Saw a 560 SEC

[t walgamuth]

at the dealer locally. It was black and looked pretty clean. Light grey interior. Those 126 coupes are nice hunkered down looking little cars. If it weren't for the LOooonnnnnnngggggg door I probably would have kept my 84 500SEC..

One with a stick and a 617 turbo might be lovely.

[lorainfurniture]

Thats funny, I just saw one too. It was black as well. It looked pretty badass.

[Txjake]

saw several, along with a couple of 450SLs at our Pull A Part yard a couple of weekes ago. Seemed a real shame.....

[t walgamuth]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

at the dealer locally. It was black and looked pretty clean. Light grey interior. Those 126 coupes are nice hunkered down looking little cars. If it weren't for the LOooonnnnnnngggggg door I probably would have kept my 84 500SEC..

One with a stick and a 617 turbo might be lovely.

One of my buddies who has a lot more $ than I even gave me a compliment on it. I used to always get compliments on it. It had aftermarket wheels with big openings in it when I bought it. I painted the calipers red. I also removed the rear muff so it would rumble a bit. I loved driving that thing and with the exception of not being very fuel effecient it was as cheap to operate as a 617 diesel.

One day I got a challange by a boy racer in some sort of turbocharged 4wd turbo ricer on the highway. I pretended I didn't notice.

[Jim B.]

Here are pictures taken a few weeks ago when I added the AMG burlwood trim on the map pockets of its doors. I bought my '91 carefully as lightly preowned one at a Mercedes Benz dealer near Disneyland in 1996 after a year of not being able to find a good one in a color I liked, though lots were around to choose from then.

At 185k, I am just entering a new phase with a rare 300 hp 10:1 HV (high compression) euro 560 motor I bought and had installed in LA in November, with 53k on it that has just been rebuilt, and it's at a whole higher level now, mated to the AMG headers and downpipes and Remus exhaust. It's taken the whole 16years to get to this point, and make a kind of euro-type AMG clone out of it, but it's a stellar performer now.

Maybe the sweetest spot is flooring it at 70 mph and holding it. 115-125 mph comes up effortlessly and fast and pretty quietly. They are engineered to go their top speed on the Autobahn all day long. That is 149 mph for the milder 238 hp US ones, but this one is a sort of hybrid/bastard/clone of an AMG Euro and could be plenty faster. These things were top of the MB line, and I got the '91 model because it was the last year of the cost no object build quality and durablility ones, and I thought they looked beautiful. Its designer, Bruno Sacco, said it was his masterpiece and he, to this day drives one of them in Germany as his personal ride..

All told it is the best car of I've had among the 22 or so I owned since my first ( a '64 Chevelle)..

















They were designed to be long distance mileage eaters, like a ground bound Lear Jet, or a true Grand Touring coupe in its best iteration.

Today they are absurdly cheap to buy for what they provide in terms of class, unsurpassed durability, longevity, ease of repair, active and passive safety, build quality, and parts availability.

They are a good long term proposition for a long term ownership to enjoy and use. Tons of fun, too!

[t walgamuth]

I bought mine about eight years ago for about $8,000. It sold new for $80,000 or so and had about 80,000 on it. I drove it up to 140K and then sold it for about 5400 and did only routine maintenance on it in the mean time.

I drove it up to green bay a couple of times cruising effortlessly at 85 mph when the traffic allowed it. Point and nudge the gas and you are gone in a great wiff of torque. Sort of like a german made t bird. but with real quality and handling.

YOurs has inspired me to consider 126 coupe ownership again!

[alabbasi]

Please don't put a smelly old diesel in an SEC.

[t walgamuth]

Originally Posted by alabbasi

Please don't put a smelly old diesel in an SEC.

I'd prolly try to find one done already.

BTW Jim, I am not with you on that tri-star on the rf fender. What the heck is that?

[alabbasi]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

What the heck is that?

Curb feelers, they're popular in the west coast with the gangsta's in da hood

[t walgamuth]

They must have some very tall curbs out there!

[lorainfurniture]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

They must have some very tall curbs out there!

He is mistaken. Curb feelers would mount under the rocker. That is like a corner marker or something.

Oh, no I remember what it is; Its cheesy.

[Jim B.]

Back in the 1980's it was considered very prestigious in Japan to own a higth line V8 w124 or w126 Mercedes benz sedan in Left hand drive.

Japan is a right hand drive country.

So that made these cars difficult to park, and this Mercedes Benz accessory was created and marketed for sale ONLY at Mercedes Benz dealers in Japan; the one I have obtained. was off a w124 1994 E420 V8.

So today, they are extremely rare and pretty valuable.

Here is mine going onto the car back in 2009.

It looks different today, because last year the front fender and the pole were damaged in a scuffle with a utility truck merging onto a LA freeway, last year, and the little top tristar which is plastic was destroyed. So the easy fix was to have a friend that was a welder braize in a regular tri star.

They actually really DO work in parking here in the USA too.

I have seen other versions of these in California that actually have the little plastic tristar LIGHT UP at night, but in the daytime they do not look good because of the plastic insulation coming down fron the tristar, and the plastic tristar itself eventually gets discolored (to a yellowish hue).


I will say that almost everywhere I go with the car, curious passers-by do ask about the pole and what it is for.

[Fulcrum525]

No doubt about it, the rare sighting of an SEC in great and original condition will still make me stop and stare.

[t walgamuth]

They are handsome cars.

About the parking asist pole.....to each his own. Jim's car is lovely in every other way.

[Squabble]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

BTW Jim, I am not with you on that tri-star on the rf fender. What the heck is that?

i always thought they were flag mounts for african and middle eastern dictators?

i would much rather see a flag mounted there, letting the people on the sidewalks know you may be in town for diplomatic meetings regarding your dictatorship!

here's hitler's : http://www.carenvy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/hitler-mercedes.jpg

another: http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/01/fantasycars/image/romania.jpg

aaaaannnnd another: http://wot.motortrend.com/files/2011/12/Mercedes-Benz-600-Laudlet-front-three-quarter-623x389.jpg

there's an electrician/contractor here in town that won a huge bid for some schools that are being re-built. he promptly went out and bought a cherry 560SEC that he blasts around town in. i feel mercedes pride when i see it but i also cringe as he bought a completely white one!