Picked up a W108 last week, a 1969 280s to be exact. It was relatively nearby, the body is great (original paint), and it has a powertrain swap done so I don't feel too bad about hacking into it as opposed to an all-original car. Interior is pretty trashed, looking to source a full interior or possibly an entire parts car to get this thing up to snuff. I'll get it cleaned up, 'reliable', and lower it a bit for now. Long term plans include a modern MB powertrain, rack and pinion steering, and a larger wheel setup that still retains the classic style



I'll update this as I dig into it, but I've got bigger projects now so she'll only get attention when I'm frustrated with another

 

CLASSIC!

 

Nice what power train has been swapped in? I vote for air ride and stock steelies.

 

nice!
look forward to restoration/mod!

 

SICK brotha!

 

Love it!

 

That thing is ugly as hell. I want one! Congrats on the find!

 

LOVE the 108 - i had dreams of dropping in a 55K powertrain (before 2nd kid came)- can be done for about $10K + air rdie - search out lewdahotdog on instagram - he was featured in stanceworks and has turned his 108 into a beauty -

also - i think weistec is doing a 108 too -

 

Comically, there's an SSP (cop car) Ford 302 and a C4 auto. BBK shorties facing forward and doing a 180° under the front subframe to cherry bombs
For now, I'm looking into running a stock reproduction 6.3L exhaust for this thing from the big, mid muffler section rearward...

Won't sound stock with the 302 but I think it'll offer an interesting presence.

It'll be static low with the stock steelies/hubs for now. Any money to this old girl will be spent on the swap before suspension.

I've gone through all the old MB builds on SW, some inspirational and some disappointing, haha. The 55k is actually the plan, engine bay dimensions are cooperating and with a R&P swap it'll fit the exhaust. I have very good friends, and some of them have dealer licenses.. so I'll be looking for a rollover or similar.

Been out of town since right after I picked this up, I'm actually anxious to get back there and at least start cleaning

And thanks everyone else! It'll be slow for awhile, but I'll post progress when I have it

 

I saw this today, fair price for a donor???

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/4476284473.html

 

Not worth it with the miles. I can probably find something sub 5k and sub 100k miles if I wait long enough

 

Looks clean on the outside and those MB`s seem to be near bullet proof!

 

what ever happened to this project?

 

Absolutely Love it. Daily Driver????

 

Cool *** car. The inside can cost some money

 

And one step beyond is the W109 6.3. About 10cm longer. The 1968-69 versions remained the fastest 4 door sedans ever built until the introduction of the E55.

The W109 300SEL 6.3 marked Mercedes-Benz "unofficial" return to racing after the 1955 Le Mans tragedy with a brief, but successful racing history winning at Macao and finishing 2nd overall at the 1971 24 hours of Spa only because car required extra refueling stops. The W109, fondly referred to as the "Rote Sau" (Red Pig) heralded the beginning of AMG.

The story behind the 300 SEL 6.3 should seem pretty familiar to most American muscle car fans. A maverick engineer with racing ties secretly takes a great big engine from another application (in this case, a 6.3-liter V-8 from a limousine), and stuffs it into some poor, innocent midsize sedan (a 300 SEL that started out with a 3.0-liter inline-six). The engine is re-engineered with high-performance parts, and the suspension and chassis are modified to handle the weight and power. A limited number of theses absurdly complicated, powerful and expensive vehicles are then unleashed on an unsuspecting public. That engineer was Erich "Hot Wax" Waxenberger at the Daimler-Benz experimental department. Developed in 1960, the engine is designated 100.981, and is commonly referred to as the M-100. This was Mercedes' first production V-8. The engine technology came directly from Mercedes' 1950’s Grand Prix 300SLR "Silver Arrows". It is highly sophisticated and durable with single-overhead cams, a nitrided crankshaft, seven main bearings, sodium-filled valves, hardened valve seats and molybdenum-coated piston rings. Normally aspirated with direct, timed mechanical fuel injection and dual plenums with tuned ram air induction and massive oil cooler. A very similar system can be seen on all of the 300SLR race cars of the mid 1950’s.

Another of the more advanced aspects of the car is its self leveling air suspension. The forerunner of the Airmatic system. Four air chambers with bellows replace steel springs, pressurized at up to 228 p.s.i with a recirculated alcohol/air mixture fed from an engine-driven compressor.

A ZF limited slip differential incorporates it’s own oil cooler. Full independent suspension with anti-dive technology and the first production car ever with 4 wheel ventilated disc brakes and fitted with rare 15" wheels.

The ground-up restoration of my W109 took more than 20 years to complete requiring 2 donor cars. The rust free roller was a rare non-sunroof unit. The engine has been increased to 6.5 liters with re-profiled camshafts and minor modifications to the injection system. 0-60 times run about 5 seconds.

 

That is ****ing awesome.

 

Was the W116 450SEL 6.9 faster than the W108 M100 6.3?

 

The Euro 6.9's were on a par with the '70-'71 W109 6.3.'s, but not the US versions (emission controls). The '68-'69 W109 6.3's smoked all of them. The W116 did away with the low pivot swing axle and incorporated hydropneumatic suspension.

The W109 6.3 K4-50 transmission was designed to be suitable for road racing and completed the 1971 24 hour race at Spa where the W109 finished 2nd only because of the number of fuel stops required. The shift times are about the same as the current DB 7 speed. It is connected to the engine with a lock-up fluid coupler which disengages with a slight jerk when coming to a full stop. The '68-'69 6.3's are not particularly quiet as there was little sound deadening. On the inside is sounds like a machine shop on wheels.

Here it is on a demo run:

 

^^^ Thanks for the clarification AgSilver.

 

love that generation body style. timeless classic!

 

I love it

 

I still have it... sits in the backyard for now, lol. Too many projects at the moment, unfortunately