After 10 years cycling past this old Merc ...

You’re right, it’s an S-Class. An early W126 with what looks like Mexican Hat wheels. I can’t quite make it out but the lower part of the door panels should be a different colour but it looks like from that picture that they may have been colour coded. I’m not a full Mercedes beard but don’t think they were colour coded from the factory until the facelift in 1985.

Beware potential timing chain issues also - to quote from Wikipedia:
"3.8
The 116.960 engine was introduced in 1979 featuring 8.3:1 compression with 158 PS (116 kW; 156 hp) at 4,750 rpm and 266 N⋅m (196 lb⋅ft) at 2,750 rpm. This engine reached North America later for the 1981 380SL. There were 116.961, 116.962, and 116.963 versions of this engine. Early models came with a single row timing chain until 1983 and were plagued with chain failure problems which Mercedes-Benz would repair free of charge, changing the timing chain to a dual row thus resolved the problem making these engine as durable and reliable as any other Mercedes V8. All 1984+ models came with a double row timing chain from the factory to prevent this failure, however this engine was replaced for the 1986 model year by its larger 4.2 litre variant."

Note also, the torque figure is quite different to the one stated in gte86's post above, as you'd expect from a biggish V8!

There's a blue 420SEL near me that's been parked up in a driveway for yonks also...

That's an early (prefacelift) w126 S class, as has been said. I bought one (ok, two) a few weeks ago after hankering after one for years.

Properly luxurious to drive, like steering a small yacht. I imagine the SE isn't quite as barge like, I've only experienced SELs.

The big things on them are rot related. Rear screen lower corners rust, but panels are (or were) available when we did one for a friend a few years ago. The roof around the sunroofs seem to be prone to rot too.

If you can get it going, replace the timing chain and guides unless they've been done in the last 10-15 years.

Let us know how you get on

Brilliant info - when I did my dvla lookup it just said MERCEDES

Looks quite ahead of its time for 1984 - I consider these years when mercs were at their best ...

You can't see the car unless you are on a bike, so I hope it hasn't been inquired about before.

Have a check as I'm not sure if the plate can come off unless it's got an mot. It certainly can't after its been bought by a new owner (I have a private plate stuck on the mk2 that needs to go back to p/o when it's mot'd)

If that’s outside the garage….. I wonder what is in the garage…..?

Nick

Someone else said this and it is the one thing I can't stand. When I am really disconnected from the car I find myself not being able to judge gaps at all, and generally not caring about it. Got my 900 thru the MOT today and if there was ever a car you are connected to, this is it. You feel every bump and the car compensating for it, you hear the whine of the turbo and the gearbox, the damn thing is alive!

They're mostly designed for effortless Autobahn wafting, at which they excel. Even in my slow black 1987 190E 2 litre, people swiftly pulled over on seeing the pointed star loom up in their rear view mirror, so you could make good progress on motorways, despite a lack of power!