Differences between '87 & '91 560SEL
 

Hello,
I was wondering if anyone would be able to post information (or better yet, pictures) of interior items which were different in the 1991 560SEL versus the 1987 560SEL. I have an '87 and I would like to update as much as possible to the 1991 version. As far as I can tell the exterior is the same, however the car's interior was updated over the years. Any help would be great!

Here goes:

'91 differences (from your '87)

1. Button on dash to control antenna deleted ('91 only)

2. Interior paneling of doors updated to a ribbed design.

3. Speakers added to door panels (front only)

4. Button which controls horn tone moved down in between seat heater buttons.

5. Seats up dated to a more modern look, as oppssed to the previous "pleated" traditional mercedes look.

This is all that comes to mind for now. Check out ebay for pictures which will show the differences.

Mike

Steering wheel of an 87 would be textured plastic vs leather wrapped in a 91.

91 would have the Becker Gran Prix 1432 with separate amps and prewiring for or equipped with a Silverstone CD changer.

I think the 87 had 7" ET 25 wheels and the 91 had 6.5" ET 21.5 wheels. Same 205/65-15 tires. Really hard to tell the difference without pulling the wheels.

Passenger side airbag might have been standard equipment on a 91 560SEL.

I know I'll regret asking but why do you want to do this?

Sixto
95 S420
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

the best thing about the 1986-1987 w126's is that they still had a glovebox. No passenger side airbag.

i like gloveboxes. this is what makes those vintage w126's so fine. i recall some months ago when i drove my 1987 560sec into one of the local benz dealers. in front of me was a later 560sec.

the owner came out, scoping out mine. noticing my glovebox, he went loonie. shouting at the service writers how come i had a glovebox and he didn't.

calming him down, i told him that pre-1988 sonderklasses had gloveboxes. furthermore, i advised him that if he wanted to gain a glovebox, he could have the passenger airbag pulled and replace it with a glovebox.

he appeared dumbfounded, as did the dealer's servicewriter. so i continued, telling him that the parts were available. it was just a question of money.

he then asked me if i had ever made such a mod, i told him that i had. but not on my w126's. i didn't have to modify them, they were both pre-1988. but i had made such a mod on my 1995 e320cab. in fact, i think it may be the only 1995 w124 in the usa that has a glovebox.

fwiw.

The main reason I want to do this is for the door speakers. The 3" in the dash have been bothering me for years. The other reason is the center console with the "roll-up" door, versus mine which has no cover. I figure while I'm doing these things I'd see if there was any other upgrade worth making (although those seem like the only ones).
Justin

That wasn't so bad :)

I think you can graft the lower plastic of 88-up door panels onto your door panels so you keep the matching perforated leather and get the door speaker housing. I don't know if the airbag car glove box is part of the console or a separate piece.

If you're in Berkely, go by All Mercedes on 14th St. in Oakland and poke around their yard. I'm sure you'll get the info you need to decide how far you want to go with the update.

FWIW, I find the 88-up seats more comfortable than the 81-87 seats. It's not the pleating, it's the shape of the seat.

Not all 91 126s had passenger side airbags. My 91 300SE doesn't have a passenger side airbag. I'd like to fit a passenger side knee bolster. I think there'll be decent access to the glove box with the bolster in place.

Sixto
95 S420
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

What did you think I was going to say?:)

I know that on my door panels the perforated part in the middle is removable, so I could possibly slip that into the newer panel to keep everything matching.

I thought you were going to say something like 'to fix something MB didn't get right' or 'to make it look like a 91.' Valid reasons to those who subscribe to the reasoning. But why not buy a 95 E320 if that's how you want your 300E to look?

Sixto
95 S420
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

Yeah...I'm happy with my '87 for the most part, and I don't want to make it "look" like a '91, however 3" speakers stink, period. That is really the only thing that bothers be about my car.