Mercedes 500 SEC AMG
Discussion
Hmmm where do I start?!
The 500SEC was tuned by AMG in many different guises. Body, interior and engine work could all be done, but it was entirely down to the owner's wallet size.
Bodywork could be as little as suspension and wheels, to a full "standard" bodykit or the full whack "widebody", which is EXTREMELY rare.
Interior could be left standard, or retrimmed with Recaro Classic C seats, AMG steering wheel, AMG speedo, extra interior wood and upgraded sound systems.
The prefacelift (1980-86) SEC receivied engine modifications to include head, camshaft and exhaust work to the exisiting 5.0. It could also be bored out to 5.2 or 5.4 litres.
Later, you could have a 32 valve head installed.
From 1986 onwards, inline with the facelift of the 126-series, you could have the 32v head applied to the "new" 560 engine. You could also specify a 6.0 bore for the V8 engine.
All of these engine options were applied to SEC narrow body or widebody cars.
Because of all these options, you have to check thoroughly what has been done. It is essential to do alot of homework with these models as AMG don't have any records dating this far back.
If you're asking because you're looking to get one, I wish you luck with the very difficult search you'll have ahead!
Darren
The 500SEC was tuned by AMG in many different guises. Body, interior and engine work could all be done, but it was entirely down to the owner's wallet size.
Bodywork could be as little as suspension and wheels, to a full "standard" bodykit or the full whack "widebody", which is EXTREMELY rare.
Interior could be left standard, or retrimmed with Recaro Classic C seats, AMG steering wheel, AMG speedo, extra interior wood and upgraded sound systems.
The prefacelift (1980-86) SEC receivied engine modifications to include head, camshaft and exhaust work to the exisiting 5.0. It could also be bored out to 5.2 or 5.4 litres.
Later, you could have a 32 valve head installed.
From 1986 onwards, inline with the facelift of the 126-series, you could have the 32v head applied to the "new" 560 engine. You could also specify a 6.0 bore for the V8 engine.
All of these engine options were applied to SEC narrow body or widebody cars.
Because of all these options, you have to check thoroughly what has been done. It is essential to do alot of homework with these models as AMG don't have any records dating this far back.
If you're asking because you're looking to get one, I wish you luck with the very difficult search you'll have ahead!
Darren
Crickey, sounds complicated! Thanks for the info though. So will all SEC AMGs be normal mercs taken to AMG to be tuned? As this was before AMG were actually owned by Mercedes (I think). I gathered that finding one would be trickey, searched a number of places and not gotten anywhere this afternoon... Do you have any idea what the Widebody's are normally worth? Could do with finding out if it's actually worth me looking for one or not
Oh, one other thing.
You may be able to find American or Japanese AMG SECs. These markets had slighty different AMG bodykits, too. These will be LHD, though.
And yup, you are correct. The cars were purchased from Mercedes, then sent to AMG for conversion.
As for cost, most sellers will know what they have is very rare, and so there will always be a premium on these widebody SECs. There was a white one in the PH classifieds last year for £12,000, which later dropped to about £7k, and ultimately £5,500. A person I know of went to see the vehicle and the paintwork was in a shoddy condition due to a poor quality respray. For that price, it had the very basic AMG engine upgrade based on the 5.0 litre unit, and had a custom AMG retrim, but applied to the standard seats.
The aforementioned chap is consequently creating his own Widebody, after sourcing an original genuine AMG Widebody kit.
Bear in mind these cars are around 2 decades old now, so you must expect there to be some rust or electrical problems. Be aware that the parcel shelf is a common rust-prone area on SECs and require alot of man hours to correct it.
Every now and again, an original widebody pops up, so keep an eye in the classifieds. If you can wait, then it will be worth finding one. Good luck!
Also, that's a superb looking Cosworth you have there!
Darren
You may be able to find American or Japanese AMG SECs. These markets had slighty different AMG bodykits, too. These will be LHD, though.
And yup, you are correct. The cars were purchased from Mercedes, then sent to AMG for conversion.
As for cost, most sellers will know what they have is very rare, and so there will always be a premium on these widebody SECs. There was a white one in the PH classifieds last year for £12,000, which later dropped to about £7k, and ultimately £5,500. A person I know of went to see the vehicle and the paintwork was in a shoddy condition due to a poor quality respray. For that price, it had the very basic AMG engine upgrade based on the 5.0 litre unit, and had a custom AMG retrim, but applied to the standard seats.
