Adventures in ownership

[Chrisheg]

I have had my 1969 280SL automatic for 9 months now (Tobacco Brown with Cognac MBTEX) and it has gone from barely alive to very lively. As I said in my first post here, I got this car because my father sold it to a deadbeat buyer 10 years ago who almost never drove it and just run the engine occasionally to keep it from seizing up. He would start it up and block the accelerator linkage so it would run at a high idle with no load for a while. It had a cover in the trunk but he left exposed to the weather in a carport so the paint is pretty thrashed.

I got permission from my dad to "negotiate" with the guy and I convinced him that if he couldn't pay for it after 10 year he would never pay it off. I He gave it up to me in February and it had issues. On the way over to my house the brakes seized and the shift linkage disconnected at the transmission. The engine was running rough, it had a hole in front pipe crossover, the passenger door wouldn't latch unless you slammed it, and there were other problems. It would not upshift unless you let off the gas and when it did there was a big "klunk" and a jerk. I planned to fix the major issues so I could sell it and split the money with my father (who is 90 and could care less about the money anyway, he just didn't want to reward incompetence).

I change all fluids and filters, including draining the gas tank. I bought the parts and replaced the brake disks, calipers, and hoses. Replaced the shift bushings.  I did the linkage and injector pump adjustments (several times before I got it  right). Fixed the stuck door latch.  I delved the mysteries of the 3 position solenoid/transmission modulator/venturi switch/kickdown switch.  Replaced some wiring in the dash lights. At some point I discovered that I was fixing things that were wrong with the car when my father still had it.

I have had a 1956 190SL for 25 years. That is a much simpler car, not too complicated to maintain and very fun to drive. Mechanically it's almost like a tractor compared with the 280SL. Everything is more refined on the 280. It has gobs more power but never seems to be working very hard whereas the 190 seems like it's going flat out a lot of the time.  The 280 has class and seems more formal than the 190. But it has that wonderful musical sound from the engine at highway speed.

Now I have a dilemma. I really can't do two classic cars. I can't afford to pay professionals to do the work and besides I like doing the work. My garage is just big enough to get both cars in if one is against the back wall and the bumpers are touching. In fact I had to remove the bumper guards from both cars to get them in there. 

My 190SL is not worth much. It has some rust, the numbers don't match, it had a rear fender replaced. The carpets and leather are wrong. The paint is not original. I had the running gear rebuilt in '85 but it's getting to the point it needs it again.  I have never worried about originality because it's a straight up driver.

The 280SL has about 160000 mile and it's showing it's age but it's not too far from original. It is a restorable car but I know myself well enough to know I will never do it. I too many other obsessions to invest that much time and treasure in a car. I really don't like the paint color so I would change it it if I kept it (Maybe Tunis beige? Maybe Moss Green metallic?). Over time it would inevitably diverge from originality. I feel like I should pass it on to someone with the time, money, and energy to really fix it up.  But I will miss it. In engineering terms it's a vastly better car than the 190. But to me they are both great in their own way and my 190 is more suited to my level of commitment.

All this really doesn't have a point. I just wanted to explain the situation to people who would know what I am talking about.  Thanks for your time.

[MichaelB.]

Heck, I am glad you did post. Not a bad read.

Sad that someone could not pay for a car over all those years. Glad you got it back.

[Chrisheg]

I have to admit that th more I drive th car the less I want to part with it.

I have been looking into the history of this my 280SL. It came with a lot of records, going back to the original purchase Some of the interesting artifacts are:

The original personalized stamped owners plate from Mercedes
Original warranty for the dealer installed Frigiking AC unit, 2 months after delivery
A lifetime battery warrantee from 1974, alas, not transferable.
At least one registration from every one of the 5 owners back to 1969.

