I picked up a car that I had always lusted after, but never thought I could afford to own. It's a bit of a project car but that's part of the fun for me.

First the car is a 1990 Mercedes 500Sl convertible. White with Navy Blue (132) interior.

The car has 73,147 Original Miles. (That's good and bad).

The car was owned by an elderly gentleman who used it as a pleasure vehicle. He ended up taking ill, and the car sat parked from 2003-2010.

He passed earlier in the year, and his grandson (who I am friends with) inherited the car. He put about $2600 into the following things to get the car back on the road.

-New tires, Brakes, exhaust, driver power window regulator, fluid changes, battery etc.

He had no particular interest in the car, and after some discussion and negotiation. I now own it.

The car needs a lot of work to be 100% but I got it cheap.

I'll make a list of the good and the bad.

The good:

Mechanically runs and drives perfectly.
Leaks Nothing.
Perfect bill of health from 2 mechanics
A/C works and blows cold. (it MAY still even be R12, I have no clue)
Body is straight, and dent and rust free
New tires on 18" AMG wheels.
Has the hardtop
Had the lower cladding and bumpers color matched at some point earlier in it's life.
Soft top working and in good condition

The bad: (and this is everything I have come up with so far)

Interior Cosmetics - new parts needed:

Seats NEED new upholstery. The leather is dried cracked and split. All power seat functions work.

The interior center console wood is showing its age, it is still in tact and there but it has a section that is faded a bit and has some cracks.

The drivers power window switch works, but it seems like the up position is picky. It almost seems like you have to push down, and then back up without letting go to get the window to go up. The actual electric functions of the window seem fine.

The power mirror adjustment switch is broken, the top piece that you turn left and right to select a mirror and move them is missing.

The portion of the sliding center console cover that covers the ashtray and cigar lighter assembly is missing.

The emergency brake release handle is broken off. I actually have the piece in the car, looks like you could release the brake with a pliers if you needed. I need to replace that piece.

The rear view mirror is there, and the actual mirror glass is in tact, BUT the plastic housing around it has broken off, I actually have the back of the housing but not the front frame around the mirror glass.

Hood pad is deteriorated, and virtually gone. Little pieces of foam sitting on the motor.

Electrical quirks:

The car has had an aftermarket stereo at some point, probably in the mid to late 90's but something isn't right there.

It has some high end components. Specifically a Nakamichi MB-100 6 disc in dash cd changer, and a soundstream rubicon amplifier in the trunk, but it isn't connected properly. The radio is connected to constant power, and will stay on unless you remove the detachable faceplate, regardless of if the ignition is on or not.

Secondly the drivers speaker makes some sort of intermittent thumping sound. I do not know if they are aftermarket or not. That may need a going over - and possibly a swap to a more modern aftermarket radio. Mp3 / ipod capability would be nice.

Lastly - the power locks ONLY operate from the trunk lock cylinder. All door handles flash red or green to indicate status, and the doors do actually lock and unlock. BUT it will only lock / unlock from the trunk lock. The key will turn the door lock cylinders, but it will not actuate the locks from the doors. I haven't tried the keyless entry because a couple of the 357 batteries are missing from the remote key.
Exterior cosmetics:

The car is in remarkably good shape exterior wise, although the paint seems a bit dull and has contaminants on it at the moment. It's obvious it sat outside for a while. A good wash / wax and then we'll see, it may need some machine polish work.

Headlight doors I guess they are called... The frames around the headlights, show their age and have gotten cloudy and faded. The passenger side has a crack / chip in it that looks like it got friendly with a rock.

I know this seems like a long list, but really the car isn't that bad.. I'm very particular and described every flaw that I could possibly come up with.

I've attached a couple pics of the car.

 

I love that car. How much did you pay for it?

 

George,

My wife has wanted an SL convertible since discovering them around 1980 or so. I've always refused because of the maintenance and insurance expense and overall lack of practicality. She told me last night that one of her friends just purchased one that she thinks is a 2007 or 2008 model. My only comment was "Sure hope she knows enough to start a big maintenance fund long before her warranty runs out". She's impulsive with cars, she and her husband own a local veterinary hospital, but I doubt if he could change the battery in a key fob so they always pay through the nose to have their vehicles maintained....

Good luck with yours. Since your brother has a shop, I know you'll fix it up right at minimum expense. I won't be surprised if you sell it for a tidy profit in a year or so....

 

Thanks, I always admired them too...

I paid $3500 as it sits. It was worth it to me for such a low miles / rust free example. Although that figure will easily double by the time I get the car to where I want it.

George

 

I would have paid $3,500 in a heartbeat. The engine and transmission alone are worth that. Great project car. Clean her up, add a few AMG goodies and enjoy. My dad has an SL55 and absolutely loves it. Good call.

 

Find a good upholsterist and MB interior part supplier...I'm jealous already.

 

Jon,

Yes the shop definitely helps in my decision to buy the car.

Believe it or not, these cars aren't really the money pits that people perceive them to be, at least the older ones. These are real Mercedes-Benzes, built in West Germany - (the floor mat says so - how's that for a blast from the past), and come from an era when the engineers ran the show, not the accountants. The sl went through a facelift in 1997 - which is widely regarded as the "cheapening" of the SL, and conveniently coincides with the merger with Chrysler.

