Patrick Asks:

I am restoring my 280 SE 3.5 Coupe, it is modified to my spec., I had original 76/27 A5-5-Speed-Box ( very rar), Megasquirt EFI, modified cyl.heads and cams, Spax(adjust), 6.3 Offset on front axle with (10 mm not 20 mm plate-steering box and 15 nearer leaf springs like 6.3), 3.92 rear axle (modified to take central spring and normal thrust arm) with brake anti-dive from the air suspenzion cars (welded in chassis) and rear sway bar.
Front brakes with 300mm, substitution of the viscovan with 2 e-van (MSII-driven), water-cooler improved with new type net…
I will made PU-Bushings for the thrust-arms and torsion bar (screw 5mm shortened for early insertion)…
Now I’ve seen the progressive springs which I am looking for some time.
This springs are in progression curve like the air suspension or more progressive? Will it better for me to use the stifter ones?
Can you deliver to Germany or Italy?
Best, Patrick

OLSON REPLIES:

I too am modifying a 111/112 Coupé to my specs, so we should stay in contact with each other. We (too?) are using the 6.3’s 6mm shorter leaf springs on the front of subframe.(per service manual) making a more positive caster measurement causing the handling to feel more reactive. The downside is, the wheel returns to center slower when you let go of the steering, and when traveling down the road the vehicle does not stay as straight on its own. The difference is so subtle I doubt many people would notice. How has technical support been on your Megasquirt II system for fuel injection? Kit is not expensive but I’ve not seen any tech support for Mercedes engines? A qualified “tuner” could get expensive?  MSII is open source which is much harder to set up correctly then a simpler AEM, or MoTec system that has wizards and a basic “questionair” to get the vehicle running safely. Make sure you’re using a wide band o2 sensor. The Autotune add-on works incredibly well, once the vehicle is idling smoothly.  Maybe you’ve already crossed these mile posts?

What modifications have you done to the cylinder head, and what has it  dynoed in at?

In our case we’ve installed an entire AMG V6 (C 32) drive train, including 5 speed paddle shift automatic transmission and C-Class rear subframe with multi-link suspension. With the rear mounted on a subframe installation is straight forward. My chief mechanic is preparing step-by-step instructions (for sale) about the entire engine and drive train project. The C-Class suspension is technically brilliant with both anti-lift and ant-squat geometry. It also has subtle involuntary rear wheel steering on corners. This project is also using the newest Bilstein cockpit adjustable Air Suspension.

As for springs, you’ve explained engine modifications but what type of roads will you be driving upon. What are your comfort expectations. Since we make the coil springs we can build in the exact  progressive rate for your power and type of driving. In some applications we recommend sport springs in front and progressive rate springs in the rear. If you live closer to the mountains you might opt for all sport springs. We’ll make whatever you chose for the same $790 price for a set of four, plus shipping. And yes, we do ship to Europe: FedEx Air adds about $225 to the order (with suitable insurance). Our sport springs are not “harsh” but definitely manage weight better in cornering and hard braking.

Stuttgart/Brackley – The MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team can confirm that seven-times Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher will make his racing return in 2010 with the Silver Arrows team. With seven Drivers’ World Championships, 248 Grand Prix starts, 91 victories, 154 podium finishes and 68 pole positions, the 40-year old German needs no introduction following an illustrious and record-breaking Formula One career from 1991 to 2006 at the Jordan, Benetton and Ferrari teams. Michael’s return to racing with MERCEDES GP PETRONAS sees his return to Mercedes-Benz Motorsport where he began his racing apprenticeship as part of the Junior Programme in 1990, racing in Group C sports cars and DTM, and sees Michael renew his partnership with Ross Brawn with whom he won all seven of his World Championships. The announcement confirms the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS driver line-up for the 2010 season with Michael partnering his compatriot, 24 year old Nico Rosberg, in the Silver Arrows cars.

Michael Schumacher: “MERCEDES GP PETRONAS represents a new challenge for me both in a sporting and a personal context. It is a new chapter in my racing career and I am really looking forward to working with my old friend Ross Brawn and my companions from my days with the Mercedes Junior Programme. I am convinced that together we will be involved in the fight for the Formula 1 World Championship next year and I am already looking forward to getting back onto the race track. For me, this partnership closes the circle. Mercedes supported me for so many years when I began my Formula 1 career and now I can hopefully give something back to the brand with the star.”

