1973 450SL Project Car With M116 Eng. and 4 Speed Manual Trans. Not Running

1973 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class Soft and Hard Top

1973 Mercedes 450SL project car for sale. The car comes with both a convertible top in good usable condition. The goal of the project was to restore and convert the car to the 350SL euro spec model. A lot of hard work completed. I am offering it up for sale in the hopes that a R107 lover will pick up where I left off and finish the restoration.

A little background:

When I bought the car I found that the floor panels were rusted but all of the structural elements of the frame were in very good shape. The rocker panels are in excellent shape with no rust around the jacking tubes. The trunk floor andtoolboxwere rusted but the spare tire well was in great condition. The only other rust was at the bottom of the rear wheel well on the right side and an area around where the battery tray sits. The air box has no rust. All rusted sections replaced or patched with welded sheet metal.

Work completed:

Left and right floor panels are replaced. The trunk floor and tool kit box are replaced. The rocker panel end caps in the front wheel wells are replaced. A rust spot under the battery tray was cutout and patched with welded sheet metal. The rusty area in the rear wheel well was cutout and patched with welded sheet metal. All internal metal surfaces were rust protected before installation.

The car had the recalled front subframe replaced with a MB factory upgraded front subframe (not the kit upgrade) that looks almost new.

I sourced a 350SL M116 engine and some other euro parts for this car from a totally rusted out 1972 350SL. The transmission was sourced separately and came with the shifter and shift rods. Unfortunately, the required longer propeller shaft and rear trans mounting plate were not available and not included in this sale. They are still needed to complete the restoration. The rebuilt engine and transmission are installed in the car but none of the connections to the engine compartment have been stated. Most of the new hardware required such as radiator hoses, coolant lines, power steering hoses, vacuum line to manifold are included.

The car was stripped down to metal and the front fenders and doors removed to allow proper cleaning of the interior surface, no rust was found. After stripping the left rear panel was found to be slightly creased horizontally above the rear wheel well. The crease was pounded out using auto body hammer and dolly and the properly sanded and prepped for two part epoxy direct to metal primer. After applying the primer the body panels were skim coated with body filler and sanded down using long auto sanding blocks. Any exposed metal during sanding was recoated with the two-part primer prior to the reapplication of the skim coat.
Additional mechanical work completed and new parts included:

Used M116 engine rebuilt with new main and cam shaft bearings and new piston rings. All seals and gaskets replaced. Bores were properly honed with 30 degree cross-hatch.

Used distributor rebuilt and fitted with aftermarket electronic points system

New distributor vacuum advance cylinder

New water pump

New timing chain and chain guides

New hydraulic chain tensioner.

Valve job with new valve guides and seals

New oiler tube support bushings in heads.

Manual transmission rebuilt with new needle bearings and seals.

Used 4 speed shifter rebuilt and lubed (not installed)

New shifter rod bushings (not installed)

Trunk lid replaced with used rust free lid because original had rust bubbles along the rear surface.
Front suspension rebuilt with new top A-arm, bottom ball joints and inner bushings.

New Front subframe bushings

New Rear trailing arm bushings

New Rear subframe bushings

Used power steering pump and steering box rebuilt with new seals and gaskets

New steering rods and center rod.

New factory power steering hoses. (not installed)

4 New Bilstein Shock Absorbers

Used 3.07 differential from the 450 SL rebuild with all new bearings and is properly shimmed and preloaded. (The disassembled 3.9 diff from the 350SL will be included.)
Pinon gear preload was set using a calibrated torque meter.

Used rear hubs rebuild with new bearings

New rear axles.

New silver colored engine compartment firewall liner

New metal brake lines and rubber hoses.

New reconditioned front and rearcalipers.

New master brake cylinder.

Single pedal box replaced with used two pedal box with clutch pedal

New clutch master and slave cylinders

Flywheel professionally resurfaced

New clutch disc, pressure plate and throw out bearing.

New upgraded 7-cylinder rotary A/C compressor with special mount.

New A/C condenser (not installed)

The fuel tank removed, cleaned and inspected no rust. The tank coated inside with WD40.

New fuel pump installed with new fuel hoses and filter.
Used heater box was rebuilt and installed with a good qualityheatercoreand A/C evaporator. The door flaps rebuilt using good quality felt.

Nearly new MB OEM heater rotary fan (not installed)

New cooling system water reservoir. (not installed)

Most new cooling system hoses (not installed)

Dash has a plastic cover that is in good condition.

Good used Bosch fuel injection box for M116 (not installed)

Good used other fuel system components for M116 includes (not installed)

Interior Components

The seats are in fair condition and need at least new cushions.

The interior panels are in fair condition with wear expected on a car this old.

The dash is in poor condition with a cracked top surface. It comes with a replacement plastic top.

Some knobs etc. may be missing or broken.

The covers for the heater levelers are broken.

Not completed (may not be fully inclusive as I might forget some details):

Body needs to be final prepped for painting.

All hardware for hood, doors trunk fuel lid needs to be installed

All body trim needs to be installed

All interior panels and hardware needs to be installed

Heater and A/C controls installed

Rear Manual Transmission mount P/N 107 680 05 75 not included and needs to be sourced (not available from MB Parts Center)

Front propeller shaft P/N 107 410 20 01 or 108 410 17 01 not included and needs to be sourced. (not available from MB Parts Center)

The original engine harness is intact but the rubber covers and some connectors may need to be replaced.

The hardtop has been previously repainted and may need attention.

Side windows need to be installed along with actuators.

Shipping and Pickup

The buyer must pick up car using a trailer. Car has clear title but is not registered. Will help with loading. All extra parts will be packed into the car interior. There are no side windows so a tarp or car cover maybe required if it rains during transport. Buyer is responsible for all transportation costs and arrangements. There is no guarantee on the car or any provided components. Sale is final return not accepted. No foreign shippment.

Ideally I would like to sell and have the car picked up over Labor Day weekend.
Thanks for any interest. I don't have time to part the car out so please no offers on separate parts I want to sell everything in one deal to someone willing pick the car up and have additional space for all of the spare parts I have available.

here:https://s1338.photobucket.com/user/wreimels/library/Mercedes%20450SL%20Project%20Car?page=1

• Make: Mercedes-Benz
• Model: SL-Class
• Type: Convertible
• Trim: Soft and Hard Top
• Year: 1973
• Mileage: N/A
• VIN: 107 044 12 010586
• Color: Two part DTM epoxy primer
• Engine size: M116 3.5L
• Number of cylinders: 8
• Power options: Air Conditioning, Power Locks
• Fuel: Gasoline
• Transmission: Manual
• Drive type: RWD
• Interior color: Tan
• Drive side: Right-hand drive
• Options: Convertible
• Vehicle Title: Clean
Want to buy? Contact seller!