Valve job on a 72' 350 SL V8

[justinBocanegra]

I'm looking into getting a 72' 350 SL for pretty cheap. It's smoking a little so I'm assuming it just needs a valve job. Can anyone give me a rough estimate on how much this normally costs and if the smoke can be attributed to anything else? Any other info that could provide would be great!

Thanks

 

[Myros]

smoking how?

if on overrun, then it's probably valve guides, if on acceleration, it's probably rings.
It could also be the big ends.
White smoke, blue smoke, caonstant smoke, intermittent or only under certain conditions, it's trickier than choosing a pope.
Could you be a bit more descriptive?

 

[justinBocanegra]

Not sure??

I'm not sure, all the seller has told me so far is that it runs and drives fine but smokes some. I won't be able to check it out myself until this weekend. I understand that there are a variety of things that may be causing this. What would be the least and most expensive scenario? I want to make sure it's worth my time to make the drive to check it out.

 

[Myros]

Justin, cost is relative

it all depends on how much they are asking for the car, how much parts and labour cost where you are, and most importantly, how much of your hard-earned it represents. £500 is beer money for one man, but it could break the bank for another.
I'd check with a few Merc specialists in your neck of the woods what they'd charge for a valve guide job, or a ring job, just to be on the safe side.
All the older, more high mileage MBs smoke a bit. They don't have cats and that was pretty much the way of the world then, Burn bit of oil, but have a long engine life. Even so, they still come in at less than a litre per 1000 miles. I do the oil change on our 134,000 miler, at every 6,000 or so, but don't have to put much in in betwwen. I think I can't have given her more than 2 litres top up in all that time, and that was beating down the German autobahns and up the Austrian mountains.
Just how far are you having to go?

 

[justinBocanegra]

Thanks

I was going to drive about an hour to go see it, but when I found out that the labor alone would be $2000, i figured it wasnt worth it for me right now. With the price of labor so high on it, I don't think I'd be able to afford to fix it every time something went wrong.

Thanks very much for your time and insight!