[Josh]

But I've joined the ranks of W126 owners today. I purchased a 1984 Euro (Federalized though ) 500SE with 91K miles on the clock. I'll follow up with pictures tomorrow as well as the beginning story of this particular car. Hope I'm as welcome here as I am in the W123 and W201 section :thumbsup:

 

[V12StealthHunter]

Congratulations on the purchase. The w126 can be a cruel mistress, but keep the rubber side down and I think you'll be fine.

PS: 91k miles? Sounds like you're about ready for the timing chain, tensioner and guide rails.

 

[SaleenS7]

Welcome to the W126 section. I'm sure this thread will generate more comments once you post some pictures of your 500SE.

Great choice of W126 btw. You don't see too many euro 500SE W126s nowadays... Have they replaced the euro bumpers/euro headlights with the ugly US versions? If so I'm sure you'll find some euro parts for it here on benzworld for a reasonable price from a fellow member.

 

[Josh]

Congratulations on the purchase. The w126 can be a cruel mistress, but keep the rubber side down and I think you'll be fine.

PS: 91k miles? Sounds like you're about ready for the timing chain, tensioner and guide rails.

Already been done. The car has been well maintained, and I have all the records since day one, including it's shipping to the US from Beirut, Lebanon.

Welcome to the W126 section. I'm sure this thread will generate more comments once you post some pictures of your 500SE.

Great choice of W126 btw. You don't see too many euro 500SE W126s nowadays... Have they replaced the euro bumpers/euro headlights with the ugly US versions? If so I'm sure you'll find some euro parts for it here on benzworld for a reasonable price from a fellow member.

The bumpers appear to be Euro, but the headlights are clearly the US ones. I would like to get some glass euros asap.

 

[Josh]

Hate to double post, but here's a night shot I took an hour or so ago.

 

[roadhouse]

That's a sharp looking car! I can hook you up with a nice set of euro headlights. Let me know.

 

[Josh]

That's a sharp looking car! I can hook you up with a nice set of euro headlights. Let me know.

That would be great! PM with whatcha got and we'll see what we can do! Also looking for clear tail lights. My right one is old and cracked, left however is brand new.

 

[ianrandom]

Looks great. And the 500SE is meant to be one of the best models.
Welcome

 

[Rockin_Scirocco]

Great looking car, I love them in white. The front bumper is Euro spec, right? Looks so much cleaner. Do you mind me asking how much you paid for it?

You are Steve Vai fan too? I saw him in 03 in a G3 concert at the Beacon. They rocked.

 

[oisaj_dude]

Congrats on the purchase and importation! Eventually when the time is right I'd like to have an early 500SE (AMG of course )

I'm sure this section will welcome you warmly, they are an amazing group of guys! I look forward to further updates.

 

[Josh]

Looks great. And the 500SE is meant to be one of the best models.
Welcome

Thanks! It's definitely been a great car so far!

Great looking car, I love them in white. The front bumper is Euro spec, right? Looks so much cleaner. Do you mind me asking how much you paid for it?

You are Steve Vai fan too? I saw him in 03 in a G3 concert at the Beacon. They rocked.

Yeah, it's Euro-spec I picked it up for $5750 with all the documents, including the original importation documents from Lebanon.

And isn't Steve great? One of my biggest influences around!

Congrats on the purchase and importation! Eventually when the time is right I'd like to have an early 500SE (AMG of course )

I'm sure this section will welcome you warmly, they are an amazing group of guys! I look forward to further updates.

Thanks a lot for the warm welcome. I'm cleaning him up right now and I'll be posting lots of pictures within the next few days :thumbsup:

 

[Josh]

Here are some photos I took yesterday after cleaning the exterior. I'll be doing the interior work today, so those pictures should be up shortly.

You can see that the right tail light is much older than the left one. I attempted to clean off the oxidation and all that, but it still doesn't come close to looking brand new like the other. Oh well, looking at replacing them with clear turn signals with amber bulbs.

 

[Josh]

I'm doing some work on the interior, and I'd like to get some seats with a center arm rest. What's the best solution for that? It's currently cloth int.

