"New" 280SL

I actually saw a 300sl 107 automatic for sale
here in san rafael, ca. a few years ago. had it been a stick i would
have bought it in a ny minute.. that would have been a trip.
twin sl's in the garage.

shane..

There is a 280sl for sale from a dealer in burlingame
for $11,300. saw it on ebay and craigs list. it has a
lot less miles than mine.

good luck with your search.

steve.

[KirkVining]

Originally posted by cwmoser
Couple questions for those of you with manual transmissions:

Tell us about shifting - is the gear shift leaver positioned well and does it shift smoothly? Clutch petal stiff or spongy?

I think I read that the 6 cylinder 300SL in the 107 body also was offered with manual transmission. Anyone know much about these? I've read many posts that the 280SL engine is very reliable and durable.

CW
www.380SL.8k.com

My 77 280E had about 350k on it when I sent it to the junkyard. Motor still ran fine, the rest of the car was falling apart.

[KirkVining]

Originally posted by steve c.
I actually saw a 300sl 107 automatic for sale
here in san rafael, ca. a few years ago. had it been a stick i would
have bought it in a ny minute.. that would have been a trip.
twin sl's in the garage.

shane..

There is a 280sl for sale from a dealer in burlingame
for $11,300. saw it on ebay and craigs list. it has a
lot less miles than mine.

good luck with your search.

steve.

Gas prices being what they are, the 280 is a good pick if your in the market for an SL.

[daveedin]

If you think Gas prices are high in the USA please come over the UK!!

We pay like 85 UK pence per litre!

Dave

[KirkVining]

Actually, the 280 SL was specifically designed for the high gas prices found in Europe. I beleive a lot of the countries there limited engine size to 2.8 liter, after which heavy taxes apply.

[shane83SD]

"shane..

There is a 280sl for sale from a dealer in burlingame
for $11,300. saw it on ebay and craigs list. it has a
lot less miles than mine.

good luck with your search.

steve. "

I was advised by my friend not to spend too much for gray market car (5K tops). Plus the fact that CA is not very friendly in the SMOG department. Anything wrong on the smog conversion equipment means big time trouble.

For around 10K, I might be able to get a garage queen, low mileage, late model 380SL (84, 85). Am I in the right ball park?

[deanyel]

Originally posted by shane83SD
I was advised by my friend not to spend too much for gray market car (5K tops). Plus the fact that CA is not very friendly in the SMOG department. Anything wrong on the smog conversion equipment means big time trouble.

For around 10K, I might be able to get a garage queen, low mileage, late model 380SL (84, 85). Am I in the right ball park?

To me a 280 is one of the best, if not the best, model they made, and 380 is the worst. If you have to go with a US car I would say go for a higher miles 560.

[KirkVining]

If you live in CA you may want to stay away from Euros, also in Colorado, but if the car has been registered in those states before they have been retrofited long ago . In most of the rest of the country 107s are falling into grandfather clause territory. Mine will be considered an antique here in Texas in three years and won't have to be smog tested at all. I've had no touble passing smog tests, however, here in Houston we bottle the air and sell it up in Vermont as bug spray, so they may not be that strict.

Euros are starting to gain a following. Prices in Txas for Euros aren't much different than other SLs and they sell quicker because they look cool.

Kirk
83 280 SL
84 Porsche 944

[el Miguel]

Kirk, I love it... "sell it up in Vermont as bug spray"! ROTFLMAS!

[ctaylor738]

FWIW, the new 280SL passed Northern Virginia emissions testing a couple of days ago, 'way below the standards except for the HC, which was 179 ppm, with 221 passing. But this was with very old spark plugs.

There is currently a thread on the Technical Forum expressing concern that California is about to remove the exemption for cars more than 30 years old. I gather California is nearly impossible to deal with because you cannot modify the car's factory emissions system in any way, even if it makes it more efficient and reduces air pollution(!). There are guys in CA looking for the thermal reactors that were installed on the very early carbureted 2.8's.

