What am I in for - 1987 16v
 

The car runs, the transmission (auto) is perfect. has 110k miles.
Problems:
1. hole in front fender liner
2. needs rubber. all of it. tires, seals, gaskets.
3. gold/silver paint is awful and trashed

i have also found 2 manuals with under 100k miles.

i want to get the thing in top shape to run it at the track (PCA, BMWCCA, etc.) and they won't take structurally rusty (avoided) cars or anything loose (seems ok here, too). It has to be in new condition, basically.

what are some common weak points that i will face?

Even though the car is 18 years old many parts are available from MB only & are very $$$.
The engine was a VERY limited production for the USA with around 1800 sold in 1986 + 87. Costly parts!

Very fun car with a 5-speed, but much slower with auto.

Make sure that the engine doesn't burn a lot of oil, & that the valve clearance/adjustment has been done every 15K miles. ALSO check compression.
The rear self leveling suspension will wear out & the accumulators need replacement every 5-6 years or the struts will start leaking.

There are 3 16V cars in my family & we love them!

The UK magazine, Mercedes Enthusiast bought a used 2.3-16 and is documenting its use as a daily driver in a "long term test." If you can find some back issues from this year, you can catch up with their findings. They've serviced the SLS, had the car tuned up, had a switch fall through the air vent frame . . . typical stuff. Last month they noted that it's not the best car for city dwellers, but once they got out into the country, the high rev'ing engine really comes into its own.

Alpine,

Are the choices between the auto and two manual cars?

Get the manual. If you want to run in autox and slalom, you certainly don't want the auto!

My wife has an auto and I keep thinking what a fun car it would be with a 5 speed.

Tinker

m.b. doc --- you are a jerk. you shouldn't hoard rare cars like that. :)

i wish i could find a clean manual car, but i don't have any solid leads to a private party, well maintained car. high revving engines are great.

Be patient and keep looking. You should be able to find a nice one for less than $7,000.

If you are planning on tracking it, why would you want a nice one? Look for one with a beat exterior and interior and decent mechanicals. You will probably want to gut it to get some weight out anyways.

I have seen several for less than $4k that fall in the later catagory.

Tinker

i've vicariously experienced plenty of attempted conversions on a junk car and decided that the ideal candidate is somebody's concours car. But, my budget won't stretch that far, so a clean one is what i am hoping for.

i don't mind running the a/c while staging in the pits before getting on the circuit, either.