Mystery Motor Number

[Travis71280]

I was ordering a throttle linkage piece for my 1971 280sl through MB when I noticed the actual motor number differs from the data card. Is this normal? The motor number in the car is 130-980-12-... while the data card shows the motor number should be 130-983-12-...  I know the se and sl m130 motors are basically the same, but I'm just wondering why there different? The PO had it since the 1980s and the car didn't have a motor change then. Just curious.

[49er]

I would suspect the engine was replaced sometime before the PO took ownership and after the cars original warranty had expired. My engine (short block) was replaced by Mercedes under warranty at 20k miles in 1970 for an oil consumption problem. There is no engine number stamped on the block.

John

[114015]

Hello Travis,

Your current one is clearly a sedan's (or Coupé) engine.
There are only a few differences between M130 sedan (.980) and M130 SL (.983) for the US delivery engines:
1) motor mount arms
2) SL engine has the mechanical tach drive above the FI pump flange.

There are more differences on non-US delivery M130 engines: FI pump is slightly different and another "hotter" cam for the SL engine.

Best,
Achim
(only M127s)