New 380 SL owner

Hello All -

Just recently acquired an 85 380 SL to add to some Bimmers (hope that's not a dirty word here) and have some questions

1) Leather on driver's seat is cracked and seat cushion could use replacement, it's not as firm as passenger seat. What would be the best way to treat the leather? Is there such thing as replacement leather skins? Is there replacement seat cushions

2) Blower motor not working. Fuses are ok. Someone told me a thermostat controls the fan motor? Where do I find the motor leads (connecting plugs) to check for voltage to fan motor? I don't have a service manual yet.

3) Which publisher prints the best manual and where would you purchase it?

4) What is meant by R107?

Thank You

[ctaylor738]

1. The best leather care products are made by Leatherique. You can find various sellers on the web if you Google it. All of the interior parts are available through places like World Upholstery.

2. The blower should come on when you hit the DEF button regardless of temp. The circuit runs from the DEF button/switch to a relay, then to the blower. The relay is accessible if you remove the glove compartment. If you hit DEF and hear the relay click, then your blower motor may have gone south. George Murphy at 865 482 9175 has excellent prices on rebuilds. The blower motor is under a plastic cover on the top of the firewall.

3. I would (did) buy the 107 CD on e-bay.

4. R107 is what the purists call the W107, the MB number for the 280-350-450-380-500-560SL chassis.

[maheath]

My understanding has always been that R107 refers to the SL and W107 refers to the SLC.

[ctaylor738]

Mike -

That makes sense - do you know if it is documented anywhere? I have been curious about it as well.

But Greg Frank's page has it the opposite.

http://home.hiwaay.net/~gbf/mbmodels.html

Couldn't find anything on the CD - the SLC's have there own suffix - e.g. 107.025 as opposed to 107.045 for the SL

[maheath]

The only thing I can find off the top of my head is the following German website. You don't have to know German to understand most of it.

http://www.ollihart.de/mercedes/pkw/start2.html

The only 'R' cars they show are:
R121 - '55-'63 190SL
R107 - '71-'89 SL
R129 - '89-'02 SL
R170 - '96-'04 SLK
R230 - '01+ SL
R171 - '04 SLK

Oddly enough, the '63-'71 SL is the W113. The only exception that I see.

[maheath]

I forgot to comment on Greg Frank's page. He refers to all of the 107s as R107. I don't see any reference of his to W107.

[ctaylor738]

Herr Olihart's Site ist sehr interessant, und Du hast Rechts!

But in the column with the labeled "Chassis" he has R in front of the SLC's but nothing in front of the SL's. That's what I meant/should have said.