Mercedes R107's

[Candellara]

Here's a good one of my 300SL :-)

[vpr]

I wish the mercedes benz club forum had sub sections to navigate around like all the other forums. I don't want to have to rifle through other MB stuff to try and find 107 posts

[deltashad]

Always reminded me of this, lovely cars though.....

[Sid's Dad]

vpr said:

I wish the mercedes benz club forum had sub sections to navigate around like all the other forums. I don't want to have to rifle through other MB stuff to try and find 107 posts

Umm, it does. 107s have their own dedicated sub forum. Scroll down a bit, you'll find it.

Unless you mean the Mercedes Benz Owners forum, which is ste.

[CY88]

Has anybody had a set of the repro sunvisors available from the SL Shop? Are they any good? The saggy sunvisors on mine are the only bits that really let it down!

[Shezbo]

Sid's Dad said:

Umm, it does. 107s have their own dedicated sub forum. Scroll down a bit, you'll find it.

Unless you mean the Mercedes Benz Owners forum, which is ste.

Totally agree with that the MBO forum is poor IMHO the Mercedes Benz Club forum has its own separate 107 section and is good.

[jackpe]

Candellara said:

It drives like an old slipper - perfect for a lazy Sunday sunny afternoon :-)

As for fuel - thought it was quite good. Most of my other car's are all sub 20mpg and the old SL achieves late 20's

I wish mine did.. I was lucky with 20mpg on a 60mph motorway run.

Have you checked the usual rust spots? these cars can look mint unless you know where to look. The drain channels in the sills are a classic and if rotten all the water from your screen/scuttle washes straight into the sills. Plus all the joins under the car. And the air box with the ventilation motor in it.

[jackpe]

Also, in my time as an owner this, although US based, was by far the most active forum with the most knowledgeable and helpful people. i cannot recommend it enough!!

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r-c107-sl-slc-clas...

[lowdrag]

I've mentioned it before on another thread, but the "economy gauge" is a wonderful thing. Has anyone ever managed to keep it out of the red? I had a 380SL in the day, and my consumption never hit 20 most of the time. it handled like a fat labrador after a bottle of whisky but for a "sports car" had a big boot and when the kids were little we could go out as a family. I still have a soft spot for them, although perhaps that's rose-tinted specs talking. Maybe at my current age I'd have another, but they are getting expensive now.

[IanA2]

lowdrag said:

I've mentioned it before on another thread, but the "economy gauge" is a wonderful thing.

I call it the nagometer.

[Dapster]

Candellara said:

Here's a good one of my 300SL :-)

That is indeed a good one. And there's a 300SL in there...

[the pips]

IanA2 said:

I call it the nagometer.

At least it proves the germans have a sense of humour!

[Candellara]

jackpe said:

I wish mine did.. I was lucky with 20mpg on a 60mph motorway run.

Have you checked the usual rust spots? these cars can look mint unless you know where to look. The drain channels in the sills are a classic and if rotten all the water from your screen/scuttle washes straight into the sills. Plus all the joins under the car. And the air box with the ventilation motor in it.

Yep, all checked. My car is dry stored and hasn't seen a wet road for years. Indeed, the only time the windscreen washers are used - is on the annual MOT :-)

I took the trouble when i purchased the car to ensure all drain channels were clear with a compressed air line. I noticed that the chassis leg under the ABS pump was a potential water trap so i removed the pump, cleaned and waxoyled this area. There was some flaky paint on the inside edge of the soft top compartment - so my local body shop attended to this before it got any worse. At the same time, the car was inspected, sills cleaned and waxoyled, door cards removed and waxoyled inside. Probably a bit OTT given that it's never gone out in the wet.

The main things that have needed attention were brakes & suspension, so i've systematically replaced discs, calipers, handbrake shoes, shock absorbers, anti-roll bar links, steering link arms, steering damper etc All of these parts are not that expensive and an easy DIY resolve. Probably the most expensive parts have been a new hood by D-Class and rear light lenses :-( I think someone had overtightened by rear light lenses resulting in hairline cracks so my OCD meant changing these along with the rubber seals. Ouch, that little exercise resulted in about £600 IIRC. I then proceeded to change practically every rubber seal on the car :-) along with new bonnet insulation etc

Sun visors are another problematic area - mine just needed new female clips rather than both parts as i understand the male part of the clip can be a royal pita to fit. One of the jobs that remain is new pillar seals as mine are a little worn were the door meets them (as most are)

Edited by Candellara on Saturday 9th November 09:15

[Shezbo]

Candellara said:

Yep, all checked. My car is dry stored and hasn't seen a wet road for years. Indeed, the only time the windscreen washers are used - is on the annual MOT :-)

I took the trouble when i purchased the car to ensure all drain channels were clear with a compressed air line. I noticed that the chassis leg under the ABS pump was a potential water trap so i removed the pump, cleaned and waxoyled this area. There was some flaky paint on the inside edge of the soft top compartment - so my local body shop attended to this before it got any worse. At the same time, the car was inspected, sills cleaned and waxoyled, door cards removed and waxoyled inside. Probably a bit OTT given that it's never gone out in the wet.

