I went to Illinois last week, bought the 280E AMG, then drove it home 1200 miles while getting 25 mpg. Not bad!

The car is in excellent condition, being stored inside all its life – paint is shiny (needs a clay bar, though), the interior is excellent, dash not cracked anywhere, and the seats still smell very leathery even though they’re original. By the way, the car is all original minus some maintenance replacement pieces.

The car is a real w123 AMG imported from Austria by AMG of Missouri back in 1984. They put the Stage 1 kit on it (body kit, wheels, and tires) and then put it in the 1984 Chicago Auto Show in the AMG display. The archivist for the Chicago Auto Show is to email me pictures on Monday of the AMG display from 1984 – we’ll see if my car is in the pics. There’s a sticker in the door jamb that has the DOT import information, including the AMG of Missouri tag. I’ve contacted the DOT to see if I can get copies of the original papers, but they said they’d need some time to get them out of archives. I haven’t been able to really poke around on it, so I can’t confirm it’s got a Stage 2 kit (it doesn’t “sit” like one, however), and I know for sure it’s not a Stage 3 kit. The steering wheel is an aftermarket racing wheel – the original wheel is long gone, I’m afraid.

It’s Euro, but it’s heavily optioned including:

* 5-speed manual transmission
* ABS brakes
* Auto-level headlights with dash adjustment
* Dual-zone AC with rotary dials
* Black MB-Tex seats
* Power antenna
* Power windows
* Rear headrests
* Sunroof
* Dual horns (city and highway) with dash switch

The car drives very well, engine is a little loud but I understand that’s an m110 trait, it brakes hard and straight, and it cruises the highways at 80 without a thought. As evidence of it’s past life, it feels very tight and Mercedes-ish (bank vault) even after 21 years. I plan on storing it in the garage under cover and driving it on pretty days. It’s a hell of a lot of fun to drive.

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- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600