This 1969 Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3 was sold new in California and remained a Black Plate car until it was purchased by the current owner in 2014. The car is finished in Beige Metallic (462) over Tan leather and powered by a 6.3-liter M100 V8 paired with a four-speed automatic transmission. Features include fully functional self-leveling suspension, air conditioning, power windows, and a Becker Mexico head unit. This 300SEL 6.3 now shows 83,680 miles. In 2010 the car underwent a full restoration including paint, lights, badges, and brightwork. Under the current owner’s tenure, maintenance items addressed include a new alternator, ignition tune-up, brake refresh three years ago, a complete fluid flush, fuel system refresh including a new fuel tank, and a new battery. This W109 is now offered with two keys, and a clean Georgia title.
The car, while originally finished in Tobacco Brown (423), is finished in Beige Metallic (462) and was repainted in 2010 as part of a comprehensive restoration. Lights, badges, and brightwork were also replaced at the time of the repaint. Features include US-spec bumpers and lighting, an automatic antenna, self-leveling suspension, and a driver’s side rear view mirror. All body panels are original and free from dings or dents. There is one small spot of corrosion in the lower left corner of the front driver door.
Factory 14″ alloy Bundt wheels wear their original Astral silver paint with some patina showing and matching OEM center caps. Michelin Rainforce MX4 tires are mounted measuring 205/70/14 on all four corners. Tucked behind the wheels are original disc brakes which had a system refresh and service three years ago. The air suspension system operates using a toggle switch in the front driver footwell. The car raises and lowers as it should.
The cabin is upholstered in Tan leather with matching Tan carpets throughout trimmed in leather piping. Burl wood adorns the dashboard, windshield sill, door cards, and window trim on all four doors. Additional features include a functional original quartz movement clock in the dashboard, air conditioning, power windows, a Becker Mexico head unit, and a locking glove box. Leather trimmed carpets can be seen throughout including the trunk and spare tire cover. All of the wood was refinished during the restoration process along with recovering of the seats and the installation of a fine grain carpet throughout. Original front floor mats are included with “6.3” embossed in the carpeting.
The original black-rim steering wheel frames a 160-mph speedometer, a 6k-rpm tachometer, and a round multi-gauge showing gauges for coolant temperature, oil pressure, and fuel level. Additional features include functional warning lights for the brake, low fuel, alternator, and self-leveling suspension. The five digit odometer now shows 83,680 miles. The bakelite steering wheel is free of cracks.
The 6.3-liter M100 V8 was factory rated at 247 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque when new, making it the fastest production sedan of the era and beating big block Corvettes in drag races. The 6.3 powerplant is mated to a four-speed automatic transmission that shifts firmly as intended when new. This example has received a new alternator, ignition tune-up, a complete fluid flush, fuel system refresh, fuel tank, spark plugs, and a new battery under the current owners tenure and a complete mechanical refresh in 2010 under previous ownership. There is an oil leak noted in the underside video coming from the back of the engine only while the car is on.
This 1969 300SEL 6.3 is now offered with two keys, and a clean Georgia title. Both driving, comprehensive walkaround, and underside inspection videos have been added below.
The seller has incluuded the following videos:
As far as 300SEL 6.3s go, this gold over tan is peak California spec – a product of its location in its early decades of motoring life. This desert bullet must’ve been striking, seen shooting through palm trees under blue sky with the vibrant neon life of early ‘70s California and rubbing shoulders with Howard Hughes and Steve McQueens 6.3s. Vintage reviews on these cars remark on journalists driving these cars at 120 miles-per-hour and being stunned at their surefootedness with the engine urging them there was more speed to be had. This beautiful W109 will blow minds at car shows but is also good enough to be driven often and begs for miles to be put on it. We got to stick someone who has never been in a 6.3 and her concluding thoughts on this example were, “It’s so smooth and quiet. It drives almost like a modern car and feels fast as hell!” This is coming from someone who drives a ‘07 S211 E63 AMG. Not a bad review from a modern audience…
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Enclosed Transit:
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11 Comments
Close but no cigar! Thanks for everyone participating and thank you for all the good, insightful questions from bidders.
$36,333 bid placed by @MadMan
$35,333 bid placed by @AMGking
$34,833 bid placed by @MadMan
$34,333 bid placed by @AMGking
$33,833 bid placed by @MadMan
$33,333 bid placed by @Classicalgenius
$32,000 bid placed by @AMGking
$31,000 bid placed by @MadMan
$30,000 bid placed by @AMGking
$29,500 bid placed by @MadMan
$29,000 bid placed by @AMGking
$28,500 bid placed by @MadMan
$27,500 bid placed by @Classicalgenius
$26,500 bid placed by @Vaskinns
$26,000 bid placed by @MadMan
$25,500 bid placed by @Vaskinns
Good luck everyone!
