Hi Folks,

I'm new to the w116 but not Mercedes. i currently have a 1954 300 Cabriolet and a 1982 240D and pretty much do all of the work on my cars myself.

I looked at a 78 450 SEL with cloth interior today. Pretty nice car with excellent paint and chrome and about zero rust. Only catch is that it does not start.

The current owner bought it from an estate and I believe it sat for a while inside. Car has about 108,000 miles on it and really does appear to be very mint with the exception of a few tears in the cloth driver seat.

Seller has the car listed for 2K and says he replaced the fuel pump as well as some ignition parts to try and coax it to start.

I'm having trouble gauging if this car is actually worth 2k and could use the opinions of some more knowledgable folks. Engine oil looked okay in color but smelled a bit like fuel. There was no coolant in the expansion tank but I couldn't tell if there was any in the rad. Trans fluid looked great. Overall the car appears to have been well cared for but I am a little weary of taking on a massively expensive diy project.


Heres a pic of the car:

I would start with a fresh battery. My Volvo 780 wouldn't start, all the lights would come on but no start, everything looked normal. Put in a new battery when I found out it was still under warranty and it started right up.

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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).

Can you confirm spark and ignition timing? Is the cold star injector squirting?

There isn't a lot of complex technology in the '78 450SEL, just a lot of brilliant simplicity. if it looks solid it probably is. $2000 for something close to a driver is probably a deal if that's what you're after. I don't think a non-6.9 is worth the cost of restoration.

Is it a Euro car that has manual AC controls along with fabric upholstery? Regular cloth or velour?

Sixto
83 300SD buy me
98 E320 wagon

hmm, honestly I don't think I'll be able to check those things before purchase. The seller was nice, but was following me around the car like a hawk (which is a bit bazzare.)

Honestly I didn't look long enough at the interior to see if it has manual AC controls as I was mainly looking for rust. I believe the interior was velour tho as it didn't seem like just regular cloth.

Nice colour. If it sat for a long time then the fuel system needs overhaul. Open the fuel tank and take a cautious smell. If it smells rancid then the fuel is garbage and could be source of the non start issue.