Advice.....on R107

[RaceDiagnostics]

Forgot to say that the seats are fully manual, that makes them an easy install but they do have seat heaters installed so I bought an Audi aftermarket seat heater loom and installed that.

Used some second hand controllers and fitted them in place of the radio.

 

[razag110]

Anyone that can help please!

i need to get my SLC up and running 1974 so I am sure its the early Bosch fuel injection - based in manchester.

The car is misfiring and cuts out as soon as I accelerate.

Any help would be massively appreciated

 

[Breham]

You may not believe this but trying to find a good R107 that is not rusted or going to cost me an arm and a leg means the search is now turning towards a R129. Maybe not my first choice, but they bring back memories when I was just started working and the boss man was driving one.

I have had a test drive in the 500 and that is the one for me, however, I felt the car needed a good £2-3k to sort it out. I have seen another one at a local dealer a 1994, 58k miles at £16,995. I have no idea, but am I paying over the odds for a sorted one at this price?

Rich

 

[robparker]

It's certainly "enough" money. But if it's a very, very good one and you will keep long term, then it probably doesn't matter

 

[219]

You may not believe this but trying to find a good R107 that is not rusted or going to cost me an arm and a leg means the search is now turning towards a R129. Maybe not my first choice, but they bring back memories when I was just started working and the boss man was driving one.

I have had a test drive in the 500 and that is the one for me, however, I felt the car needed a good £2-3k to sort it out. I have seen another one at a local dealer a 1994, 58k miles at £16,995. I have no idea, but am I paying over the odds for a sorted one at this price?

Rich

The R107 and R129 are two very different cars .

The 107 is more of a poseur and a cruiser , and not so practical or useable on a day to day basis as a 129 .

While the 107 came at the tail end of the solidly over engineered Benzes , with doors that shut like bank vaults , and bullet proof mechanicals , they , sadly , are prone to rust just about wherever there is metal , and they handle like barges .

Comparing a 107 to a 129 is , in some ways , like comparing a 123 to a 124 : much sharper handling , better fuel economy , slightly lighter build quality . Practicalities like the fantastic electro hydraulic roof operation . Downside , unlike the 124 , is that the 129 ( and 140 ) pioneered a new era of electronics in cars which pushed the envelope at the time and can throw up
all sorts of problems nowadays .

So you choose between classic looks , solid reliability , wallowy handling in the 107 , against less stylish appearance, sharper handling , more practicality and better fuel consumption, but over complexity leading to unreliability with the 129

 

[alabbasi]

I have to say, I've owned an R129 SL500 for about 5 years now and its been amazingly reliable. I had to replace plug wires and rebuild the front end but aside from that, it's been a great car. It's not as simple to work on as an R129 and the hood hydraulics are a PITA (not reliability issue). My only frustration with them is the cheap plastic they use around the sun visor, mirror and overhead light. It's truly crap.

I personally love the look of the R129. It's a beautiful car when in nice shape.

 

[219]

I have to say, I've owned an R129 SL500 for about 5 years now and its been amazingly reliable. I had to replace plug wires and rebuild the front end but aside from that, it's been a great car. It's not as simple to work on as an R129 and the hood hydraulics are a PITA (not reliability issue). My only frustration with them is the cheap plastic they use around the sun visor, mirror and overhead light. It's truly crap.

I personally love the look of the R129. It's a beautiful car when in nice shape.

I like mine , although it is a dog of a car with previous owners in double figures ; I've never had any mechanical issues with it over close to 100,000 miles in my ownership , car now approaching 200K , however since I got it , the central locking has never worked, the pump runs and I've chased vacuum lines all around the car but can't find any leak . Air con has never worked either and I've never bothered about it . Last year the indicators , wipers and HRW stopped working , I ended up replacing a relay , now the wipers park erratically , but I have a new motor to fit . Just recently the roof refused to operate , but I traced it to a microswitch which was out of adjustment .
I replaced the petrol tank earlier this year as it was leaking ; when I took the battery out I found rust in the bottom of the well ; I need to weld in a repair section . The passenger door window is an aftermarket piece of glass which struggles to close completely , I plan to get a genuine piece and adjust it correctly since the current one just doesn't want to play . Oh and my headlamp washers have gotten out of step with each other , one parks in the up position and the other down , though both work .

Lots of stupid little niggles but nothing serious .

 

[alabbasi]

I bought mine from an insurance auction in 2014. It was in a light front end (no damage to the condenser) and needed a new upper core support, bumper, hood, lights and grill. It only had 56000 miles but had some neglect. It wasn't the plug wires that needed replacing, it was the plugs. I swapped the factory 16" wheels for a set of AMG style 18" wheels and new tires. It needed a new fuel pump relay and battery. I bought a parts car which sourced the front end panels. I also used the interior mirror from that car as the one in mine broke apart in a million pieces .This might not be a problem in the UK because of the cooler climates but here. The heat makes all the plastic brittle, if I could find an R129 made purely of good overhead consoles, mirrors and front bumpers, I'd be a millionaire.

About 2 years ago, I had to rebuild the front end which was shot and do a transmission / conductor plate service. Most recently, I had to replace the mirror assembly on the drivers side which is made out of pot metal and broke at the spring. A used gen1 W210 mirror is the same part and was sourced from another parts car. I need to paint the front wing on the drivers side. I have no idea what the deal is with it, but the clear has completely warn away. I suspect that it was repainted at one point early in its life and the paint has not lasted. I might paint it this weekend.

Aside from the crappy plastic and the fuel pump relay, everything else has been pretty much mtc. It does need top cylinders but I'll deal with that when it's not 120 degree f at the shop. I have some newer and older more expensive cars but i really like this one. A/C blows cold, everything works and it looks great. It's my date car.

 

[Dippo]

. It's my date car.

What's your success rate?

 

[alabbasi]

What's your success rate?

Well i'm still single, but I blame that on my jags

 

[219]

I got a mirror for mine off a W140 , which is also the same part .

 

[alabbasi]

I got a mirror for mine off a W140 , which is also the same part .

There are 3 types of mirrors depending on the years. I believe the first gen cars used the mirrors common to the W140, the 97-98 (M119 cars) got the gen 1 W210 mirrors and the 99+ cars got the Gen 2 W210 mirrors

I found this out the hard way (not that hard because I had parts cars on hand) but it would have sucked if I bought something online.

 

[Doodle]

the 99+ cars got the Gen 2 W210 mirrors

208 CLK, not 210.

 

[219]

There are 3 types of mirrors depending on the years. I believe the first gen cars used the mirrors common to the W140, the 97-98 (M119 cars) got the gen 1 W210 mirrors and the 99+ cars got the Gen 2 W210 mirrors

I found this out the hard way (not that hard because I had parts cars on hand) but it would have sucked if I bought something online.

I bought mine out of a breakers yard , so saw it before I bought

 

[alabbasi]

208 CLK, not 210.

Damn it! you're right. Now I have to start collecting other parts cars