1969 Mercedes 300SEL 6.3, 118,000 miles. (pictures s25 s24 s23 s22 s21 s20 s19 s18 ) Blue with original Cognac interior. (pictures s13 s14 s15 s16 ). It has a new dash pad and new wood on the dash and around the windows. (pictures s18 s19 f27 ) The chrome is excellent. (picture s22 ) Engine (picture s08 )
I'm 75 years old and rebuilding old Mercedes is a hobby of mine. I have spent over $20,000 on this rebuild plus about 1,000 hours of my time. For those who wish details, see attached file.
The following is a history and description of the auto.
One of my sons had his 1971 Mercedes 280SE 3.5 totaled in 1993. He liked the old Mercedes style so we found this 6.3 in Houston where I live. The auto showed less than 98,000 miles on the speedometer and had some paper in the trunk in a box from the original owner, which together the 1983 Texas tag on the car indicated that the mileage was probably correct. The chrome was in excellent shape and the body showed very little rust. The owner claimed that the auto had been sitting in his private garage for about 10 years. Some documents, which I found in the trunk, indicate that the mileage was correct.
The mode of operation I used in the restoration was that I repaired the auto enough that my son could drive it. As he drove it, he would discover additional problems. I would fix these and the cycle would be repeated. This has continued over the last 5 years with each of us having the auto about half of the time. Now that I have it in good condition, he has decided that he had rather have the 350SL, which I acquired recently. He has two additional cars so we have decided to offer this one for sale.
The car was dark blue with the original cognac interior. We had it repainted a dark metallic blue It has the original interior except that I have replaced the dash pad and all of the wood on the dash and around the windows with new parts. The chrome is excellent.
The following is a summary list of repairs, parts and most of the costs associated with the rebuild. I have rounded most of the prices plus tax to the nearest dollar. Unless indicated the parts were new and I did the installation. Where I did not do the labor, I will indicate by the word labor. The listings are more or less in the order in which the rebuild was done. Since I was fixing up the car for my son, I did not put in used parts if I thought there was any question of their reliability.
>From the wrecked 3.5 auto, the following were taken and put on the 6.3. Wheels and tires, steering wheel, brake booster, side marker lights to replace reflectors (had to wire for power to run the side lights), Mercedes trailer hitch with European plug which I wired to European conventions. (I have some European connection cables.)
The following parts were new unless indicated. For those who are not interested, there are totals at the bottom. Parts purchased are listed to give the prospective buyer and indication of what has been done to the auto during rebuild. Because parts purchases usually had more than one part on the receipt, most of the part prices are listed without taxes included. Sales taxes in Houston, Texas are 8.25%.
Fuel pump, $670; Kingpins, labor, parts, alignment 505; Keys, 10; Bilstein shocks, front and rear, 389; Motor mounts, 307; Door seals, 500; Windshield wiper blades, 15; Brake hoses, front and rear, 161; Oil and filters; 52; Subframe mounts; 133; Front wheel grease seals 12; Radiator and heater hoses; 132; Valve cover gaskets, 27; Differential oil, 48; Rear thrust bushings and hangers, 34; Transmission mount, 60: Differential mount 244; Radiator mounting kit, 18; Hoses, clamps, gasket, 22; Head lamps, 13; Battery, 68, (has been replaced about two months ago by Sears.); Bulk window channel and window fuzz at bottom of windows, 210 + ? for the window fuzz pieces; Rubber drive shaft coupler, 158; Timing chain 137; Chain tensioner, 212; Spark plug wires,185; Vacuum valve, 15; Ignition rotor and points, 57; Hood liner and glue 168; Brake pads, 62; Transmission rebuild, labor and parts 1558; Clean fuel tank, supplies and filters, 70; Ignition coil, 54; Air hose for suspension, 6; Radiator rebuilt plus cap, 76; (May 1994); First sub total 6388.