The aforementioned chap is consequently creating his own Widebody, after sourcing an original genuine AMG Widebody kit.
Bear in mind these cars are around 2 decades old now, so you must expect there to be some rust or electrical problems. Be aware that the parcel shelf is a common rust-prone area on SECs and require alot of man hours to correct it.
Every now and again, an original widebody pops up, so keep an eye in the classifieds. If you can wait, then it will be worth finding one. Good luck!
Also, that's a superb looking Cosworth you have there!
Darren
Ron Stratton was the UK dealer licensed by AMG to do installs on new cars. I doubt they did the full-on engine conversions (i.e. the big bore jobs and 4-valve heads) or the widebody conversions, but I know for sure they fitted up the body kits, wheels, brake and suspension mods to the more tame versions. I suspect they did high lift cam installations and that sort of thing too. These things could be fitted to new or used cars.
There seem to be very few of these cars left. I don't suppose that many were made in the first place. You can find quite a lot of information in the w126 forum at www.benzworld.org and there is a chap in the UK club called Jay Manek who is re-creating a widebody.
There seem to be very few of these cars left. I don't suppose that many were made in the first place. You can find quite a lot of information in the w126 forum at www.benzworld.org and there is a chap in the UK club called Jay Manek who is re-creating a widebody.
r129sl said:
Ron Stratton was the UK dealer licensed by AMG to do installs on new cars. I doubt they did the full-on engine conversions (i.e. the big bore jobs and 4-valve heads) or the widebody conversions, but I know for sure they fitted up the body kits, wheels, brake and suspension mods to the more tame versions. I suspect they did high lift cam installations and that sort of thing too. These things could be fitted to new or used cars.
There seem to be very few of these cars left. I don't suppose that many were made in the first place. You can find quite a lot of information in the w126 forum at www.benzworld.org and there is a chap in the UK club called Jay Manek who is re-creating a widebody.
Jay Manek is the chap I was referring to earlier ;-)There seem to be very few of these cars left. I don't suppose that many were made in the first place. You can find quite a lot of information in the w126 forum at www.benzworld.org and there is a chap in the UK club called Jay Manek who is re-creating a widebody.
There are a couple of genuine UK widebodies around and about. The white one I mentioned earlier was featured in Mercedes Enthusiast, and (I assume) would have been converted by Sratton of Wilmslow.
Stratton have done 2 W124 AMG Hammers. One a 5.0 with the 4 valve head and the other a 5.6 with the 4 valve. There has also been a Stratton modified W126 500SEL with a 32v head on the 5.0 engine.
They also converted an R107 500SL to a 5.4 2-valve spec. There is also a 6.0 2-valve head 500SL in the PH classifieds at the moment.
So they will have done all the work, but whether or not you'll find a genuine Stratton-supplied UK RHD SEC with the full Widebody, engine and interior remains to be seen.
Maybe, just maybe, there are a couple out there.
Best bet would be looking for a left-hooker in Japan, IMO
Darren
iluvmercs said:
Also, that's a superb looking Cosworth you have there!
Cheers! Right back at you for your lovely E320 coupe. It'll hopefully be working again soon...But back to the SEC, presumably it'll just be on the V5 as being a regular 500 sec, much the same as an Alpina B10 will usually be down as a BMW 535i on the log book? I'll be sure to keep an eye out for one. I did find this by doing an ebay completed listing search. It's not a widebody but the price isn't too bad. I'm quite aware of the fun you have on a 20+year old merc with rust, I'm going to have to get the crusty rear arches on my cosworth done fairly soon
Edited by norman156 on Saturday 28th February 10:59
r129sl said:
Ron Stratton was the UK dealer licensed by AMG to do installs on new cars. I doubt they did the full-on engine conversions (i.e. the big bore jobs and 4-valve heads) or the widebody conversions, but I know for sure they fitted up the body kits, wheels, brake and suspension mods to the more tame versions. I suspect they did high lift cam installations and that sort of thing too. These things could be fitted to new or used cars.
There seem to be very few of these cars left. I don't suppose that many were made in the first place. You can find quite a lot of information in the w126 forum at www.benzworld.org and there is a chap in the UK club called Jay Manek who is re-creating a widebody.