I constructed a history of the how the car was driven over the years:




The car lived in Washington State the whole time except it was owned by a guy in Utah from '75 to '77. He really like to drive it - by far the most use it had in a similar time period.  It was sold back to a Seattle owner in 1977. The next shop receipt is interesting. it says "Drivers Window has air leak, rolls hard. Drivers side has been in wreck, door pushed in too far".  I can see a slight misalignment between the drivers door and the frame at the back of the door but it's not obvious. I should look inside the door to see if it has the correct body number on it. The fenders have the correct spot welding so they have not been replaced.


In 1980 the owner bought a whole new soft top and frame and had it installed. That seems odd because all of the option codes indicate that it was delivered  with two tops. Maybe the original frame was damaged. I do have the issue with the top not fitting all the way down into the well, still have not sorted that out.

17000 miles ago it had the cylinder head, valves, guides, etc. replaced.  14000 miles ago it had the differential replaced. It was also painted 17000 miles ago but that has not lasted so well.  All indications are that the interior is original.

[dseretakis]

The tobacco brown/cognac combo is actually very nice.  My 71 280SL has that combo.  The brown paint, however, only looks good if if is kept impeccably clean and polished otherwise it looks ratty.  If you end up keeping the car try cleaning and polishing the paint before making the final decision on a color change. If it doesn't clean up then look for another pristine tobacco brown pagoda just to see how nice it can really be!

[MichaelB.]

In 1980 the owner bought a whole new soft top and frame and had it installed. That seems odd because all of the option codes indicate that it was delivered  with two tops. Maybe the original frame was damaged. I do have the issue with the top not fitting all the way down into the well, still have not sorted that out.

Great info.

I believe the "two tops" on the option code refers to the "soft" AND the "hard" tops = 2 tops.

[Chrisheg]

Great info.

I believe the "two tops" on the option code refers to the "soft" AND the "hard" tops = 2 tops.

I know, it just seemed odd that the frame would have to be replaced in addition to the canvas. Also the receipt says "Drill and tap mounting bolts" which I would think unnecessary for installing a replacement top. BTW: the whole job cost $2700+tax.

[Chrisheg]

The tobacco brown/cognac combo is actually very nice.  My 71 280SL has that combo.  The brown paint, however, only looks good if if is kept impeccably clean and polished otherwise it looks ratty.  If you end up keeping the car try cleaning and polishing the paint before making the final decision on a color change. If it doesn't clean up then look for another pristine tobacco brown pagoda just to see how nice it can really be!

The paint is definitely ratty. The repaint that was done in 1987 is blistered in some area, there are a lot of scratched and small dents, some visible rust spots, and most of it has heavy oxidation.

The paint is my biggest dilemma with this car. A quality paint job is expensive and is about the most invasive thing you can do to the car short of major rust repairs. First there is what I'll find under the paint. I know there is some rust spots. I don't THINK is extensive but you don't know until you start digging. Then there is all of the little trim pieces, chrome, fasteners, etc. that have not been touched for 40 years. How many of them will have to be replaced? Are they even available? The exterior chrome is not bad but it has some pitting - another potentially large cost. But it might be more problematic with a nice shiny paint job.


As I see it I have three ways to go:

Leave the paint alone, sell the car as is and let someone else decide what to do. It would be a good starting point for a full restoration and it's a great drivers car. Spend my time and $ on my 190SL.


Do a minimal job to keep the rust from propagating further and make it look OK. Keep driving it for a few years and defer the restore/sell decision. Sell the 190S because I don't have room for both.

Sell the 190SL and do a real repaint the 280SL and possibly take on the restoration later. As far as the color, I know it can look very nice in 423H but If I'm going to spend at $5000 or more I want a color that appeals to me more than Tobacco Brown. Maybe I would like it more if I was still a smoker  .  But then the car is not "original" which matters more to some people than to others (including potential buyers). That's an example of why I'm probably not cut out for restoration. Besides the resources and the patience.

[Peter van Es]

Interesting statistics, and nice graph. I wish you lots of wisdom on your decision making!

Peter

[hauser]

Just out of curiosity, what was the price of the soft top frame in 1980?

[Chrisheg]

Just out of curiosity, what was the price of the soft top frame in 1980?

$1400