Mercedes 600 Pullman Long Wheel Base

1977 Mercedes Benz 600 Pullman Long Wheel Base---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " The Mercedes Benz 600 proved to our complete satisfaction that it is the best car in the world"                                                                                                                                 Car and Driver   Being offered here for auction is a 1977 Mercedes Benz 600 Pullman. this is a long wheel base car. Only 428 of the Pullmans were built during 1963- 1981. It was the car of choice for world leaders. heads of state and celebrities.  
The Mercedes Benz data card ( see pictures for scan of card) for this 600 Pullman tells us the car was originally delivered to the country of the Central African Republic. ( Zentral Afrika Rep. ) the date on the card is  30 September 1977. This information has of course has been confirmed through Mercedes Benz US.  The president or rather "president for life" of the Central African Republic on 30 September of 1977 was Jean-Bedel Bokassa . Only 2 months later on  December 4. 1977 Bokassa. in emulation of his hero Napoleon. would crown himself emperor and the country would then be known as  the Central African Empire . What car would an emperor need for his coronation day? Only the best would do therefore  a 600 Mercedes Benz LWB Pullman was the chosen automobile.  As you will see the data card from MBUS states the car was delivered to the Republic not Empire. it was clearly ordered before the self crowning of Bokassa and his change of the designation from a republic to empire .
The ceremony cost roughly $20 million dollars US . practically bankrupting the country. This was paid for almost entirely by the French government.  We have found video from the day of Bokassa's coronation  showing the 600 Pullman. We have also found a picture of Bokassa and his Empress Catherine seated in a 600 Pullman that day. we have included that picture in the ebay gallery for this car.   Below are links to videos clearly showing the 600 .  http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=tat5fTdidRwCoronation day video please note the Mercedes Benz  600 Pullman starting at the 4:41 mark  http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=NPYeFF4OoXQCoronation day video  please note the Mercedes Benz 600 Pullman starting at the 1:39 mark Bokassa and the soon to be Empress Catherine had started out their journey to the Palais de la Renaissance in a horse drawn carriage. well the heat and humidity was too much for the two. They switched to an air conditioned Mercedes for the remainder and only went back to the horse drawn carriage for the last few meters. Please see page 93 of "Dark Age: the political odyssey of the Emperor Bokassa" where the author points out the switch in mode of transport to the ceremony. Below is the link to the page in the book. One has to wonder how many of the roads were even paved at the time.  http://books. google. com/books?id=fKmr0YpEdPIC&pg=PA93&dq=bokassa's+600+mercedes&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fNYDUt3RBoi09QTXw4CACw&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=bokassa's%20600%20mercedes&f=false Link to page 93  The automobile being presented for auction is a very nice example of the Mercedes 600 Pullman . The car has never  been rotted out.  has a very straight body. Chrome in very good condition very small scratches. Lower chrome on the right bottom of windshield has some wear. Car run and drives. The upholstery is in very good condition. Little wear on the driver's seat and the driver door handle see picture. some small wear on the bottom of the bar tray between  passengers rear seats.
Engine recently rebuilt.
The original engine  had an unusable crankshaft as the main journals were ground on a taper by a poor quality machine shop. and the block inaccurately line bored. In the interest of time and quality another 600 engine was installed
The work done to it was as follows:
Re-bored to first oversize with 8 new Mercedes pistons. Crankshaft balanced and polished. new main bearings.
Block line bore checked found spot on.
Cylinder heads rebuilt with new valve guides. three angle valve job. new valve seals.
New timing chain and tensioner.
Injection pump sent out to Pacific Fuel Injection for overhaul and calibration. Injection nozzles cleaned. pressure tested and checked for flow and ejection pattern.
Both alternators rebuilt. Starter rebuilt.
Ignition distributor cleaned and lubed. fitted with a Pertronix Ignitor solid state ignition module. No points to adjust. very accurate timing.
Both magnetic starter valves rebuilt and leak tested. ( cold start fuel )
New A/C compressor.
Both fuel dampers fitted with new diaphragms.
Water pump with hydraulic fan coupling rebuilt.
Temperature sensing oil control valve for the fan coupling rebuilt.
Air suspension compressor rebuilt.
Power steering pump rebuilt.  The hydraulics. 4 window rams were rebuilt. recharged the hydraulic accumulator. the high pressure pump was removed and housing replaced and shaft seals.
Car has a couple of minor dings.
 Couple of small scratches that do not show in pictures.
All wood in great condition.
 The intercom is not functioning.
 Have the bar glasses but no the bottles. the flag post are present.
I have uploaded videos and additional pictures of the 600 below are the links.      
Additional pictures http://www. flickr. com/photos/90006519@N05/sets/72157634981408407/ Videos of the 600 on youtubehttp://www. youtube. com/watch?v=s_RSmp554eQ http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=cA0xnfuR26Ehttp://www. youtube. com/watch?v=YI-za1KYocYhttp://www. youtube. com/watch?v=y5J4zwoDbG4http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=K5Nf7U7iRxs

Below is the translation provided by MBUS for the data card.
Engine: 100980. 12. 002585
Transmission: 002641
040- Paint. Black
204- Interior Trim. Bamboo Leather
401- Single seats
481- Undershields
528- Paintcoat preservation and paint kit
580- Air conditioner
592- Heat-insulating glass
610- Halogen lamp unit. amber
669- Mode of packing VE IV
677- Tropical battery
682- Fire extinguisher
250- Becker radio Grand Prix
325- 2 kg lacquer
947- Pennant holder and pennant staff. on the left
948-Pennant holder and pennant staff. on right side
Date: September 30 . 1977  
Also noted on the data cars is number 992 which I believe to be the code for " special request" by the owner. They are normally listed on a separate sheet. Please view all of the pictures here and on flickr as well as the videos posted on youtube of the car today. If you have any questions please contact me via ebay. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a very special automobile. The car is "sold as is". If you would like to have the car viewed before bidding again contact me via ebay. Will assist with worldwide shipping.
The cars is in km/h the mileage listed on the auction is actually km  


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The Mercedes Benz 600 was the automobile of choice for many notable and notorious world leaders. heads of state. religious leaders and Hollywood celebrities.  600 owners include the Pope. Leonid Brezhnev. Fidel Castro. Nicolae Ceausescu. Idi Amin Dada. Jomo Kenyatta. Enver Hoxha. Hirohito. Saddam Hussein. Mao Tse Tung. Other owners reportedly included Irish leader Éamon de Valera. Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. Pablo Escobar. Ferdinand Marcos. Deng Xiaoping. and Cambodian king Norodom Sihanouk. Anwar Sadat. Hafez al-Assad. Sukarn. Frederik Willem de Klerk. Guru Maharaj Jio. Time magazine says King Hussein of Jordan ordered one when new. as did Archbishop Makarios III of Cyprus and Indonesian president Suhart. Confirmed celebrity owners include Elvis Presley. George Harrison. John Lennon. Hugh Hefner. Elizabeth Taylor. Jamiroquai's Jay Kay (he bought Coco Chanel's old car). and Jack Nicholson. who purchased his after driving it in The Witches of Eastwick"          

 

On Sep-10-13 at 08:11:53 PDT. seller added the following information:

We reserve the right to end the auction at anytime.

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