Moving from MGB GT to Merc

ZV Yoda

Hi folks - I'm new to the forum here. I've had my 73 MG BGT for 2 years and am now looking to change to something a bit different.

I've seen an ad for a 73 Merc 350SLC for €3.5k which seems very reasonable. I was thinking of taking it for a test drive over the week-end. Any thoughts/advice on what I should look out for? I'm not hugely mechanical and have no prior knowledge/experience with classic Mercs.

Details of the car at the atached link...

http://www.classiccarsales.ie/index.php/1123

Itsfixed

I'm no Merc aficianado, more an old beemer man, but that looks like a lot of car for the money. Would be a good running project. Irish car too.

8~)

I haven't followed that link, but if it's a green one it's been for sale for a while now.

I've an SLC, currently undergoing a bit of restoration.

It's been said here and elsewhere before - mechanically the Mercedes are strong. The thing to look for is rust. Everywhere.

More specifically, with the SLC, starting at the front: valence, wings, in behind bumper brackets, chassis rails, bulkhead, seams in bulkhead, around kickdown switch, where bulkhead meets sill, sills, around jacking point, front wing bottoms into sill area, floor to sill join and up into the inner sill (inside the car take up the carpets and check; sill carpets are stuck down but give them a good poking to check for cruchiness behind), around the screen and sunroof, inside the sunroof tray, door tops and bottoms, behind the chrome at the top of the rear panel at the rear window, behind the side trim, at the rear sill jacking point right back to the rear wheel arch and up into the area under the rear seat (take out the rear seat and have a look under it, in the rear corners), all around the rear arches and the area behind the rear arch into the boot corners in behind the rear bumper... if you get that far and there's not too much rust you're doing alright.

Be aware the underseal on these Mercedes is very thick and can hide a multitude.

If you want to see some of the above rust spots in all their cut out and sanded back glory, you could possibly look at my car if interested.

There were a few posts on this site about SLs and SLCs recently - do a search.

Dades

There are other infinitely more experienced Merc heads here, but since I bought an old Merc this year I'll make a couple of comments.

There looks to be rust eating away at bits of that car. Take a good look at the sills and the wheel arches. Those chrome arch covers could be hiding something nasty. Take a good look under the carpets in the drivers and passengers footwells. If you can see the ground or the engine that's bad!

The paint looks a bit rough, and like it's been splattered with paint on the drivers side front. That said on inspection maybe it could come up with a good restorative waxing.

Of course for €3.5K this is what you'd expect. If you have more money to spare, spend it on a better car. But at least you'll have the opportunity to drive it to see how she runs. Make sure you check any electrics, and see if you can get any idea of a service history.

G'luck!

ZV Yoda

Thanks folks - yes it's the green one. I did notice the paintwork in the pictures.

I emailed the owner yesterday. He seemed fairly straight talking - here's what he said...

"Its an irish registered car Dublin reg 1973 as the car is so old there is no service history with it.

The car does need a re spray and is not suited for someone who wants to buy it as a second car unless they are planning to do some work on it there is rust on the lower passenger side of the car the under carriage is in great condition but the body needs some work.

I have a log book with some previous owners but it only goes back about 4 owners previous owners can be got from the motor office

I do not have any other photos to hand at the moment and the car is in a mates house so I wont be out there unless someone is coming to see the car at the weekend.

If you are thinking of using this as a second car I would advise against it. This car is heavy on petrol it’s a 3.5L petrol engine its not cheap to run if your using it on a daily basis.

Let me know your thoughts on what I said if the car is for bringing out in the good weather and occasional use its fine but other than that I would say go for something with a smaller engine."

Based on the above, I was still going to take a spin out tomorrow - I'm in Celbrdige & he's in Rush, so it's a bit of a trek. At least it'll be fun in the MG!

Dades

On the basis of that, I'd guess the car is really a project car and not much more. If you're looking for a weekend runabout to replace the MG I'd hold off. You could find stuff going wrong a lot, with a cheap merc, but stuff that isn't cheap to fix.

