450 SL fuel tank problem
 

A friends wife bought a 78 450 SL that had been sitting for 10 years. I have replaced a lot of parts on it to get it running. She then let it sit for two years. Not running again. The fuel tank is full of rust. Is there some way to flush the tank out without pulling it out of the car? I have heard that is a real pain. Plus she has lost interest in the car and does not want to put anymore money in it. The tranny seals also leaking. She has about $7K in the car. Know anyone who would buy the car as is for that. Looks good, runs good when running, convertible top like new. I know this is the diesel forum but more people look at this one and you all know a lot having helped me with my diesels in the past. Thanks

Unless it has nearly no miles on it a non running USA-450SL is not worth $7,000, even then that's a stretch.

You could pull the strainer, put a garden hose in the tank and flush it out. Then push warm air through it until it dries. New strainer and fresh fuel and that might work.

However the tank is corroded and it will keep rusting. The tank needs to be pulled, cleaned, and sealed with something like KBS or POR15 tank sealer to stop it from coming back

On my 350SL I had a trans seal leaking from sitting but once I started driving the car it stopped leaking and hasn't leaked since.

It's a bummer that she may take a bath on the car, but if someone gives her $7,000 for it they will be in the tub with her.

I have someone looking for a rust free R107 project, send a PM with some pictures and info.

The chances of getting $7k for that car in that condition are about the same as winning the powerball. If she's comitted to getting $7k for the car she'll need to put about $8k into it. People own these old cars because they like them, not as an investment or for their reliability. They can be reliable (I take mine coast-to-coast often) but it takes a lot of work.

Oh, and if you can't do the work yourself you'd better be independently wealthy.

Sorry to be the bearer of news you/she would rather not hear....

Auburn Auction
 

Several 107s were sold at the Auburn Auction. Even quite a good one went for just over $3200 (IIRC). Fun to watch even if not interested in 107s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ufb-YAbskQ&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=Hagerty%20Weekly% 20News%209-16-2015

That was a pretty good deal on the red '73. The rust was the big flag.

The '78 -'80 North American 450SL/C are among the least desirable 107s due to lower HP, park bench bumpers, and bound to fail Chrysler design climate control system. Sounds like a $1,500.00 parts car if no rust.

it is a crying shame that such beautiful cars have so little value, but they really do.
IF the car is ultra low miles, and ridiculously detailed service records, and interior and exterior are ALL in premium shape... and I mean PREMIUM shape, you have a chance, otherwise... there is no way to get that kind of money from that car.

non running due to rusting fuel tank from sitting unused extended periods... yeah... 1500 tops, unless ALL of the above is present.

The car has about 89 K miles, no rust, seats had lambs wool seat covers and are in excellent condition, new Michelin tires, I put a ton of new parts on car. This is a sad situation. Her husband is mad at her for buying it. I will send pix shortly.

You see it a lot especially with these old Mercedes that people want at LEAST as much money for the car as they spent having parts put onto it. It just doesn't work that way. If you have a 3k dollar car, and you put 2k worth of parts into it, it MIGHT be worth 4K if it's mint at that point. You still lose money on it. I see people take a 2k dollar Benz and put a new 3k paint job on it and want 5k. It's still a 3 or 4k MAX car. I ended up going through it with my 190e. I pretty much got my money back on the paint and gave the buyer a free 190 attached to it. :D hahaha The way I look at it, cars are not an investment. They are a means of getting A to B to make more money for your life. If you have to put 2k of parts into your 2k dollar Benz, it's what it takes to make your DD reliable and nothing more. Down the road, as long as you know you aren't getting 4k for the car you did alright.

The woman's big mistake was letting the car sit. Jetronic fuel injection does NOT like to sit. Like, at ALL.

The biggest problem with these cars is that the CIS injection system is VERY sensitive to moisture and contamination. I have seen entire systems rebuilt due to this and parts are very expensive. You should never even try to run the engine with the fuel system in that condition.

Stop , drop and roll . . . This project is on fire in a bad way.

The fuel tank needs to come out and possibly be cut open to clean. There are places called Tank Renu or similar that specialize in such work. There is a good chance that the fuel pump is locked up and needs replaced. CIS of this age likely needs the fuel distributor rebuilt even on a car that was in running condition so allow for that.

Selling the car for sub 7K isn't taking a loss, it is recovering what you can from an ill advised 7K expenditure. Put the car up for sale, take offers and jump on anything near $ 1 K . The only cars of this series that are worth big $ are super low mile all original never apart examples.

Same goes for the car that replaced the R107 , the R129. I'm into my 97 SL320 for what the original owner paid in _sales tax_ when new. ( In terms of real dollars adjusted for inflation. )