Junkyard Find: 1974 Mercedes-Benz 450SL

by Murilee Martin

January 10th, 2013 10:53 PM

When I lived in California, I’d see R107s in self-service junkyards all the time; since moving to Denver a couple of years back, I see them only occasionally. There was this ’78 450SLC last summer and that was about it. Last week, though I found this screaming yellow Malaise Era kokainwagen.

This one entered the used-parts ecosystem in fairly beat/rusty condition (yes, Midwesterners, I know this is amateur-grade rust), and quite a few bits have already been picked from it.

I like these cars so much that I’ve been trying to buy the Rally Baby Racing ’75 450SL (which is street-licensed) for the last ten months. It’s a slow and heavy race car, but would look great on the street.

This engine would look great in a fenderless ’39 Opel, ja?

#1970s #1974 #1974Mercedes-Benz450SL #Convertible #Denver #DownOnTheJunkykard #Junkyard #JunkyardFind #Malaise #MalaiseEra #Mercedes-Benz #R107 #Mercedes-BenzR107

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Sector 5 on Jan 12, 2013

450SL an icon in its day.. The first owner rolled around the summer of 74 with the unescapable news of a disgraced president playing out on the radio, In 74 British Leyland would have liked you believe their Triumph Stag a worthy contender. Build quality & brand duration not even close. I would have desired balloon whitewalls & color-coded hubs with that yellow more than euro-spec bumpers.

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StaysCrunchy on Jan 14, 2013

Since I'm too lazy to search for the answer myself, do people ever do SBC swaps in these cars? I always liked this body style, but I can't imagine 35+ year old Mercedes-Benz V8's are easy to work on or find parts for.

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- Krhodes1 on Jan 14, 2013
  
  Not unless they are stupid. The engine is the least of the problems with these cars, they are quite easy to work on, and Mercedes (and/or sundry aftermarket suppliers) will cheerfully sell you just about every single part on the entire car. You might want smelling salts handy when they tell you the price, but EVERYTHING is available. Mercedes will even restore one for you. MB does an absolutely AMAZING job of supporting their past production. BMW runs a close second. But as I said, the prices can be stiff.
  
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- Felix Hoenikker on Jan 14, 2013
  
  Except for an occasional part, OEM parts are relatively cheap and avialble for vintage MBs. Some examples I bought include a rebuilt Bosch starter motor- $85. Don't even ask about how difficult it was to swap; a rebuilt master brake cylinder - $45; Bosch spark plug wire set - $80; valve cover gaskets - $20 each, fuel injectors -$80ea, etc. Other parts can be very expensive. For example a rebuilt fuel injection computer will cost $1200, and an electronic ignition modulle is about $600. Overall, not an exepensive car to maintain if you stay away from the MB dealer
  
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