New member, new (accidental) owner -help!

[Moosey1970]

Hello, I live in Sussex and have recently inherited a powder blue 1987 500SL in need of restoration. I know nothing about this sort of thing, but am keen to see if I can do something with it, and thought joining this forum wold be a good way to do that.

I have had an enormous quote from a mercedes specialist restoration garage that suggests its not worth it, but it's such a beautiful car, I don't want to give up!

Help!

Tom

 

[sjmaxwell]

Welcome! I'm sure someone here will be able to help. Perhaps you could list the issues/requirements and others better qualified than me can respond !!

 

[jamesfuller]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Its worth getting a few quotes, they will probably be more accurate if they see the car.
SL 107s tend to hide a lot of sins, so you will find the quotes from specialists that know the car type will be higher as they know what they are likely to find.

How bad is it?

 

[martyz]

What work/parts have been quoted? and Welcome from me too.

 

[Moosey1970]

Thanks both for such a quick reply. A specialist in Worthing has it at the moment, they said it could cost 50k (gulp). They have said they'll do a report but started with the bulkheads(?) and we're concerned about corrosion.

 

[V12]

Good luck to you.

A couple of people that may be worth speaking to :

SL Restoration

SL Shop Service: Restoration

 

[jamesfuller]

Bulkhead and floor pans etc is the usuall. £50k is quite a lot.

Depending on what you want to end up with, I would say rather than a full restoration, just have work done that is actually required to make the car safe and to stop it deteriorating any further.

That is to say, any corrosion addressed properly but if the paint/chrome and fittings are reasonable, keep them original. Same with the interior etc.
Chances are the engine, gearbox and axle wont ever need a full strip and recon in normal weekend car use! And not all of the suspension needs removing to be re painted etc.
Just update the shocks and springs, replace the bushes and tyres etc along with anything considered a servicable item.

I personally prefer this route, you end up with a nice reliable car that can still be used without too much worry.

A car is only original once, a huge resto looks nice but will loose all the character of the car and you will end up not using it half as much.

Just my 2pence worth but its all to easy to ruin a lovely old car and turn it into just a brand new one!

 

[Moosey1970]

Brilliant, Thanks so much, really helpful. I'll get in touch with them and see what the say. Suspect I'll need to find a real enthusiast to help me return it to its former glory.

 

[BlackC55]

I think the best thing to do for a start is to get it inspected by an independent MB specialist and get a list of what really needs to be done to make it safe and useable.