I'm the proud owner of an 85 300SD. i just picked up a couple of rear headrests and would like to install them in the rear seat back.

Does anyone know if Mercedes or any other vendor still sells the seat bracket installation hardware? I believe this was available from MB at some point.

The Classic Center might be able to help.

https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/enthusiast/classic_center#module-7

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

Or take the parts out of an old seat. I can't speak to the difference in newer seats but my 84SD has manual head rests and the 85SD has electronic adjustments controlled by the switch in the door. You either need to go with all manual or have the motor working. I can't confirm without taking them apart whether the part that inserts into the seat back is the same between years.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

All the W126 rear headrests will fit your car. I put some in my 85 that came out of a later model 560SEL with the tilting rear seat. All the hardware is ready re remove and install. The most nerve racking part was poking the holes through the leather.

Where did you get the headrests? can you go back for the hardware? I seem to remember it was kist a couple tracks and the plastic rings where the posts go through the seat top. The tracks may have been held in with little metal tabs that had to be bent back to get them out. Ca't remember for sure though as it was 4+ years ago when I did it. Take an assortment of pliers and a socket set with you and you'll have no issues.

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2004 F150 4.6L -My Daily
2007 Volvo XC70 -Wife's Daily
1998 Ford F150 -Rear ended
1989 J-spec 420SEL -passed onto its new keeper
1982 BMW 733i -fixed and traded for the 420SEL
2003 Volvo V70 5 Speed -scrapped
1997 E290 Turbo Diesel Wagon -traded for above
1992 BMW 525i -traded in
1990 Silver 300TE -hated the M103
1985 Grey 380SE Diesel Conversion, 2.47 rear end, ABS -Sold, really should have kept this one
1979 Silver 300D "The Silver Slug" -Sold

Thanks for all the replies. I called the MB Classic Car center and the rear seat headrest mounting hardware is NLA. They only sell the grommets.

I purchased the rear headrests off ebay. Just my luck that they were in the correct burgundy leather as my seats.

Now, I just have to find a w126 seatback with headrests somewhere...I'm in Los Angeles if anyone has any leads.

Gen II W126 has the headrests pretty well as standard. You may be able to rob the hardware or the seat back frame from a junkyard.

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Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

I'd be interested in seeing the hardware differences between manual and motorized headsets if the inserts are all the same. There are significant differences between my 84 &85SDs in several areas. Manual vs power headrests is one difference .

I finally got my rear seat headrests installed. I think they look pretty nice, they give the car a more luxurious feel inside as well as making rear seat passengers feel more comfortable and less vulnerable.

I was able to find a nice set of burgundy headrests on Ebay, called the MB Classic Center to purchase the headrest grommets and seals, then sent them to my local Top and Upholstery shop to do the installation. It was well worth the money as I didn't have the courage to make the cuts for the holes myself in case I screwed up the measurements.

On and I went to a local Pick a Part to scavenge a W126 rear seatback from a 560SEL so I could reuse the brackets mounted to the seat frame on my seatback.

Thanks to everyone that provided input on this little project.

Attached Thumbnails

 

Hey great job. I’ve been thinking of doing this to my SD.

Are the rear headrests different from the front?

Or would I be able to mount front head rests in the rear seat hardware?

Next time I see a late W126 at the yard I’ll pull the rear rests and the hardware.

Edit - ya know, that was a pretty dumb question. Your photo makes it pretty clear that they are different. Thanks and good job.

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79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles

Nice! I installed W126 rear headrests in a 1965 W111 220S. They worked great, though I installed the "dog-ear" pads and brackets from a W123 front seat and had GAHH make new skins for them to match the front. Okay, so I only actually used the W126 rear headrest legs and grommets, but the curved legs sure do work out well.

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DON'T MESS WITH MY MERCEDES!


1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Highly Optioned, 350,000+ Miles

@ykobayashi yep the rear headrests are different the metal posts angle almost 90 degrees unlike the fronts which are straighter..I definitely would not install front headrests in the rear if you can obtain the rears.

Nice job @squiggledog your photos show the squiggly rear headrest post off nicely.

The combination of early short w126 body with rear headrests looks really sharp and kinda special as these were an option on the 300sd.. Later w126 300se models had these standard.

This document will maybe helps you.

Attached Files

91-1.pdf (247.4 KB, 94 views)