Nico Rosberg: “It is fantastic that Michael is returning to Formula One and will be my team-mate at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS. It’s a great challenge for me to be up against one of the best drivers of all time. I’m sure that we will form a very strong partnership as he will have lost none of his speed! It is also great news for our sport and the fans.”

Ross Brawn: Team Principal of MERCEDES GP PETRONAS: “I am delighted that we can confirm today that Michael will make his much-anticipated return to Formula One next year and drive for our MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team. As seven-time World Champion, Michael’s outstanding record in Formula One speaks for itself and I am looking forward to working with him again. With the completion of our driver line-up, I believe that we now have the most exciting partnership in Formula One with Michael and Nico, who provide the perfect mix of talent, experience, speed and youth. We can now turn our full attention to the preparations for the new season and everyone at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS is extremely excited about the challenge ahead. With the investment and support in our team provided by Daimler, Aabar and our new title partner Petronas, and with two such exciting drivers, we have all of the building blocks in place to have another successful season in 2010.”

Norbert Haug: Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsports: “In April 1991, when I had been in charge of the Mercedes-Benz Motorsport programme for just six months, Michael was standing beside me on the balcony one evening. Without the slightest doubt, he said in a low voice: “It’s about time that I got into Formula 1″. Michael had just turned 22 years of age and four months later, he made his debut at Spa in a Jordan. Mercedes-Benz helped him to this point and the rest is history: seven World Championship titles, more than any racing driver, 91 Grand Prix wins, more than any racing driver. Michael has more of everything than every other driver. As part of the Mercedes Junior Programme, Michael had raced in Group C sports cars and competed in a few DTM races. Ross Brawn, then our opponent at Jaguar, quickly realised Michael’s talent and they went on to win all seven of his Drivers’ World Championship titles together at Benetton and Ferrari. Our sporting ambition has always been that Michael should drive again where his professional career had started and Michael knew that. We often joked about it after the races and discussed the prospect seriously several times during the last 14 years in Formula 1. It didn‟t happen in 1995, it didn’t happen in 1998 and it didn’t happen in 2005. I am delighted that it will now happen in 2010. I am very much looking forward to working with Michael and everybody at Mercedes-Benz and Daimler extends a very warm welcome to our ‘apprentice’ of 19 years ago. That apprentice is now the most successful racing driver of all time.”

Below you’ll find videos mentioned in the SL Market Letter (094):

The 1886 Benz was the first car. Lance Lambert from The Vintage Vehicle Show visits the Mercedes Classics Museum to see, learn about, and drive this vehicle.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Patent Motor Car 1 Cylinder Bore 91.44mm Stroke 150 Displacement 984 cc Benz Patent Motorwagen 1886. The world’s first true automobile. Benz Velo 1894. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bertha Benz hat am 5. August 1888 mit Ihrer geheimen Fahrt über 106 Kilometer von Mannheim nach Pforzheim den Benz-Patent-Motorwagen zum Erfolg verholfen und Automobilgeschichte geschrieben.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Len Asks:

I have a 1986 300SL 5-speed manual. I love the car very much but note that outside of a Website in Germany, I almost never see manual gearbox R107 300SL’s offered for sale. Could you tell me, of the 13,000-odd R107’s that were produced in total from 1985 through 1989, how many were fitted with manual gearboxes?
Thank you.

John Olson Replies:

No, Mercedes-Benz has never released production quantities for specific options. There was a great deal of interest in learning how many 5-speed manual shift Pagoda SLs were built in the 1960s. It was thanks to the supplier of those transmissions, a German company ZF Friedrichshafen AG, that old records showed how many were delivered and for specific M-B models. Total was only 888!

About ten year ago, MBUSA was able to tell an owner how many 5 speed manual transmissions were delivered in the USA in the R129 SL. but that was only possible because the number was small and limited to one country.

Your six cylinder W107 SL was never sold through US M-B dealers as you know. Your enthusiasm for this model is common. Treat it like a permanent asset at it will become one. There are many good things about M-B sixes generally. They don’t break much, are less expensive to repair that newer V8 SLs, and are among the safer “old” cars when accidents occur. The R107 SL version debuted in 1974 as a 280SL, and received the 3.0 liter engine in 1985 when the 300E was launched in the USA. Engine parts are mostly interchangeable with the 300E models including the transmission, and body parts are interchangeable with the 560SL.

