1990 300TE for 8000?

Veeky Forums
I was at C&C this Saturday and I got talking to the owner of pic related.
Pretty cool guy, had a lot of stories. Got to talking about the car and he mentioned he was selling it for 8000

Now I know, 8K is a lot for a 300TE, but this is not a normal 300TE. Back in the mid-90's he had more than $38K of work done to the car which includes:
-5.6 SOHC V8 swap from 560SEL
-Transmission swap from 560SEL
-Shortened driveshaft to account for longer trans
-Differential out of a 124 300D
-Recalibrated speedo to match trans
-Custom exhaust
-Valve work when engine was swapped in (he claims it makes 320 over the stock 300 for that engine)
-Progressive springs in front
-Drilled rotors
-Lorinser wheels
-Euro style headlights
-Debadged trunk lid
-Tinted windows
-Repaint

He says he needed something exciting to tow his boat. It's obviously been taken very good care of. Interior is perfect, outside is near perfect, just a small road rash on the hood. He claims all the functions work perfectly and he has both keys for the car, with the original leather cover. He claims it's never seen snow. It started life in Georgia as a MB service vehicle, then went to South Carolina. He's had the car for over 20 years now, but he never drives it anymore. He started it up for me and it sounded excellent.

I love the 300TE and this is almost exactly the way I would want it done.

Anyhow, it's near perfect. I love it. Seats 7 and tow a boat whilst also able to do (I assume) almost 150mph

What does Veeky Forums think should I pull the trigger? Is there anything about the 560 engines and trannies I should know? I already have a 300CE 124 so I know a fair bit about the platform but I've never had a 5.6. Thoughts? 8000 seems nice for a well-done swap IMO.

I have a 200E but want a 300TE 4matic someday.
Sounds like it's all pre-facelift stuff (apart from the clear front indicator) in it which you should know yourself is the best.
If its in great condition and has been running like that for so long without major issues, i'd say go for it.

W124 is the best car ever build
But one reason for that is the reliability and that it's easy to repair _IF_ something brakes
That said it sounds good, but I'm not sure if the car will run without problems after he did so much to it

>everyone can buy this

Obviously not

This doesn't really seem worth it.

Old Benzes aren't sports cars (save for the 2.3-16, which even then is fairly liberal with the term 'sports') so adding power and engine/transmission swaps is fairly pointless considering that the driving dynamics of these cars is pretty terrible for doing anything other than wafting gently or cruising down a highway. You already know a factory spec W124 with a larger engine (any of the i6s really) will easily and comfortably get you around and up to speed at a fairly rapid pace, and be sufficient.

At 8 grand if you want something sporty there are much better options to spend your money on, a W124 is great at other things but this car seems fairly pointless to me.

Pointless?
I think not. I love the 124 wagon, I want a fun cruiser I can take around with friends that has a bit of extra power than a standard Wagon. I mostly just love the comfort and aesthetics of these cars. I was looking for a 560SEC, but this should be faster and lighter. Also the tires are definitely wider than stock so it should grip well.
But no I'm not looking for a sports car with a 4 speed automatic. I want a sufficiently comfortable cruiser that can do everything and be something to talk about. I'm not necessarily looking for a roadster or a muscle car.

>but this should be faster and lighter. Also the tires are definitely wider than stock so it should grip well.

but if you're looking for a comfortable cruiser why do these things matter? Personally I would go with the W126, just because it's a much nicer car. Though if you really want a 124 with a bit more power you can quite easily get a larger engine TE and get a remap and you have the same amount of power as a stock 560.

Honestly I think if you really like this car you should go for it, but it just seems a little bit redundant as an automobile, especially at that price.

w126 trannies are dog shit, i knew someone who had to swap 4 of them to find one that is good. If you want you could him because the engine swap is pretty simple since most part are interchangeable and the old engines are cheap. Also go for a test and look for any slipping or anything wierd.

Offer him a lower price

Dog shit how? Not durable? Are they not similar to the 124 trannies? My 124 auto was rebuilt 220k miles ago, now having 320k on it, and it seems bulletproof.
He's pretty firm on price. He doesn't have to sell it and I don't want to burn a bridge offering 7500. He already said he's not one to haggle.

8k could get you an e55 which would be way faster and stock.

They seem unreliable to me but maybe i had a bad experience, I got a w116 now that seems more reliable.

$7500 seems expensive, can't you buy a corvette that a couple of years old in your country for that much. That engine conversion is piss easy and w124s are not rare, check the peach parts forums and you'll see.

>classic luxury
>fast is the main factor

Yes sure but can a corvette carry 7 people or tow a boat?
Sure that's exactly what I am trying to say. It will be fast but I don't need it to be blistering. I want a relatively powerful all a rounder that isn't an SUV.

Plus I prefer the 124 Wagon aesthetic over most other cars. Pre face-lift is far better than the post. I'd rather have a 5.6 V8 than a 3.2 I6 from a newer 124 even if they make the same power relatively speaking

>I want a relatively powerful all a rounder that isn't an SUV.
Audi makes shit like that, check it out. You can easily have 500awhp+ wagon that does 0-100km/h under 5s.

>audi
fuck no

rs4/rs6 aren't shit, they are doing better than s4/s6

They are illegal in murica

Not to mention I find almost NOTHING from VAG made after 2000 even remotely attractive. And I love German cars. I have worked on Audi and on Mercedes. Mercedes are far superior cars to live with. I don't want an Audi that looks good on paper. I just want my pre face-lift 124 euro aesthetic.

i dont like super modified cars because any repairs will be a giant headache for the owner/mechanics involved

at least at semi stock or personal contact with the modifying mechanic would make repairs slightly more manageable

if it has less than 170,000km on it than it would be worth it

im assuming it probably has like 250k+ , in that case id offer about 6000 - 6500

remember your in charge, you have liquid fiat, he has a modified car that is a potential ticking time bomb

You would be better off finding a 300TD with a 2.5 turbo diesel. Get a tuned injector pump and a big turbo. Silly amounts of torque, can run it of the grease you find in a pizza box, gets pretty good gas mileage as well.

Well it's just about at 250K Km. Odo shows 152K but not sure how much mileage the car had when it was swapped, and how much mileage the engine had when it was swapped in. I need to check out the paperwork better that he has for the job. Hopefully it lists mileage of the engine and body pre-swap. The odo does list 152K though so I'd assume the engine probably has slightly less than that due to its initial life as a service vehicle.

Another nice thing is that all the parts used are MB parts, no weirdness. I can look up parts for that engine or that body and get them. The only work that would need to be custom is the exhaust work and the shortened driveshaft if that were to somehow catastrophically fail.

And all of this can be had at or around 8K? I doubt it for a clean as hell donor car and a good turbo kit installed by professionals. Plus then you're using some non-MB parts. Not saying I wouldn't also go for it but I have yet to see ANY customized diesel Benzes already set to go in the US. Very popular in Europe apparently but the classic custom MB scene over here is pretty shit. That's why I'm sort of excited over this one.