My .02 is that the 280SL with the 5-speed is about as close as you can get to a sporty car in the 107. The 280 gets 185 HP. The US 380's are kind of ponderous with the extra weight of the big bumpers, the V8, AC, climate control, and only offered with the automatic. According to the technical data, they are rated at about 155 HP.

The 380's also have a O2 sensor/mixture control system and electronic idle control grafted on to a mechanical injection system. It just doesn't work very well. By the time the 560 came out, the mixture control, idle control, and enrichment were integrated into one system. And you get around 230 HP. Definitely a better technical setup and more bang for the buck.

when i purchased the 280sl 107 i obtained the prior owners smog test
results. the seller also had to get the car to pass for the sale. the "egr" valve was broken and it took two weeks to locate the part.

the car has a conversion sticker in the door. this has to be always there in order to pass smog.

the sl has always passed easilly. apparently now california is requesting owners of older cars (not the 30 year rule) to have their cars tested at a smog only shop. not state run but just a higher level of review.

when i see a diesel bus or a big truck going along spurting smoke everywhere i just wonder whats really going on.

i understand everyons concern about this car but except for the biannual worry it seems worth it to me thus far.

steve

kirk

what do you have for front turn signals??

the setup on these cars are really piss
poor. my left side has broken off and i have to keep it together with a plastic tie.

no easy fix....

steve

[Pili380SL]

Nice find, beautiful car Chuck. You've been a great help to me in my endevours to fix my 380SL, and it is much appreciated. Enjoy the new Wee Wench!

Paul

[KirkVining]

Originally posted by steve c.
kirk

what do you have for front turn signals??

the setup on these cars are really piss
poor. my left side has broken off and i have to keep it together with a plastic tie.

no easy fix....

steve

Mine are whatever came stock on a Euro sold in England. First time I drove across Houston I caught enough rocks to total both lenses. When I changed the headlight lenses out, I was pretty unhappy with the underlying lense setup. You have to remove some sheet metal screws, and after 20+ yrs of headlight changes some are either stripped or the wrong screw. The turn signals in yours are probably suffering from the same thing. I have made a mental note to go back in and clean it all up, but I never seem to find the time. I still need to fix the rock damage to the turn signal lense on the car, here's a picture I took after it happened. I now drive it around the bay area only and keep it out of city traffic:

[1984 280SL]

I’ll have to post a picture of my 280 SLs later but here is my info on my pair of Euro 107s.
I’ve owned my 1980 with 4 speed manual for 18 years. It has 167,000 miles and is mostly original including exhaust system, shocks, and clutch- yes the clutch has never been replaced. The only items I have replaced is the water pump, alternator, and fuel pump relay 2X and the cloth top. No major repairs ever and it has been professionally maintained by the same guy now for 18 years, even oil changes. It is very fast and responsive – it goes to 80-90mph amazingly fast. It is a silver blue in color and I get compliments on it quite often and when I tell them it is 24 yr old most can’t believe it. My 1984 280 SL 5 speed is dark metallic blue and I bought it off Ebay a couple of weeks ago and has 72,000 miles. It is in very nice shape and still very tight and smooth and quiet as a 2 yr old model would be. Differences I have noted so far – only driven the 1984 120 miles so far – the manual shifter is tighter than I am used to in my 1980 – more like a new model would be. I do not like the way you have to access reverse in a 5 speed. The accelerator pedal requires more force so I will be finding a way to get it more like my 1980 – small matter I know but it matters to me. The 1984 does not accelerate as fast as my 1980 even tho they are the same engine. It is only a small noticeable amount but I will be looking at ways to fix that and hopefully it is a only a timing issue. The 1984 is very quiet both top off and top on – I can barely feel or hear the engine running. My 1980 has passed the emission test with flying colors every year and the new 1984 just passed its first one in Washington and it previously passed in California after a tuneup.

I am looking forward to getting to know the 84 better but I think the 1980 will be a hard shoes to fill which is why I am keeping both of them. I think the 1980 will go 300,000 miles with out a problem.