Guys,

Went to look at a 300SEL today since it was a 4spd car (something I want) I was not able to grab the engine code but was able to get the vin 10905610000537. I call the classic center and without being the owner they could not help me on the vin. Looks to be a low number car.

I am curious if this is a 3.5 4.5 or 6.3 car. Since it has the round (american V8 type) metal filter holder and not aluminum intake I assume it is a 3.5?

Any help. Car is solid and has some the cloth door panels and of course 4spd.

Thank you

Tyler

VIN would correspond to a 300SEL 3.5. VIN doesn't sound exactly right anyway it should be 109.056-12... 1 meaning LH Drive, 2 meaning auto trans.

Unless by 4 speed you mean 4 speed manual, which Arthur Dalton says means it's Euro but I've never even heard of a manual 109! So that's a hen's tooth.

__________________
Current:
2021 Charger Scat Pack Widebody "Sinabee"
2018 Durango R/T

Previous:
1972 280SE 4.5
2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited "Hefe", 1992 Jeep Cherokee Laredo "Jeepy", 2006 Charger R/T "Hemi"
1999 Chrysler 300M - RIP @ 221k

Didn't the 3.5s come with a 4 speed auto while the 4.5s came with a 3 speed? That's all auto talk of course, but I am sure that if there is a big piece of tin on top and not the beautiful intake runners, you haven't found a 6.3 liter diamond.

Both the 3.5 and 4.5 look virtually the same under the hood with the big air cleaner on top of the motor.

The chassis ID is consistent with a VERY rare 109 3.5 manual Euro version, which they couldn't possibly have made more than a dozen of...

__________________
Current:
2021 Charger Scat Pack Widebody "Sinabee"
2018 Durango R/T

Previous:
1972 280SE 4.5
2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited "Hefe", 1992 Jeep Cherokee Laredo "Jeepy", 2006 Charger R/T "Hemi"
1999 Chrysler 300M - RIP @ 221k

For what it's worth....

The four speed was the standard equipment transmission for this car in Europe and the rest of the world. That being said.... If this were 1969 then just try and find one on a dealers lot with a four speed.

The car almost had to be special ordered with the four speed since dealers made a bit of extra cash for every option they put on the car and the automatic was an option.

I once had a 280E, a 1977, without a sunroof. A sunroof was a $1,000 option and I had to search high and low to find one without that 'option'. As one dealer put it 'I make a pretty good profit on a sunroof and so far no one has balked at paying the extra $1,000'. It was like that in Europe with this car and automatic transmissions.

Dealers at that time even would list their prices with 'mandatory options'. Try and figure that out. A Dealer told me that meant he was never going to order a car without those options.

There were roughly 9,500 of these 109's produced over about a four or five year period. (That number does not include the 6.3 which all came standard with the automatic.) But how many with a four speed?

In theory all of them could have been, but in reality a very, very few.

By the way, is this on the floor or the column? The only ones I have ever seen were on Finnies, and they were all on the column.

And.... Some 109's were Chauffeur driven, so the lack of an automatic was of no concern to the owner. I knew one lady in Texas that bought a 6.3 and her driver wore a uniform and the whole bit.

Boy, did that woman know how to scream at the help.

VIN is consistent with a W109 3.5 four speed manual trans.

These transmissions are the side shift G76/27-A . Shifter is on the trans tunnel.

I have seen a 300SEL 3.5 with a stick shift. If is is a stick shift V8 car it would have to be a 3.5-the stick shift did not come on any other V8. Speaking of sunroofs-there is a 111 3.5 stick shift coupe on ebay-the seller says it has the very rare "Sunroof Delete" option. Interesting spin on saying it has no sunroof.

__________________
Tony H
W111 280SE 3.5 Coupe
Manual transmission

Past cars:
Porsche 914 2.0
'64 Jaguar XKE Roadster
'57 Oval Window VW
'71 Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck-Dad bought new
'73 Toyota Celica GT

To those of us taller than 6' 5" the lack of a sunroof is a big plus.

The only cars I can remember on the dealer lots in the late 70's without sunroofs were 240D's, and even some of those came with them.

And while there was no 'sunroof delete' option there were cars ordered without them. The sunroof was a option back then, but you had a hard time finding a loaded S-class without one.

But you are correct on the spin. I would think that today the lack of a sunroof would make that car worth less and not more.

It depends. a sunroof is really source of numerous problems, water infiltration and rust. I do enjoy the sunroof on my 111 Coupe but for a daily driver, a sunroof is often a problem.

owned one the 300sel + speeds some 10 years ago. Had a silver spray can paint job. It got lifted out of the yard it was stored in down in Chula Vista. I had flown into town on vacation and bought two 300sel's. The other car was the older M189 powered car. That one got chopped down and all the parts put into the 300sel 3.5 for transport back home.
Most upsetting loss of two cars in one go.

-CTH

__________________
- cth350@gmail.com
http://www.111lakeside.com/

Get it!

__________________
"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."

The OP didn't say if the car had a sunroof.
The cloth door-panels and 4-speed manual indicate a 'Euro' version.
I've seen a few W108 sixes with 4-speed manuals, including one '69 280S with it on the oolumn.
And a couple W111 3.5 coupes on eBay with a 4-speed floorshift.
To me a W109 with a stickshift V8 trumps no sunroof!
But do check for rust and a working air-suspension.

Happy Motoring, Mark

__________________
DrDKW

What a cool car. My W116 350SE could have been bought with either a manual or autobox. It has a strange group of options showing that the Europeans like spec-ing their cars, not ordering the "full meal deal" like MBNA forces us to do.

__________________
Charles Cleaver
1975 350SE + 1992 300CE-24 SportLine 5-speed + 2002 SLK320 6-speed + 1974 W114 280
1986 190E 2.3-16 (Decomm rear self-leveling suspension; Euro-code headlamps) sold
2004 Audi S4 6-spd - sold
1969 (2) and 1980 Porsche 911T, S, and SC - alas gone
1987 300SDL - Graf Spee; Euro-code headlamps; 16-inch 8-hole wheels - sold
1994 E420+(E500 suspension/E-code headlamps/PAD chip) sold
1968 250SE 4-speed (NICE car) - long gone
1962 220S 4-speed/column mount - long gone

Guys thanks for the input. I am sure this is a Euro spec car (Grey Market) I however can not recall if it had a sunroof.

I am basically getting this is a 3.5 V8 4-speed car. I assume this car is rare here in the US but overall a common car worldwide?

The car will need airbags and has some minor rust which I can work with.

Thank you,

Tyler

How could this be confirmed. Since I do not own the car Classic can not help.

Thank you