Prinnys first v8 - R129 500sl
Discussion
As anyone from the ‘best smoker barges - volume XX’ thread will know, I’ve been after an SL for a while. I started getting serious in March, and had saved searches in Autotrader, Ebay, etc... A blue one came up in Doncaster early April, but work meant I didn’t have time to call until the next day, by which time it had already gone. Somewhat disheartened, I resolved to act a bit quicker next time.
Last Wednesday, an ad. appeared on Ebay, 500sl, 99k miles, in Liverpool, £4495. I was there that afternoon, and deal done! Picked up yesterday.
As is smoker tradition, here’s a picture on the way home at the filling station.
(just like my BMW thread, crappy pictures will be a regular occurrence here, sorry).
The plan is to give it a mini rolling-restoration, making it usable for summer before getting a bit more serious in Winter, as & when I know what’s needed to bring it up to good condition.
There’s a whole list already of things to do, but I’ll save that until I’ve got a few more pictures, etc. to make it a bit more interesting.
Oh, and the title, it’s true this is the 1st v8 I’ve owned, but it’s in good company with the v10 & v12 I already own. I should start buying shares in Shell!
Anyway, more later - will take some photos if the weather picks up a bit.
Last Wednesday, an ad. appeared on Ebay, 500sl, 99k miles, in Liverpool, £4495. I was there that afternoon, and deal done! Picked up yesterday.
As is smoker tradition, here’s a picture on the way home at the filling station.
(just like my BMW thread, crappy pictures will be a regular occurrence here, sorry).
The plan is to give it a mini rolling-restoration, making it usable for summer before getting a bit more serious in Winter, as & when I know what’s needed to bring it up to good condition.
There’s a whole list already of things to do, but I’ll save that until I’ve got a few more pictures, etc. to make it a bit more interesting.
Oh, and the title, it’s true this is the 1st v8 I’ve owned, but it’s in good company with the v10 & v12 I already own. I should start buying shares in Shell!
Anyway, more later - will take some photos if the weather picks up a bit.
R129s are brill cars my old man has had one for over 10 years and in that time other than servicing it's only needs a new ignition switch.
Still love the odd summer drive and it only a 320.
I had a project 500 a few years back and it was also a lovley bit of kit.
Take care of it and I'm sure it can only go up in price
Still love the odd summer drive and it only a 320.
I had a project 500 a few years back and it was also a lovley bit of kit.
Take care of it and I'm sure it can only go up in price
From yesterday’s barge thread:
The initial to-do list.
Then take lots of pictures.
Longer term (i.e. not this week / weekend)
Rust on osf wing, crappy tyre & wheel
Drivers door dropped & scratched
The one good wheel & scratched wing
Rusty nsf wing & wheel
Wind deflector in ‘tided’ boot - if not yet cleaned
Hood down
Ye olde Mercedes v8
Bonnet heat / acoustic shielding has seen better days & looks blue? (need to check)
windscreen header trim peeling, broken visor bracket
Soft top has seen better days
TADTS driver seat bolster wear
And finally... look at my amazing spoiler!
Further thoughts having taken the hard-top off.
The roll bar won’t pop-up. To be investigated.
The soft-top doesn’t want to push the rear seals in without a helping hand (annoyingly, this worked fine last week when viewing). I suspect low hydraulic pressure as the rest of the process is fine. Thoughts?
With immaculate, low mileage examples up past £20k (asking) now, I wasn’t expecting perfection. Mechanically everything checks out, so it’s cosmetics I’ll be working on.
The initial to-do list.
- Wheel refurb, they’re all a bit manky.
- New tyres. (going to use Zonergem’s recommendation of Goodyear Eagle)
- Tracking is out. (It’s also a bit vibratory at 95+, but the mismatched tyres & tracking might solve that anyway)
- Reversing light bulb blown.
- RTFM, as I was using the gearbox switch backwards & wondering why it didn’t want to rev.
- Brake fluid change - can’t see when it was last done, and the pedal is much longer than I’m used to (ultimate stopping is OK, though).
- Figure out how to get wheel & mirror & seat positions synchronised.
-
Fix the 2nd key so it folds. (Anyone got a ‘how-to guide’ link?)- Done! - Check plugs & change if needed (probably not, goes OK).
- Fix the aerial/swap the pioneer head unit to get something that works.
-
Tidy the boot (jack & wind deflector loose).- Done!
Then take lots of pictures.
Longer term (i.e. not this week / weekend)
- Get the blebs of rust on the front wings done.
- Remove the spoiler.
- Maybe A/C regas/check - it gets plenty hot, but not as cold as expecting - but again, RTFM to make sure I’m using the A/C right.
- Maybe - need more time behind wheel - get seat foam base replaced - a little squishy, methinks.
Rust on osf wing, crappy tyre & wheel
Drivers door dropped & scratched
The one good wheel & scratched wing
Rusty nsf wing & wheel
Wind deflector in ‘tided’ boot - if not yet cleaned
Hood down
Ye olde Mercedes v8
Bonnet heat / acoustic shielding has seen better days & looks blue? (need to check)
windscreen header trim peeling, broken visor bracket
Soft top has seen better days
TADTS driver seat bolster wear
And finally... look at my amazing spoiler!
Further thoughts having taken the hard-top off.
