1980 380 SLC.. Trouble or treasure?

Wessa1

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Hi Fella's,

I seem to have the Merc bug.. I don't know if thats a good thing..lol.

Right.. I've seen an ex UK 1980 SLC for sale here in NZ.
It looks very clean so i will go take a look next time im up in Auckland.

The Service history shows to pretty much the current mileage (83K miles) and it was done at the London Road, Romford, Essex dealer round the corner from where i used to live..

Again Fella's, i'd like your thoughts.. Its an auto with cloth interior. Its gold, so not the best colour option to be honest.. '

Cheers,
Gary.
 

John Laidlaw

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Not sure on this model to be honest but the cloth interior would put me off somewhat....
 

Craiglxviii

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sl500amgsport

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You can take the boy out of Essex but can you take Essex out of the boy?

You would not recognise Romford now, unless you regularly visit Jakarta .

I had a gold coloured Jag in 2003, very Essex

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00slk

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Go for something with a roof that falls off, it's sunny NZ for goodness sake :rolleyes:
 

robparker

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LostKiwi

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Go for something with a roof that falls off, it's sunny NZ for goodness sake :rolleyes:
If it has enough rust.....
;)


Seriously cloth is a boon in NZ as it stops third degree burns getting into the car in summer. That engine is pretty robust but watch timing chains for stretch as they cause terminal damage if they stretch too far (but at that mileage it should be fine).
The M117 engine is otherwise a good tough beast and was in production over 21 years in various guises - I think the longest production run of an MB engine.
 

John Laidlaw

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If it has enough rust.....
;)


Seriously cloth is a boon in NZ as it stops third degree burns getting into the car in summer. That engine is pretty robust but watch timing chains for stretch as they cause terminal damage if they stretch too far (but at that mileage it should be fine).
The M117 engine is otherwise a good tough beast and was in production over 21 years in various guises - I think the longest production run of an MB engine.
Good point on the Cloth LK, hadn’t considered that (well we don’t over here much do we?) :eek:
 

LostKiwi

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Yep - all of the above plus the 'tache' as well!
 
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Wessa1

Wessa1

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  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #16
Thanks for the entertaining replies. :D

Yeah, Ive had a soft top and like LK said, due to the sun severity here in NZ (20 mins and ya burn to a crisp) I wont go down that road again.

Thanks for the heads up LK. ;)

Its got no rust, so lets hope its no problem.

Gold is so 80's right..I had a Capri (being from Essex, obviously why wouldn't I LOL) in the 80's and loved it..
Not my first choice but its screams look at me right haha..

Yeah, you can't take the Essex outta me, but im working on it.. I'd dread to think how the once great Romford Essex is now as to how it is now.. Then again, most of the uk is going like that right..

Apparently, cloth interior is quiet rare. I think they only made nearly 4000 SLC's of this model and age..
My leather interior gets stupid hot in the summer, even on a bright day it warms up..

Thanks again Fella's. I will let you know what its like when i check it out.. ;)
 

Craiglxviii

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Perhaps a white leather interior would be cooler in the sun, it should reflect the rays. :)
 

LostKiwi

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To give an example of how bad the sun in NZ is I rarely wear sunscreen in the UK (even though I'm of celtic descent) and rarely have any issues. Even in France I don't wear it all that much and its rarely an issue.
In NZ I can spend 20 minutes in the midday sun and be burnt. The hole in the Ozone layer scientists discovered all those years ago was not far from NZ and the ozone layer there is much thinner than the Northern hemisphere so the UV levels are off the scale compared to the UK. On average NZ UV levels are 35-40% higher than the UK
 

Craiglxviii

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B81D6767-92B8-4995-93A0-A060B7F8EB9C.png
To give an example of how bad the sun in NZ is I rarely wear sunscreen in the UK (even though I'm of celtic descent) and rarely have any issues. Even in France I don't wear it all that much and its rarely an issue.
In NZ I can spend 20 minutes in the midday sun and be burnt. The hole in the Ozone layer scientists discovered all those years ago was not far from NZ and the ozone layer there is much thinner than the Northern hemisphere so the UV levels are off the scale compared to the UK. On average NZ UV levels are 35-40% higher than the UK
Certainly does look on the thin side...
 

00slk

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Many a time I have impersonated a lobster, it only takes me 15 minutes to totally change colour :eek:
 
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