1970 Mercedes-benz 600 Swb M100 on 2040-cars

1970 Mercedes Benz Grosser 600 SWB Limousine.

There is not much to be said about the 600 that an interested buyer wouldn’t already know. The size and agility of this car is hard to fathom without driving into a deep turn on a windy road. The 6.3 V8 engine is a perfect match for thevehicle. It has more than enough raw power to glide this vehicle to 125 + mil spec hour.  The suspension is so farbeyond its years, modern cars can’t catch up. You can float along as if on aloud or you can stiffen it up to race through traffic.  Enough about the concept; here are details ofthis wonderful automobile.

This car’s Vin number ends in 1564. That means that it was the 1564th Mercedes 600 in production. The word production may be a bad word for describing this automobile. Each car was specifically ordered by its owner, and custom built to exact specifications.  From 1964 to 1981, only about 2500 were produced. This includes the very rare Pullman six-door and four-door stretch versions.

1564 was ordered by JC Crean and delivered in 1970. JC chose Paint code 181, a cream colored Lacquer paint, and a beautiful tanleather, type 248. The paint on this car can be described as mostly original and in excellent shape for its age. The leather on this car is meant to be wornin. It has the look and feel of fine saddle leather. There are two areas of wear on the interior: the driver’s seat and the rear base of the passengers side.  I would recommend having these areas repaired. The rest of the leather is in fine condition with normal wear.

Anyone who knows anything about 600’s knows that they need to be maintained to perform they way they were designed to perform. Over the past few years, I have worked on addressing these issues.

First, I addressed the fuel Issues. I removed the gas tank and had it boiled and sealed to remove any foreign matter or rust. The tank was reinstalled, and a new fuel pump and new flexible fuel lines were installed.

The suspension was the next thing to handle. I replaced the four air suspension bladders and tested the car. After inspecting all of the leveling valves, I replaced the worn ones with professionally rebuilt ones. The car now stands up perfectly for months at a time.

I then worked on the hydraulic system. I replaced the front window switches because they leaked. The rear windows and the massive sunroof still work great.

I had the brakes checked and had to replace a fewbrake lines and free up the right front caliper. The car now breaks smoothly.There is no pull in any direction when pressure is applied.

The condition of the engine was a great surprise. After changing all of the fluids, I replaced the distributor caps and rotors along with all of the ignition wires.

Future work that should be done. I would also address the exhaust system. It works fine, but looks ugly. The mufflers are definitely not stock.

The interior wood looks great, but it is not perfect. It shows signs of age but is in good condition. The headliner and carpet look great.

The radio is very interesting in this car. It is definitely not stock. In fact, it is not even close. I have owned numerous 600’s in my life. If you wanted a great sound system, you were mostly out of luck. Most retrofits were done very poorly, making unsightly cuts in doors or the back window shelf.

The sound system retrofit in this car is ingenious.They installed all of the speakers in the floor and all of the amplifiers in the trunk. The only thing you see is the modified radio on the dash. It’s almost invisible. Presently the amplified system is not hooked up. I run the radio through the stock speakers. I have another SWB and am planning to install the exact same system in it. Truly ingenious.

The exterior chrome is in overall great condition,and shows very little pitting for its age. The biggest problem has to be withthe back bumper bar. While it was in storage, the bar was constantly bent and never repaired. This bar will need to be replaced to match the quality of the rest of the car. 

The overall impression of the car is a solid rustfree example that needs minor leather repairs and a chrome back bar. By addressing the leather repairs,this car will be one of the greats -- a classic Mercedes 600.

Please feel free to bid on this car if you are aserious buyer.  If you have a 0 rating,contact me before you bid. There is, of course, no warranty on a 43-year-oldautomobile.

I guess the only guarantee I can offer is that people will stare at you in this car. It is a time capsule of German engineering at its finest. Feel free to ask any questions you like.

Contact me with any and all questions. I have many more pictures you can review.

SWB Ordered by J. C. Crean

Paint Code 181

Leather Code 248