Vlad
MB Enthusiast
Some weeks ago somebody posted a new topic on "Spotted on E-bay" mentioning that in the upcoming Coys auction they were selling an AMG 560 W124 previously owned by Jeff Lynne of ELO and George Harrison of The Beetles.
Car was to be sold with no reserve....the write up for the car was confusing and seemingly littered with mistakes and there was no photo of the engine bay.
Now back in the day AMG converted two RHD W124's to Hammer spec (total production being 29 cars and only two of which were RHD)
I used to owned one of these the 5.0 version and suposedly the 2nd car, a 5.6, was written off many years ago.
Turning up at Coys this evening I spotted a very sad looking W124 with AMG bodykit.....car was in a dreadful state with lots of bubbling rust, body damage to one of the rear wings and clearly some old accident damage to the front. The interior was awful....clearly had been stored in a very damp garage/shed as all the door cards were peeling, the headlining was drooping down, carpets were unsticking and the bespoke piano black wood trim was buckled and peeling.
To cap it all a non mercedes sunroof had been hacked into the roof.....whoever did this job did a serioulsy crap job as the roof panel was all buckled where they had cut out the hole for the sunroof and was also rusting .
However....here's the interesting thing...opening the bonnet expecting to see a standard M117 560 engine I was confronted with an ultra rare AMG Quad Cam 5.6 engine
And lo and behold on the slam panel...a genuine AMG factory build plaque showing that the car had been converted in Germany rather than at Strattons.
So is it the car that appeared in various road tests in the late 80's?????.....at this stage the signs are that it could be the missing 5.6 RHD AMG Hammer...further investigation will take place when I dig out my old road test articles from the 80's which show the car in detail and the pics of the interior.
Had a look through the paperwork that came with the car and somebody had at some stage had done a DVLA owner check on the car and sure enough this car used to have the number plate 1 AMG as did mine when it was the Stratton press car. Shows that Geoff Lynne was actually the 4th owner on the car and George Harrison the 5th
Sadly the interior on the car at Coys has been changed at some stage, most likely due to damp, as the rear seat squab was black MB Tex, whereas the seat base was black leather. The front seats are standard MB items, but in black MB tex, however the door cards are the correct bespoke items with leather inserts and similar to those fitted in my old Hammer.
Car has covered 106,000 miles and by the looks of the engine/various oil leaks its well past its best and goodness only knows how the autobox is functioning (this being a weak link in the drive train on these cars)
Car will need a complete respray and body repairs, a complete re-trim but even then will still be missing its original Recaro's. The piano black wood trim will be a nightmare to try and fix/replace. I suspect the engine will also need work and being a 5.6 quad cam, head gaskets and other gaskets will have to be bespoke items. Alloys will need refurbishing (fitted with correct Aero 1's)
Lastly....no idea how the roof will be fixed and could still end up with a very ugly pop up after market glass sunroof.
And finally....price....sold unseen to a telephone bidder who was probably seduced by the glossy photos in the Coys brochure and therefore unaware just how bad a condition the car was in ....for £10,500 + buyers premium of 15%
I think when they go to pick it up they will be shocked by its condition.
Will be interesting to see whether it gets restored or ends back up for sale once the new owner stakes stock of the cars condition.
Car was to be sold with no reserve....the write up for the car was confusing and seemingly littered with mistakes and there was no photo of the engine bay.
Now back in the day AMG converted two RHD W124's to Hammer spec (total production being 29 cars and only two of which were RHD)
I used to owned one of these the 5.0 version and suposedly the 2nd car, a 5.6, was written off many years ago.
Turning up at Coys this evening I spotted a very sad looking W124 with AMG bodykit.....car was in a dreadful state with lots of bubbling rust, body damage to one of the rear wings and clearly some old accident damage to the front. The interior was awful....clearly had been stored in a very damp garage/shed as all the door cards were peeling, the headlining was drooping down, carpets were unsticking and the bespoke piano black wood trim was buckled and peeling.
To cap it all a non mercedes sunroof had been hacked into the roof.....whoever did this job did a serioulsy crap job as the roof panel was all buckled where they had cut out the hole for the sunroof and was also rusting .
However....here's the interesting thing...opening the bonnet expecting to see a standard M117 560 engine I was confronted with an ultra rare AMG Quad Cam 5.6 engine
And lo and behold on the slam panel...a genuine AMG factory build plaque showing that the car had been converted in Germany rather than at Strattons.
So is it the car that appeared in various road tests in the late 80's?????.....at this stage the signs are that it could be the missing 5.6 RHD AMG Hammer...further investigation will take place when I dig out my old road test articles from the 80's which show the car in detail and the pics of the interior.
Had a look through the paperwork that came with the car and somebody had at some stage had done a DVLA owner check on the car and sure enough this car used to have the number plate 1 AMG as did mine when it was the Stratton press car. Shows that Geoff Lynne was actually the 4th owner on the car and George Harrison the 5th
Sadly the interior on the car at Coys has been changed at some stage, most likely due to damp, as the rear seat squab was black MB Tex, whereas the seat base was black leather. The front seats are standard MB items, but in black MB tex, however the door cards are the correct bespoke items with leather inserts and similar to those fitted in my old Hammer.
Car has covered 106,000 miles and by the looks of the engine/various oil leaks its well past its best and goodness only knows how the autobox is functioning (this being a weak link in the drive train on these cars)
Car will need a complete respray and body repairs, a complete re-trim but even then will still be missing its original Recaro's. The piano black wood trim will be a nightmare to try and fix/replace. I suspect the engine will also need work and being a 5.6 quad cam, head gaskets and other gaskets will have to be bespoke items. Alloys will need refurbishing (fitted with correct Aero 1's)
Lastly....no idea how the roof will be fixed and could still end up with a very ugly pop up after market glass sunroof.
And finally....price....sold unseen to a telephone bidder who was probably seduced by the glossy photos in the Coys brochure and therefore unaware just how bad a condition the car was in ....for £10,500 + buyers premium of 15%
I think when they go to pick it up they will be shocked by its condition.
Will be interesting to see whether it gets restored or ends back up for sale once the new owner stakes stock of the cars condition.
