"The Best or Nothing", that's the slogan of Mercedes-Benz as one of the oldest and most legendary automotive companies in the world. Speaking of quality, there is no need to doubt the quality of Mercedes-Benz which is durable but also comfortable.

Speaking of "The Best" from Mercedes, of course, directly refers to the Mercedes-Benz S class, especially the SEL type, the SEL shows S as the highest class, E for injection engines, L as the long body code in 1965 to 1972 with the code W109.

If you want the "Best of the Best", then there is a variant with the 3.5L V8 injection engine, air suspension with a height adjuster, a longer body, and chrome accents around the windows.

This car can also be regarded as a "timeless" car. The classic charm never fades, in fact, it is even more attractive. But unfortunately, because of its age, there are also many of these cars that are already in poor condition.

Don't think this blue Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL is already in good shape from the beginning. By the time the owner, Cornelius Susanto, got this car, it was in a pretty miserable condition. Originally, this car was black in a fairly severe condition, the body was around 60% corroded, the engine was dead and messy, the air suspension was dead and malfunctioning, the interior was terrible.

For this reason, Cornelius had the idea to restore it to its original condition. As expected, it was easier said than done.

First, Cornelius wanted to add an original sliding roof from a donor top cut part. But when it arrived, it’s only the sliding roof plus the tray, not the top cut package. 

The condition of the donor part is also incomplete, so RetouchPro Autowerkz must make it work until it is complete and functioning normally. Imagine how challenging the process was.

For the air suspension, repairs were made by RetouchPro Autowerkz on 1 control valve and 3 levelling valves. All of this is done locally in Indonesia.

The transmission was changed to an automatic transmission. The M116 V8 3.5L engine is overhauled in as much detail as possible because it was previously mixed and matched using diesel parts.

How long did it take to restore this car? Pretty lengthy. The whole body repair through welding and replacement of corroded panels took about 5 months. Then the next 4 months, putty to paint, undercarriage and engine room. Then the engine sector and the footwork took 3 months. While the interior took 2 months. 

The detailed part that also requires patience is the installation of the sunroof for about 6 weeks, then it tooks 3 months to assemble it all up.

For its footwork, this Mercedes-Benz W109 uses 16-inch BBS RS wheels. The tyres are 235/40 R16 Accelera PHI tyres. The thick appearance of these tyres really gives it a retro and classic impression.

Finally, this car is painted with a 304 G code, Horizon Blue.

Indonesia 

“The Best or Nothing”, itulah slogan dari Mercedes-Benz sebagai salah satu perusahaan otomotif tertua dan paling legendaris di dunia. Bicara tentang kualitas, tidak usah ragu akan kualitas Mercedes-Benz yang tahan banting namun juga nyaman.

Bicara tentang “The Best” dari Mercedes, tentunya langsung mengacu pada Mercedes-Benz S class, terutama tipe SEL, SEL menunjukkan S sebagai kelas tertinggi, E untuk mesin injeksi, L sebagai kode long body di tahun 1965 sampai 1972 dengan kode W109.

Jika ingin “Best of the Best”, maka ada varian mesin V8 3.5L injection, suspensi udara dengan height adjuster, bodi yang lebih panjang, dan aksen krom di sekeliling kaca-pintu.

Mobil ini pun bisa dibilang sebagai mobil yang “timeless”. Pesona klasiknya tidak hilang dimakan zaman, malah semakin menarik. Tetapi sayang, karena umurnya, banyak juga mobil ini yang kondisinya sudah kurang bagus.

Jangan mengira Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL berkelir biru ini sudah berada dalam kondisi bagus dari awal. Pada saat pemiliknya, Cornelius Susanto, mendapatkan mobil ini, kondisinya cukup mengenaskan. Aslinya mobil ini berwarna hitam dengan kondisi cukup parah, bodi korosif sekitar 60%, mesin mati dan berantakan, airsus sudah mati dan tidak berfungsi, interior pun kondisinya naas.

Untuk itu, Cornelius memiliki konsep restorasi kepada kondisi aslinya. Seperti dugaan, hal itu tidak semudah mengucapkannya.

Pertama, Cornelius ingin menambahkan sliding roof original dari part copotan. Tetapi yang datang ternyata hanya sliding roof plus tatakannya saja, bukan paket top cut. 

Kondisi part copotan tersebut pun tidak lengkap, sehingga RetouchPro Autowerkz harus penuhi sampai lengkap dan berfungsi normal. Terbayang betapa menantangnya proses tersebut.

Untuk suspensi udaranya, dilakukan perbaikan oleh RetouchPro Autowerkz pada 1 control valve dan 3 leveling valve. Semuanya ini dilakukan lokal di Indonesia.

Transmisinya diubah menjadi transmisi otomatis, mesin M116 V8 3.5L, yang sebelumnya di-overhaul sedetail mungkin karena sebelumnya dicampur menggunakan parts diesel.

Berapa lama waktu yang diperlukan untuk merestorasi mobil ini? Ternyata ada rinciannya. Seluruh perbaikan bodi melalui pengelasan dan penggantian panel keropos, Butuh sekitar 5 bulan. Kemudian 4 bulan selanjutnya, dempul sampai cat, undercarriage dan ruang mesin.

Lalu sektor mesin dan kaki-kaki membutuhkan waktu 3 bulan. Sedangkan interior 2 bulan. Hal detail yang juga butuh kesabaran adalah instalasi sunroof sekitar 6 minggu, lantas pemasangan kembali semua butuh waktu 3 bulan.

Untuk kaki-kakinya, Mercedes-Benz W109 ini menggunakan velg BBS RS berukuran 16 inci. Bannya pun menggunakan ban Accelera PHI berukuran 235/40 R16.Tampilan ban yang tebal ini sangat memberikan kesan retro dan klasik.

Terakhir, mobil ini dilabur cat coding plate 304 G, yaitu Horizon Blue.