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Rough Ear of Corn - 450SLC(MB)
kaborgen
Member Posts: 2
I have recently become the proud owner of a 1977/8 Mercedes 450 SLC with 160K miles and would appreciate a bit of advice. The car is in moderate condition but was in an accident (some body work required, major mechanical work and a little TLC).
It is currently “parked” in my driveway pending a major decision. A local mechanic performed a diagnostic survey of the car and determined that it will cost approximately $3000 in order for the car to pass California emissions and get it running. The work required includes:
-Repair Oil Leak on Valve Cover Gasket & Cylinder Head Gasket
-Crankshaft Pulley
-Power Steering Pump Hose Leak
-Repair Exhaust Manifold Leak
-Replace Timing Chain
Could someone please provide the following information:
1. Does the above stated work seem reasonable for the condition of the car?
2. Is it extremely difficult / expensive to purchase parts for this car?
3. Is there a local (San Diego) resource for affordable parts and labor?
4. Am I getting myself into a mechanical mess?
5. Is there any value in restoring this car (what would the level of interest be upon restoration?)
Before diving into major repair work, I would like to know whether this car could be a reliable means of transportation for at least a year or a major mechanical headache.
It is currently “parked” in my driveway pending a major decision. A local mechanic performed a diagnostic survey of the car and determined that it will cost approximately $3000 in order for the car to pass California emissions and get it running. The work required includes:
-Repair Oil Leak on Valve Cover Gasket & Cylinder Head Gasket
-Crankshaft Pulley
-Power Steering Pump Hose Leak
-Repair Exhaust Manifold Leak
-Replace Timing Chain
Could someone please provide the following information:
1. Does the above stated work seem reasonable for the condition of the car?
2. Is it extremely difficult / expensive to purchase parts for this car?
3. Is there a local (San Diego) resource for affordable parts and labor?
4. Am I getting myself into a mechanical mess?
5. Is there any value in restoring this car (what would the level of interest be upon restoration?)
Before diving into major repair work, I would like to know whether this car could be a reliable means of transportation for at least a year or a major mechanical headache.
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This discussion has been closed.
Comments
The car is simply not worth it. You can buy these cars all the day long in very very nice condition for around $8,000, pretty and clean and ready to drive.
Also, if you put $3,000 into the car it may still not run very well. Perhaps the mechanic will find more issues as he disassembles parts of the engine. Then what do you do?
Thirdly, should you decide to sell it after fixing it, you will lose a considerable amount of money because it is shabby. There is no way out on a car like this. You are building on a bad foundation in other words.
My suggestion would be to dump it immediately, get your money out and start all over with a good one. Find a 450SL or SLC that has a pile of service and maintenance records as fat as a Manhattan phone book, and which has a known history of good care.
You are on the edge of disaster here. Take a pencil and paper and do the math with the numbers I gave you.
Remember, while your SL is the least valuable of all V8 SLs, it costs just as much to fix as the most valuable of the V8 SLs!
In other words this car is the worst possible choice of an SL to fix up. However, if you want a really pristine 450SLC to drive, well nothing wrong with that if you buy the right car.
To answer your questions directly:
1. Does the above stated work seem reasonable for the condition of the car? No. The car itself isn't worth $3,000 as it sits if it needs this + body work
2. Is it extremely difficult / expensive to purchase parts for this car? Not difficult but expensive, yes
3. Is there a local (San Diego) resource for affordable parts and labor? Any dealer has the parts and you can certainly find more affordable parts on the internet, yes. But labor, no. That's risky. These cars require a skilled person and that costs money. You don't bring a 450SL to a back alley truck mechanic.
4. Am I getting myself into a mechanical mess? most assuredly
5. Is there any value in restoring this car (what would the level of interest be upon restoration) No, the car is of little interest to collectors. On a scale of 1 to 10, it would be about a 3 in desirability and value. A show car might sell for $10K. You must remember they made tons of these coupes (almost 70,000 of them) so the supply is quite a bit in excess of demand and is likely to remain so
Sometimes an owner wants to restore a car for sentimental value, even though it's "not worth it". In those cases, let's say because they were born in the back seat or something, I will suggest, if the car is really hopeless (and this one seems edgy) that they take out the steering wheel and seats and put those in the better replacement car. That way they still have grandpa's steering wheel to touch and seats to sit on.
I'm actually suprised by how reliable it has been. When we first aquired it we put about $6k into mechanical fixes. After 2.5 years it is running strong with not much more than oil changes.
Personally I would spend $5K-10K on a nice BMW 635 SCi coupe but not on a Mercedes sedan; conversely, I'd spend a ton on a 1970 Benz 3.5 convertible (or was that '71) but not a time on a Bavaria.
This is why the big new Jaguar 4-door sedans and BMWs will take a beating on resale over time. Not that many people want to pay top dollar for a complex luxury sedan well out of warranty, and I can't say as I blame them.
You should definitely take her aside and emphasis some things that she MUST do:
1. Change the oil frequently, every 3000 miles.
2. Change the fuel filters (there are two) regularly
3. Use diesel fuel treatment with every fill up. Don't skip on this.
4. Have the valve adjustment clearance checked every 15,000 miles
5. Never run out of gas. A re-start will require bleeding the injector lines and huge amounts of debris might be sucked into the fuel system.
6. Replace the glow plugs every couple of years
7. Do not run the engine at very high or very low revs for long periods of time. Drive in the 2,500-4,000 rpm range, that's the diesels torque curve.
If she has no idea if any of this stuff was done, bite the bullet and have it all done now (except the glow plugs if the car starts right up. If it huffs and puffs and starts hard, it's probably glow plug time).