Does anyone know anything about these cars? What do you all think of these? Anyone know the specs, raced, or seen one? My dad is wanting to give me his that he has now. I just want to know what it could be compared to, nowadays. I am a junior in college and have been wanting a muscle car, but he would rather me have his car, I think it has close to 250,000 miles on it (his traveling car), how bad is that? How are the performance on these cars? I like the looks of them, what other modifications are available for these cars?

This is the color and how my dad's looks now, he is supposed to add some rims, and do some work to it, before he hands it over (2 months)
A lot of kids at my school, have Mustangs, Camaros, BMW's, and all those kind of cars. How will this car do against them? I know on the highway it does real good, but how about against a v6 Stang? or the newer BMW's (3 and 5 series)
Sorry for the long post, and I am looking forward to being a part of this family.

The 560SEC is a rocket if you ask me.

The big V8 in that car is a tremendous engine, and it is fast.

I can't give you 0-60 times or anything, but that car was one of the ones I was looking at before I chose my car.

I love the styling, and I am sure you will be the envy of all those stang and BMW drivers.

You will have a mercedes S class coupe, one of my favorite cars.

With that car, all you need to do is make it look good, the mechanicals of the car should be very solid,a nd the car will be fast. you can go from 80-130 in a matter of seconds.

My dad had a 560SEL years back, and that car was a screamer. I liked it more than the 68 vette, and I think it was faster than the vette.

I don't think you will be disappointed with the car. Have you driven it before? It should feel good in your hands, and you should enjoy it tremendously.

Keep us posted.

Alon

__________________
'92 300CE - Sold
2004 C240 - 744 - C7 Wheels - Android Radio
2002 C320 - 816 - Sport Wagon

I think you'd have to keep the back window clean cause thats the only view you'll have of them. I hope you like their grills.

Oops, I said college, lol, I meant high school

the SEC coupe is an icon of a "grand touring" motorcar, emphasis on 'touring'...it is a big heavy car (panzer tank), with a big honking large displacement V8 motor (low mpg) and freeway gearing (smooth and comfortable), and...consequently these factors do not allow it to compete realistically in quick dashes either around town, through curvies, or on highway sprints....keep in mind that any car since the 1980's - given enough elapsed time - will get you going over 100mph+ (even 1980 BMW 320i's -4cyl's w/ less than 100hp)

compared to more modern 4 cylinder econo-cars with lower gearing and less weight, the SEC is like pouring molasses on a chilly morning....and comparing a 250,000 mile SEC to modern MBs, BMWs, etc. is fruitless (even ashman's 300ce 6-cyl is significantly faster 0-60mph)....now, if your dad managed to bless the SEC with some recent high performance mods/ gearing...the story might be different....

all in all, if you like the SEC car....who cares what anyone else thinks of it....drive it and enjoy the hell out of it...it is the best "grand touring coupe" the automotive world had to offer at that vintage and after all, it has over 250,000 miles on it- so, let the good times roll!

a word of caution though on enthusiastic driving, be extremely cautious to stay within our skill level....since the law of physics provides exceptions to no one,,,,you know the drill, "objects in motion tend to stay in motion"


good luck
-fad

I'm hearing 2 different things,
1. It's fast
2. It's slow
lol, I guess compared to the newer cars, it can be slow.
What kind of modifications can be made to it, to pep it up?

I'm not one to bash other people's opinions but don't worry about the above comments. The 560 is rated at 238 horses but is more realistically around 275 if you open the exhaust a bit. They listed it so conservatively back in the 80's for emission reasons. It is a couple hundred pounds less than an SL, even thought it is larger. I agree that maybe 0-30 mph is not too quick but losing to a 300CE in anything over 60 mph, no way in hell. You would smoke a stock 300CE by nealry 1 full second in the quarter-mile, guranteed. If you put a closer ratio rear-end, like 2.82 or 3.07 it will be a missle. Put a post up for some advice from Satish Tumalla, (stumalla), he is the 126 coupe guru. Oh, by the way, your looking at about 300lb ft of tourque as well. Take the car- you will be happy if it has had all of the tune-ups and has been taken care of. Somebody back me up here, c'mon. I run 15.5's in the quarter with my 500SEC Euro and I'm down about 30 horses than the 560... Didn't mean to get carried away...

