I have not owned a 89 SL for a number of years, it had it I think. The ability to raise the hood has been a feature as far as I can remember. Look at the scissors hinges, on brackets they have a catch that latches in a normal position, after that, one of the hinges has either a spring loaded button either rotary or push back which will allow you to go past this stop to a vertical position and lock again. It is on only one hinge the passenger side as I recall, and has to be released, to restore normal operation.