1979 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

450SEL 6.9 Sedan

8 - Cyl.

Automatic

11603612006167

Gasoline

1979 Mercedes Benz 6.9 450 SEL Tires are in great condition, AC works, Power Windows work, Sun Roof works, car starts and runs fine. Needs some interior attention for cleaning and replacing the front door panels screws and fasteners as well as the under dash trim. The center console also needs some attention. The only rust I have found is in the rear driver side lower quarter panel. Car is complete, I started replacing some of the interior items but the same old story of not enough time has hit me so it is for sale. The previous owner had an after market stereo installed and the installer did a horrible job by cutting openings in the rear deck. The trunk needs a new weather strip. Spare and jack are in place. Please ask reasonable questions or come and see the car. Car is presently not registered. The car needs to be driven. The suspension does work but needs some attention as it has a mind of its own since it has been sitting for about 1 year.. The information below is from Wikipedia. The Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 is a high-performance version of the S-Class luxury saloon. It was built on its own assembly line by Daimler-Benz in Stuttgart, Germany and based on the long-wheelbase version of the W116 chassis introduced in 1972. The model was generally referred to in the company's literature as the "6.9", to separate it from the regular 450SEL. The 6.9 was first shown to the motoring press at the Geneva Auto Show in 1974, and produced between 1975 and 1981 in extremely limited numbers. It was billed as the flagship of the Mercedes-Benz car line, and the successor to Mercedes-Benz's original high-performance sedan, the 300SEL 6.3. The 6.9 also has the distinction of being among the first vehicles ever produced with optional electronically-controlled anti-lock brakes, first introduced by Mercedes-Benz and Bosch in 1978. The 6.9's successor — the top of range 500 SEL — continued the 6.9's remarkable self-leveling hydropneumatic suspension as an extra-cost option. The 6.9 was the first Mercedes-Benz to be fitted with the hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension system developed by Citroën in 1955, unlike the 600 and 6.3 which employed air suspensions. Using a combination of fluid-filled struts and nitrogen-filled pressure vessels or "accumulators" in lieu of conventional shock absorbers and springs, the system was pressurized by a hydraulic pump driven by the engine's timing chain. Compared to the new Mercedes-Benz system, Citroën's was belt-driven, exactly like a conventional power steering pump; failure of the Citroën system thus might result in loss of suspension. Conversely, every unit of the 6.9 was shipped with hard rubber emergency dampers that served as temporary springs and allowed the car to be driven in the event of a hydraulic failure. The special hydraulic fluid required by the system was stored in a tank inside the engine compartment. Not only was the system totally self-adjusting, ride height could be altered by a dash-mounted push-pull knob under the speedometer that raised the car an additional two inches (50 mm) for increased ground clearance. NHTSA decreed this feature illegal in the US market,[citation needed] but it could be enabled simply by removing a limiter at the tank-mounted control valve. The suspension system gave the 4200 pound (1900 kg) car the benefits of a both a smooth ride and handling that allowed it, in the words of automotive journalist David E. Davis, to be "tossed about like a Mini." The car also featured a model W3B 050 three-speed automatic transmission unique to the 6.9 and a standard ZF limited slip differential both for enhanced roadholding performance on dry pavement and enhanced traction in inclement weather. Four-wheel disc brakes and four-wheel independent suspension were standard across the W116 model range. The engine was a cast iron V8 with single overhead camshafts operating sodium-filled valves (as are found in piston-driven aircraft) against hardened valve seats on each aluminium alloy cylinder head. Each hand-built unit was bench-tested for 265 minutes, 40 of which were under full load. Bosch "K-Jetronic" electromechanical fuel injection was standard at a time when fuel-injected cars were uncommon. As in all Mercedes-Benz automobile engines, the crankshaft, connecting rods and pistons were forged instead of cast. In non-US trim, the 6.9 l (6814 cc or 417 in³) power plant was conservatively rated at 286 hp (213 kW) with 405 ft·lbf (549 N·m) of torque helping to compensate for the 2.65 to 1 final drive ratio necessary for sustained high-speed cruising. The North American version, introduced in 1977, was rated with 36 fewer horsepower and 45 fewer ft-lb (250 and 360, respectively), due to more stringent emissions control requirements. In the interest of both engine longevity as well as creating some extra space under the hood, a "dry sump" engine lubrication system was used. Dry sump lubrication was originally developed for use in race cars as a way to prevent foaming of the engine oil by the crankshaft, which in turn would create a serious drop in oil pressure. The system circulated twelve quarts of oil between the storage tank and the engine, as opposed to the usual four or five quarts found in V8s with a standard oil pan and oil pump. As a result, the engine itself had no dipstick for checking the oil level. Rather, the dipstick was attached to the inside of the tank's filler cap (accessible from the engine compartment) and the oil level was checked with the engine running and at operating temperature. The dry sump system also had the benefit of extending the oil change interval to 12,500 miles (20,000 km). This, along with hydraulic valve lifters which required no adjusting and special cylinder head gaskets which eliminated the need for periodic retorquing of the head bolts, made the 6.9 nearly maintenance-free for its first 50,000 miles (80,500 km). The 6.9 required little basic service other than coolant, minor tune-ups, oil changes, and replacement of the air, fuel, oil and power steering filters. Top speed was factory-rated at 140 mph (225 km/h), but some journalists testing the car saw speeds approaching 150 mph (241 km/h). Among those journalists was Brock Yates. Yates was approached by the factory to write promotional literature about the 6.9. He agreed, but under the condition that he could list the car's faults as well as its positives. Daimler-Benz agreed in turn, and Yates was given a US-spec 6.9 to drive from Manhattan to the Road Atlanta grand prix race track in Georgia. There, Yates would drive the car in as-arrived condition at racing speeds for a full 40 laps or just over 100 miles (160 km). The only change made to the car upon its arrival at Road Atlanta was the necessary adjustment of tire pressure. Driving 40 laps was a difficult task even for a purpose-built race car, let alone a street-legal sedan designed and geared for high-speed Autobahn cruising. The 6.9 suffered no mechanical problems and averaged a very respectable 72 mph (116 km/h) throughout the test, completing it with little more than excess dust on the bodywork from the Michelin radial street tires on which the car was driven to Atlanta. Yates was so comfortable driving the 6.9 around the track that he reported having run at least one lap with the sunroof open and the radio on, but the high price of the car made him think better of such risky driving and he finished the test with the radio off and both hands on the wheel.[1]