1983 380SL Trying to buy the car, need some input

[rperre]

Hey all,

I've been searching and reading for a while now and found a lot of good info, thank you for that.

I am looking at a 1983 380SL Black on black with both tops.

It's a "driver" not pristine and already has a few things that need fixin......

I am very good with anything that needs fixin, but I do not want to buy a big money pit. My wife is going to drive this car, and it will be mostly around town.

So it's a 1983 380SL with 85,000 original miles on it. The car looks decent, needs a little wax etc... no problem.
The A/C does not work according to the seller
It has a very small Head gasket leak (the car was parked for 4 weeks and there are 2 drops of oil on the floor)
The top release tool is not with the car, and the release has quirks and needs adjustment
He replaced the fuel controller?
Not sure about the timing chain, but will ask and hopefully have some proof.
It seems to have no rust that I can see, always garaged and sparingly driven.
Interior looks decent, but needs detailing. Dash is not cracked.
Top was replaced a few years back, still have to see it though.
When running I could smell fumes around the engine block, head gasket?
I drove it, and everything worked that I tried. I only had a little trouble getting in to reverse gear (is this normal, or is there an adjustment for this)
The steering wheel has a little play (too much to me), can you adjust this?

I guess I'm trying to ask all of you, if there is anything I should look at in particular. I'm really interested in this car, as it has the colors and reasonable mileage, and is in decent shape throughout.

So there you go, blast away to me, what do i need to check?
For the A/C I'm hoping it's the two switches that need to be replaced, especially the pressure switch, any way to test this?

Thank you,

Richard

P.S. If I buy this car, I will be on this forum a lot more

[meltedpanda]

the timing chain is the biggie here, and rust , look under floor mats and trunk mats, pull up all of the insulation and look. The other BIG issue issue is the ACC servo, if your AC is not working , find out why. IF the servo is bad , itis very expensive to replace. There are some work arounds.
Steering can be adjusted but only so much, play can come from a lot of things , including worn bushings, steering shock,
If you can ask to have the car put up on racks - check the undercarriage
Fuel smell in the engine can be from a lot of things but most of the time it is related to rubber parts with cracks, leaking injectors, all has to be renewed if you are going to be driving it.
Sticky reverse -I have not dealt with that on the several that I have rebuilt, not common,or at least I have not dealt with it
Service history is a big plus - ask for it. You mention head gasket leak, do you mean valve cover leak - head gaskets are a serious issue
These cars are great but they can bite you if you do not do your homework
How much is he asking . also if you cna get an MB mech to do an inspection for you , it would probably be worth the $100
Good Luck

[rperre]

Thank you for the info,

The guy is asking 10k, I think I can get him down to 8.5k-9k.

I have to look at the engine leak, hopefully it's just the valve cover.
I can take it out to a garage, actually will do so tommorrow, there is a MB dealer here in town and I will go there to see if they can do a PPI for me.
It's not fuel I smell, it's more like exhaust fumes, but I even thought it kinda smelled like burning rubber?

How can I "work around" the AC to trick the compressor to come on and test the pressure switch etc... (I'll do some searches too)

The sticky reverse might have been my problem, since my wife drove it after me, and she didn't have problems putting it in park when we got back.

Is there a quick way to check the timing belt?

Oh and I almost forgot, this family is the only owner of the car, it has gone through 3 family members. He did say the original owner bought it in Germany and had it shipped over here 22 years ago. Any specific difficulties with the cars that were built in Germany?

Here are some pictures, not very good, but showing the car.







