpin turns at speed.

F) Anyone know a ballpark price for importing a four or five speed manual transmission conversion kit from a european dismantler?

G) Does anyone know where I could obtain original specs for the 1984 AMG?

Any information at all, whether fact or rumor, would be greatly appreciated.

Like I stated before, I feel like I have found a home here and plan to be around for the long haul.

Also, my business is computer service, so I am also open to swapping parts, advice, whatever. My background consists of programming mainframes in assembler language until the mini revolution, then started a software house and spent the next twenty years developing business software. I then began a computer service business in the mid-eighties. We fix everything from mainframes to PCs, build custom systems, tweak software--mostly PCs, not much in the way of MACs, but if you want a flexible software package that you can easily learn to tailor to your own liking, I can knock out Filemaker Pro applications in no time flat.