I remember Strattons having a black/black widebody mega spec car in stock,brand new around 1986.At the time it was the most awesome car I'd ever seen and sat well in the showroom with the various other exotic cars of the time.I begged my dad to buy it but he plumped for a nearly new non AMG 500 SEC instead.There seem to be very few of these cars left. I don't suppose that many were made in the first place. You can find quite a lot of information in the w126 forum at www.benzworld.org and there is a chap in the UK club called Jay Manek who is re-creating a widebody.
More recently I was talking with a guy who used to do all the AMG engine conversions at Strattons and he is rebuilding an AMG SEC engine for a customer at the moment.
Hi,
My friend is looking to sell a Stratton Mercedes so I’m trying to find out a bit more info on it. I’m just waiting for him to send me the reg and photos, but from memory it’s as follows:
500 SEL AMG/Stratton
500 SEC front end conversion
Light metallic blue
Stratton/AMG suspension, lowered and apparently some engine work
I know it’s a rare car and I’ll get some photos up ASAP. It’s not in the best condition, it’s suffering from some rust and has been keyed in places, it’s had very little use lately but it is MOTd and roadworthy. Any idea what it’s worth? Any more information on the car anyone? I appreciate you may not be able to until I get the reg and photos...
Thanks,
Dan
My friend is looking to sell a Stratton Mercedes so I’m trying to find out a bit more info on it. I’m just waiting for him to send me the reg and photos, but from memory it’s as follows:
500 SEL AMG/Stratton
500 SEC front end conversion
Light metallic blue
Stratton/AMG suspension, lowered and apparently some engine work
I know it’s a rare car and I’ll get some photos up ASAP. It’s not in the best condition, it’s suffering from some rust and has been keyed in places, it’s had very little use lately but it is MOTd and roadworthy. Any idea what it’s worth? Any more information on the car anyone? I appreciate you may not be able to until I get the reg and photos...
Thanks,
Dan
zed4 said:
Hi,
My friend is looking to sell a Stratton Mercedes so I’m trying to find out a bit more info on it. I’m just waiting for him to send me the reg and photos, but from memory it’s as follows:
500 SEL AMG/Stratton
500 SEC front end conversion
Light metallic blue
Stratton/AMG suspension, lowered and apparently some engine work
I know it’s a rare car and I’ll get some photos up ASAP. It’s not in the best condition, it’s suffering from some rust and has been keyed in places, it’s had very little use lately but it is MOTd and roadworthy. Any idea what it’s worth? Any more information on the car anyone? I appreciate you may not be able to until I get the reg and photos...
Thanks,
Dan
I'm guessing that's this car;My friend is looking to sell a Stratton Mercedes so I’m trying to find out a bit more info on it. I’m just waiting for him to send me the reg and photos, but from memory it’s as follows:
500 SEL AMG/Stratton
500 SEC front end conversion
Light metallic blue
Stratton/AMG suspension, lowered and apparently some engine work
I know it’s a rare car and I’ll get some photos up ASAP. It’s not in the best condition, it’s suffering from some rust and has been keyed in places, it’s had very little use lately but it is MOTd and roadworthy. Any idea what it’s worth? Any more information on the car anyone? I appreciate you may not be able to until I get the reg and photos...
Thanks,
Dan
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MERCEDES-1000SEL-VERY-SP...
http://www.gumtree.com/p/mercedes-benz/mercedes-10...
Would be interesting to know what exactly, if any, engine work it had done.
I wouldn't pay £400 for that car, let alone over £4000.
1983 pre facelift car with post facelift bumpers and door mouldings.
Looks like it's had a cheapo partial retrim at some point. The rear seat is not factory and looks horrific.
The amount of rust and dents that can be seen even from a distance doesn't bode well for what it must look like close up.
Without documentation of any changes I wouldn't believe a word of the AMG tuned engine tale. The 500 is after all, a healthy V8 with enough grunt to satisfy many.
1983 pre facelift car with post facelift bumpers and door mouldings.
Looks like it's had a cheapo partial retrim at some point. The rear seat is not factory and looks horrific.
The amount of rust and dents that can be seen even from a distance doesn't bode well for what it must look like close up.
Without documentation of any changes I wouldn't believe a word of the AMG tuned engine tale. The 500 is after all, a healthy V8 with enough grunt to satisfy many.
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