I have a '78 450 SLC I bought on line from a benzworld member. It was test driven for me by another member who said it ran fine. After having it shipped out it is useless. When cold pressing the acclerator will instantly kill the engine. When warm it will never rev above about 2500 or so and will barely move. I freed a stuck parking brake but it didn't help the moving forward bit since it seems to be an engine issue. I've also noticed a clicking sound that appears to be coming from the fuse panel area when it's cold. Could that be the fuel pump relay? Car idles fine when warm, no smoke, but it smells rich. Anyway I'm going to have new plugs etc put in next week but if there are other things I should look for that would be great to know. Could a vacuum line have come undone somewhere? Anyway thanks for any and all help. I should add that the car hasn't seen much use in the last year or so.

John

'80 500SE AMG
'80 300SD
'78 450 SLC

My two prime suspects are spark arcing and dirty fuel filter. Do the service records indicate when the splug wires and fuel filter were last serviced? Did a PPI not reveal this problem?

Sixto
93 300SD

I never saw the car until it was shipped out. Setting up a PPI from 3K miles away was too difficult. It was a whim purchase as a 40th birthday present to myself. I don't have any recent records, yeah I know I shouldn't buy one w/o. I'm going to start with the plugs/wires and filters and go from there. Like I said, the guy who drove it for me said it ran fine, that's why i was wondering if something could've been jostled durring transport. Thanks for the help, it'll be a nice car if I can get it running right.

John

'80 500SE AMG
'80 300SD
'78 450 SLC