I appear to have purchased a 1972 350SL!

[Mattyboy 1972]

On a whim I have bought a 1972 350SL. The car has been sitting for months at a TVR specialist I occasionally work at, and it hadn't moved for ages. I enquired about the car as I've always had a soft spot for R107's and they gave me the keys and said that if I was interested to put a bid in and they would ask the owner.

I put the car on a ramp and was pleased with how solid she was, with the sills and floor plans looking good, however the bodywork is pretty average with bubbles here and there, and in the past she has had a pretty poor paint job, which no doubt hides numerous horrors.

Anyway I threw in a cheeky bid working on the basis that I should get my money back as parts if the worst came to the worst, and low and behold I am now the owner of a 350SL

She needs a good service / tune up and a few bushes replacing but she drives really well (for a 45 year old car) and passed its MOT with minimal work.

She will now live in a nice dry warm garage so hopefully won't deteriorate too much over the next few years and I think I will keep her as a rolling restoration and gradually improve her as and when I have the time / inclination/ money.

I look forward to asking numerous questions as things progress!

Matt

 

[John Laidlaw]

Welcome, funny how these things happen !

 

[ZZZZ]

Hello and welcome! Now, you KNOW we'll need to see a LOT of pictures, right?

 

[Mattyboy 1972]

These are the Piccys when I bought her so she looks grubby.... will put some more up when I clean her

 

[John Laidlaw]

Oh I do like that!

 

[00slk]

Anyway I threw in a cheeky bid working on the basis that I should get my money back as parts if the worst came to the worst, and low and behold I am now the owner of a 350SL Matt

That means you paid way too much then, they break for loads of money
Great car the 107, I had a '71 350SL a little while ago and had a great run, it too had a few bubbles but was quickly sorted

 

[LostKiwi]

Nice car! I've always had a soft spot for the 107. Welcome!

 

[daibevan]

Oh I do like that!

Me too

 

[ZZZZ]

What a lovely car!

 

[A.J.]

Hi Matty, welcome to the forum

 

[umblecumbuz]

Reminds me ... Not quite the same, but ... I saw an immaculate Pagoda while driving across Gozo, so I pulled up and eyeballed it.
The owner came out and we chatted. Old boy, but very clued up. I asked him if he realized how much his car was worth back in the UK. He said he did, and invited me into his garage beside his house. Blow me, there were two more sitting there - both of them immaculate! Three Pagoda's!

Nice collection.

Umble

 

[Srdl]

Hi Matt and welcome to the forum - nice car!

 

[bembo449]

lovin that pal , actually quite jealous ! lol , I know where there is an SEC sat collecting tree sap and bird shite , might go be cheeky . . . . . .

 

[Wighty]

Welcome . Lovely looking car , thanks for taking the time to post the pics , I look forward to more when she is gleaming

 

[Frontstep]

Great just run it as with some preventative rust treatment, that's the biggest killer of these cars.
Get it running well and away you go.
People just get tired of cars, there are a few gems around me and they seem to drip away as bills mount and someone prepared to do a bit gets a cheap car (if they get their timing right)

 

[SL63 Mark]

Fab well done, got to love an SL, can we ask how much ?

 

[davemercedes]

Welcome Matty and your beauty of a SL too!

 

[Pullman]

Yes does look neat 107 .... first thing to do ... remove plastic cover from heater motor and check bulkhead for corrosion ... hope it's ok ...really expensive to repair ... all the best

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Mattyboy 1972]

Thanks for the great welcome!

The first job is a thorough service including gearbox oil/filer and new prop shaft doughnuts. She also needs a new fuel pump as the old one sometimes needs a whack to wake it up

I stripped all the old carpets out today (they were knackered) as I wanted to check the condition of the floor pans and crossmembers. Luckily they are all pretty good with just some localised surface rust in places. I think I will clean / degrease the internal floors and sills and then give the two or three coats of Pors 15 to stop any further rust developing in the future.

 

[Pullman]

Thanks for the great welcome!

The first job is a thorough service including gearbox oil/filer and new prop shaft doughnuts. She also needs a new fuel pump as the old one sometimes needs a whack to wake it up

I stripped all the old carpets out today (they were knackered) as I wanted to check the condition of the floor pans and crossmembers. Luckily they are all pretty good with just some localised surface rust in places. I think I will clean / degrease the internal floors and sills and then give the two or three coats of Pors 15 to stop any further rust developing in the future.

I use Dinitrol on all three of mine, very light wax for cavities/inner door, under body wax and clear hard wax for wheel arches. All come in spray cans and therefore easy to apply. All the best