Advice.....on R107

[Breham]

So having sold my C63 due to not using it, I have always had a desire for the R107.

I have been reading a lot about them and understand that from 1986 the chassis was galvanised. The car I am looking at is 1980 and looks pretty good. I will be getting an inspection from star motors (my local specialist) but am I mad with the rust issues considering a pre 1986 model?

Can anyone recommend a good specialist form for the R107, not found one yet.

Many thanks

Rich

 

[E53AMG]

The guy who restored this has just restored a R107 as a barn find, what area are you in?

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[Breham]

Reading, Berkshire

 

[robparker]

You're not mad for considering it, but I've had a couple of pre-86 ones and currently have a post-86 300SL and I would recommend it, apart from the better rust, you get the newer engines and better suspension and steering, it feels more like a facelift 126 rather than the design from the original 107's from the early 70s.
Funny, I was thinking of trading one of my classics for a c63, could have done a deal!

 

[219]

The later ones had better engines and gearboxes , and were more fuel efficient as a result . The smaller V8s are no quicker than the six cylinder models and have all the thirst of the biggest V8s , but less performance than the sixes .

The main thing to look for is rust , some can be obvious , but the plenium chambers , hidden under those lovely chrome vents at the bottom of the windscreen can rot away unseen and are a nightmare to fix .

 

[SL300-24]

Don't be fooled by the "galvanising" on later cars they rust just as badly as the earlier cars. As Derek has stated above that is the main issue. Most engines are pretty bulletproof I personally would steer away from a 280 even though they are usually cheapest to buy.
Parts are now getting horrendously expensive and many are no longer available from the main dealers. SLS in Germany are good.

 

[Breham]

I do like the idea of the post 86, but the prices are going mad and I have heard about the driving differences between early and late. It will just come down to a go inspection and understand what I am taking on. Just have to make sure my heart does not rule my head. The one I am interestd is a 450

 

[E53AMG]

Reading, Berkshire

Probably too far he is in Essex, will see if it's available and if so get some pics.

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[219]

I do like the idea of the post 86, but the prices are going mad and I have heard about the driving differences between early and late. It will just come down to a go inspection and understand what I am taking on. Just have to make sure my heart does not rule my head. The one I am interestd is a 450

The 450 goes quite decently , and is probably the best of the early cars , but is a thirsty beast ( low teens mpg , unlikely to see better than 15 ) , the 350 is just as thirsty ( both early V8s had three speed autoboxes , although you could get a 4 speed manual 350 by special order from the factory , as I was told personally by none other than Rudi Uhlenhaut ) ; the 350 was no quicker than the 280 , although the 280 could get into high teens , could be had with either a 4 speed auto or 5 speed manual , with which you could probably break 20 mpg if driving gently . Some 280s were lovely smooth engines ( I had one that was ) but most were horrible thrashy things when revved , like the rest of the half dozen or so I’ve owned in various incarnations ( 280E/CE/TE/SE , but never SL ) .

The later series engines were much better and more refined , my pick for a 107 would probably be the M103 300SL - decent performance and fuel consumption ( mid 20s , maybe better ) a 300 will beat a 380 in the performance stakes as the V8 is too highly geared , a 500 is an impressively quick car ; I’ve never driven a 420 but understand it addressed some of the issues of the 380 , which it replaced at the second facelift .

 

[jdrrco]

I had a 1987 300SL and the power was more than adequate for the car (bearing in mind I now drive a 4.7 litre, twin turbo V8!).

They did have a significantly better suspension setup and sharper steering. Just look out for rust in the usual places, especially the plenium chamber, but a joy to own otherwise.

Wish I'd never sold mine, irrespective of prices. Stunning cars and a true all-time classic.

 

[alabbasi]

Buy based on condition. If you can get a really nice 350SL or 450SL for the same price as a ropy 87 300SL, that's the one you should go for. The earlier cars do drink more fuel. 3 speed / 4 speed is not that important as the v8 MB 722.3 starts in 2nd unless you mash the pedal. I prefer the 350 engine to the 450 engine myself because it's a shorter stroke engine and likes to rev (red line is 6500). If you're looking at the earlier cars, avoid the d-jet ones (to 1975) as that fuel injection system is a bit finicky and parts are becoming obscenely expensive. CIS cars are much easier to live with.

