Hi i'm new to this forum and i'm thinking about asking my Father-in-law if i can restore his old Mercedes. I really don't know anything about this car at the moment but i've decided to post up some pictures of it for now. I'm not even sure if it is running. All i remember is seeing a similar car in a catalog back when i was in 7th grade (1987). If anyone has any more information about this car please let me know. Thanks It says 1000SEL AMG on the back.



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Any pictures of the motor and car?

I saw a SEC that had a 1000SEC badged on it in Elizabeth NJ Ferrari dealership years ago. I checked it out and it was the same as my 91 coupe motor.

I think the 1000 badges were not true MB badges or cars.


I could be wrong though so lets see what you are looking at.

Bruce

 

That appears to be a European model, probably a 500SEL since it is pre-86. Anyone here can run the vin to tell you what it was originally.

For some reason, I seem to remember that car...LA area?

 

Yeah it's in LA/ BH area. I'll try to get the VIN the next time i see the car.

 

LOL, it must be the same one. Besides the vin, you will need to find any paperwork explaining the modification, since that is not factory work and the vin will only tell you how it left the production line.

 

Thanks for the info! I'll dig thru the glove compartment for documents.

 

seems like you found your way on here already..

1st time i've heard of a 1000sel myself but i hope someone on here would shed some light to the answers you seek.. gl from your CB7t bro..

 

Here is what I found after a Google search :


You can do the math



Surfing the web looking for "1000SEL" I find the weirdest things and wildest stories. According to some the 1000SEL was fitted with 10 Litre engine. Some say it was an lengthened S-class stretched a 1000mm. Could it be a limousine that would be made on special order by Mercedes themselves? I'm sorry, some came close, but here's the truth.

The 1000SEL wasn't a Mercedes you could order at your regular Mercedes dealership. The 1000SEL weren't even made by the Mercedes-Benz company; the cars were aftermarket conversions made by coachbuilding and tuning companies like Kugok, Styling Garage and Trasco. Variations on the 1000SEL were even given names like 1001SEL (Gemballa), 5000GFG (GFG) and 5000SEL (Gemballa). Modified Mercedes SEC coupes were also given similar names but in stead of 1000SEL it was a 1000SEC.

So what exactly is a 1000SEL? Well, a 1000SEL-badged Mercedes could be anything. 1000SEL was just a badge on the trunk of a Mercedes and the contents were defined by the wishes of the customer. Some companies sold the 1000SEL separately so you could just order badge and slap it to the back of your 380SE Mercedes to make it look "the business". A real 1000SEL however was offered as a complete car with many high end modifications which will be mentioned in this article.

So where does the name 1000SEL come from? Well, somewhere in the early 1980s a Middle-East customer from Styling Garage ordered himself a heavily modified Mercedes 500SEL. When he received the keys he told the owner of the company, Chris Hahn, that his car was twice as good as a regular 500SEL and he'd like to have a different badge on the car. Well there you have it: 500SEL x 2 = 1000SEL. It should be mentioned that most of the 1000SEL conversions were sold to customers in the Middle-East.





A 1000SEC by the British company Vantagefield. The car was fitted with a luxurious interior including a TV and a VCR.


Exterior
The exterior of the 1000SEL could include many extras and options. More chrome, gold instead of chrome, paint instead of gold, new rims, bumpers, spoilers, skirts and a boomerang- antenna on the bootlid for the TV. All were options. In fact the badge "1000SEL" meant that anything was possible as long as you paid the bill.
One of the options offered by companies like ITS, Kugok and SGS was the so-called 600-nose. This new bonnet incorporated the style of the 600 Mercedes (W100) of the 1960's. Another option were to have the chrome parts sprayed in the car's colour or could be gold-plated (e.i. Kugok, SGS) or sprayed in a completely different colour (SGS).




Interior
A real 1000SEL Mercedes has a new interior. This interior should at least have a new upholstery, most likely in leather and preferably in white, creme or red. A centre console that runs through the whole car is also very important. This console was in most cases finished in the finest wood veneers and fitted with all kinds of compartments to store your personal belongings. A champagne cooler and a TV for the passengers must be included. High-end over-the-top HiFi-Stereo by Clarion or Pioneer were no exception.





Gemballa slapped this 5000SEL badge on a car that was made for Qusay Hussein, one of the sons of Saddam.


So there you have it, the 1000SEL was nothing more but sure nothing less than a superlative luxury vehicle, tailor made to the customers demands something the Mercedes-Benz factory wasn't able to make. It took another 20 years for them to invent the Maybach...



Copyright © 2005-2007 Bram Corts

 

I seem to remember a white 1000SEL limo appearing in a Miami Vice episode as well .

 

Obviously that small detail was overlooked in favour of the article. I seem to recall that the Maybach was around quite a while before that.

 

The 1000SEL was made by a company in Slough called pullman coachbuilding company. i have the original set of sales brochures for the cars that they designed and 'upgraded'. the 1000 SEL had a stock 500 SEL engine with an extra 55hp tweeked out of it ( that was a big upgrade in 1983), as well as a supercharger option.

they also made a range of other cars in 1983 including a 6 wheel drive Range Rover with a 135 inch stretch, they also made a Mercedes Benz 500 SEL crystal which basically came with loads of cartier stuff in it and last on their sheets in 1983 was a merc 500 SEC typhoon which had a set of kevlar bumpers front and rear. I have googled the last car and have not seen any photos of it on line however it is the most over the top 1980's monstosity i think anyone could hope to see, the rear quarter panels are reminisent of the ferrari testarossa and there is air vents beside the front indicators.

If anyone is interested in some photos being posted up here please emai me and i'll put some on.

I hope that this sheds a little light on the situation. paul

 

Our friend should post a photo of the engine bay and let us scrutinize it. MB had not build a 10 liter engine in the last 30 years and if a modified V-8 engine in this car can easily be identified.

 

Most of the questions got sorted out in this thread: https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...9-1000sel.html

 

here are the first set of photos from the pullman brochure. they start with the 6 wheel drive range rover and go onto the 500 sec typhoon.

 

here are some more photos.

 

yet another set of photos.

 

this is the last set of photos, they are in a logical order but if anyone would like further clarification of the photos or write ups then i am more than happy to help.

 

Hi Lummie,

The 1000SEL was NOT an MB name/model tag. It is simply an after market label that developed from several of the aftermarket fitters.

It usually started out as a simple 500SEL and the after-marketers did what ever the owner wanted done.

And NO! it did not have a 10 liter engine.

It was one of those marketing gimmicks that businesses do to attract attention to their product.

 

Many many thanks for sharing these !!
Only saw these cars under the Chameleon name before.

 

If anyone is interested in some photos being posted up here please emai me and i'll put some

I just purchased a 1983 SEL1000 and would like to see your photos This car is pretty awesome!

 

SEL1000

 

Please do share, I'm always interested in seeing them!

 

 

So I wonder what happened to the car?

 

Nothing. It's still sitting in the exact same spot from 2008.