Mercedes W116 450 SEL

My beloved S Class has to go sadly.  I am currently restoring another Mercedes and I do not have the time or resources to run two classics and I would rather she go to a new home and receive the treatment she deserves.
1979 and rock sold. no rust. no panel repairs. nothing hidden.  Very much an original car with only an electric fan (professionally fitted) instead of the normal zeppelin propeller whooshing around under the bonnet - I do have the original viscuous clutch and fan though so all you purists can breath a sigh of relief(!).
She has been treated to new seat covers and interiors carpets. door cards - all in original MB Tex and loop carpet (at great expense!) which look wonderful - by far better than the original velour.  Custom made. stainless steel exhaust which I had finished with rolled lip tail pipes like on the 60's SL's.  Almost new tyres (spare unused) and 5 Barrock (Mexican Hat). original Mercedes alloy wheels - all in lovely condition.  I have replaced all the door seals. boot seal and both front and rear screen seals so no leaking - dry as a bone inside unlike a lot of old S Classes which have built in swimming pools.
There is no corrosion under the carpets. dash or rear parcel shelf and the boot area and wheel wells are rock solid.  Headlining is spot on. interior panels are all great and undamaged.  There are one or two minor cracks in the dash (it being blue they were prone to some shrinkage - a known manufacturing fault) but nothing drastic.  There are two pieces of plastic trim missing (hinge edge of the front doors) which I have not had chance to replace but I know are available.
No dings or dents. great chrome work and although a little faded. the anodised aluminium trim around the windows is all complete and solid.  (I did actually remove all the bumpers and treat the reverse to anti-rust and some serious stone chip paint).  Although the paintwork looks good. she really could do with a blow over to refresh it - a complete bare metal is just not required as the underlying paint is solid.  However. she looks great with a clean and polish and always draws compliments and admiring glances (thought it was me but alas no. ).
Running gear all great. mechanically spot on and starts hot or cold on the button - lovely sound with the new exhaust by the way - always warmed up before driving anywhere and I do NOT hammer the throttle and she will cruise at motorway speeds all day quite happily and has enough grunt to surprise those little 'go faster' city cars much prized by the youth of today - oh how I chortle when that happens.  Gear changes all great and has a new inhibitor switch on the gearbox ( you try finding one of those these days. ) as they can be prone to failure on this model so no worries in that department.
I am sure there are other wonderful things to tell you about this much loved autobahn panzer but if you need more information then please give me a shout and I will do my utmost to answer your questions.  If you want to come and see the car then you are welcome to do so but please no tyre kickers  - if you are serious then come along.
Model number related Private registration is included in the price.
I am really only looking to recover what I have spent on this car and I do know they are increasing in value these days but I am not a greedy man and would be happy with a reasonable offer (note the word 'reasonable' please!).
Many thanks indeed for looking at my ad and hope to hear from you soon.

On 23-Jun-13 at 22:11:37 BST. seller added the following information:

 Forgot to tell you that all the shock absorbers. brake pads and discs have all been renewed in the last few months.   Additionally. all the fluids were changed at the same time - brake. clutch. coolant. gearbox and differential.

She is serviced regularly and also flew through the last MOT with no advisory notices.

I also have a stack of service paperwork going back many years to accompany the car along with the drivers handbook. electrical diagram sheet and a workshop manual.   Also the original radio delete plate (in wood) if you want to pop the stereo out (just found it in the draw).

To those of you that have been in touch. please note I did say 'reasonable' offers.   I don't need fast cash so will hang on to her if needs be.

Thanks all!

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