Vehicle Description
1971 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 Cabriolet
VIN: 11102712004293
Built by Mercedes-Benz in May of 1971 this 3.5 was purchased new at
Beverly Hills Mercedes later that year. The car's first owner would
keep the car for the next 31 years servicing it regularly and
keeping extraordinary care of the car, as documented in over 20
years of service records and hand written notes. Highlights include
the 3.5 receiving a complete engine rebuild in November of 1988 at
108,591 miles that included pistons, valves, and rebuilt heads. In
1991 the transmission was replaced at 112,489 miles. Dozens of
records refer to routine maintenance on the suspension, brakes, air
conditioning, electrical, and other systems.
The next owner, also from Southern California, obtained the car in
2002 and would keep the car as the valuable collectable it had
become. Driving it less than 5,000 miles and keeping the car well
stored and maintained, he would continue the careful stewardship of
this beautiful Mercedes until 2015.
Since arriving at Canepa the 3.5 has been completely revived
mechanically and cosmetically. We started with fashioning a
completely new and correct interior that included leather seats,
door panels, dash, carpet and trunk panels. Instead of settling for
off-the-shelf replacement leather, we took pieces of the original
leather and sent them to a multitude of leather experts to see who
could reproduce the leather just as the factory made it. The result
is breathtaking, and you would be hard pressed to tell the original
leather from the new by sight, feel, or even smell. A brand new top
was made and installed with all new padding and headliner, again
paying close attention to the correctness of the fabrics used.
If there was any question as to the appearance or function of any
element of the car it was immediately addressed. The gauges and
clock were removed and restored. All original chrome mouldings in
the greenhouse area were removed and rechromed. Weather seals were
replaced all around the car. All of the interior wood trim that had
suffered from UV exposure was refinished. New tires were fitted and
the hubcaps were restored, polished and repainted. We serviced,
repaired, or restored all mechanical systems as needed including
the engine, suspension, steering, brakes, AC, electrical,
transmission, and differential.
Canepa has made an investment of over $125,000 in almost 800 hours
of meticulous mechanical and cosmetic work to make this car one of
the finest 280 SE 3.5 Convertibles extant.
