Looking at buying a 73 450sl

[rosenfe]

What are your opinions. Car has euro bumpers.

[Usaguy]

Originally Posted by rosenfe

Car has euro bumpers.

73 and older the us market cars had "euro" bumpers from the factory

[Usaguy]

ok so what to look for:


cracked front subframe (was a recall on it for 450SL)

timing chain guides

wetness under carpets (could be a rusted firewall)

front and rear subframe bushings

steering play

450 before 75 or 76 require periodic valve adjustments and have a D-Jet injection

[meltedpanda]

well it depends on a lot what you are looking at. Having rebuilt several, I like the 72-73 model years because they are solid and fun to drive . They are not rockets ,and have the DJET system that has issues if not maintained and parts are hard to find. THe HVAC systems have a lot to be desired , they have drum brakes. Steering box issues.
If you are really interested in a 107 , and you are not interested in daily fiddling , look at a well sorted 89 560SL - awesome rides best of the line IMHO

[daantjie]

Personally I would get a later model with KJET injection, the 1973 will likely have DJET which is a nightmare to work on compared to the much more robust later KJET system.

[fonzi]

Originally Posted by daantjie

Personally I would get a later model with KJET injection, the 1973 will likely have DJET which is a nightmare to work on compared to the much more robust later KJET system.

TomAAto TomAHto

I own both and they each have their pros and cons IMO.

[fonzi]

Originally Posted by meltedpanda

well it depends on a lot what you are looking at. Having rebuilt several, I like the 72-73 model years because they are solid and fun to drive . They are not rockets ,and have the DJET system that has issues if not maintained and parts are hard to find. THe HVAC systems have a lot to be desired , they have drum brakes. Steering box issues.
If you are really interested in a 107 , and you are not interested in daily fiddling , look at a well sorted 89 560SL - awesome rides best of the line IMHO

Some contradictions I smell here. 560sl HVAC more prone to have to remove the dash than a 72-73.

Steering box issues pertain to general slop across all models, not just the 72-73.

WTH has drum brakes besides the emergency brake? All 107 are four wheel disc.

Yeah, it’s true that if you don’t like daily fiddling, you can go with the 560sl, because there’s less to fix when things go wrong. They are more of a “replace it” than “fix it” type of electronic systems and more specialized parts. Never had a dead 72-73 that I couldn’t make run again.

I’m a big fan of the original 350sl, a d-jet v8 with more chrome, small bumpers, etc.