Whats it worth? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

dpetryk · #1 03-07-2012, 05:38 PM

What would a fair price be for this car?

1980 Mercedes 450 SEL. Last production year for the 450. 138,000 total miles. 2nd owner. Dealer maintained. Totally straight. No rust. Never in accident. Car lived in Los Angeles. Interior needs new seat covers and dash cover. Front and rear glass need to be re-sealed. Car engine runs really well. Transmission should be rebuilt. 2nd gear slips if you step on it. The entire aircondintioning system was just relpaced by a dealer prior to parking. Perfect as a project or parts car.

Looking for the "fair" price range.

Any ideas?

POS · #2 03-08-2012, 10:16 PM

Hey, Dave! Too many cars having around? A friend of mine who used to office near you once told me "You won't believe what I saw! Some guy in a mean sounding Volvo wagon flying around the office! Sounded like it was a serious V8!". And I said, "i think I know who that was!" What did you build?

dpetryk · #3 03-09-2012, 07:50 AM

How funny. Yea that was a project that I did with my youngest son Nathan. Long story short is that the boys would fight over who would get to drive my original 82 volvo. I never understood why because its not a particularly sexy car in any way. They wanted to put a V8 into the one I owned. Since it had close to 300k miles the engine was getting a little tired. However Aaron wanted to keep it stock. So we went craigs list hunting and found a 4 door - same year - 82 with a blown engine. The car was in great shape. The deal also included an 86 wagon that the seller was going to transplant the engine from. We got both cars - $800. We had already acquired a corvette drive train - LS1 with a 6 speed T56 manual trans. SO off we go stuffing the power plant into the Volvo. It came out really nice. Its a real kick in the ass to drive. I never got any respect all those decades I was driving the Volvo. Its different now. Its a true sleeper. No indication of anything out of the ordinary except for the growl and the dual exhaust. Its fun to play with the guys who think their car are fast. When they cant out run an old volvo they begin to scratch their head. The thing is scary fast. The differentials are not lasting very long. We need bigger. The boys are always relating stories of how they surprise the macho types.

Have a look.

ACC Volvo 4.wmv - YouTube

It was one of those "never forget" projects with dad thing. I'm really glad we did it.

How is your fleet? I see it has been expanding as well.

POS · #4 03-09-2012, 09:35 PM

It's a brilliant idea to do something like that with your sons. That Volvo definitely doesn't sound stock, but it sure looks great as it is. Wonderful memories you've created. .

Yeah the fleet has changed. Just got the Porsche - one owner from 1969. Great original car that I'm looking very forward to driving a lot. I just took the tank out last weekend and am having it redone. With that done I should be able to run it for awhile to see what other issues need addressing. Great car - never owned anything like it before.

Chris and I bought the 6.3 together; we wanted a vintage racer but the car is too good and too rust free to subject it to that life. So we've redone the air suspension and a few other niggles. Neat car. We plan on just driving it around for awhile as a toy.

Glad to see that you're still out there banging on things.