The 280 S is the rarest w126. There has been 42,996 made in the world, but since I became a member in this forum, nobody here drives one. This car is special because it is the last gasoline S class that has a carburetor engine before the whole gasoline line was converted to fuel injection only.
About ten years ago, I worked on one imported from Malasia. It was badged up as a 260SE and had the M103 engine.
At the time, it caused a bit of a stir but enquiries at the time made by others at the dealer I was working apparently revealed that it was a genuine model produced out there.
Has anyone else ever heard of one of these or any info on numbers produced.
The 280 S is the rarest w126 in the first gen. The 260 SE is definately the rarest w126 in the second gen. Only 20,836 260 SEs are in existance. This car was also never available in long wheelbase.
that carburetor engine is the reason nobody on the forum actually drives on...
not when you can get the 280SE for the same price with less problems, those carbs are the most expensive MB carbs to repair EVER! That's what my mech says atleast, he knew the part no straight away.
spanners- The Mercedes Production Models book 1945-1995 tells me everything, Robert Nitske wrote it. As to what engle said, I had a w116 280 S and the only problem I had was it couldn't pass emmissions. It ran strong but ofcourse I didn't have it long enough to see what other problems could have come up.
The ULTIMATE rarity in the W126 collection is the 350SD. only about 2,000 were made, and it was exclusive to the US. That means that only 2,000 were made worldwide. Now THAT's rare!
Only about 3,000 350SDL's were produced making it the rarest V126 model. The 300SDL of '86-'87 comes in at a distant second place with 10,000 more units produced.
The rarest C126 model is not the 560SEC. Of course not. That honor goes to the 420SEC of which some only 4,000 were made, exclusive to Europe.
For gas versions, the W126 560SE would probably be the rarest of all. Another car no one in the US would ever known had existed.
jzaroh- My book doesn't seem to list the 350 SD, but I know it exists. They do show the 350 SDL at 2,925 in existance, very close to what you said. There are 13,830 300 SDLs and 3,680 420 SECs- so the 420SEC IS EVEN MORE RARE than you thought! cnd- You were right on the money, the 560 SE does take the cake at a mere 1,252 made. I hope none of those cars ended up in the junkyard- that would be a real shame.
Do you mean a Saab repair shop or a Saab dealer? Hold on to this one, you definately have a collectors item there. I would love to see pics of the engine.
I can't tell you how much I regret getting rid of my M110 powered 280SEL.
First off, I had limited slip differential. My mom got stuck in a '94 E320 sedan once after a "surprise" 8 inch snow storm. My mom was plowed into her parking space over the bumpers, and so was my S-Class. To get out, I rocked the car back and forth twice(D to R, and R to D), and PLOWED right through the frozen white stuff(mixed with water). Tires on the darn thing were NEARLY BALD on three wheels.
IT WAS ME who PULLED my mom's W124 E320 sedan out from the snow banks and into the plowed section of the parking lot. Used some old tires,(the 280SEL was fitted with large American bumpers) and pushed her car with my front bumper out of the snow. Her car had the fancy-dancy ASR system. I showed them that my '85 SEL could be used like a RIG.[] It was neat, really.
Well.. I've been driving a 2003 modell Saab 9-5 with TCS and all of that..
When I Drove my 280 for the first time I had to make a turn on a dead end of the road outside my house.. When i got it in D, I pushed the pedal down easy.. The car didn't move.. Pushed it some more.. I got stuck on a allmost completly flat road (and the blank ice offcourse). So.. It takes a while to get used to a heavy MB in winter (and i live in norway, so.. winter is cold here)
But.. Im only 18 years old and it was my first time with my car
Wow, no tachometer either! Just the markings on the speedometer for shift points!
I doubt that MB made many W140/W220's like that. The W126 was designed to LAST![]
I'm jealous. To have a car like that would be like having the simplicity of a 240D with the W126 and legendary M110 London-Sydney rally engine under hood. Treat her well, and she will reward you with reliability for many years to come.[]
Now I'm confused. This is a 280S, not a 280SE, but it very clearly has a Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection systme and not a carburetor. Was it retrofitted, or did they just put fuel injection on everything after a certain date?
What about trannies? Did a 126 ever roll off the assembly line w/ a stick shift? I know that, according to legend, a few 123's were fitted with 5spd sticks, but I have not heard of a 126 w/ a stick. Of course I thought you couldn't get a 124 4-matic wagon w/ a stick, but I was just proven wrong on that...
Great Pics. The car is just too sweet. The 280S and 280SE/L engines both looked similar on the outside. Also this car has no RPM gauge or tachometer as mentioned by jzaroh, just a clock. That is definately proof that this is the real deal. My w116 280S was set up the same way.
What about trannies? Did a 126 ever roll off the assembly line w/ a stick shift? I know that, according to legend, a few 123's were fitted with 5spd sticks, but I have not heard of a 126 w/ a stick. Of course I thought you couldn't get a 124 4-matic wagon w/ a stick, but I was just proven wrong on that...
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