SLCs are bargain priced compared to their topless brothers, so you could pick up a half decent one in the UK for not much more. Check out this one with a buy it now of €4,400.

No harm in going for a test drive however - at least you can drive one to see if you like them.
Just leave the checkbook at home!

ZV Yoda

Good points - thanks. Taking it for a drive either way is probbaly a good idea, so I may well make the trip tomorrow.

Thanks

mike65

Nothing cost more than a cheap Merc.

Mike.

hi5

I agree with all the above I had a 1973 350sl for 9 years, I bought it cheap and it was cheap for a reason,RUST,the two main areas as stated above was the sills at the front around the jacking point and the bulk head behind the pedals,it had already been fitted with new floors and other panels,so you can only guess what it must have been like.
The mechanicals are bulletproof with all round independent suspension and disc brakes,the v8 engine is very reliable,the auto box excellent,hit the kickdown at cruising speed at you'll think your going into orbit!
easy car to work on,it has points even with the injection,the computer is behind the passanger dash and has a button to dial in correct mixture for emmissions,engine can be tuned it in about 15 mins.
Heres another plus point that few can give.My sl was written off in a head on collision just over a year ago on the N10 near Kilkenny,two east europeans driving a large transit van on the wrong side of the road we were both doing about 80 kmh ,two boys in the van were bruised but ok,I walked away without a scratch,the fire crew said it was the car that saved me from serious injury and if it was a newer Merc I wouldnt have been so lucky!

And while i'm on the subject,I still have some stuff belonging to it for sale.
The hardtop still at home in the garage ,a new front right wing(reproduction,still in packaging),arch repair panel for rear left,ignition amplifier for the coil,workshop manual,parts manual,various sl book,haynes manual.

Hifive

hi5 wrote:

I agree with all the above I had a 1973 350sl for 9 years,QUOTE]

Ah ha, another "Hi5" with an interest in old Mercedes SL's. Its a small world.

The only thing I can add to the above posts is, buy the best you can afford especially if your not particularly mechanically minded as a bad one will put you off for life. The earlier SL/SLC's are not particularly complicated cars and parts and body panels are available although expensive. http://www.lichtenberg-classics.ie/ will undertake any job for you and charges about €50/hour for labour. Finally there are several outfits in the UK that break old ones and sometimes have good reusable parts. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mercedes-SL-3-5-107-convertable-BREAKING_W0QQitemZ290129400888QQihZ019QQcategoryZ31355QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Had an MGB for a few years, so simple you could work on it with a knife and fork.;)

MercMad

I have someone interested in a Workshop manual for a 350SL/SLC. PM me please !!

8~)

Hi5, mail sent - I'm also interested in some bits.

Yoda - did you view that SLC; any good?

ZV Yoda

Hi 8~),

Based on the assorted comments, I decided to heed the "nothing more expensive than a cheap Merc" advice & didn't bother with the SLC. I'm keeping an open mind - I still might consider a Merc, but I'm keeping an open mind on some other classics too... TR6, Ford Capri, Manta A to name a few. Decisions, decisions...

In the meantime, I've put my MGB GT up for sale on buy & sell. It's a '73 in Damsk red if anyone's interested

http://www.buyandsell.ie/browse.php?quicksearch=mgb&textopt=all

Dades

ZV Yoda wrote:

In the meantime, I've put my MGB GT up for sale on buy & sell. It's a '73 in Damsk red if anyone's interested

If you're really keen to sell you should put it up on autotrader, and maybe eBay. From what I recall autotrader were much cheaper than CBG who charge a lot, and often.

franksm

ZV Yoda wrote:

In the meantime, I've put my MGB GT up for sale on buy & sell. It's a '73 in Damsk red if anyone's interested

http://www.buyandsell.ie/browse.php?quicksearch=mgb&textopt=all

Did I pass you on the Strawberry Beds rd on Tuesday evening ? There was a red BGT in the queue of traffic towards Lucan. Red's a great colour on the MG

ZV Yoda

Don't think it was me - I don't use that road. I do know there is another guy near me (in Celbridge) who has a rubber bumber GT in Damask Red too - could have been him.