1970 280SEL Rust free!

This car is amazingly rust free and generally quite presentable! It’s been a California car for almost its entire existence, other than the original owner taking European delivery. I have the service records that go back to when it was new, including the original service book and a file with the repair and maintenance receipts. It is a two owner, one family car I believe, other than myself and I just took ownership fairly recently. I bought it from a friend whose wife passed away and it was her car. My friend is wealthy and did not want to deal with selling the car, so I bought it for a project for my son and I to tinker with as it is such a nice example. Being wealthy he was able to maintain the car properly, but his wife had macular degeneration so the car had not been on the road for about eight years. Unfortunately my radiation and chemo treatments have left me unable to pursue the project any further. The car starts right up, does not smoke, has good compression and oil pressure without any weird or nasty noises. The transmission is quiet and shifts fairly smoothly. These cars had hydraulic clutches and were not not known for shift smoothness, but if you drive it “normally” (not hot rodding it) it shifts great. That said, I have not driven it more than a mile or two at a time, again due to my health. I had it trailered to my house, then drained the gas, oil and coolant and replaced them all. Full synthetic Mobil 1 oil, new filters, etc, of course. The paint is nice and shiny as is the chrome. There are small dents in both. I believe the body issues could be fixed with the “paintless dent repair” technique, but I have not had anybody look it. The few dents are barely noticeable. See the photos. 3 of the 4 hub caps (wheel covers) are nearly perfect while one has a small dent. See photos. The chrome has a few issues, but is rust and pit free and looks nice for the most part. This is a partial list of work performed on the 1970 280SEL Mercedes in the last 50,000 miles or so, but does not include normal maintenance like oil and filter changes, belts, tune ups etc. In more or less chronological order starting with the oldest first. New brake master cylinder. New front brakes, including calipers. New rear brake pads. Flush brake fluid and replace. New water pump. New shocks. New exhaust: resonator, pipes, muffler, exhaust tips, all in stainless steel. New rear bumper, taillights. New tie rod ends, steering damper. New motor and transmission mounts. Electronic points. New oil cooler hoses. New neutral switch and shift indicator. New voltage regulator and alternator brush holder. New rear brake hoses. New front brake pads. Replace wiper motor (used unit). New vacuum advance. New RF window regulator and switch. New front brake rotors and pads, seals. New brake reservoir. New water pump. New driver’s side carpet. Tires still have lots of tread and are wearing evenly. In addition the car has had the cylinder head replaced, new upholstery, and a total repaint from metallic green to metallic charcoal. The car was stripped back to bare metal, the jambs, under the hood, etc have all been painted charcoal. The car needs somebody to tinker with it. The things that need attention, as far as I can tell, are the heater controls need to be replaced, the AC system need attention, the fuel gauge doesn’t work, the radio doesn’t work, but the power antenna does. It could be bad speakers? The power windows all work, but a couple are slow, so they could use some lube. There are a couple of minor oil leaks, just a few drops after sitting for a week or more. Also the car seems to lean out as it warms up, so that needs attention as well. It sat for years, so it probably just needs to have cleaner run thru the system, but I have not been able to troubleshoot it myself. I will try and answer any questions you may have, but my time with actually driving the car is very brief. The car has no warranty, expressed or implied. That said, I think it’s a good example for the most part and would be a joy to own. More photos at PHOTOS including a video of the car starting and running.