These left and right cylinder heads were modified by AMG for the M117 5.5-liter and 5.0-liter single overhead cam applications and come complete with 50.1 AMG camshafts, AMG lightened rocker arms, solid lifters, and redone headwork to ensure bolt-on use for the winning bidder. Included parts are: hard to find and correct Bosch W5DC copper core spark plugs, cleaned aluminum oiler tubes, new old stock Febi valve stem seals, and new Febi timing chain guides, new plastic camshaft oiler tube fittings, valve cover stickers indicating intake and exhaust valve lash specs for the solid lifters, eight new genuine Mercedes-Benz bolts and washers for fastening the cam towers to the heads, and a new water temperature sender. Note that the buyer should recheck torque spec on the bolts for the cam towers to the heads. These bolt-on ready, freshly serviced rare M117 AMG heads are now offered for sale by the selling party in Marietta, Georgia.
Authentic AMG stamps are photographed on the end of each camshaft denoting 50.1. These were originally designated for the 5.0-liter M117 engines, hence the “50.1” stamp in the metal and were installed on a 5.0-liter car. At some point in time, the camshafts and lifters were removed from a 5.0-liter head and installed in a 5.5-liter head to take advantage of the larger intake and exhaust valves. The AMG camshafts have a more aggressive valve lift and duration than stock M117 camshafts. The solid liters allow higher RPM while avoiding valve float from the hydraulic valve actuation at the higher than stock RPM range.
All sixteen rocker arms have been lightened by AMG which aid in achieving higher RPMs and were polished, reducing rotational friction in the engine. The seller states that there are no flat spots that M117 rocker arms are famous for having at higher mileage which is indicative of proper oil change intervals, appropriate oil weight, and oil with high zinc content throughout the engines’ lives.
A big service was done on these “560” heads in preparation for the sale. Both cylinder heads were taken to a machine shop and serviced, including cleaning the heads, planing the head mating surface to create a microscopically flat surface to mate to the new head gasket, new genuine brass Mercedes-Benz exhaust valve guides, new old stock Febi valve stem seals, polishing of the rocker arms and camshaft lobes. The machine shop and the seller quote the camshaft lobes have no flat spotting and only two lobes show minor asymptomatic pitting on the ramps and not the lobe apexes.
The gallery below shows no pitting in the metal of the resurfaced head near the coolant passages. Exact reproduction AMG stickers that are used on the valve covers are included in the sale. The seller has provided reference pictures on his personal M117 SOHC 5.4 W126 on where to place the AMG valve clearance stickers for the winning bidder since there’s little reference information on the internet for exact placement.
These “560” AMG heads include Bosch copper core W5DC spark plugs, cleaned aluminum oiler tubes, new old stock Febi valve stem seals, new Febi timing chain guides (originals become brittle and get thinner with wear), new plastic camshaft oiler tube fittings, valve cover stickers for intake and exhaust valve lash specs for the solid lifters, eight new genuine Mercedes-Benz bolts and washers for fastening the cam towers to the heads, and a new water temperature sender. Note that the buyer should recheck torque spec on the bolts for the cam towers to the heads. It’s recommended the winner replace their timing chain with a still available OEM unit as they begin to stretch at 130k miles as insurance since it’s an easy job while installing these new heads.
Detailed photos are provided by the seller of these authentic and fully serviced AMG heads. These will fit onto M117 C/W126s and R107s. Pairing these heads with proper tri-y exhaust manifolds or AMG tubular headers or aftermarket headers, one can expect 300 plus horsepower and 350 plus foot-pounds of torque, especially if mounted to a 5.5-liter “560” block. The seller has ensured a bolt on application with parts for completion. These rare AMG engine parts are located out of Marietta, Georgia with the private seller.
As pre-merge AMG cars are becoming increasingly valuable, so do the parts. Why, though? What makes pre-merger AMG parts so special and expensive? There are a few factors to keep in mind: it was the AMG parts bolted to the cars that made them AMG cars. Nowadays, AMGs come from the factory as such. Back in the day, there were many outfitters across the globe that sold these parts. In North America, the main dealers in the United States were Richard Buxbaum’s Westmont dealership and Andy Cohen’s Beverly Hills Motoring Accessories. It was the installers and the parts attached to base Mercedes-Benz cars that made them into AMGs. Remember, these were German hot rods before the merging in the mid ‘90s. It was the parts that made these cars AMGs. That’s why this auction with these extraordinary heads and camshafts should be paid attention to by all collectors. This is a big deal. Want to add insane value to your M117 Mercedes-Benz? Buy these heads. Screw the stock market, invest in pre-merger AMG parts. Please see the Barry Taylor collection and scroll through the hundreds of valuable AMG items he collected over the decades as comps to this auction listing. The seller added a ton of value and marketability to these heads by fully servicing them so they can be used as a bolt on application, which is a time consuming and expensive process – even more expensive if you get a machine shop that doesn’t know what they're doing to irreplaceable AMG parts.