$25,000 bid placed by @Classicalgenius
$23,000 bid placed by @Hanger11
$22,000 bid placed by @MadMan
$21,000 bid placed by @Hanger11
$20,000 bid placed by @MadMan
$18,500 bid placed by @Hanger11
$17,500 bid placed by @texdot88
As we enter the final days, I just wanted to post a comment saying good luck and I hope I'm chatting to one of you this evening. Also, I got to interact with a few W109s and W111s over the past week, all restored from reputable shops. What struck me is that a lot of shops rush these projects and only get these things 95% with the last 5% of the issues being hard to diagnose or are super annoying. They either won't start properly or overheat when at idle for more than 10 minutes or make no power up top. I realized I've been spoiled by the cars from this collection. The engines and ignition systems and interiors and suspension are always so dialed in that I've forgotten what most of this era Mercedes-Benz on the road drive like. The collector's shop in Germany is very skilled and making these cars run and delivery power and start and cool the way they did when new is paramount. I'm so proud and privileged to represent these cars as they are how I would get them running for my personal collection. I just hope my representation of his cars show just how good they are to drive.
$17,000 bid placed by @Hanger11
$15,000 bid placed by @Classicalgenius
$10,000 bid placed by @Hanger11
@Terra We are trying to locate records, but the previous owner who had it in California did touch the engine and transmission during the restoration. The transmissions and the M100 are generally pretty stout power plants that don't need much other than some light top end work when they get high in the milage.
$8,000 bid placed by @JNicholson
When you say a “complete mechanical refresh” were either the engine or transmission rebuilt?
$7,750 bid placed by @arjang
@Jim_Rosenthal You're right. It took until the 500E for Mercedes-Benz to make a production sedan as quicker than the 6.3. Nearly 20 years later!
Very glad to hear that- going through the air suspension is formidably expensive. They are really wonderful cars, AND in a sense the ancestors of the 500Es, I suppose the AMG cars as well.. a very honorable lineage of Percedes performance road cars.
@Jim_Rosenthal Always appreciate you commenting! We just checked the car since I drove it last (about a month ago) and it is sitting at the same height. If you haven't cranked it in about 10 weeks, you will start to see it getting lower. We run the car every two weeks to keep it from getting grumpy and get it up to temp as well if it isn't driven. I'm hoping The MB Market team gets the undersides up soon. I took 50 pictures. You can see a lot of the suspension has been gone through. Really it's just a few of the bags showing signs of age. The steering and movement in the suspension feels rather dialed in per the video. All the issues are asymptomatic. But since were amongst MB collectors, I had to mention the issues I saw. Original head units are readily available too! If you have a MB friend that owns a shop, they will have some laying around or you can find them on eBay. Becker is wonderful to work with with quick turn around times and their BT module upgrade is a must on all of the cars I own.
$7,500 bid placed by @Eclecticollector
Given the cost of a complete refurb of the air suspension system, I'd want to know how long it stays up and when it was last comprehensively gone through, if that info is available. It's a handsome car. The original radio is available as a rebuilt unit from Becker in New Jersey; they also sound as good as any modern radio, and they can add BT etc if desired.
$6,000 bid placed by @arjang
$5,000 bid placed by @Eclecticollector
$1,500 bid placed by @BD450SL
@arjang Hey everyone! I have yet another 300SEL 6.3 I'm helping re-home to another enthusiast. This is a very solid example that's pretty dialed in compared to others out there. The interior is superb and the engine/trans feels very healthy. Please go through the videos and gallery. Undersides are getting submitted as we speak and will be uploaded shortly by The MB Market team. I've pointed out all of the issues in the video and shot them with my camera. Don't be afraid to ask any questions -- there's a lot of info in the gallery and video that you could miss, so I have no issues answering any sort of question. Let me know if you have any questions! I'm available for phone-calls and the car is available for showings in Ball Ground, Georgia at the warehouse it's stored at. Thanks for looking! Agree, that's why I took a bunch of detailed underside photos for transparency. The air suspension however is fully operational -- it airs up and airs down with the pull handle by your knee. People commented on the last one sitting a little low for the shoot, so I wanted to shoot this one with the air bags pretty inflated this time around and also to show that they hold air. The car also doesn't get slammed to the ground when sitting. While the exteriors of the bags look rough, they do work.
It seems that suspension needs some work to do, also the height of the car is way higher than usual, was the suspension level at high during taking pictures and videos?
$1,000 bid placed by @arjang