In 1980/81, Mercedes updated the engine and transmission combo with the 3.8/5.0 which got the 4 speed , alloy block and alloy bonnet and boot lid. The 280SL also got an updated 722.3 auto gearbox. All used the same CIS injection system as before. In 86, they got another update with the 3.8 being replaced by the 4.2 and the 2.8 was replaced by the 3.0. The M103 is a nice engine. Not as exotic but very smooth. The newer cars also got bigger brakes and CIS-E injection.

I've owned several 107's and dismantled them for a while to make extra money during the recession. The are really well built cars (you learn this when you have to cut one up). Most of my experience is with the V8 cars because the 6 cylinder cars were not officially imported into the US. I have had a few M110 powered ones and still own a 5 speed 280SL and all my cars tend to be Euro cars from the gray market era so mostly 81-85 model years.

The V8 cars with the cast iron engines seem to just keep on going. The later cars will need head work at around 150,000-200,000 or twenty years as the head gaskets seem to like to rot on the car. Mostly likely because of infrequent coolant changes. If the heads have to come off, the head bolts will probably take some threads off with them and you'll need to drill out the block and install time certs. There's a special block plate that you can buy for this process so that you can make sure you get the angles right but it costs a chunk of change. It's worth it however because there are 36 head bolts on that motor.

Aside from that, these cars are super simple to maintain. Steering box is a bit tight so make sure it does not leak. Shocks, sub frame mounts, bearings and brakes are all shared with the W114/W115 model and are cheap and easy to do.

Here's my 84 500SL. I drug it out of a field about 10 years ago where it sat for 10 years.

Also don't discount the SLC. Because they're not a convertible, they're usually super cheap by comparison, but they're nicer cars to drive because of the little extra wheelbase and the rattle free roof. If you get one with a sunroof, you won't miss the convertible much because the roof itself is huge. My 450SLC 5.0 is one of the top 10 favorite cars that I currently own.

 

[grober]

So having sold my C63 due to not using it, I have always had a desire for the R107.

I have been reading a lot about them and understand that from 1986 the chassis was galvanised. The car I am looking at is 1980 and looks pretty good. I will be getting an inspection from star motors (my local specialist) but am I mad with the rust issues considering a pre 1986 model?

Can anyone recommend a good specialist form for the R107, not found one yet.

Many thanks

Rich

HAVE YOU ACTUALLY DRIVEN ONE? Sometimes the actual driving experience doesn't live up to the expectation. This no reflection on car or driver just a mismatch which happens more frequently with "classic cars" than you might think.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

I absolutely love my 1979 450SL. It does drive like an older car but it is 40 years old, the main issue would be to find a rust free/low rust example but I'm sure there are still a few out there.

Mine gets about 18mpg if I'm careful but not if I do this. 0 to 60 on the speedo ~ 7.5 seconds.

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[robparker]

Gorgeous. Love the early wheel trims

 

[219]

Ooh , that interior is so RED .

 

[Petermarchant]

Hi I have recently purchased a 100k mile 1982 380SL my brother has a 90k mile 1986 300sl, we both drove each other cars the other day and although you could tell the 380 was older I would say there was not too much difference in the drive the 300 was a little smoother and quieter but both great cars to drive,

Good luck with your search,

 

[Eddy77]

Is that red interior standard option or has it been retrimmed?

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

Is that red interior standard option or has it been retrimmed?

The red interior is original but I have had to freshen it up a few times over the years.

First seats, I restored them in 2010.

restoring tired looking seats

Centre console.

R107 faded center console

Lately the seats were looking worn again so I swapped them out and replaced the with red TT seats, that was cheaper to do than recover the old seats and install new horse hair pads, 1/3rd of the cost.

What happened next was inspired by Derek (Druk).

Original back seats and carpets.

New frames fabricated for the TT front seats.

Seats fitted to the frames

 

[alabbasi]

Those seats look pretty decent in that car. Are they fully manual? Did you have to weld in brackets?

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

I welded the frames together out of 5mm angle bar.

They started like this.

And ended up like this after welding and shaping.

Then painted them

They bolt into the car using the original seat mounting bolt holes, I have kept the original seats in case I ever sell the car and the now owner wants the old seats.