Lurtch -
I think your question was:
quote:
Should I un-do the wrong stuff on it and make it a true 230SL - - - OR - - - sell as-is then, ratchet-up to get a truer example of our beloved vehicle?
Doesn't the answer depend only on
How much money you have to spare --- really! on reaching or going into retirement.I've run across too many pre-retirement folks with dreams of "fixing up" their charished "classic" car.... that ended in more/less junk-heaps or were eventually sold as a wheeled bag of parts for somebody with some money available to restore & put back together... all due to lack of realistically assessing costs and equipment and too many half-baked attempts at DIY.
My suggestion, therefore, if it's possible, is to postpone retirement 2 more years, live as if you were "nearly" on retirement income, and use the extra available cash to do either of your choices... whichever one you want... both cost.... J. Huber's hypothetical (below) is a place start.
I offer this suggestion only because I watched several co-workers who retired several years ago with their post retirement plans to restore their "whatever" classic, including my father, I might add, and saw the results as abysmal... yes, they all had a lot of fun buying equipment, 'perfecting' their DIY methods and learning curves, but when all was said and done, they neither had a 'classic' to drive, nor did they ever get them into any actual better shape in real terms than they were to begin with.... fixed one thing right, but something else wrong... etc. and ended up spending more time and money than they'ed planned or thought it would cost.
So... I decided a few years ago that I'd spend now before I reached retirement so
1) I could actually have the car to enjoy in fact, and
2) have the economic options of DIY or have the pro's do it... and if I screwed up a DIY aspect, still have the funds to have the pro's undo my damage.
Now, there's another side to this as well... my father actually spent 3 years after he retired taking several Autobody & Paint courses at a local Jr. College... buying equipment and learning what it took in both skill, time, and equipment... no bondo... using lead, welding with all types of metals and rigs... bending metal, etc.... and eventually painting and finishing. Oh, and while he was at it he took some courses on various kinds of automatic transmissions.
He had a ball... and eventually asked me if he could use my '65 Chevy pick-up as a body & paint project. Since my beloved C20 was a basket case of a body I said "of course"... what's to lose?... not much in the way of rust (being a CA pick-up), but it had been a farm hauling truck driven by kids from 8 to 80 for 10 years... so was banged up big-time... rails caved in, doors too... frame bent, etc.
So he did that... and it came out like a show truck... inside and out, no bondo since he was practising to do the work himself on his own 250SL and his 190SL.
So he worked on his own SL's (engine stuff mostly), and finally asked me if he could do my 250SL body and paint. Now there was nothing wrong with the body... not an ounce of rust, no accidents, a few small dents here and there is all... but it was in dire need of a paint job.... so I said o.k.... "what's to lose"... so he did my 250SL... everything out, down to metal... and all the way back up again... my only restriction was that it couldn't have any orange peel.... so he did it with lacquer... solving the orange peel problem. It came out beautiful for the most part... not quite show car level, but close enough for most purposes.
Now both of these cars he did with the equipment and facilities available at the local JC's autobody shop. He had every piece of equipment available and every expert available at his beck and call... help when he needed it, etc.
So after he'ed completed these projects of learning and skill development, with such good results, he decided it was time to to his own... but now he was no longer in the classes... didn't have the facilities or equipment available that he'd had doing mine. So he went off to buy what he needed... no problem.... just money.... besides look how much he'ed save! To make a long story short he never did get his 250SL or 190SL taken down and painted... he'd run into too many problems with rust (he'ed purchased both his SL's while he lived in Europe.... so there was rust under everything... body panels for the 190SL werent' cheap... nor was fitting them easy... and in the long run he ran out of steam as the problems mounted and his skills weren't able to cope to the level he'ed thought they would/could... so he started shortcutting things... and this lead to other problems... and then his endurance and strength started to wain... so less time available than he'd thought.
He ended up selling the 250SL (manual) for $14k and the eventually got $8k for the 190SL... both of them mostly by then as parts on wheels.... all the parts were there... nothing missing, and all original.
I chalked my dad's and the other retiree's experiences up to a gross mis-match between what they thought they could do and what they could actually do and afford to do. While my dad had the entire facilities and expertise and advice available from a full shop with every possible tool, he could do what the pro's could do. Take all that away and he couldn't pull it off by himself to the level he thought he could. I suffered watching this take place... my dad's pride in himself, his face-saving efforts going from bad to worse. I even looked into leasing a local shop for him... costs were more than I could afford though... given the fact that the length of time I'd hav to lease the place was an unknown, all things considered.
So my suggestion is simply not to let your imagination exceed your earthly bindings.... make your decision with a hardened set of realism in time, money, and effort applied.
Longtooth
67 250SL US #113-043-10-002163
'02 SL500 Sport
