super 6.3 on Ebay
 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2460302382&category=6315

Wow, this sure looks nice:p

This car has been worked over to shine it up quite nicely. There are plenty of nonstandard things that have been done to it. It is definitely nicer than most 6.3s (cosmetically) that you see out there.

Don't be deceived by photos -- can be very misleading.

I'll bet anyone $20 that there is rust somewhere underneath the car -- 90+% of all 6.3s have rust somewhere -- and that plenty of chassis and engine rubber needs to be replaced.

The only 6.3s I've seen that DON'T have rust are those from the Deep South, southwest, California or Oregon/Washington. All others have rust.

Cheers,
Gerry

Or it has some major malidy. They LOVE to eat rear ends. Sure it has been shined up. Notice no shots under the trunk mat? Or how much the carpets are worn? Not a single under carriage shot.

They haul ass, for sure. But my SWB 280SE 4.5 with the worked engine beat the 6.3 we had all the time. I sure like the air suspension, when there are no leaks. I hate it when an air bag goes. Notice how it is near impossible to work in the engine compartment.

I am sure glad we owned an old MB shop, it is the only way you can keep those monsters going. The engines are fantastic. But it is everything else that gets strained. Plus, if you can not handle the mechanical injection of the 6.3, forget it.

As wonderful as a 6.3 is, I think the more practical car for most people is the 4.5. IMHO

Walt...

Amen Walt.

Also, it's a 1971 model. Likely a low-compression, meaning lower HP levels than the earlier cars (which both had no smog equipment as well as the standard 9:1 compression).

That's why a good 3.5 or 4.5 can be just as fast as a late 6.3 in the right hands...

Cheers
Gerry

I dunno - that's one of the nicest ones I've seen outside of an M-100 gathering. Maybe there is some rust somewhere ... but there's also a lot of good metal. What I wonder about is why a "complete" restoration would leave the front seats with cracks.

Gerry -

You mentioned non-standard stuff. Could you point out those items? We don't have a lot of 6.3 expertise here.

TIA

After spending so much time shining it up and taking all those pictures, you'd think the seller would at least pull off the front seat covers. Sure, they're cracked, but I'd like to at least see them --apparently the complete resto didn't include the interior?

hey walt...
 

whaddyamean "worked engine"?? I have a 4.5 and would like to hear of your modifications, etc. that had that puppy running with (in front of) the 6.3's. I expect in spring to go with the Pertronix ignition set-up but, as I understand it, that is more of a maintenance issue rather than a performance enhancer.
Thanx.

kpb

A 4.5 beating a 6.3! You must have had some serious modifications done to that 4.5. The spec time for 0-60 is three seconds faster on the 6.3. That is huge difference. Also, how many 33 year old cars are you going to see with absolutely NO rust on them at all? They are hard to find. I think that this is one of the most beautiful 6.3s that I have ever seen besides pictures of the M-100 gatherings like ctaylor said.
Tim

Well ...

Let's see here...

hoodpad -- stock 6.3s never had them

very poor aftermarket tires that aren't worthy of the car nor its weight

white steering wheel was not typical for these cars (black was normal)

the Becker Mexico cassette looks like a later version than typically came with these cars

the two-tone paint was not specified on the data card, which indicates that the whole car was original of one color (DB 387)

It's good to know from the description that the suspension is "hydraulic" rather than based in airbags ;)


Cheers,
Gerry

You bet they're hard to find !! That's why a good 6.3 is so difficult to get -- 90% of them have rust!

Well, that's the ticket -- this guy is looking for upwards of $15K for a car that more likely than not has rust -- certainly there is no evidence nor proof presented to think that it doesn't.

$15K and up is pretty top dollar for a 6.3 (the best examples, restored to the max, can go for up to $40-50K but these are complete rebuilds with ~$100K invested).

I'm not necessarily accusing THIS CAR of being like this, but I've seen more than a few "pig" 6.3s with lots of "lipstick" on them, if you know what I mean. It's easy to detail and shine a car up, particularly like this one if it has a recent, decent paint job. But that only covers up the bondo, rust, and other imperfections that just reappear with time.

Perhaps this car is worth the $15-20K they guy wants, perhaps it isn't. I know a fellow who recently purchased a 6.3 in California that I thought to be quite a nice one, he paid in the low teens for it. Plenty had been invested in it, honest cash, cosmetically the equal of this car. The car turned out to have MAJOR rust, but the poor guy only found this out after he bought it. It happens. Buyer beware.

One 6.3 I'm slightly familiar with, which happens to have 55,000 original miles on it:

http://homepage.mac.com/gerryvz/PhotoAlbum13.html

It's for sale, if anyone is interested.

Cheers,
Gerry

Note crack in the dash, real worn carpets and leather looks real real worn also. Good looking engine though.

I agree...

Plus very worn back seat and God knows how worn of a front seat.

Perhaps it is a 177,000 mile car !!!

Often these cars are billed with 100,000 miles less than they have simply because the odometer is only 5 digits rather than six, and people think they can easily "remove" 100,000 miles from the odometer.

gerryvz, yours is a very nice car. A question, how are your back headrest mounted with stright "legs" or are they "doglegged" like the 126?

I added the rear headrests using OEM parts, myself. They are doglegged I believe.

Rear headrests were a very rare option on the 109s. They are easy to mount -- you just have to pull the back seat out and mount the brackets inside the seat, punch holes through the top of the leather in the seatback, and mount them. I just (3 years after the fact) got the little black plastic rings that go in the holes in the leather, to finish the effect. Same as a 116.

Cheers,
Gerry

To add to Gerry's comments; you must inspect any 6.3 yourself. Also, put it on a lift, rust is hard to hide. Have it checked by a local pro shop. The sterring wheel and the paint alteration, who cares, they can be changed. That "hyrdrolic air ride system comment" proves the seller doesn't have a single clue about the 6.3. Great for a laugh.