How a Concours R107 SL is judged

[mabz]

beauty!! really take my hat off to the concours guys,dedication right there.

 

[mct_cars]

I get confused about concours..
The idea appears to be: An older car that's never, ever been used.
Never been blasted down a B road in the rain putting a smile on your face..
And keeping it like that. For ever.

I appreciate the effort involved in making it look like that, i really do..
and i like making my car shiny and clean...

But I would rather be driving it!!!
and a single stone chip or a slightly wrinkled sun visor wouldn't ever ruin it....

What is even more amazing than the condition of that car, which can only be described as pristine (or maybe concours!), is the fact that the speedo shows 137000 miles!

The work that has gone into that is truly stunning, amazing and (as a complement), completely OCD.

Well done John - loads of info in there for my car - while nowhere near concours (and nowhere near enough time / money / patience / ability to make it so), I love stuff like the right stickers, colours etc. when replacing or renewing things. etc!


Now where do I buy the proper number plate surrounds from.....

 

[SL300-24]

Great pictures John obviously I have seen them before welcome to here...........

 

[Halcyon Days]

.... is the fact that the speedo shows 137000 miles!.....

I didn't spot that!!! I take it back then! It must have raised at least 137,000 smiles then! :bannana:

 

[WDB124066]

I would love to see this thread have a sister thread, "How to clean and prepare a Concours R107, be nice to know what's involved and how it's done...

 

[John Jones Jr]

Really fabulous, just totally wasted on the likes of me.

 

[Merc 420]

Thanks for the kind comments, here is a bit of the cars history.

I bought my 420 SL in June 2008 (95,000 miles) for £7000 The bodywork was very good and the engine and gear box quiet and smooth, the car had full service history and all documentation. The bad points, It had some mild rust around the soft top lid and drivers floor and the rubber seals were not good, also the car was quite dirty just because of It's age.
The car is still fairly original. It has all It's original panels and I have never had to have the engine out of the car.
The cars MB tex seats are the original ones as are the carpets except for the drivers one. Most of the money I have spent in the last five years has been on refurbishing the cars original parts back to a new condition. The items I have replaced with new parts are the soft top, radiator, rubber seals, some chrome bumper parts and a rear back light.

So year by year the costs are
2008 £650
2009 £1290
2010 £920
2011 £2450
2012 £2840
2013 £1245

I have done most of the restoration work in my garage, except for some small paintwork jobs, so no labour costs. I have also driven my 107 over 44,000 miles in 5 years and the only time it has let me down was when the fuel pump relay stopped working.

So if my maths are right the total cost to date, Including the cost of the car £16,395

I have recently put the hard top back on the car as I like to drive it all the tear round.

 

[mikec32]

Hats off to you sir, that is an amazing example. Well done on 5 years of what I call pleasure

 

[HB]

Just lovely.

 

[Merc 420]

Outstanding, how do you get a radiator as clean as that?

I made a radiator protector, wire mesh between two sheets of foamlite.

 

[Dieselman]

I did see your car on a trailer a few months ago, heading for the Classic Car show.

Also seen at some dodgy little car meet... Must be dodgy, it's now banned...

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/general-discussion/113489-village-car-meet.html

 

[Merc 420]

I did see your car on a trailer a few months ago, heading for the Classic Car show.

Also seen at some dodgy little car meet... Must be dodgy, it's now banned...

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/general-discussion/113489-village-car-meet.html

Well spotted,I trailered the car to last years the NEC classic car show, I was on the Meguiars Show car Stand and your car has to be clean when you are at that show.
Your right, the village car meet you mention has been banned but only because it was so popular, with sometimes a couple of thousand people turning up. The police stopped this Tuesday evening meet for safety reasons, which was a shame as I only live one mile from where they used to have the show.
The pictures of my SL must be quite old as it still has the old black radiator on the car. Those pics are before I detailed the car

 

[Dieselman]

The pictures of my SL must be quite old as it still has the old black radiator on the car. Those pics are before I detailed the car

Those pictures are from 12th July 2011.

 

[Merc 420]

Those pictures are from 12th July 2011.

That sounds about right as I fitted a new rad in 2012 and did not detail the engine bay until early in 2013.

 

[kth286]

what's the value of car for insurance purposes please ?

 

[JRH30]

Doubt I will ever own a concours car as I do not have the patience or eye for detail. All credit to you on a beautiful car!!

 

[Merc 420]

I would love to see this thread have a sister thread, "How to clean and prepare a Concours R107, be nice to know what's involved and how it's done...

I will do a thread on how I detailed my 107 later on. It's not as difficult as you might think. Time consuming,yes. Difficult,no. Expensive,not that bad.

 

[jaymanek]

You are far too modest...

 

[merc estate]

I like a clean car but i am shocked into silence, WOW!!!!!!

 

[Paddcomp]

Who wouldn't want one like this, I know I would. Not sure I'd be able to keep it like this unfortunately.

Thanks for sharing.