i worked on Mercedes during that time. the engines were not bullet proof. the single row cam chains used to snap and ruin the engine. they upgraded the chain and sprockets to a double row. also the cat converters used to plug often. take off one of the valve covers and check for the upgrade.

I like the 86-89 560SL, nice cruiser, that at least finally had enough power to get out of it's own way.

You're thinking of the early 380's, not the 450's. I've never seen a 450 timing chain fail. But it was an epic problem of the 380's. The 500 went back to dual-row, and so it was a common retrofit to the 380's.

it's been a long time. you are correct it was the 380 model after the 450. my apology.

I bought an `85 380 SL for the wife (she wanted one) and frankly I'm not impressed. Drinks gas, poor acceleration, lousy handling. The car does look good.
RU saying it has single or double row timing chain? I noticed one valve cover is leaking. Is this an simple fix or does it involve more extensive removal of parts up front? (I've done my own brakes and do my own valve adjustments on the Carrera)
I apologize for the hijack but I've been meaning to ask this for some time

It was originally a single-row, but it may have been updated at some point. The valve cover is a simple fix (and you can then see clearly if it is single or double).

The 380 was unfortunately MB's solution to concerns over fuel consumption at the time. They made the engine a little weaker and eliminated one row of timing chain links as a weight saving measure. :rolleyes:

It's pretty pathetic to think of the state of auto engineering at the premier German car maker a few short years ago. It's also important to remember that fuel efficiency in their upper-market cars has always been unbelievably horrible. It's like they are intentionally trying to make them inefficient or something. And yes, it continues to this day. Rent a new S500 and do some hand-calculating if you don't believe me. We're talking big-block Chevy truck mileage.

They cater to folks who just don't care, or at least used to not care. The reason this bothers me is that they could task their engineers with designing a 400hp engine that gets great mileage if they wanted. They're supposed to be the best, right? :cool:

I've thought long and hard. Has MB ever produced a true sports car besides a 2-passenger convertible? Help remind me.

Sherwood

The Ace and Gary-mobile is pretty sporty.

http://www.mercedesbenzslr.info/imag...9_2007_amk.jpg

Hmmm. Thanks for the entries.

But I think more, "GT-ish".

I'll have to go back and rethink the term, "sports car" as it relates to MB. Sorry.

Sherwood

I owned a 73 450 SL. IMO the smaller bumpers and Euro headlights vastly transformed the cars appearance (and it lost a fair amount of weight in the process). It was not a sportscar, it had terrible recirculating ball steering but good handling, good brakes, adequate power, superb build quality and materials and was a joy on a nice Spring day.

There are fixes for the steering, aluminum hoods, other weight savers and of course plenty of handling and brake upgrades out there. I still wish I had her- but I say that about almost every car I ever owned.

what can you do to sport up the look a bit?Marty

I'm glad someone else had that thought about the SLR.:p

Mine.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1238557062.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1238557131.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1238557187.jpg