nice 1977 450SEL 6.9 for sale, Portland OR

[gerryvz]

I have decided to put my 6.9 up for sale. It is a milan brown model, 1977, VIN number #2113. It is one of the earliest batch of US-spec models, having been produced in January of 1977.

The car has 83,000 original miles on it; I purchased it with 57K on the clock. The car has been fully maintained to a "T" and has maintenance records going back at least 10+ years, from when it had very few miles on it. The car is rust-free, having lived in Beverly Hills and San Diego until coming to Portland to me in February of 2000. It is an utterly reliable car that I would never hesitate to drive across the country.

A few notes about the car: it has a new factory-rebuilt transmission as of 57K (when I received the car); it has a custom Durrance 6.9 ignition with curves revised for additional midrange and high-end performance (it was one of the very first 6.9 ignitions that Randy did). The car has an upgraded (late 1980s) Becker stereo headunit with upgraded Becker speakers in the factory locations. The car doesn't leak water and the trunk is in excellent shape. No rust or bubbles anywhere. Paint is in very good condition overall, with nearly all original paint. It shines nicely when polished. The car has 15" ATS Bundt wheels, professionally refinished in 2002, shod with Yokohama AVS dB tires in the 215-60-VR15 size. The wheels have the old-style (no longer available) metal center caps, painted at the same time as the wheels.

The leather is perfect -- no blemishes and it is all original in the bamboo color. Cargo nets are nice and unstretched. Car comes with the suspension blocks and original, spare with XWX tire. Toolkit and extra belts and radiator hoses are also included. Car has a complete owner's manual deck and the serial numbers imprinted on the manual deck match the VIN number of the car, including the metal Addressograph data plate used by the dealers for service purposes.

The car has near-new coco mates in the light/dark brown pattern, made by the original producer of these mats for MB dealers back in the 50s through 70s. These mats are now out of production. The car's carpet is near new -- no stains or blemishes.

Mechanically, the car is in stellar condition. There is a very small hydraulic oil leak under the reservoir, which weeps a spot about the size of a quarter per week. The engine is oil-tight itself. The climate control system has been fully replaced two years ago and was converted at that time to R134a. The servo is recent. The car's sunroof works excellently, as does the (repaired in 2000) cruise control. The only non-functioning aspect of the car is the rear window defroster, which has broken contacts. I didn't want to pay the $2,500 for a new rear windshield. Driver's door window regulator was replaced a couple of years ago. Vacuum system holds for approximately 2 weeks (door locks will still work up to 2 weeks on stored vacuum).

The dashboard is not cracked and never was. The car's fan clutch was replaced last year, as well as the front crankshaft seal. Engine oil has been changed religiously every 2-3,000 miles. The car received new foglight lenses (Bosch parts) over the winter.

Issues: front hydraulic valve is bad, causing the front end to sink within about a day. This is a very very recent development, which will be remedied (nearly $1,000) shortly with a new factory valve. At this time the rest of the suspension will be evaluated and anything needing replacement will be replaced. The suspension works fine, with three of the five accumulators (spheres) being replaced three years ago.

There are the standard small "delamination" spots along the bottom edges, but this is not serious. It is, however, a common malady of 6.9 window glass, particularly the rear. The rear sundeck carpeting has been replaced with new carpet of the correect color, and a new MB first-aid kit has been installed. The car is hard-wired for a Valentine-One radar detector directly above the rear-view mirror.

The car's wood is excellent but somewhat sun-faded. There are 2-3 small corner edge cracks in the clear finish from the edges of the climate control panel -- a very common occurrance. Other than some slight to moderate fading, the wood is in excellent condition and much better than most cars.

The hood pad has crumbled in spots, but is still serviceable. I have a new hoodpad and will include it with the car.

On the rubber bumper pads, there are a few scuffs and normal parking lot wear but nothing worth noting by itself. None of this wear is very noticeable unless one is specifically looking for it. European bumpers (front and rear) will be included with the car if the buyer desires.

Bottom Line: This 6.9 is all original and is better than just about any car save for the very rare low-mileage cars. Maintenance has been performed correctly, as the car needed it all along, and strictly by professionals who knew what they were doing.

I have used the car since early 2000 as a "daily driver" and it is as reliable as they come. The car gets 12-13 MPG around town and can get in the high 15s on the interstate. It is very strong and has done many 16.1 second quarter miles at PIR -- among the fastest times I have seen for a US-spec 6.9.

Price is negotiable. Because of the quality of this car I will not accept lowball offers, and request serious discussion from someone who is willing to pay for a club-showable 6.9. This is not a $6,000 6.9 with torn interior, leaking oil, non-working windows and a gimpy-running engine.

Please contact me at gerryvz@attbi.com if interested.

You can see photos of the car at (though with 14" chrome Bundt wheels at the time, which was the stock dealer install):

http://www.dhc.net/~pmhack/mercedes/6-977.htm

Cheers,
Gerry

1969 300SEL 6.3 (55K)
1977 450SEL 6.9 (83K)
1989 560SEC (148K)
1995 E320T (49K)

[ESVIC]

Gorgeous car..wish I was in the market for one.