My first SL R129 320

[Den Den]

Nice car OP, and those wheels really suit it.

[Joehow]

PositronicRay said:

Mine took

Shocks
Wheels tyres (old ones bent)
Control arms
Top mounts

Then it drove right.

Yeah I'm expecting something like that.

[Joehow]

Den Den said:

Nice car OP, and those wheels really suit it.

Thanks sir.

[300sl-24]

Looks great with the clean and polish, just started having a go at my interior today

Edited by 300sl-24 on Sunday 19th March 20:25

[PositronicRay]

Joehow said:

PositronicRay said:

Mine took

Shocks
Wheels tyres (old ones bent)
Control arms
Top mounts

Then it drove right.

Yeah I'm expecting something like that.

Worth doing all the stuff, each change made a small improvement, but the whole job made the car.

Ohh don't forget the steering idler, easy and cheap. I didn't do the inner and outer track rods, but probably should have. Benzworld.org has a wealth info.

[tobinen]

Hereward said:

Ha, good advice, literally did that a few weeks ago to free up the heated air vent button that wouldn't disengage:

Thanks. I have the same issue on mine.

[Joehow]

Morning All,

I'm pretty sure on deeper inspection my suspicions of the dampers being shot are correct as there's a misting of fluid on 2 out of 4 of them.

Any of the R129 guys know the best replacement? I'm tempted to throw a Bilstein B12 kit on to make it a bit sharper but also feel this might upset the car a bit as it's not quite in the waft character.

Thoughts?

Thanks

[Joehow]

Collected my roof stand of a lovely chap called Ray today for a great price. Thankfully due to the caterham size it fits perfectly in the garage.

Managed another 60 or so miles in the car today as it was dry for once. It's definitely starting to feel a lot better and you can really tell it hasn't seen proper use for years. The motor feels like it's clearing it's throat.

Still got an intermittent roll bar light but otherwise car feels okay! Just want refreshed with NJS now but that isn't too long with currently being booked in for 6th November.

Can't wait for Summer! Lovely place to cruise about in

[300sl-24]

Thanks Joe, pleased to meet you too, it will soon be time to remove the hard top

[PositronicRay]

Joehow said:

Morning All,

I'm pretty sure on deeper inspection my suspicions of the dampers being shot are correct as there's a misting of fluid on 2 out of 4 of them.

Any of the R129 guys know the best replacement? I'm tempted to throw a Bilstein B12 kit on to make it a bit sharper but also feel this might upset the car a bit as it's not quite in the waft character.

Thoughts?

Thanks

I put the std set up on, improved the feel, and ride of the car no end. Rears are a bit of a fiddle. No experience of th B12 kit.

The old dampers were a bit odd, harsh and crashy until really warm then rode ok. When I say really warm after a drive of severall hundred miles.

Edited by PositronicRay on Sunday 26th March 08:48

[Joehow]

PositronicRay said:

I put the std set up on, improved the feel, and ride of the car no end. Rears are a bit of a fiddle. No experience of th B12 kit.

The old dampers were a bit odd, harsh and crashy until really warm then rode ok. When I say really warm after a drive of severall hundred miles.

Edited by PositronicRay on Sunday 26th March 08:48

Thanks chap think that's what I'll do. They just don't hold the car up that well anymore and it takes ages to resettle once it's hit a compression there's very little damping control left.

I'm judging it against my E350 estate which in comparison feels like it's on two way race dampers... So it's not just that it's soft the SL.

In other news the engines a bit of a gem isn't it that straight six is quite amusing!

[B'stard Child]

Joehow said:

So qué lots of searching for a car I could do a few bits on. I couldn't afford a top dollar SL shop car but not did I want an over polished turd. I searched in the usual places and came across this aquamarine 1998 SL 320. Won it for just over £6k in eBay and was assured everything was tip top.

That's a really nice colour - different and doesn't date the car at all

[pcn1]

Joehow said:

Thanks chap think that's what I'll do. They just don't hold the car up that well anymore and it takes ages to resettle once it's hit a compression there's very little damping control left.

I'm judging it against my E350 estate which in comparison feels like it's on two way race dampers... So it's not just that it's soft the SL.

In other news the engines a bit of a gem isn't it that straight six is quite amusing!

Very old school is that engine, with a silky smooth charm. I've read they are good for over 300,000 miles if looked after. (However around 100K they "may" need a new head gasket if you see oil leaking from the rear of the head, budget £1K if so)

Roll on summer, cant wait to get the hard top off and put the roof down !

[Joehow]

pcn1 said:

Very old school is that engine, with a silky smooth charm. I've read they are good for over 300,000 miles if looked after. (However around 100K they "may" need a new head gasket if you see oil leaking from the rear of the head, budget £1K if so)

Roll on summer, cant wait to get the hard top off and put the roof down !

Yeah it reminds me abit of the engine in my old man's w123 280te growing up. Even makes the same sort of noise on kick down!

[Joehow]

Managed to get our for a spin this morning again before the car goes in this week for it's refresh. It feels better everytime I use it which is of course positive. Cannot wait for summer and to get the roof off now.

I also had a massive cock up and managed to lock the car whilst the the car was on with the keys in it.... What a plonker. Was only round the corner from home so the wife came to the rescue! Seems I must have pressed the interior lock button by accident.




I've also been spending a bit of time polishing my wood....(stop laughing at the back) I'm quite pleased how it's coming up given how old it is.





Finally thanks to retro plates got some period correct dealer plates for the front!

[Joehow]

So round one after surgery with NJS - I made clear I'm anal as hell so they've been properly through the car top to bottom and back again....

Good news:
Roof is fine and was just slow through lack of use
No rust worries
No crash damage
Car seems well looked after
No scary stuff in STAR
Not a polished turd

Work done so far:
Gearbox and diff oil changed - immediately feels smoother
Brake fluid done


Work to be carried out when it goes back on 16th May.
Rear brake lines
Two front arms
Few bushes on the rear
Spark plugs
Can cover seal


Watch outs:
Windows looking tired on the soft top
Sump has a small weld from a previous repair


Overall the guys said for the money I paid it's a great base to build from so although I'm probably £2k all in I'm happy and comforted also there were a host of R129s alongside it.

I'll have it up at Sunday Scramble end of April

[300sl-24]

Sounds pretty good all round then, I think the rear brake pipes might be a PITA though. Overall seems like you bought a nice solid car

[Joehow]

300sl-24 said:

Sounds pretty good all round then, I think the rear brake pipes might be a PITA though. Overall seems like you bought a nice solid car

Yeah I've got prices and labour for all the bits so I think there's some 'this a st job' built into the quote

Overall happy though.

[Joehow]

So ahead of Bicester next week and with spring sort of coming I took the hard top off. Roof does seem to be speeding up with a bit of use and following the guys at NJS greasing everything up.



Car does look rather handsome top down - definitely the best look!





Really can't wait for more summer cruising! The perfect partner to the Caterham.

[Andy665]

They have aged well, great cruiser I would imagine