Odd, I didn't know Olds dealers also sold Mercedes.
If you politely ask the parts counter person at your local MB delership to run the original records on their system, they can tell you where it was sold and when.
DDH

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

Bunch of fishy stuff goin on here.... The car has what appears to be original accessory driving lights combined with amber corner signals - both unheard of in the USA - And are oil and water guages metric ..... meanwhile as DDH observed it was clandestinely sold "as new" by Oldsmobile??

Am willing to bet anyone on this forum 1/2 gallon of 8 yr. old bourbon whiskey that it's a grey market pirate car which was snuck between the cracks of Cali emissions standards that went berserk somewhere at/near the early 1970's. Check the VIN# plaques to see if they show creation date that predates original sales date by several months if not one full half year or longer.

Whoever brought that beast into the USA sure as hell knew what they were doing...... It could have been the Olds dealer himself cutting sneaky deals with smugglers at Germany under the table, who knows.....

Meanwhile, dont breathe a word of Oldsmobile sale as new car when you run the registry through the MB dealership until *after* they've told you what you want to know..... No doubt it could piss-off Stuttgart brass to learn that American Olds dealerships had been secretly scarfing brand new 109/3.5's and selling them through the adoption market as new cars covered under the MB warranty plan with which the Olds dealership shares no liability whatsoever- heheheh

I must've missed something, where's the pic of the gauges?

As for the amber turnsignals and driving lights, I know some US-spec 108/109's had them, just not many. I dont know if they're original or addons by a P/O but they are there.
Also, the 300SEL's came with 3.5's until '72. '71 and earlier were 3.5's.

__________________
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

Tom, I cant see guages either which is why i asked the metric question that you must have misread............ AFAIK, amber bullets and amber bogus foggies were US standard for signal lights. Didnt know the 4.5 wasnt deployed .until '72...... are you saying that all pre-72 MB V-8's were 3.5 litre, except the special order 6.3?? I didnt know that either..... and I'd also like to know if MB dealerships shared their roof with competing domestic brands.

Check out this website for a lot of info on 108's and 109's. Go to the technical corner then technical data to find all the production numbers you want.

As far as US domestic autohouses sharing the roof with MB, oh yea that happened. Studebaker sold MB's for a while and someone else earlier, but I can't seem to recall at this ungodly early hour on a Saturday.

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Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.

the guages are NOT metric. it must have been an olds/mb dealer (for the record it was brooking olds inc, 1520 s hill st, oceanside ca 92054) its stamped in the warranty book. car was built 3/71 (happy 33rd!) sold 5/27/71.

109's were 3.5's, when the V8 108's were released in the US, all were the 4.5 - '71-'73. In 72 MB switched the 109 to the 4.5 as well, I would assume to avoid confusion. '71 was also the last year of the 111-chassis coupes/cabriolets (the V8 versions of which used the 3.5 as well).

__________________
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

Thanks for great info..... it sounds like '71/'72 was cusp year comparable to '67/'68 or '61 when models overlapped.

Studying the evolutionary history of these cars is amazing. It's like the 114/115's that included a grab-bag of 4, 5 and 6 cyl engines.

Whew, am glad nobody took me up on the whiskey bet - which I now withdraw - Yet it still baffles me how this example of the 300SEL has amber corner signal lights. It also strikes me that freckled tan MB-tex interior was limitted run and notso common too.

yeah everytime i see one its different, weather by factory/year model, or just parts swapping. its confusing (i am no means knowledgable enough to tell whats correct or not), but it makes these cars more fun, imo.

mike

I guess one big deal on 109 variations is choice of woodwork too.... walnut, rosewood, tiger maple, and burly gnarly wood were among the choices. If it was me, I'd be constantly rubbing wax on the wood to keep it fresh.

Otherwise, the oddest variation I've ever seen is Finbody grill.... where pre-63 models have deeper grating - barely discernable unless cars are side by side.

Most of the finest upgrades of fiddly bits I've seen involve "retro-upgrades".... where things like better door pockets, magnetic Kangol seat-belts, electrical switch knobs (that dont spell out functions in english) and matching original radio knobs from earlier models can be an improvement on newer versions.

When body styles remain the same for 6-7 yr span, it makes keepin tabs on the small stuff easier to do.