 

[ElRojo]

I am 99% sure that the seat has the appropriate hole in the frame for the bolt/nut on an armrest, so installing one would just be a matter of cutting through your fabric in the right location. I just returned from a JY excursion with Dr. Grillz-- both of us got armrests, and they are easy to pick and choose from. Now, that being said, getting an armrest in A) the right color, and especially B) velour would be a bit more challenging. If you got an armrest in leather, you could have an upholstery guy make you a new cover in the correct velour. On the other hand, if you were to consider going to leather/MBtex seats, swapping a set in/out isn't all that hard, but it might be tough to find a good set that's local to you.

 

[ianrandom]

Thats a really pretty car. Nice purchase.

 

[Josh]

I am 99% sure that the seat has the appropriate hole in the frame for the bolt/nut on an armrest, so installing one would just be a matter of cutting through your fabric in the right location. I just returned from a JY excursion with Dr. Grillz-- both of us got armrests, and they are easy to pick and choose from. Now, that being said, getting an armrest in A) the right color, and especially B) velour would be a bit more challenging. If you got an armrest in leather, you could have an upholstery guy make you a new cover in the correct velour. On the other hand, if you were to consider going to leather/MBtex seats, swapping a set in/out isn't all that hard, but it might be tough to find a good set that's local to you.

Alright, sounds easy enough. I would only consider an interior swap if it's all in really good shape. I'm going to attempt to restore the color of my current int. Thanks for chiming in!

Thats a really pretty car. Nice purchase.

Thanks!! I've seen pictures of yours in the pics thread! I'm jealous of the color combo.

 

[ElRojo]

If you are interested in getting an armrest, you will have three choices:

1. A standard w126 armrest, which has no internal compartment. Generally the ones I see are in Leather, very rarely velour. As I stated above, you can get an upholstery guy to match the velour and fit a new cover.

2. A rare-but-occasionally-available w126 armrest that has an interior pocket with a top hinged opening. I have one now (the one I got Saturday, Pic #1 below) but I haven't decided whether I'll use it or not.

3. I haven't tested this out, but I would think that a w124 armrest could be manipulated to fit a w126. The later w124 armrests had an interior compartment and a hinged top (Pics #2 and 3 below). The w124 armrest is a little narrower than the w126, but I personally think the tradeoff (having a compartment) might be worth it.

Depends on how you feel about stock vs genuine w126 options vs doing your own thing that works for you.

All that being said, what color is the interior in your fine "new" ride?

 

[Josh]

If you are interested in getting an armrest, you will have three choices:

1. A standard w126 armrest, which has no internal compartment. Generally the ones I see are in Leather, very rarely velour. As I stated above, you can get an upholstery guy to match the velour and fit a new cover.

2. A rare-but-occasionally-available w126 armrest that has an interior pocket with a top hinged opening. I have one now (the one I got Saturday, Pic #1 below) but I haven't decided whether I'll use it or not.

3. I haven't tested this out, but I would think that a w124 armrest could be manipulated to fit a w126. The later w124 armrests had an interior compartment and a hinged top (Pics #2 and 3 below). The w124 armrest is a little narrower than the w126, but I personally think the tradeoff (having a compartment) might be worth it.

Depends on how you feel about stock vs genuine w126 options vs doing your own thing that works for you.

All that being said, what color is the interior in your fine "new" ride?

Actually, the W124 armrest is not a bad idea. I like the compartment idea a lot. I'm all for something that works AND looks good. If it's still classy and serves a purpose, why not go for it?

My interior is black. I haven't posted any interior pictures, because the interior is currently undergoing my scrutiny cleaning, hahaha. I can't risk my interior looking bleh, so I'm tidying it up, a lot.

 

[mike-81-240d]

Sweet. I like the 16 inch wheels. I think they are of a 190 cosworth?

Did you find this in florida or seattle?

 

[Josh]

Sweet. I like the 16 inch wheels. I think they are of a 190 cosworth?

Did you find this in florida or seattle?

I found it locally here in San Antonio.