Thank you,

Richard

[meltedpanda]

Richard,
Gotta LOL,all these were made in Germany! Question is was it a Euro? and converted to US specs? Some of the conversions were less than perfect - ask?
Also for 10K it best be perfect , with chain done. The chain can be a 3-4 K job, AC servo 400 for the part. Sounds to me like a 5-6K car, but that is my opinion. IF you really want to get into the vintage 350's 380's and 450's , it pays to shop. I got a 72 450 show quality for 10K, perfect condition, totally restored from ground up
What I am trying to tell you is that you need to look around and see the market. these cars are not demanding as much as the 450's or 500's , as I mentioned underpowered and then there is the chain and servo issue.
Doyour homework
BTW - You can take a dental mirror and pull the oil filler top and look in to see.
if
So is this a manual trans?

[POS]

Pass on it.

a) The 380SL is the runt of the r107s. For $10k, you can find a good 560SL with working AC. For $8000, you can find a good 500SL with working AC. This matters because if you ever want to get rid of it, you'll have a hard time.

b) The problems that particular 380SL has are large ones - head leak, AC, and reverse issues. Sure they might be minor, but what if they are major?

I wouldn't even consider that one. Sure it's not bad, but it's not good either. There are so many good SL's out on the market it's insane; find a 500, or better yet a 560 that's got 100k or so on it, has been well-treated, and only needs minor things done to it. The seller of your 380 will still have that car in his possession a few months from now - no smart MB buyer in his right mind would buy his. I wouldn't and I've owned more Mercedes than I can remember.

[rperre]

Thanks all, I will take all in consideration.

Ofcourse I meant a Euro car haha, newbie at this. I'm actually from the Netherlands myself, makes it even funnier I guess.

Here down south (Read Dothan, AL) these cars are not as available as anywhere else.

I'll look around a little more, maybe the info I gathered will make the owner come down where we need to be..... around 5-6k.

Thank you again,

Richard

[rperre]

BTW this is a Automatic trans

Richard

[rperre]

What is the best place to look for cars like these? Autotrader?

Thanks,

Richard

[ARNOLDLewis]

also try in Zibe or Hendrickcars..

[380mark]

Sure the 380SL is the runt of the litter but still has decent power, gets better gas milage than the other SL's, and doesn't require premium gasoline.

A/C could just need to be charged.

Sounds like your not sure about the head gasket.

Sticky reverse might be shifter bushings. My 380SL needs the shifter bushings replaced. Indy wants $85. Symptoms are: "Park" to "Reverse" works fine. "Drive" to "Reverse" requires you to move the shift lever forward of reverse and back down to engage.

I'd take it into an indy and pay them the $100 or so for an inspection.

I had the double row timing chain replaced when I bought mine and the cost was $1,200. It was already a double row.

Then, with the inspection and barring any major problems, low ball the owner if you really want the car.

Mark

[Richard Wooldridge]

The problematic climate control units were only installed in the '78 - '81 cars, the one you are looking at should be fine. Shifter bushings cost less than $15 for the parts, and are an easy do it yourself. The price is too high, though. I wouldn't pay more than $6K for the car, and that's assuming an immaculate interior.

[Strife]

I think 380SL's are not exactly quick, but are inexpensive and 95% as fun to drive as a 560SL. But I agree, that's a lot of money for that car. If I were going to buy a 380SL, I'd stick with an 84 or 85 because those will have factory double timing chains and some other improvements and refinements. Specifically, I'd stay away from early 380's due to the ACC servo, timing chain, and older fuel injection system components.

It's a big job and quite a bit of money in parts alone to upgrade a single chain to a double chain, so expensive that it's probably not worth it even if you actually can do it yourself. Many people just double-up on the maintenance.

[rperre]

Hey all,

How do you check the Timing Chain through the Oil filler Cap?
I have a dental mirror but cannot figure out how to look at the Chain.
Please explain.

Thank you,

Richard

[Strife]

Well, it's not so much the chain, look at the gear that the chain is on towards the bottom where the chain isn't pressing on it. TWO rows of teeth = double row timing chain. I just went out to my car with an inspection mirror and flashlight and proved to myself that you can see this. Difficult, but doable. The chain and gear are, of course, under the "hump" on the valve cover towards the front of the car.

[rperre]

Thank you,

Richard