Well, you can always pay someone else qualified to change the clutch.
When I was in college, my mother had a '71 280 SL that she bought in '72. I liked the car, but felt the automatic transmission was its weak point. 2nd gear start too sluggish for my tastes and 1st gear ridiculous, good for pulling stumps. This in full automatic mode, not manually shifting the gear selector level which of course, offered more control.
Later in life, I decided if I ever bought a 113, it would have to be a stick. Fortunately I landed in one and am very happy with it.
Pic of my mother's car in the day attached. She drove it for 17 years until it rotted away.
