1997 Mercedes-Benz SL500 (R129)

As regular readers of the CL thread will know, I've fancied one of these. I mentioned it on the barge thread and someone PMed me saying he was moving his on for various reasons. He was only in Basingstoke so not far away at all, thus I thought it's worth a look. It was very clean and tidy and a folder of receipts to rival the CL.

We had a drive for about 20 mins and it seemed pretty solid to me. All good, I can mull it over the weekend. The sums all done, I made an we agreed a price.

I am making a list of things to do and queries as I will be picking the minds of the regular 129 chaps on here.

Here's the build from WIS:

189 GREEN/BLACK METALLIC
200A LEATHER
205 OWNERS MANUAL AND SERVICE RECORD - ENGLISH
214 ADAPTIVE DAMPING SYSTEM (ADS) WITH SKYHOOK
241 FRONT SEAT LH ELECTRIC ADJUSTABLE WITH MEMORY
242 FRONT SEAT RH ELECTRIC ADJUSTABLE WITH MEMORY
249 AUTOMATICALLY DIPPING INSIDE REAR VIEW MIRROR
268A LEATHER GREY
331 CASSETTE COMPARTMENT
340 ADDITIONAL 3RD STOP LAMP
415 GLASS ROOF (R129)
461 INSTRUMENT WITH MILES IND. AND ENGLISH LEGEND
472 ELECTRONIC STABILITY PROGRAM (ESP)
501 OUTSIDE REARVIEW MIRROR LEFT AND RIGHT WITH PROGR.
511 RADIO MB EXQUISIT WITH VK,RDS (PANASONIC)
551 ANTI-THEFT/ANTI-BREAK-IN WARNING SYSTEM
565 REAR SEATS USED ON SL MODELS
600 HEADLAMPS - CLEANING EQUIPMENT
617 LAMP UNIT: XENON HEADLAMPS ASSYMMETRICAL
630 ECE - WARNING TRIANGLE
652 8-HOLE LIGHT ALLOY RIMS
740 BLACK SOFT TOP FABRIC 9001
808 YOM 17/1
833 INVALID/GREAT BRITAIN,ADDITIONAL PARTS
873 SEAT HEATER FOR LEFT AND RIGHT FRONT SEATS
882 INTERIOR SAFEGUARD/TOWING PROTECTION
984 COC DOC., DELETION OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION DOC

Points of note:

The panoramic roof is no longer. Sometime before the previous owner it was swapped/replaced.
The ADS is no longer. As above, it's now on Sachs springs and dampers
The MB stereo is no longer. It has an HU of suitably matching appearance but I will probably swap for the Alpine in the CL.

I am making space in my flat for the hardtop and stand. I am contemplating a bood lid luggage rack. The original registration is a Scottish number and its early services were at John R. Weir. It has been imported at some point of which I was aware and the log book says so.

Here are some snaps:















It has the common issue of VDO Freitag afternoon tacho installation. How this passed QC and ended up in production is a mystery. I have fixed this on the CL.



First job is to correct it - clocks cluster out:



It's SORNed and I will tax it from Monday.

WCZ is Belfast from 03/99 to 09/04 so I think it went from the mainland and it's re-registered. I'm not an expert on this matter though. It agrees with what the PO told me.

I'm tempted to go back to the R plate

Many 129s and 140s left the factory with tachos on the piss. They must have been that way when they left the VDO factory but still ended up being released. One has to remove the stuck-on scale and rotate it to the correct position.

R129sl has a guide on this in the C140 thread, early on.

I had four nights away camping near Swanage. I only just squeezed in all the gear and with the wind deflector up my coolbox would not fit on the rear seat nor in the boot. I will probably be looking for a smaller one.

The drive down was the usual pain of holiday traffic, dawdlers and numpties and lane-hoggers. It took 3 hours there with one Lidl stop for supplies and 95 minutes back. I think I could shave off 20 minutes if the traffic was better. I managed over the tonne once and the wind deflector made whistling noises.

Here are some snaps:

Coolbox position:



Starting to unload



90 minutes later the sea fog rolled in



The view from the top of the ridge towards Kimmeridge bay



I forgot plates so camp breakfast was straight from the pan



A walk along the coastal path to Worth Matravers.

Field-change time for the sheep



Kimmeridge Bay



Clavell Tower



'Something' Pool





Some 'top secret' archaeological find according to the estate bloke who had roped off the foot path and gave me a lift around the valley.



The SL drove faultlessly but I really need to fix the air vents as I felt a bit chilly on the way back and I wanted warm air to my feet but I suspect the stuck-open vents reduced the flow in that direction. I also have gained a dent in the OSR quarter which I don't think was there at purchase

As above, the valve block has a crack in the usual place as per the internet. As it's £76 new, I have ordered from Sandown and it should be here Friday. The date stamp on it is 08/97 so it's done fairly well. A129 800 3178 is also used in the W210 and W/C140

The new part arrived today and with an unrequested discount

Thanks both

The luggage rack idea has been shelved, probably permanently.

The plate will go but I am in no rush

The hardtop is in my bedroom. Living in a ground floor flat with no garage has its limitations.

The next priority job is the newly acquired dent in the OSR quarter. I should have time today to pop into a bodyshop for an estimate. I hope it's pullable but I suspect it is too big. Any recommendations for a PDR chap mobile or otherwise around Newbury?

Nothing much to report. I was at Bicester Scramble with other PHers and here are some rubbish snaps

Thanks. I'll check it at lunchtime but I don't think it's warm enough or sufficient hours of sun to dry by teatime when i have arranged for a mate to give me a hand.

Some woes with the SL.

Today I decided to go for a battery charge run but I was too late - flat battery through lack of use. I used my jump pack and now I have the red roof switch illuminated. I wonder if it's something to do with hood position. I reset the windows and steering but with the hardtop on I can't move the hood.

Second, most of the climate control switches don't work. It's stuck on auto so not the end of the world but I can only change the temperature and switch on the non-working HRW.

Third, still a lot of condensation inside. My left leg received a soaking from the map lights/rear view mirror area.

I hope to attend the new year's day car meet at the Phoenix, Hartley Wintney to give it another run out.