Al Erhart Asks:

I have a 2001 SL500 with the Panoramic Roof.  It has been maintained to Mercedes standards.  It has 62,000 miles with new tires.  It has 38,000 miles left on a comprehensive policy for any mechanical problems. What is the value.  It is silver with AMG sports package. Thanks, Al Erhart

John Olson Replies:

It is ‘criminal’ how fast all new cars depreciate! The late, profound, economist Peter Drucker once observed that used cars are the most effective form of egalitarianism in the western world… with so much of a car’s value passed on to 2nd and 3rd owners at depreciated prices. State-of-art technology is very dear indeed. With only 7,750 miles per year your car has many decades of life left in it. Its base price was $83,800 in 2001. This Fall, even with AMG options, you will be lucky to get $18,600.

The SL Market Letter advocates buying cars like yours, not selling them. Consider treating as a family treasure for the next 100 years, and treating it accordingly. They don’t break much, they’re among the safest “old” cars on the road, and its annual maintenance cost would be small fraction of the annual depreciation if you replace it with a new car of ANY brand. Think about it.

John Christian asks:

I have a 1989 300sl and the radio just quit today – however it still makes a loud clicking noise – no LCD display though – and the antennae goes up and down randomly. Is there an easy fix?  If not, what is a good replacement 3rd party radio?

Thanks, John Christian

John Olson Replies:

Your original radio was most likely made by Becker, the primary supplier to Mercedes-Benz since the 1950s (though Blaupunkt was on M-B’s approved options lists in Europe where your 3.0 liter SL was originally sold). Becker’s distinctive fascia is ‘expected’ by Mercedes enthusiasts and ‘foreign’ radios are a negative to the car’s resale speed if not also value. For this reason I would recommend either a) having it repaired by the authorized Becker Repair Center (such as www.beckerautosound.com) or replace it from a recycling company –with another Becker of approximately the same vintage. A source I like is Potomac German Auto (800-275-4405).

Nicolas asks:

So If money was no option / what would be the most desirable color combo on a 1986 300sl. I have the palomino leather interior already. What should i paint the outside of the car. Blue, Red, Silver, White, Black.?

John Olson replies:

The best selling MB exterior colors in the mid-1980s were Light Ivory and Silver Blue Metallic. They took a dive among MB favorites later in the decade when they became TOO common on other brands. While red interiors compliment lighter exterior colors, softer neutral choices have faired better. Black was the best seller even for SLs during the early 1990s recession. Silver returned to the top in 2000.

Each year industry-wide surveys are released to the public ranking most popular car colors, and MB shares its “best selling” colors with their franchised retail stores when they commit to future inventory. These annual changes make any single answer to your question less than conclusive.

Adding to this, applying today’s favorites to a 1986 car “doesn’t look right” and hurts the car’s value, all else being equal.

As a car associated with quality, overall preservation influences me far more than color. In fact MB models are so instantly recognizable that they don’t “need” color to make a statement. I’ve personally liked MB in “industrial” colors that say “I am a machine and I don’t apologize for it.

Many of the SL Mercedes-Benz questions are answered in our SL Market Letter, published about 12 times per year. For a nominal subscription fee, you can have SL Mercedes price trends and exclusive SL articles written by author, John R. Olson – publisher of the SL Experience book. You can subscribe to the  SL Market Letter here.

Kevin Stanley asks:

I have a 1985 380Sl;  full load, heated seats, ac, hard top, etc.  I am the second owner and the car is all original with 92,000 km’s. It is teal with natural leather; 8 out of 10 condition. How can I determine the value today? Are they going up or down in value?
Thanks in advance, Kevin

John Olson replies:

All cars, even the greatest collector cars, depreciate painfully during their first decade (or two) of life… providing inadequate differentiation for rough treatment vs. careful preservation. Your mid-1980s car is currently in what I call its “limbo” years, when it is neither a newer car or old enough to be taken seriously as a collector car. The “hot” decade of appreciating older cars now is the 1960s — interesting models of all brands, especially convertibles (the safest bet to appreciate in all marques). Cars of the 1970s are just starting to be “cherry-picked” for the best preserved originals at low prices. Your decade is coming but in the meantime it is under-valued by the marketplace as compared to what it would cost to reincarnate a tired example to the condition of your car.

