I am looking for a 126 81 to 91 420 or 500 SEL to pull a pop up camper with.My 81 SD and 74 240 D are dear friends but living in the mountains of OR. and planing trips to the Rockies I think that the extra power of MB V8 would make hillclimbing more pleasant( also good rap to my dear wife to go along with buying a stop light stomper)
I called today a fellow that has for sale an 86 500 SE ,he said he bought it from a General that brought it back from Germany , Leather interior? lots of new parts including an 89 500 engine with low miles . Question what is an 86 500 SE can find no info on this model........
William Rogers........

It will be very similar to the 500SEL of the early 80s. In Europe MB often sells models that never make it to US shores unless cars originally sold in Europe are brought back by someone like your friend. The difference between the 500SE and 500SEL is that the SE has 4 inches less legroom in the rear. The L in SEL stands for long and if you put an SEL nest to an SE it is pretty obvious. The extra lenght in the SEL is all in the rear doors. North America got both the 380SE and 380SEL, but only the 500SEL. There will likely be a few mechanical differences between the European and American version 500 series w126, but I am not familiar enough with them to go into detail.

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Jason Priest
1999 E430
1995 E420 - retired
1986 420SEL - retired

ok diffrences that i found are as follows
bumpers
chrome
lights
gauges
stereo
vin
warning label
rear deck
triangle in trunk
muffler
cat
hp
I never used the 500 to tow anything so I can't help there

thank you gentelmen shall look at SE tomorrow he also has a 52 Bently for sale plus a couple of mahogany 50- ish speed boats for sale please pray for me...........
William Rogers........

The European 500SE will have around 240 hp, whereas the US-spec 84-85 500SEL only had 185 or so hp. Coastal mountain hills in Oregon will pose no problem at all.

-Sam