Hi everyone, having done a lot of work on my SL600 (documented elsewhere on this forum) I was asked by a friend to find and "restore" an R129 SL500 for him. By restore it was a case of fix everything that needs fixing mechanically and also cosmetically for it to be one of the best in the land.
Here is a brief overview in pictures of the journey, I though it might be of interest, especially as the values of decent R129s seem to be going up at the moment.
The candidate I chose was a 1999 SL500 in azurite blue on cream. 65,000 miles and a keen MB club previous owner. I took a punt on the car and essentially bought it blind on description and assurances. Took a one way flight from London to Newcastle and bought the car and drove it back down. The journey was absolutely pain free and the car felt very good. No regrets. Phew.
Just arrived home after 300 trouble free miles. HUGE difference in fuel economy between the 500 and the 600. Really thought the guage was playing up!
In good company. Very different cars and both wonderful in their own ways.
Work underway. Discs had just been replaced and wheel bearings were fine. Hence a case of all new bushes, arms, ball joints front and rear and a lot of wire brushing, kurusting and painting. Other work included new engine mounts, new front suspension top mounts, full service and inc plug change and new bonnet pad.
A lifetime in a wet climate had definitely taken its toll. Fortunately the bodywork was fine and rust free. Structural components needed surface rust removed, kurusted and painted.
Rear camber arm broke clean in two when being removed....Ive never seen this before, pretty shocking. Just goes to show...check the suspension properly when buying any car!! It may "feel" ok when its actually very definitely not ok!
So with the car mechanically spot on and after a laser wheel alignment attention turned to cosmetics
Wheels before. I like this design but only if they are done right!
Lepsons to the rescue. Diamond cut face with OEM Mercedes badge caps. They look great with the dark blue paintwork.
Deep clean of roof with Renovo. Twice over with the cleaner, re colour and re-waterproof.
Loads more elbow grease and autosol needed to get tidy up the chrome roof mechanism that was looking pretty sorry
Getting there.....
Amazing what a lot of elbow grease and the right products will do for a beige interior that was looking pretty yellowed and nasty before work began.
Anyone with the beige leather in the R129 will have the dirt / grille combination. The only way to cure this is to remove them, soak with a decent fabric cleanser - I use surfex - and GENTLY pressure wash. This goes for a lot of removable interior items.
Unfortunately the paint was one area where the car was beyond elbow grease. Id usually spend a day or two on the rotary polisher bringing back dulled and scratched paint but in this case it had been repainted so badly (think lacquer over badges bubbling all over the place) on so many panels that the only solution was a fresh start. This is where this post will stop because having stripped the car as well as possible it has been sent off for an end to end respray....watch this space!
happy to answer any questions about any of it!
Here is a brief overview in pictures of the journey, I though it might be of interest, especially as the values of decent R129s seem to be going up at the moment.
The candidate I chose was a 1999 SL500 in azurite blue on cream. 65,000 miles and a keen MB club previous owner. I took a punt on the car and essentially bought it blind on description and assurances. Took a one way flight from London to Newcastle and bought the car and drove it back down. The journey was absolutely pain free and the car felt very good. No regrets. Phew.
Just arrived home after 300 trouble free miles. HUGE difference in fuel economy between the 500 and the 600. Really thought the guage was playing up!
In good company. Very different cars and both wonderful in their own ways.
Work underway. Discs had just been replaced and wheel bearings were fine. Hence a case of all new bushes, arms, ball joints front and rear and a lot of wire brushing, kurusting and painting. Other work included new engine mounts, new front suspension top mounts, full service and inc plug change and new bonnet pad.
A lifetime in a wet climate had definitely taken its toll. Fortunately the bodywork was fine and rust free. Structural components needed surface rust removed, kurusted and painted.
Rear camber arm broke clean in two when being removed....Ive never seen this before, pretty shocking. Just goes to show...check the suspension properly when buying any car!! It may "feel" ok when its actually very definitely not ok!
So with the car mechanically spot on and after a laser wheel alignment attention turned to cosmetics
Wheels before. I like this design but only if they are done right!
Lepsons to the rescue. Diamond cut face with OEM Mercedes badge caps. They look great with the dark blue paintwork.
Deep clean of roof with Renovo. Twice over with the cleaner, re colour and re-waterproof.
Loads more elbow grease and autosol needed to get tidy up the chrome roof mechanism that was looking pretty sorry
Getting there.....
Amazing what a lot of elbow grease and the right products will do for a beige interior that was looking pretty yellowed and nasty before work began.
Anyone with the beige leather in the R129 will have the dirt / grille combination. The only way to cure this is to remove them, soak with a decent fabric cleanser - I use surfex - and GENTLY pressure wash. This goes for a lot of removable interior items.
Unfortunately the paint was one area where the car was beyond elbow grease. Id usually spend a day or two on the rotary polisher bringing back dulled and scratched paint but in this case it had been repainted so badly (think lacquer over badges bubbling all over the place) on so many panels that the only solution was a fresh start. This is where this post will stop because having stripped the car as well as possible it has been sent off for an end to end respray....watch this space!
happy to answer any questions about any of it!
