This rare right-hand-drive car – just 702 from 6526 SELs built – came from
Japan, where it had three owners, one from 1976-2015. There’s a detailed
service history from 1991, with an English translation. Recommissioning in
the UK has involved an overhaul of the air suspension that included having the
valves, dryer and compressor rebuilt. It sits dead straight and, according to
the vendor, doesn’t sink even when left for weeks.
The very original paint has been mopped and polished-up beautifully.
There are a few marks and two small dings in the doors, plus some crazing on the
bootlid, but it would be a shame to paint it. Otherwise, the body is straight and
rot-free. Almost all of the trim is the same, with just a few dents in the chrome
stripon the right rear door, and the wheeltrims are all straight. The tyres are
well-treaded Regnos of the correct 195 section but 70 profile, with an older
butunused tall Japanese Dunlop on the spare.
Inside, it’s all original. The leather is lightly cracked on the driver’s seat base
and has been refinished; the timbers are all good apart from a little flaking on the
dash-top strip, and the carpets are so good they could be replacements.
The motor is covered in new bits including an MAF (mass air flow) sensor, and
it has had new timing chains as well. The coolant is full and green under a new
cap, the oil full and golden, and the auto fluid pink and sweet-smelling. It starts
instantly, with a more butch than expected rumble from the twin exhausts and
the usual full-scale deflection on the 3bar oil-pressure gauge. The gears thump
in a bit at standstill, but changes are smooth on the move – and my, is it fast! Even
without flooring it, a tidal wave of torque hurls you at the horizon at an alarming
rate. That’s in top gear; forcing kickdown just makes it come over a bit manic, but
the temperature never budges from 80ºC. Luckily, the brakes are decent and the
handling sharper than you’d expect – like a Silver Shadow, on the move it feels
smaller than it really is, plus the gearing is usefully leggy, unlike most Germans
of its period. Given how unworn it feels, the mileage is conceivably genuine.SUMMARY
EXTERIOR
Straight, aside from tiny dings;
original paint
INTERIOR
All factory; re-Connolised leather
MECHANICALS
The tricky stuff has been rebuilt
VALUE ★★★★★★★★✩✩
For Beautifully original
Against Might look better on
taller tyres – which would help
the gearing even more
SHOULD I BUY IT?
If you like the sound of an über-cool
factory hot-rod saloon that’s as fast
as a Porsche 911SC, it’s a must-seeCase histories
MERCEDES-BENZ 300SEL 6.3
Year of manufacture 1971 Recorded mileage 61,814km
Asking price £64,950 Vendor Edward Hall Classic Mercedes-Benz,
Bucks; 01844 339666; edward-hall.co.uk
WHEN IT WAS NEW
Price £8115 Max power 247bhp Max torque 434lb ft
0-60mph 6.5 secs Top speed 137mph Mpg 15We test the classics that you can b y
September 2019 Classic & Sports Car 237northshoresportscars.com
847.247.0447 Lake Bluff, IL NorbertM.Bries,President
Authorized Agent
Serving Enthusiasts for
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/5Spd/30/30 Warranty .........Taking OrdersCollinsville, Connecticut USA
Telephone: +1-860-782-1554
E-Mail: [email protected]Visit:www.hemmings.com/dealers,SelectSimkoMotorcars,LLC
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