Against my better judgement I bought a Mercedes-Benz today. I've never wanted one of these, and it sure isn't a sports car, but the price was very low, and the car runs very well. Any ideas, advice, horror stories, or soothing tales of mechanical goodness to reduce my buyer's remorse?
It is a 1979 450SL --- 89K miles
Watch out for rust. And the seat stuffing should be replaced.
Dont know much about the car but lower it then throw some period correct deep dish rims and you should be good.
The car has aged much better than Stephanie Powers. Maybe you should specify "Stephanie Powers circa '65-'75".
Funny, I've just recently noticed how much I like the aesthetics of the late-80s?/early-90s? versions of those.
450 means that it has a 4.5L something or other, right? May not be a sports car but that should at least get out of it's own way.
Joe Gearin wrote:
Do me a favor and delete at least 2 of these merc emblems. Pet peeve of mine. Mercedes had a bad habit of over badging thier cars, often placing them within inches of each other.
Remember the 190E grilles with the big 6 inch diameter logo in the center, then a small 1 inch one at the top and then the one sticking out just another inch above that?
In reply to Joe Gearin:
Or Bobby Ewing....I'm just sayin'...
Stephanie Powers is a fictional character......she will always be at the peak of her hotness!
Yes, the car is a 4.5 liter V8. It actually kind of hauls ass once you get it moving. These are built like tanks and weigh nearly 4000 lbs!
Good Doctor---- good call, the seats are worn (especially driver's seat)
I thought it was rust-free, until I noticed the bottom of the spare tire well was weak. Ah well, at least it isn't visible.
Well he probably needs the oil well to get it going 
.
Nice find, looks good.
Merc's from that era used horse hair or straw or something like that as a seat cushion. This invariable falls out onto the floor under the seat, and if you let it get wet like because it rained and you have a convertible, for instance, it turns to mush. My 220D did it and the auto upholster guy I used said they all did, even the top of the line ones, and convertibles did it fast. He would re-do the seats with regular foam rubber, just pull the covers, put the foam down, put the original covers back on, and they would be good for decades.
Don't look too closely for rust behind the tires in quarter panels.
I always liked that model.
Panzer Convertibles are good! Not a sports car by any stretch but super solid and comfortable. Yours looks good.
One of the secrets to running these cars if you don't do your own work is to find the local non-dealer specialist. This will be some guy who worked for Mercedes for a number of years and set up his own stable. Every major city has one or more of these guys. There are enough Mercedes around off-warranty that they can survive on the brand. They will know how to deal with stuff that the factory wont even admit to.
I can also tell you the hard top gets old. Either leave it on forever, or find a place to store and forget it. It is not a casual conversion from one node to the next.
I liked these in the 80's, then I thought they started looking dated in a hurry, but lately, I've been really drawn to them. And this looks like a particularly nice one. Nice find!
I think the later models (380?) looked a little smoother and more modern.
A really hot older lady in the first neighborhood I lived in after graduating college had a 280SL. I would really love to find a 230 or 250SL I could afford.
Thanks for the input guys!
I actually had one of those Mercedes "guys" look the car over before I bought it. Super straightforward guy who I forced to take $40 for a PPI. (he wasn't going to charge me!)
This one is a 15-footer. It has flaws, but is a pretty nice machine. As it isn't my sort of dream machine, I'll probably fix a few of it's niggling problems, and sell it for $4-$5K if I can find a buyer. If not, I may just drive it for a bit.
Seems like a damn near perfect car for your area of the country. If nothing else, drive it through the winter and sell it before it gets hot.
One of the nice things about these cars is that you can be almost 100% sure that they've never been thrashed by anyone, unless it was loaned to a nephew on prom night.
nice can you estimate the dead hooker in the trunk #
Video of doughnuts in the grm parking lot or it didn't happen.
funny you mentioned Stephanie Powers and Hart to Hart. My Business Partner owned one of the MBs used in that show. He got it very cheap after it was sold off.
It was in decent enough shape.. but the dealer was trying to bankrupt him with doing maintance the car did not yet need... as in.. "you didn't need brakes yet.. but would have in the next 10,000 miles, so we replaced the pads, rotors, rubber lines, and fluid..." when all it did was come in for a tuneup and an oil change
It looks like Rick's car, not Mrs. Hart's
Oh, and a 426 Hemi backed with a 727 will fit in one too. I have an article somewhere in the archives here on that car.
I forgot Rick had one too... that show put a love of all things small Ferrari in my head
Joe Gearin wrote: Against my better judgement I bought a Mercedes-Benz today. I've never wanted one of these, and it sure isn't a sports car....
I'm sorry, but you had me ROTFL at this point. Did the seller have a gun to your head or what? 
A previous owner appears to have modified each end of your Mercedes with some kind of custom diving-board setup. ...you guys really got boned with those '70s safety regs.
Cool car, though. I quite like Mercs of this era.
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