74 450 sl

[hiromi]

i always liked sl from 70's, but dont know much about it. then i saw this 450 sl a couple of weeks back and really liked it.
now, it is missing a heat shield. it drives pretty smoothly, but the current owner did say it gets hot after 2 hrs of driving...
it has 73k miles. his price is $9k, but after looking around, i am thinking about offering $7k-7500.

1. when i get somebody to look at the car before i buy it, what should i be looking at? (other than the fact it is missing the heat shield...)

2. is $7k-7.5k reasonable? (everything else looks like they are in good condition, except a small plastic part on the side of the soft top has a little crack since the current owner didnt use soft top much. the canvas part is in very good condition)

a friend of mine warned me that this can be really expensive to maintain... although i dont commute much, i would be driving it daily as my main car. i would appreciate any suggestions.

[psfred]

Yes, it can be expensive to maintain, especially the D-Jet electronic injection since it's not been used on a new car since 1975.

$7000 is a very good price, they can fetch up to $12,000 in very good condition.

You will need to drive it to determine actual condition, although they do tend to be well taken care of, by and large.

Peter

[hiromi]

well, i am learning a lot on this site already...
maybe i should be looking for something after 1975, so i dont have to deal with D-Jet electronic injection...? i test drove it and it runs very smoothly. the owner does have all the repair record. i will ask him if/when D-Jet electronic injection was replaced last time.

[cth350]

The D-jet system has its quirks. In the hands of somebody with experience, it's "just fine". Without a few specialized tools, you can't do anything but kill it.

Have the car taken to a mechanic that is familar with the model and let him go over it carefully. A 9,000$ mercedes from 1975 aught to be cosmetically very good and run very well. Everything should be tight, right and to spec. Make sure it goes on an emissions checking machine, even if it's "exempt" from regulations. This is a mercedes, not a chevy. If it's not operating "to spec", then something's not right under the hood, even it "sounds great".

-CTH

[hiromi]

well, i dont know anything about fixing a car, old or new. i guess i will have to learn if i want something like this.

i am thinking about taking it to AAA for check up... maybe i should find somebody else who is more specialized. it is in san jose, ca, so i will look around.
i will make sure it will have an emission check.
thanks!

[hiromi]

found a place called 'auto haus' in campbell. i didnt realize it will take a day to inspect it... the owner thought he had a heat shield, but could not find it, so that's one thing i know i have to get. i will get a result tomorrow, so i will see...

[hiromi]

the mechanic said everything looks ok, except oil is leaking just a little bit and heater does not work, which we think a fuse needs to be replaced.
is a heat shield a small aluminum piece?

http://www.autopartsworld.com/1974_mercedes-benz_240d_injector-heat-shield_parts.html

when somebody say "it is missing a heat shield", is it an "injector heat shield"? or are they different?

the mechanic i went to was not as specialized as i thought...

[GaryF]

It's either a heat shield somewhere along the exhaust pipe (tail pipe) or it could be the insulation that is attached to the bulkhead under the bonnet (hood). When the current owner says it gets hot does he mean in the passenger area or the temperature of the engine goes up ?
When you say the heater doesnt work do you mean that there's no heat or the fan doesnt blow ?
For what it's worth most of the articles I have read about this version of the injection system suggest it is very reliable because it's relatively simple. The problem is finding people that are familiar with it if it does go wrong. Worst case you can probably find one in a scrap yard as a replacement.
Doesnt sound like the inspection found much wrong, did they check the box sections for rust or was it just a basic mechanical ?

[hiromi]

i wish i took it to auto haus in campbell instead of a place in sf... the current owner and i both live in/near sf, so we brought the car up.
so i called auto haus about heat shield. he said i would have to go some where and have it fabricated. that means i most likely won't just find it.

the mechanic in SF just did a basic check up. NOT what i expected considering it is a 30 yo car.

also, auto haus guy said heating up after driving 2 hrs and having difficulty starting then has nothing to do with heat shield. there is something else wrong, such as sensor or other... i wish i could find something like auto haus in/near sf.

we did drive it from san jose to sf yesterday. at the end of the trip, he said the car was a big hesitant to start...
also, after i saw the car last time (3 weeks ago), the soft top was cut. right next to the back plastic. we didnt have a chance to take a look at it yesterday, but he says it is about 3". i found a guy who would replace plastics on the soft top for $400, but now that it has a cut on the canvas itself, i dont know what would cost...

as for the heater, the mechanic said the blower is out.
as much as i would love to buy this car, i am starting to wonder maybe i should not since i just know too little about older cars...

did people on this forum learn about classic cars before they bought them or afterwards?

[hiromi]

as for the following question, i think the temperature of the engine gets hot.

"It's either a heat shield somewhere along the exhaust pipe (tail pipe) or it could be the insulation that is attached to the bulkhead under the bonnet (hood). When the current owner says it gets hot does he mean in the passenger area or the temperature of the engine goes up ?"

thanks...