My first SL R129 320

[Joehow]

So following on from selling my GT3 last year and getting my Caterham I've been missing something nice to go out with my wife on the weekend when you don't wanna drive ten tenths everywhere.

thread can be found in readers rides somewhere on that car as well.

I've always loved old Mercs having grown up in the back of w123 280TEs and latterly a W210 E55. R107 have gone now in terms of affordability so I thought I'd jump on an R129 whilst I could.

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.

Got to pick the car up today and everything does seem brilliant wit amazing service history and most importantly services and bills even though it's not seen much use over recent years - it's only done 10k miles in 10 years.

Unfortunately when I came to test the roof today it only went half up. Felt like it just run out of push so knocked a few hundred more off for that on the proviso that everything else seemed really clean.

It's booked into my local Merc specialist NJS Solutions who looked after my E Class estate so I'll get them to go over it.







Initial thoughts are that it is the most comfortable thing I've ever driven, it's super smooth and oil pressure and temps all hold perfectly.

I do however have a list of jobs:
- needs an alignment
- offside front wheel bearing is a little grumbly
- it doesn't stop very well and the pedal feels very long. Brake fluid was changed last year so I think it's been bled poorly
-rollover bar light decided to flash in the way home. It goes up and down without issue so assume something sensor wise is Amis there.
-get roof fixed.

It is however as a car super clean loads of history only 5 owners and it's only done 73k miles.

Looking forward to slowly bringing it back to life.

[Joehow]

Thanks sir.... Mad that it's value well purchase price was less than a 1/4 of the Caterham

[Joehow]

300sl-24 said:

I have just bought one too, although not my first. The brake pedal's all have a lot of travel but should stop well and in a controlled manor.

They are great value for money right now. I bought a 500SL R107 thirteen years ago and still have it. It's worth a lot more today and these R129's should appreciate over the long term.

Just drive it, they like to be used. I've bookmarked this thread so I don't miss anything. Do a search on R129 on here, there is loads of good information. Heard good things about Nigel? at NJS as well.

Yeah it does stop I guess I'm just used to a much firmer pedal. Even my E350 S212 has a firmer pedal but may just be because it's more modern.

And whilst I'm not a value hunter I do hope it appreciates a little

And on NJS they have been good with the S212, they book a fair chunk in advance which is always a good sign.

[Joehow]

Unreal said:

I think you did well with the price OP. I have the same model and paid a chunk more for it, albeit with no more than a small amount of paintwork to fix. I like the colour. They are solid old beasts but well able to keep up with modern traffic and they are one of those cars that encourage you to drive smoothly and sensibly.

Hopefully you'll get the roof and other bits fixed at a reasonable price and I'll look out for updates. I'll post details of mine if there's anything interesting to report when it comes out of hibernation in a month or two.

Thanks sir, yep the morning after I've got no buyer's remorse so looking forward to getting it into the specialist to see what we're working with.

Defo need to get a hardtop stand though. I think it weighs as much as my Caterham full stop!

Thanks everyone for the positive replies!

[Joehow]

Little poke around the engine this morning seems remarkably dry and all fluids seem super clear.

Then after all the rain we've had and on the way back yesterday was pleasing to see no condensation this morning.



Dry day tomorrow so hoping to start cleaning it up. Cream carpets are a bit of a mess and the paint is dull.

[Joehow]

300sl-24 said:

Joe I have a R129 hardtop stand that I was going to advertise for sale, message me if you are interested

Oh yes I would be interested I'll drop you a PM

[Joehow]

Skyedriver said:

Nice colour and look good with the hard top, sof top for summer? You'll need somewhere safe to store the heavy roof and a frame too.
Front bushes, ball joints, and strut tops tend to wear. IIRC I had an SL500 for a while, nice cruiser but just not me so I sold it again. Didn't get on with the auto.
There used to be a very knowledgeable SL guy on here "Zonegem" but I haven't seen him in a while.

Yep defo soft top summer. Luckily my garage is fairly big and the caterham doesn't take up too much space so it can go in there easily.

A refresh of the suspension as a whole as well as any key mounts defo on the list. As is replacing the 2013 date stamped tyres.

It being a cruiser is exactly what I wanted mainly as I'm fortunate to Owen the little 310R which does the hair on fire non cruise thing quite well

[Joehow]

PositronicRay said:

Something worth doing is acquiring some switch /contact cleaner, servisol do a good one. Every time you come across a connector, switch or fuse, give it a little blast. I sorted all sorts of electrical gremlins this way.

This may explain the spare fuses in the glovebox!

[Joehow]

So full day on the car today with a proper clean and then went and did a fair few miles to assess properly what I think will need doing.

One thing that was particularly rank.... The interior was properly grubby lots of old dead skin and sweat I think.















So list currently sits at:
- roof not fully opening (as noted on purchase)
- roll bar light illumination - friend with SLs thinks this might be where the hardtop hasn't been refitted properly but we will see
- car feels very soft, dampers might be a bit tired as they are 20 odd years old
- wheel wobble above 50mph, this doesnt feel like a wheel bearing as there's no grumble. I'm thinking probably tyres rather than wheel weights as they are 2013 date stamped.
- alignment defo out as car gently pulls to the left.


Overall though for what I have paid I'm happy and hopefully some nice easy work over time to fix it up for summer.

[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.

[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

[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!

[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

[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.

[Joehow]

Andy665 said:

They have aged well, great cruiser I would imagine

Yep it is exactly that there is no dynamism at all but that works for the use in my life.