I was just given a beautiful 1973 450sl. We still can't believe it and have to go in the garage just to make sure that it is ours!! It's in great shape, has 188K, was rebuilt around 140K. Interior is almost perfect as is the paint. The owner had it completely stripped down to the metal and repainted at a cost of over $3K almost 15 years ago. I have all the records from day one. I need to know some info on the normal operating temp for these cars. It seems to me that it runs hot, at normal idle, the guage runs up between 200 and close to 275 but does not go into the thin red line. The aux. fan has yet to go on. I called our local Mercedes Dealership and talked to the parts dept. They said that this is normal for this year and make. He said that the aux fan will go on at 212 degrees, just at or below the red line?? He said not to worry and always gets calls from new owners of these cars. What should I expect?? A new radiator runs $400. that is if the old original cannot be recored? I have yet to take it to a shop. Also, it has not been tuned up since 1988, only 15K miles ago. It seems to skip at idle. We own a 78 300D and 84 300TD. I'm familar with these but not with this gas monster! Please help! Any info would be greatly appreciated

Gregg,

A friend of mine also has a 73 450SL that was running hot (I'm not sure what the temp reading was). He took it to a local shop and they replaced the thermostat, his car did not run hot after that.

Hope this helps.

__________________
Ray
1998 Mercedes E320, 200K Miles
2001 Acura 3.2TL, 178K Miles
1992 Chevy Astro, 205K Miles