The only good news is that your car’s value has reached it’s “plateau” value range for the remainder of its time in “limbo”. That’s a plus for a buyer, or for you if you should decide you’re better off keeping it and enjoying it. Granted it doesn’t get the MPG we like to see today but you will lose more in annual depreciate on most newer cars that you spend annually in extra gas in any 1980s SL, plus you’re likely to be safer in a bad accident in an old Mercedes that many newer cars. Things to think about.

So, no, your 380SL should not go down further in value next year or even 10 years, than you can get this year, assuming proper care, no driving in salty seasons, etc. Finding it’s precise value would require a professional appraisal but the range is likely to be $6,000 to $12,000 –wholesale to retail, in my USA market. You didn’t mention your country of residence. Relatively speaking, what I’ve said here applies anywhere in the world.

Many of the SL Mercedes-Benz questions are answered in our SL Market Letter, published about 12 times per year. For a nominal subscription fee, you can have SL Mercedes price trends and exclusive SL articles written by author, John R. Olson – publisher of the SL Experience book. You can subscribe to the  SL Market Letter here.

Nicolas asks:

I have a 300sl 1986 Model drives fantastic it is currently Metalic silver/Green with Green Interior . . . eerrrre – purchased the car because it was very well looked after and was in need of a new owner. I purchased it for  24,000 AUD. (In pounds – estimated to be 8000.00.)  I am never planning to stage it as a prize original Mercedes in any competition. But if I were to change the combination what are my 3 best options? Red with Palomino interior, Silver with Black or Blue, Black  – I just don’t like the Green. Also would I be increasing the value of this type of car, decreasing or making no difference to the value overall? Please help as I am trying to settle a debate.

John Olson answers:

I always lament a car’s first “respray” as they are never as durable (even with famous brands of paint they bruise much easier) and rarely duplicate original quality (being either too good or not good enough).

Not liking a color is another matter.* Personally, if the paint is well preserved as you’ve describe, I would be a dutiful custodian and live with it; Not what you want to hear I’m sure but the risks mentioned in the first paragraph are very real as original paint is applied in special, electronic spray booths before the interior, wiring harness(es) and engine are installed… making full stripping, re-coverage and total adherence during a color change extremely labor intensive; removal of all glass, chrome, doors, rubber, etc. Shortcut these steps and the result will look bad immediately rather than 18 months later when bruises and chipped accumulate.  *Green is not as popular as world-wide as it is in Germany however in your country fewer green cars are sold, largely balancing supply and demand. Psychologists tell us the two colors most comforting to the human eye are green and blue, as they appear some much in nature. An interesting side not is that collectors of 300SL Gullwings today often seek out the rarest colors offered on these cars when doing frame-off show-caliber restorations, as there are so many Silver, white and red 300SLs. Grass is alway greener on the other side of the fence? No bun intended.

If your car’s paint was already hopelessly weathered and partially repainted due to fender-benders, I would say for it… change the color without a high-end, detailed stripping, as the unique charm of a well preserved original paint job has already passed.

The 1974 – 1989 R107 body six cylinder SLs are fantastic cars. There is a lot to be said for Mercedes-Benz six cylinder engines generally. Spunky, durable, economical, easy to maintain and service. And, the most famous and valuable SL of the all is a Mercedes-Benz six.

Bob Hill asks:

I have a 1983 Mercedes-Benz 380SL.  I want to lower it and remove the floating ride.  How would you recommend this be done?  Lowering Springs, shocks, etc.

John Olson Answers:

Bob and anyone else with a 1971 through 1989 SL; “fixing” your car’s height and too-soft ride is pretty straightforward. Most SLs delivered in the USA have a softer ride than expected for a sporty car. SL Market has developed sets of four progressive-rate springs especially for the R107 Body SLs, with slight differences based on weight of the particular year and accessories on-board. We offer two versions, the second being full sport springs (not progressively firmer) for people using his or her SL Mercedes-Benz for autocross and rally driving. Neither version is harsh but management of the car’s weight is clearly improved. Curb height can also be lowered for no additional fee as we make the sets to order, and the time to do it is about the same regardless of personalization. Phone 612-377-0155 to determine the best set for your vehicle.

- John R. Olson

Many of the SL Mercedes-Benz questions are answered in our SL Market Letter, published about 12 times per year. For a nominal subscription fee, you can have SL Mercedes price trends and exclusive SL articles written by author, John R. Olson – publisher of the SL Experience book. You can subscribe to the  SL Market Letter here.