I've found a 1982 280SE. The car is pretty basic: front electric windows and in the rear manual, drivers seat electric and ps seat manual, no sun roof and basic heater and AC. Nice overall condition, he want's $4500 for it.

How do they compare to a 300SE or even a 560SEL? Is the M110 strong enough to power this car?

__________________
1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

Unfortunately the car isn't registered in CA and I doubt it's possible without to much hassle. It's a very interesting car.

German Car enthusiast? Euro Model Mercedes in great condition!

__________________
1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

I had a 280E once and it was powerful enough in the 123.

Two areas to look for: The valves need to be adjusted by hand. If not the valves recede into the head and this throws the cam followers into the cam itself. The result is a gouged out cam and they are not cheap to replace.

And unless you do the valve adjustments yourself, well, that service is not cheap.

The warm-up regulator, which is located on the left side of the engine towards the back, is bad about wearing out. These are easy to replace if you can reach in there and do it but they also are not cheap and if it is messed up the car will not start from cold without a bit of starter spray.

So before you take it for a test drive feel the engine to make sure it is stone cold. If it is warm to the touch the owner is almost screaming the car needs a new warm-up regulator and the owner is too cheap to buy one.

Zero-60 is about 9 seconds.

Check it out!

1982 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE (for Europe ) specs review

And I am not sure if Mercedes ever imported this car to the US so you may be looking at a gray market car. With the options you describe I don't think there is any doubt in this case.

And while I don't know if this is still the case at one time Mercedes has a policy of not selling parts to anyone with a gray market car. This was before the rise if the internet so that may currently be a moot point.

The car was imported by an American family in Seattle who served over seas, it was never federalized. I'm going to pass on this one, but he's willing to take a serious offer.

__________________
1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

Never had a problem with parts for grays, any dealers. Also Compression ratio: 9.0 : 1 Might require an octane you simply can't get at most places.

The non-US 280 has about 45 more HP than the US version (182 v. 140)... so I would imagine that it would feel quite a bit quicker than any US-market 280. It's also a few more HP than the US-market 300SE/SEL (179).

Shame that you can't buy it in Cali, looks like a sweet ride.

And @Idle, no, MB never imported the W126 with the M110 to the US. The 300SE is the only six-cylinder gasoline-powered W126 we got, imported 1986-1991.

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

There was one listed on this forum a while ago, olive green on olive green cloth interior with crank windows etc. Unfortunately, still an automatic (the 280SE could be had with a 4/5-speed).

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

I remember that car, beautiful. I prefer an automatic for LA traffic, a stick gets tiresome pretty quick.

__________________
1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

That's a nice and fast car. Quicker then the SOHC 300.
You need to make sure you get it smogged and running fine on unleaded fuel. Premium will be a must.
A knowledgable mechanic should be able to give you the right info.
Call Dieter's Import in Oxnard, ask for Lothar.