The drivetrains are virtually bomb-proof as long as you keep the fluids fresh. With some careful planning and shopping, parts are easily attainable, but there are some limited, high dollar items. BUT they are mostly electronic modules. Modulemasters, and some other places will actually rebuild these, as they are so pricey that people took the time to take them apart and diagnose the failures.

I already priced new seat skins $350 - and $150 to have them installed by my brother's interior guy.. That will make the car night and day. Time to scour ebay and the benz forums for the other odds and ends...

All Mercedes paints are single stage till 1996, so a car that looks like its ready for the junkyard can look brand new with a light wetsand and 30 mins with a buffer.

As far as insurance, I have the car insured (and it will be registered) as a limited use collector car (we can do that in NJ if it's 20 or more years old). You have to have a regular car with conventional insurance as well. Collector car status also exempts it from any inspection requirements although NJ just transitioned to an emission test only state.. You are limited to 5000 miles a year, but 300,000 Combined single limit insurance, with $100 deductible collision and comprehensive with an agreed value of $10,000 cost me $201 for the year.

The wind in my hair and 322hp / 349ft lbs of torque under my right foot make the whole experience priceless. I've wanted one of these for a LONG time. I think once I get done putting all the work into it to get it to where I want it, it's not going anywhere fast...

George

 

George,

It sounds like a great car for the money. I would imagine the wood pieces could be either repaired or replaced by the same companies that do Jaguar wood pieces.

 

George, your benz needs a free flowing full Magnaflow exhaust...it's inevitable.

 

I really don't think that's my style..

I'm amongst other things a car audio nut... I'm already sitting here trying to figure out how to get bass response out of a convertible with limited interior space and an open top. I don't think adding to the background noise would be anything but counterproductive.

Now if it were a corvette or a porsche, I'd consider it.

 

Cars are inherently poor listening environments, especially convertibles. Don't waste your money on high-dollar sound systems. We had two Italian convertibles back in the Fabulous '80s and most of the time the stereo was turned off because you couldn't hear it anyway, especially with the top down....

So have you found a good SL forum yet?

 

I know, I know... But hey we all have our vices... I'm not planning anything too crazy.
A decent head unit, a set of components in the doors, and some form of sub. Just enough to put a smile on my face when I turn the radio on.

 

hey hey, congrats! She still looks great for a 20yr old car!

 

Nice deal and for a car that age it's never aged
I think those SL models are better looking than their successors .
Congrats

 

So I did some tinkering in the trunk... turns out someone before me had the stereo bug - BUT the main fuse was pulled out of the fuse holder. Put it back in and everything came to life.

The car has a Nakamichi MB-100 6 Disc CD changer head unit And a set of Boston Acoustics Proseries 6.5" Component Speakers in the doors, powered by a Soundstream Rubicon 502 Amp built into a little box in the corner of what Mercedes claims is a trunk. A small sub amp and sub and I'm set. The car even sounds remarkably good as it is.

I got it registered today and ran it through the car wash, the paint is going to need some work, but it's better than I thought it was. I'm amazed at how good it drives for a 20 year old car. I'm waiting for a couple friends to come over so we can get the hardtop off... And yes it really does have timeless looks and curb appeal.

As far as SL forums, I've only joined a couple. one peachparts.com (which is a long known MB forum, but with not much SL traffic), and Benzworld.org which seems to have a much larger SL following..

George

 

So I decided to just try a little bit of mild compound on a microfiber cloth to see if the paint truly had any hope left in it, and I was amazed. My paint looks like it's matte, I did this one little section briefly by hand, and it immediately lost the haze, and started shining. It was almost like I washed the car just on that spot... I can only imagine what a buffer with the right products can do... I love the single stage paint.

I took a pic with my blackberry, it was the only thing I had handy, but it short of shows the results...

 

You scored a beautiful car. I went to the opposite end of the spectrum - I came home Monday evening with a beautiful 1948 Chevy Fleetmaster Town Sedan. I had a fat fender back in the 60's and always wanted another one. This car is the last of the fat fender Chevys. The exterior has a beautiful deep burgundy paint job ( almost matches my Jag's color), and, the inside has been totally redone as well. Under the hood is a little 216 cube six making 90 HP. Only major problem I've found is the engine's rear main seal is leaking pretty bad, but, I can fix that. Found the car on Craigslist and it was only 15 miles from me. Weird thing is - now I have 3 cars - the S Type, a Honda CRV, and the Fleetmaster - and all 3 of them are almost the same color. Anyway, I'm enjoying a car that was built when I was 2 years old.

Regards:
Oldengineer

 

always wanted one back in the day

 

I was 14 years old - and-helping a friend of mine occasionally work on a 1928 Dodge sedan. I got the bug, and, got my father to let me buy a 1937 Dodge coupe. By the time it was ready to move under its own power, I was 16. Took my wife to be on our first date in it. When we went to look at the Chevy, she wanted it as bad as I did.

Regards:
Oldengineer

 

George that is SWEET man, good for you, congrats!