R129 - Desirable upgrades

[olliete]

Hi all,

I am now the proud owner of a 1998 320SL - one of the last of the straight 6s with the 5sp gearbox.

It's a lovely car with a great service history and the panoramic roof, but the car itself is a little tired, having been left outside and used seldom (300 miles) over the last 9 months.

I am now considering where to start with bringing her back up to worthy condition - my first thoughts were a polish to the paintwork and a set of AMG Monoblock alloys... I was staggered (no pun intended) to see that these alloys sell for £1,000 a set!!

My question is - do you think its worth it? Would you expect to get the money back on the car? Although the car has the pano, it isn't a top spec as it doesn't have heated seats or headlight washers (it has wood wheel, CD changer etc so probably middle rung 320).

Any other upgrade suggestions much appreciated! I have some electrical gripes to sort first and foremost (just bulbs out and third brake light disconnected)

Thanks.

[olliete]

truck71 said:

I think these cars are best left standard, they were thoroughly engineered and offer a great daily proposition. I'm not a fan of AMG wheels either and would actively avoid buying a car with them- that's just personal taste though. Spend your cash getting it in good working order rather than blowing it on a set of alloys.

Thanks - the alloys need a refurb, so i saw little point sinking money into alloys i didn't like.

Very fair point though, will be sorting the niggles out prior to buying a set of alloys!

[olliete]

Thanks for the replies - those shocks look like fantastic value for money!

The car was actually serviced by MB&B about 600 miles ago, with an oil / filter change. The other fluids are likely in need of a change (Coolant, brake fluid looks to only have been done once etc)

Task for the weekend is to address the non-illuminated air con unit (looks quite straightforward) and the more painful third brake light wiring that no longer works (i've heard this is a common problem)

Ollie.

[olliete]

ras62 said:

Rear LED brake light is likely a wire break inside the rubber flex cover where the wiring goes into the body.
Heated seats working? Nice in the winter months. Forget the rear window demister as they are useless, never had mine working well so I rely on the AC.

exactly right - i can see the disconnected wire in the rubber housing, i fear i may need to cut the housing to find the other half of the wire...