The main things that have needed attention were brakes & suspension, so i've systematically replaced discs, calipers, handbrake shoes, shock absorbers, anti-roll bar links, steering link arms, steering damper etc All of these parts are not that expensive and an easy DIY resolve. Probably the most expensive parts have been a new hood by D-Class and rear light lenses :-( I think someone had overtightened by rear light lenses resulting in hairline cracks so my OCD meant changing these along with the rubber seals. Ouch, that little exercise resulted in about £600 IIRC. I then proceeded to change practically every rubber seal on the car :-) along with new bonnet insulation etc

Sun visors are another problematic area - mine just needed new female clips rather than both parts as i understand the male part of the clip can be a royal pita to fit. One of the jobs that remain is new pillar seals as mine are a little worn were the door meets them (as most are)

Edited by Candellara on Saturday 9th November 09:15

Yours after all that work will drive beautifully!

I have had some of that "preventative" stuff done on mine, however after purchasing the car took the car to Merc Tech (in Worcester) an excellent indie - who knows 107's inside out and had the heater motor/blower stripped out - from the bulkhead and the area cleaned, rust treated and re-painted. Luckily my car was good in this area but 107's can suffer in the bulkhead area. The SL Shop have a link to show what to look out for when buying a 107 - invaluable!

[MarshPhantom]

Candellara said:

Shezbo said:

Really enjoy my 300sl - fast enough and old classic looks to match - lovely to drive too..modern (ish) 3 litre lump..

Lovely. Astral Silver i presume?

Or Smoke Silver? Looks the same colour as my C124.

[Candellara]

Shezbo said:

Yours after all that work will drive beautifully!

I have had some of that "preventative" stuff done on mine, however after purchasing the car took the car to Merc Tech (in Worcester) an excellent indie - who knows 107's inside out and had the heater motor/blower stripped out - from the bulkhead and the area cleaned, rust treated and re-painted. Luckily my car was good in this area but 107's can suffer in the bulkhead area. The SL Shop have a link to show what to look out for when buying a 107 - invaluable!

That's just a small extract - but i do enjoy tinkering. Other items include stripping & cleaning the seat runners as they were full of 20+ year old grease & dirt. Replacing all the belt tensioners on the front of the engine as they were getting noisy, new injectors, replaced all vacuum check valves throughout the car, fuel pump, filter & accumulator. Removed all body mouldings & bumpers & cleaned and waxed before refitting. Thorough clean of the engine bay, replaced auto transmission fluid, diff oil and split the headlamps & polished reflectors & lenses. I wasn't happy with the rear exhaust box as although serviceable it wasn't aligned 100% so after a failed attempt at removal - i had to replace it with a brand new Mercedes item (don't ask!) Another bit of DIY maintenance that went too far was the removal of the crank sensors to just clean & refit - purely maintenance driven. The rear one broke when trying to remove it which resulted in a £200 replacement :-( I also wasn't happy with the modern looking stereo and 6 disk changer, so i managed to find a rare amber lit Becker Grand Prix stereo which looks less intrusive and sounds better IMO. Whilst removing & cleaning the front driving lights i noticed that the front valence / spoiler had a few stone chips so i removed this and got my local bodyshop to repaint it - makes a big difference. All five wheels refurbished by Lepsons and a brand new set of Continental tyres all round. There's loads more i've done and i keep a detail list of everything. All fairly simple DIY jobs but make a big difference to the overall presentation of a car.

Edited by Candellara on Saturday 9th November 11:56

Edited by Candellara on Saturday 9th November 11:58

Edited by Candellara on Saturday 9th November 12:00

[lowdrag]

Apart from the colour - and the price but then she looks perfect - this looks a lovely car

http://www.silverstoneauctions.com/1982-mercedes-b...

[Candellara]

as does this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...

I love grey / red as a colour combo

[lowdrag]

Look and weep. A rainy windy night, a country bend, a field where tractors had been in and out all day, and a lot of mud everywhere. This was the result, but the insurers reshelled her for me.

[Dapster]

lowdrag said:

Look and weep. A rainy windy night, a country bend, a field where tractors had been in and out all day, and a lot of mud everywhere. This was the result, but the insurers reshelled her for me.

That photo must have been from 20 years ago judging by the fact that someone thought it economically viable to do such a massive amount of work on the early 80's Audi 100 CS in the background! (nerd alert - definitely a CS - you can tell by the alloys. The higher spec "CD" and lower spec "CC" had steelies with flush hubcaps...)