A/C rebuild, parts, hoses, larger exterior and interior fans, freon, filter, expansion valve, 424; Mercedes parts misc., 59; Sun roof parts & seals, 52; Instrument dimmer rheostat, 32; Six oil filters, 126; One rear Shock 190; Differential oil, 34; Ignition switch, 57; Exhaust rebuild, pipes, mufflers, labor, 430; (I had a special exhaust system made with two inch pipes from the manifolds joined to one three inch pipe at the rear of the transmission. There are two mufflers with full three inch pipes through the mufflers. The auto has a very deep sounding puff at idle. When running, it is as quite and should have less restriction than the original. The factory specs says that it had 430 ft lbs of torque at 2800 rpm. It has a four speed automatic transmission. It starts in second gear and will spin the wheels in second gear if accelerated rapidly even though it has a limited slip differential. Hose assembly. 5; Fuel pump mounts, 8: Ignition coil, 58; Power steering hose, low pressure, 36; Brake master cylinder, 234; Brake pads, 64; Brake disks, front, 180; Front caliper kits, 50; Repair transmission torque converter, bearing for pressure pump, parts and labor, 1483; Driveshaft, 540; Front main bearing seal, fuel damper, labor, 700; Rear pinion seal, labor, 138; Starter interlock gear shift cable, 15; Part 113 270 00 95, $71; Window switch, 63; Wiper inserts, 15; Tail light seal, right, 43; Scoop, rubber connection between air filter and intake manifold, 111; Dash cover pad, 260; Dash and window wood, 1494; Rubber under doors, 76; Misc 21; Trunk seal, 86; Speedometer cable and labor, 142; Mirror, 8; Front seat covers, 40; Part 109 810 03 29, 13; Fan clutch, 100; Gas tank float sending unit 128: Front door stop, 51; Tail light seal left, 43; Vacuum element for fuel filler door, 50: Horns, 62; Second sub total 7884.
I decided in 1997 that if we did not wish to keep cleaning spark plugs, that we had to either sell the auto or rebuild the heads. Chose the latter so in December when my son was down from Austin, TX , we took the heads off and had them rebuilt at a machine shop I trust. If I had contracted the labor for removal and replacement of the heads at Mercedes, the total cost would have been about $5,000. While the heads were off, I rebuilt or had rebuilt the oil line hoses, power steering pressure hose, and replaced the transmission hoses to the radiator. Since it was easy to install with all the equipment removed, I replaced the voltage regulator. After the engine was rebuilt, the water pump began leaking so that was replaced. The new water pump lowered the operating temperature about 10 degrees C, and solved the problem of the high operating temperature which is common in the Summer in Texas with old Mercedes when Air Condition is installed. Head labor, 394; Head parts, 1064; Voltage regulator 58; Transmission hoses 45; Hose 25; Water pump 456; Front wheel bearings 176; Points, Ignition 41; Rebuild oil and power steering pressure hoses, 150. Air valve left front suspension 221; Reworked rear air valve and replaced two air pipes. I have let the auto sit for over three weeks without starting the engine and the low pressure light for the suspension did not turn on. Replace transmission pump and torque converter, used, 2046. Replace driveshaft disc and center carrier bearing rubber mount plus reseal speedometer cable to transmission, parts and labor 340.
My son put in a set of speakers & Alpine radio with CD player. It is a very good sounding system. He spent more than $1000 for the components and we did the wiring and speaker installation. I have some old Mercedes radios, if you wish to restore it to original. We had the auto painted in the Fall 1995, $3200. A new windshield seal was installed at that time. The auto is in excellent mechanical condition. Third subtotal for parts, labor, radio, paint $8876. Total of 23,148.
My purchase price of the auto, $1750, plus $23,148 plus the labor I preformed would bring the cost to restore what I have done if done in a shop to over $30,000.
I have four old style 15-inch wheels with hubcaps, which fit this auto and, also, an extra service manual. The auto is licensed and inspected and I drive it occasionally. It runs very strong. I have had considerable experience with these old Mercedes and am willing to consult, for free, either by phone or email with the buyer.
