Mercedes R107's

[Candellara]

Anyone got one?

Had mine for three years, keep improving and enjoying her. The arrival of a new born has given rise to thinking - i've too many cars to look after, but every time i drive this, makes me think, i couldn't bear to let her go.

Sacrilege, as i took her for her annual MOT outing (passed again with flying colours) but i only did 300 miles last year :-(

[Candellara]

jackpe said:

Had one for two years but it was not my favourite car. Just too thirsty and uninvolving to drive for me. Glad you're enjoying yours though!

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

[Candellara]

Yertis said:

I've really started to admire these recently. Took no notice when they were dirt cheap in the '80s and '90s, now I fancy one I find the value has shot up. Let's see some more pics of yours then!

Quite a rare spec. Late 89 car - Solid black with black leather & rear seat option.

[Candellara]

johnfm said:

If it was any good as a car you'd have done more miles than that. Sounds like it just something that is nice for you to own/look at, but you prefer to drive something else.

Lovely, seemingly bullet proof cars.

Really would have loved to but.....hectic working life, family and also have other cars that need using.

It is fabulous as a car but it really depends what you want from it. It's no sports car, rather a leisurely cruiser - which it does really well.

I think the 107 SL has aged really nicely and when working on it, you can really see that this was from an era when Merc were designed / built by engineers rather than accountants

[Candellara]

Sid's Dad said:

You can comfort yourself with the knowledge that if it's well-stored it probably isn't costing you anything to keep. They are gently appreciating each year so the grand or so it costs you each year is probably at least covered by its appreciation in value.

At least that's how I justify keeping my 300SL....

Yep, it's regularly run and well stored. Prices are going silly (i guess in part because Pagoda's are climbing fast and pulling 107's up) Out of all the car's i've owned / own - the SL gets more positive attention than any of them

How long have you owned yours Adrian?

[Candellara]

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?

[Candellara]

TISPKJ said:

Prices are getting silly, pal has just bought a 450 with very low miles and one owner and he wants £40k for the car, IMO the early cars like the above although not as good as later models will be the sought after cars.
Mine will never be sold.

Yes, prices for good cars seem to be creeping through the twenties with the odd one or two in the thirties.

[Candellara]

Sid's Dad said:

Eighteen months. It's the one car I continually turn back just to look at as I walk away from it in a car park. And it's lovely being in a car that people smile at in the street, but no-one thinks is wky or pretentious. If yours has none of the heater problems/scuttle leaks/cloudy wood trim problems, then its practically making you money. Almost.

I'd agree re wky or pretentious - i only get really positive remarks when out & about. I think i've been fairly lucky with mine as i read up on the 107's when i bought mine. In terms of corrosion, i removed the ABS pump, cleaned & waxoyled that area and i had some small amount of surface rust on the edge of the soft top compartment - which i got to in time.

The rest was maintenance - full brake & suspension refurb, replaced both rear lights (small hairline cracks, replaced every last rubber seal on the car and resolved a hot start issue by replacing most of the fuel system

[Candellara]

drmark said:

Another plug for The SL Shop : no connection other than just bought a 2 owner 70k mile 87 300 SL and one of the easiest purchases I have ever made. Bruce, Sam and Andy are professional, enthusiastic and non pushy. Plus the place is stacked with R107s.
Here is my new steed - red not normally my colour but very Eighties!

PS I am six three with size 11 feet and no issues once I found the lever for lowering the seat. Big wheel though!

Edited by drmark on Wednesday 6th November 18:17

Lovely. For me, the springy seats, large wheel - is part of the car's charm. There's nothing like driving the SL, whilst watching the mad world that we live in, rush past you - eager to get everywhere at warp speed.

I find driving the SL a very relaxing experience - just chills you out. Good for your heart rate - must drive her more :-)

It's not a "drivers" car IMO, but if i want that on a particular day, i'll drive my Lotus Exige. There's just something very charming about the SL 107, that i can't quite describe. If you "get it", you'll love it - if not, you won't.

Edited by Candellara on Wednesday 6th November 19:11

[Candellara]

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

[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

[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

[Candellara]

as does this:

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

I love grey / red as a colour combo

[Candellara]

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.

Nice to hear it was reshelled and not written off. BTW, any more updates on the E-Type (love E-Type resto threads) as i also have one "in progress" but not at your level

[Candellara]

Dapster said:

Ok, so this is about a good a used one as you'll find, and sold by a proper "top quality classics" dealer, but look at the price!! (Bottom of ad...)





http://www.hexagonclassics.com/car_sales/Mercedes-...

The most expensive i've seen was a 88 300SL with hardly no miles on it - £63,950. Don't know whether it sold or not

[Candellara]

Not all parts are available from MB anymore unfortunately. Interior trim parts for example and parts seem to have risen in price extraordinarily from MB - like the value of the cars. Over £300 for a rear light lense, carpets not available etc etc. Bumpers in good condition on Ebay change hands for over £1000

[Candellara]

Luca Brasi said:

Took my dad's 82 280SL for it's first spin of the year. Clunky slow autobox, floaty suspension, on/off brakes & throttle, drinks like a fish. Lovely cruiser

& still pulls more admiring glances than some modern supercars costing ten fold. R107's are a class act IMO. Hopefully you'll inherit it one day

[Candellara]

Very rare solid black.

Makes me glad i turnt down an offer of £19k for mine now :-)

Think i'll keep it and enjoy it

[Candellara]

Thought i'd post this here in order to reach a few 107 owners :-)

My 107's flasher unit works fine but is so quiet, you can't hear if the indicators are on (ok you can see via the tell tale dash lamps)

Mine has a 3 pin unit behind the instrument cluster, part no 000 821 09 63

Anyone know if it's supposed to be practically silent? or did MB revise the part so you can here it "tick"?

[Candellara]

drmark said:

Supposed to be like that
M

Thanks. Saves me spending ££££ on a new unit. Had a great day - 100 or so miles in the SL (everyone loves this car) and a real pleasure to own.

Got back & removed the N/S headlamp as i knew the adjuster was not 100%. New machine screw and lots of lube and cleaned all the headlamp parts with lense removed.

Thinking about the 107 in more depth, it's funny how certain cars form a unique relationship with their custodians.

After a conversation with the "leader of the opposition" we / i have owned and own some exotic metal from modern day Ferrari's, Porsche RS's, a brief experience with a Lambo, Lotus's and old E-Type but the old SL has managed to fixate itself as a family member rather than "one of his toys". The wife loves the SL - as do i, but for completely differing sentiments than one of my indulgences. As said in a previous post, you either "get it" or you don't. You certainly don't buy one for the driving experience, but there is something aboutthe 107 that you can't really articulate on a forum. It's a special car and a car that's loved wherever it goes. :-)

Edited by Candellara on Saturday 5th April 19:56