MY 300SL ROADSTER

[mbzman]

MY 300SL

[Ulf]

Seriuosly? What a beauty and what lucky ******* you are! :-)

Ulf

[JamesL]

But I bet the w198 forum is nowhere near as much fun as this one

[Louis]

MY 300SL

Beautiful !  Can you share any other photos?

[mbzman]

I will post more pics soon. I have more fun driving my Pagoda

[ja17]

My 300SL Roadster in 1974 wish I still had it !

[J. Huber]

Wow Joe. That is a classic photo. Hope you have it up and framed somewhere.

[JamesL]

OK Joe, I'll ask.... did it die or did it get sold on as a 15 year old car? And if so.... how much?

[Tom Colitt]

Joe. Is that you in the picture?....

Mbzman. If you'd like me to take a look at your 300Sl roadster or need any work on it, let me know. The 1957 roadster I just restored got 2nd place in a tough class of all Gull Wings and roadster at the Trump Golf Course in Dana Point. (Windshield wiper motor was not working and fog light :-(
I do regular service as well and I even do smaller items at my clients homes if you prefer.

Best, Tom C.
ClassicAutosLA

[ejboyd5]

Roadsters are nice, but let's not forget the original 300 SL.  This is the 1956 Mercedes-Benz New York International Automobile Show display car (standwagen) for which I've provided a home since 1971.

[ja17]

Yes Tom, that was me and that is what you could get for $4,700.00 in 1973 !  Unfortunately I sold the car.   

[Tom Colitt]

Very cool Joe. $4700 doesn't sound bad at all. Could you buy a home for that back then? (Not that you can these days either....At least not in LA :-(...

[Tom Colitt]

Roadsters are nice, but let's not forget the original 300 SL.  This is the 1956 Mercedes-Benz New York International Automobile Show display car (standwagen) for which I've provided a home since 1971.

Nice piece of history... Have you found the Standwagen to be much different from others?

Tom

[Ulf]

I remember reading somewhere, that the 300's had an oil sump capacity of 25 liters (6,6 US gallons) - is that really true?

[ejboyd5]

I remember reading somewhere, that the 300's had an oil sump capacity of 25 liters (6,6 US gallons) - is that really true?

300 SL Coupe has an oil capacity of 15 liters (Roadster is 14).  Mercedes-Benz recommends filling of 11 to 15 (Roadster 14) liters "for sportive events" and 8 to 11 liters "for normal operations."  Today, many operators engaged in "normal operations" bypass the oil radiator and keep their oil levels at the lower limits so as to raise the temperature of the oil to a point where excess gasoline that has migrated into the lubrication system is boiled off and dilution off the oil is minimized.  Frequent oil changes are advised. 

[ja17]

Hello ejboyd,

Very beautiful car. One of the greatest designs of all time.

I once read that every 300SL engine was run on a test stand at the factory for four hours before installation in the car. The last two hours were at redline 5800 rpms.  After running they the engines were opened up and checked, then installed in the car if everything was satisfactory !

i once drove my roadster for a 100 highway miles in a light misty rain.  The car was so aerodynamic I did not even have to turn on the wipers. The airflow around the car just swept everything past the windscreen !

[ejboyd5]

In one of Ludvigsen's treatises he cites figures as high as 32 hours with 6 at full load before teardown for inspection of components.  I vividly remember driving from New York to Boston in a heavy rain - the only times I felt water is when I had to slow for the toll booths on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

[seattle_Jerry]

$4700 in 1973 dollars is around $20,000 today