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7 Comments
@TheMBManiac I am not aware if there is a difference between Gen I and Gen II tri-y exhaust headers from MB. It is possible that Gen I 5.0L heads have slightly smaller exhaust ports from the heads to the headers as opposed to Gen II 560 heads. Tri-y's are pretty heavy and beefy pieces of cast iron. If there were a slight difference between port openings between Gen I and Gen II heads, I would imagine the tri-y's could be opened up a bit to get port matching with Gen II 560 heads. I checked Xentry/EPC and the P/N for the exhaust manifold gasket for a Gen I 500 engine is the same P/N for a Gen II 560 engine. That certainly is not definitive proof that Gen I and Gen II exhaust port holes are the same size. I also noted in Xentry that tri-y's are pictured and grayed-out for Gen I 500 exhaust manifolds, while for Gen II 560 Tri-y's are not grayed-out, but the P/N for the exhaust manifold gaskets are the same P/N for all engines.Hello there, Question for you, since these are 560 heads, do the tri-y euro manifolds from the original 500 heads (with the smaller valves) fit on these? I had read the later head(1986+)with larger valves had slightly different exhaust ports than the earlier 5.0 variants from 78-85. Thanks in advance!$2,000 bid placed by @am2818
The two added pics are dyno charts from AMG for SOHC engines with AMG heads/Cams/solid lifters with headers. The third dyno chart is for a 5.4L SOHC engine showing 310hp and 350lbs torque. The second newly added pic is how to set the cam timing with the 50.1 cams.Had a question from a User if these would fit on his 1986 500SEL Euro. Absolutely! Any M117 V8 - Gen I 500SEC or 500SEL or Gen II 500SEC or 500SEL or 560SEC or 560SEL. Will also fit R107 with an M117 5.0L or 5.5L engine. These would NOT fit to my knowledge an M116 engine - 380 or 420$1,000 bid placed by @ProdigalPetrolHead
Additional photos have been added to the gallery$750 bid placed by @Youngclassicamg
Bonhams recently held two online auctions for pre-merger AMG cars and parts - the Barry Taylor horde/collection. Below are two links to auction results for somewhat similar items as offered here: 3 hydraulic valve actuation AMG camshafts (2 left and 1 right or 2 right and i left) - $21,760 with 20% commission): https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/29954/lot/161/a-lot-of-3-m117-amg-cam-shafts-2-inches-in-height-2-inches-in-width-20-inches-in-length/ M117.968 560 long block with AMG hydraulic camshafts - $17,920 with commission: https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/30524/lot/236/1-mercedes-benz-m117968-modified-with-amg-components/#photos You can Google the Bonhams AMG auctions (Part 1 and Part 2) to see all lots that were sold.Welcome to my auction for these very rare and desirable M117 cylinder heads replete with authentic AMG 50.1 cams, solid lifter valve actuation and lightened rocker arms/followers. The cams and valve train have been mounted on 560 heads to take advantage of the larger intake and exhaust valves. These heads have been freshly serviced at a professional cylinder head shop (Sep 20, 2024) that included planing the head mating surfaces, cleaning the heads inside and out, 3-angle valve job, all valves lapped to the valve seats, new MB exhaust valve guides (just because they are exhaust guides), all new valve stem seals, camshafts and rocker arms polished and checked for any abnormal wear, valve lash set according to AMG specs. Also included with the heads are cleaned aluminum oiler tubes and Made in Germany Febi plastic tube fittings, new Made in Germany/EU Febi upper timing chain rails, set of 8 NOS never installed correct Bosch W5DC spark plugs (hard to find), new MB bolts and washers for the cam towers to the heads, AMG valve cover stickers, a genuine NOS AMG Tuning sticker and hardware for head installation (timing chain rail pins, exhaust manifold upper bolts, lower studs and copper nuts. These heads were loved by a prior owner - the 5.0L block the heads were removed from had all head bolt holes helicoiled, the upper exhaust manifold bolt holes are also helicoiled. There is one thread insert for one of the spark plug holes - I have personally threaded a new spark plug all the way into the head by hand with no issues. These heads are bolt on ready and, with proper headers, will significantly increase your M117 engine's power and torque. I have a 1984 500SEL AMG 5.4L sedan with essentially the same heads. The heads on my engine had larger valves cut into the 5.0L heads by AMG and the heads were ported to increase airflow. By using 560 heads offered here, you accomplish the same thing. My 5.4L AMG engine specs from AMG were 310hp and 350 lbs torque. If you install these heads on a 560 engine or 500 engine and use a 560 crankshaft you will achieve similar power/torque specs. Please ask any questions in the auction forum or via direct message to me. These heads are available for inspection outside Atlanta - ping me if so desired. I will ship these heads at my cost domestically to the lower 48 states. International shipping will be accommodated at the Winning Bidder's expense. This is a very rare opportunity to acquire authentic AMG heads. Most of the attention on M117 engines massaged by AMG centers on the DOHC "Hammer" engines - don't underestimate these heads! Paired with headers, a free flowing exhaust and a 2.82 LSD, my 84 SEL can hang just fine with other tuned W126's!$500 bid placed by @ProdigalPetrolHead