Model story

Mercedes Benz 300SEL 3,5 w109

VIN 10905612
Production Year: 

 The Mercedes-Benz W108 and W109 are luxury cars produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1965 through to 1972 (or 1973 in North America). The line was an upgrade of the Mercedes-Benz W114/W115, to succeed the W111 and W112 fintail sedans. The cars were successful in West Germany and in export markets including North America and Southeast Asia. During the seven-year run, a total of 383,072 units were manufactured. Some publications mention 383,361 units.
As the W108 and W109 were only available as 4-door models, similarly squarish Bracq-designed 2-door W111 and W112 coupés and cabriolets filled those niches, and are often mistaken for W108/109 two-doors.
The evolution of the W108 began under the leadership of Bracq in 1961 and ended in 1963. Although the fins' departure was the most visible change, the W108 had a lower body waist line and increased glass area - the windscreen alone was 17% larger than W111's - prominent enough to be referred to as a "greenhouse". The cars had a 60 mm lower ride and 15 mm wider doors. The result was a visibly newer-looking, sleeker car with an open and spacious interior.
The initial 1965 product line was the W108 series' 250 S, 250 SE, and 300 SE, and only the 300 SEL produced as a W109. As before, the 300 series were more luxuriously appointed than the 250 series, featuring burled walnut dashboards and power windows along with optional automatic transmission and air conditioning. The W109 also featured door window frames and a-pillars fully finished with polished metal bright trim. In 1968 Mercedes-Benz retired the M189 engine in favor of the new 2.8 L M130. As a result, the long wheelbase W108 280 SEL launched with it and long wheelbase W109 300 SEL each shared a 2,850 mm (112.2 in) wheelbase and 2.8 L engine, but not their platform. This combined cross-platform duality persisted through the final year of production in the North American market (1972), covering the M116 V8 powered W108 280 SEL 3.5 and W109 300 SEL 3.5, and the M117 V8 powered W108 280 SEL 4.5 and W109 300 SEL 4.5.
Following the strong reception of the limited production 6,333 cc (386.5 cu in) M100 V8-powered 300 SEL 6.3 in 1967, Mercedes-Benz offered the all-new 3.5 L M116 V8 engine with new Bosch D-Jetronic electronic fuel injection in 1969. The V8 engine would move W108/W109 further upmarket in many export markets and allow them to be more competitive in the United States where many passenger vehicles, especially the American luxury marques, were fitted with V8 engines. The new 200 PS (147 kW; 197 bhp) at 5,800/min V8 engine was first fitted to W109 in August 1969 as 300 SEL 3.5 then to W108 in July 1970 as 280 SE/SEL 3.5.
When the 3.5 L V8 engine was introduced in 1969, the sole transmission choice was the four-speed automatic with fluid coupling K4A 040, a reinforced K4C 025. The customers could request the four-speed manual transmission with price reduction if they inclined so. As for 4.5 L V8 engine for the United States, the transmission was the three-speed automatic with torque converter W3A 040.