Mike

Snoopy572, I'm willing to sacrifice my time and effort in order to fully test all performance aspects of your SEC . This is a FREE offer and should only take me 4 or 5 years to complete. This way you will not have to rely on any second hand information. Please send address and pink slip to me and I'll do the rest!

__________________
The Golden Rule

1984 300SD (bought new, sold it in 1988, bought it back 13 yrs. later)

WhenI was 16, and I got to drive the 560SEL my dad had, that car was a bloody rocket, I have driven all sorts of cars, I'll ist them and I'll tell you I think the 560 is faster than my 300CE.

I remember the 560 you hit the gas, there was a slight pause in the car, then it would rocket off to 60 mph in no time.

But hey thats just what I remember feeling ni the car.

The 68 vette was fast sure, but the 560 was faster.

The v12 jag xjs was quick and smooth, but not that quick.

The 1976 porsche 911s was fast too, but the 560 felt like it had more power, and felt faster.

The 87 maserati biturbo was fast, but again that v8 of the benz had a growl that was mean, and I could break the tires loose on that car easily, moreso than any of the others.

The vette had a racing clutch with a hurst 4 speed and a 327 with 350 hp or so, no air filter at all, holley 850, weiand manifold, straight through exhaust, with only the rear mufflers, and the benz still seemed faster and probably was.

Once on the way to vegas at 80 mph, my mom was driving, she floored it and we were doing 145 before we even realized it, right out in no mans land...

Alon

__________________
'92 300CE - Sold
2004 C240 - 744 - C7 Wheels - Android Radio
2002 C320 - 816 - Sport Wagon

Check out www.mbcoupes.com for anything related to the SEC.

That is one nice 560SEC. Take it!!!! It has a lot of power and it's fast, but if you are looking to make it really fast, you can do some mods.

snoopy,

actually, the 2 things you are hearing are:
1) the car is fast,
but,
2) it's not quick.

the 560sec was and is not a sports car nor is it a muscle car so comparing it to a 3 series bmw or a camaro or a mustang for that matter is like comparing a cadillac sts to a mustang. they're in different classes and therefore defy comparison.

the larger bodied mercedes with large displacement motors have always been autobahn-burners as opposed to slalom rockets. thay're sprung softly enough to cushion dips in the road and nowhere near hard enough to feel as if they're on rails. they may not win the race from one stoplight to the next, but they can certainly hold their own on the highway where real driving is done.

IMHO, take the car, it looks to be in really good shape and high mileage is not much of a concern with benz engines providing they've been strictly and regularly maintained. keep in mind that this is a big and heavy touring car so checkerboarding through traffic trying to stay ahead of a mushtank...sorry, mustang, camaro, bimmer or porsche is not advisable.

__________________
'94 W124.036 249/040 leder; 8.25x17 EvoIIs
'93 W124.036 199/040 leder; 8.25x17 EvoIIs, up in flames...LITERALLY!
'93 W124.036 481/040 leder; euro delivery; 8.25x17 EvoIIs
'88 R107.048 441/409 leder; Euro lights
'87 W201.034 199/040 leder; Euro lights; EvoII brakes; 8x16 EvoIs - soon: 500E rear brakes
'70 R113.044 050/526; factory alloys; Euro lights

Is there any way that I can increase the maneuverability of this car, I know how to respect and love my car, but I just want it to be up to par (as much as it can be), with today's cars.

Hey Ashman- I sure wish I were 16'ish again.....(just for a few moments)!!!...

in those years....any car I drove was monster fast! (stepping up from walking or pedaling on my 10-speed)

....fortunately, 455cid V8's happened to be my starter cars (Buick, Pontiac, & Olds)...ahh, those were the days!

-fad

Well you already have so big rims on your car so I would say you should get Bilstein sport shocks and change the springs so it rides a little lower. Either get H&R or Eibach springs.