jeebus31

Not exactly 997 related, but thought I would share anyway!

I always loved the r129 SL class MB and I found one 4 hours away with a ton of recent maintenance for an absolute steal of a price. 01 SL500 w/ 75k on the clock. Just soaks up highway miles - fantastic GT cruiser. Now I have a pair of silver foxes in my garage.

Meursault88

They are nice cars and drive really well. When the first hydraulic for the top goes, go ahead and get them all done. There's a guy on the MB forums in Olathe KS that does a good job rebuilding them less than the price of a single unit from MB.

jeebus31

That's the best part about this one - it was owned by a 75 year old retired engineer who had a ton of maintenance performed on it recently, either himself or an indy master MB mechanic. Top cylinders are all new over the past 1-2 years, valve cover gaskets, hard top headliner, soft top windows, engine hood pad, AC compressor, fuel pump/filter, full transmission service/trans fluid flush, brake rotors/pads/sensors all around, belt, crankcase hoses, coolant flush, and new blower motor and housing. Plus brand new tires. He wanted to get rid of it for a Vette that caught his eye. Drove up near Dallas, got it checked out by a mechanic for a PPI which revealed no surprises, and we settled on a stupid low price - $6800. I feel like I stole it.

Definitely needs a good interior detail. The exterior looks above avg for 17 years and 75k miles, but I'll see what I can do to spruce it up.

This and the 997 are on completely opposite ends of 2-door German roadster/coupe driving styles. It's gonna be a ton of fun having both options.

Ben Z

Basically you paid him for all the recent repairs and got the car for free. SL's are great drivers, I had the previous model R107, loved it. Almost snagged a black/black '08 w/70K for $19K not long ago but I hesitated to pull the trigger and someone stepped in and bought it out from under me.

captainbaker

I love the AMG wheels. I bought a 190 16V as a little project. Did a ton of work on it myself, kept the costs low ans sold for a profit. Took that lump, threw in some more and bought my C4S. Loved the little MB but love the 997 more.

Austin997.2

This guy fixed his SL up, not the same as yours but still interesting to watch all of his progress on it

jeebus31

Did you ever wind up getting one? I agree - this is a fabulous driver. I might just make it into my DD.

Very cool - plan to drive this one for a bit while fixing up some of the remaining cosmetic issues and then hopefully flipping it for a profit. It appears the r129 value are slowly increasing. I love my 997 more as well but I gotta say it's nice having a decent car that can handle a pothole without making me cringe.

Tavarish is great. His lambo project is absolute insanity. Wish I had that level of technical skill and time on my hands. I hope he gets his hands on a 997 at some point. That would be a DIY'ers dream.