The roll bar won’t pop-up. To be investigated.
The soft-top doesn’t want to push the rear seals in without a helping hand (annoyingly, this worked fine last week when viewing). I suspect low hydraulic pressure as the rest of the process is fine. Thoughts?
With immaculate, low mileage examples up past £20k (asking) now, I wasn’t expecting perfection. Mechanically everything checks out, so it’s cosmetics I’ll be working on.
I might be a bit biased but these are great cars. Want an idea of how much development and engineering went into it? Watch this video
https://youtu.be/zQ5Q6xh6OCY
or just take one of the seats apart to see how darn complicated it is.
_____________________________________
Get the spare wheel out and have a look at the hydraulic fluid level, just visible through the slit in the plastic pump cover. You might need to take out the three 10mm plastic nuts and remove the plastic cover to get a proper idea. Odds are you'll find a little spanner or something down there too. The fluid will probably be a bit dark and it's not a bad idea to suction it out and replace with fresh, perhaps bleeding it through the return line.
I would lean towards thinking you had a dirty contact in a fuse or microswitch or a drop in voltage that was confusing the roof ECU. Changing all the fuses in the main and auxiliary boxes (including the 30A strip fuse that protects the roof pump) is good practice, as is keeping the battery charged.
https://youtu.be/zQ5Q6xh6OCY
or just take one of the seats apart to see how darn complicated it is.
_____________________________________
Get the spare wheel out and have a look at the hydraulic fluid level, just visible through the slit in the plastic pump cover. You might need to take out the three 10mm plastic nuts and remove the plastic cover to get a proper idea. Odds are you'll find a little spanner or something down there too. The fluid will probably be a bit dark and it's not a bad idea to suction it out and replace with fresh, perhaps bleeding it through the return line.
I would lean towards thinking you had a dirty contact in a fuse or microswitch or a drop in voltage that was confusing the roof ECU. Changing all the fuses in the main and auxiliary boxes (including the 30A strip fuse that protects the roof pump) is good practice, as is keeping the battery charged.
Driver's bolster could be retrimmed for £80-90 as it's not too hard to do. Failing that, get a whole back cushion from eBay in the USA - normally with the Global Shipping Program it's not too expensive - as they're the passenger side over there and sees a lot less wear. You'll need a little Torx set and there's a trick to aligning the cushions when they go back in.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/90-02-Mercedes-Benz-SL500...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/90-02-Mercedes-Benz-SL500...
Hood looks like it's in fair shape apart from the windows cracking. Should be a 250-300 quid job to replace the windows, rather than a whole new hood.
http://peterlentoncartrim.co.uk/
Quite handy for you and I am told does good work.
http://peterlentoncartrim.co.uk/
Quite handy for you and I am told does good work.
ian316 said:
You're a lucky man
I’ve met Kevin. My life was a frivolous thing, but I am now converted. I have seen the light! 
(Thanks Ian)
Integroo said:
I think it looks lovely....but can't you take a better picture?!
Thanks! I am famously bad in the family for taking pictures, mind you, I’m not much better in them!Here’s a picture of my finger from earlier:
That’s pretty standard for me...
Hoppo4.2 & PaulyV - thanks - this is just the beginning - I have wanted one of these for years, so it’s going to be a lot of work, but I’ll get there.
Zonergem - thanks as usual, and for all the emails & advice in the search! Hydraulic fluid will be tomorrow’s task, that & ordering a fuse set. I keep forgetting that. Hmm, actually - Hydraulic fluid... where’s the manual again? (I’m pretty sure I have some Citröen LHM knocking about somewhere, from when I had the BX, but no doubt it’ll be different - never mind the fact it’s been >20 years since I had the BX - Gawd I now feel old!)
I had a BX as my first car, inherited from Granny in 1998 while at uni. 16 TRS, Blue with hairy grey herringbone tweed. I loved it and I'll have another if I can find one. They've not lasted quite as well as the contemporary Mercedes, shall we say.
Fluid wise you want a ZH-M that meets MB Spec 343.0. Either go to the dealer for the good stuff or use the Febi alternative in the same bottle.
Fluid wise you want a ZH-M that meets MB Spec 343.0. Either go to the dealer for the good stuff or use the Febi alternative in the same bottle.
Re the boot spoiler...I had one on my e36 BMW 318iS ( It was an option IIRC when new). I have never liked spoilers of any kind, so rather than removing it, and then having to respray the boot, I managed to buy a decent 'non spoilered ' boot lid in the same colour. Then sold the other one on ebay, so all in all it was quite cheap to do.
No idea if that would be the same with a 500SL Merc though....I suspect not !
No idea if that would be the same with a 500SL Merc though....I suspect not !
The Febi fluid is the Merc fluid and your can get it for very little if you shop around online, £5-ish per bottle.
I would quite like to know how to change the fluid. I don't think mine has ever been done! It is a lovely day and I am heading from Sheffield up to Leeds by public transport. I am rather looking forward to getting back to my 129 tonight and taking the hardtop off and doing some driving.
I would quite like to know how to change the fluid. I don't think mine has ever been done! It is a lovely day and I am heading from Sheffield up to Leeds by public transport. I am rather looking forward to getting back to my 129 tonight and taking the hardtop off and doing some driving.
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