Technician117

The V12 really is a nice piece of machinery. So smooth and effortless, never needs any rpm to go anywhere. Sounds amazing with the muffler delete pipe too. Not loud or any hint of a drone at cruising speeds either.

Kebowers47

You certainly deserve to feel good/ proud? to have returned the SL to beautiful. It was in fantastic condition over-all, especially the interior, to start with, but it's way better now. (BTW-I can't believe how little you had to pay for the car!!!!!!.) Pricing out the obvious and necessary repairs to negotiate down was a good idea for sure. Reworking the top hydraulics and yellowed plastic (Dealers would only replace entire top) is a +$12,000 at a Dealership--and that plus 'a new paint job' at another $6000 would make any Owner sober up and dump it. It's amazing how much better that BLACK looks now!. It still has 'haze' from fine scratch scars all over but it would take a lot more work, it at all possible, to get back the 'clarity of image' it was, My baby sister once washed our 'mint' dark blue Buick Skylark V-8 Convertible using COMET scouring powder !!! It's value as a very desirable collectible was ruined as there was no way to correct the deep scratches where she rubbed hard. Was like she had 'damp sanded' with 150 grit paper.

Thank Goodness the '97 was just after MB corrected the decomposing wiring insulation debacle of the '90-96 models.Lots of those vintage cars went to scrap yards early in life when Owners were faced with $20,000,00 + estimates to change all the wiring.

mahunt

Remove the passenger seat bottom (2 screws) and fish out the child seat switch. Push it through the bezel on the side bolster until it locks in place. If the switch accidentally gets rocked, it locks the seat belt. Besides, who wants a square hole in their side bolster?

Maverick32

Amazing build. I really enjoy working on my car. These V12's and convertible tops are not as scary to work on as everyone says. I would much rather spend a weekend taking the hydraulic cylinders out and pay TH about 1k than paying the dealer 10 grand!
Any videos of the exhaust? I find my V12 too quiet in stock form and I find myself going over the speed limit to hear her sing. On the other hand, I don't want to be obnoxious.

FATHERTIME

I would like to buy one of those pipes

mahunt

I just noticed the Lorinser sill plates.

Definitely a car worth saving.

Technician117

For a second there, I had no idea what you were talking about. I got it now! Thanks for the tip. I didn't know what went there, assumed it was a missing blanking plate.

Thank you. I too have enjoyed working on this car. Most importantly, I could take my time and not stress about anything because it's not a daily driver. That aside, there really wasn't anything too hard or PITA. Thinking about it, changing the alternator might have been the most PITA, trying to figure out the puzzle of which angle to turn it to get it out the bottom. Changing the ADSII valve block probably comes in second, mostly due to the number of steel lines to remove and getting covered in dripping hydraulic fluid.

I still need to get a video of the exhaust. Once I do, I will post it up! It really does sound amazing without the need to wind it out. My only complaint would be that at higher RPM's on full tilt, you can hear the air "whooshing" a bit, probably from the cats/resonator restrictions.

Technician117

If only I had real fabrication skills and the time to do it! ha. You need the bumper cutout as well ;-)

Technician117

Well guys (and girls), I sold the SL last week. It all happened so fast. I put an ad on Facebook Marketplace to gauge interest at $16,000 before moving forward with other listing options. I had a local guy interested right away. After the holiday, he came to look at it and was extremely excited about the car. It was on his bucket list as well (R129) and warmed up to the V12 once I told him what I knew of them and once he saw it and most importantly, he was sold once the engine started up. I don't think he could keep the smile off his face after the test drive. We agreed on $13,750. Legitimately, the soft tops windows were not installed yet (I didn't think anyone would buy the car before I had time to install them). Plus, the price was a cash offer, no further selling hassle and the profit margin was already nice. I'm happy with that but mostly I was really happy to see the car go to someone that's going to appreciate it. I gave him all of the spare parts I had except the old ADSII solenoid block. PM me if interested in it for parts. I'd sell it pretty cheap.

Thank you all for the help on this restoration!

Cheers

Tim

mahunt

Ummm, the V12 cars represent just about 11% of the total R129 production. I've only seen 3 other SL600 cars in 20 years.

The speciality cars, AMG, Brabus, Koenig, RENNtech and Lorinser are WAY MORE rarer still.

Selling your Lorinser wasn't like selling a regular SL600, much less for SL500 prices.

You probably should have found out a little more about the car, before selling it. It would be kind of goofy if it's really worth $30+.

Technician117

I respectfully disagree that it was undersold. I've watched several dozen SL600's sell at auction since acquiring this one last year. No, none of them had Lorinser bumpers, but many were in better condition, especially underneath. The quality of the cars that sold for $12-14k were much better than this car, even with the expensive maintenance items done. Many had less miles as well. In order to maximize sale price, I would have to sell it at one of these auction houses that I've been following for 6+ months. The scrutiny given is almost bar none. The close ups of the paint and underneath would depict the car to be in much worse shape than it "realistically" should be considered. Although I cleaned up the paint, the front of the car is sandblasted with rock chips and the front bumper has spider/micro cracks in the paint as well as scuffs along the underside from the previous owners. The windshield is cracked in a U shape around the rearview mirror, which also needs the "fix" to tighten it up. There are other scratches in the paint, the roll bar and soft top cover vinyl? have some visible drying cracks in them. The body has no rust, but the suspension and steel components DO have rust from when it sat outside for 4 years/winter's up here. The exhaust heat shield by the manifold on one side was basically rotted off for the first couple inches. Probably where moisture accumulated in the fibers all that time.

At the end of the day, rare parts or not, price is highly dependent on condition. The scrutiny required to garner those prices would have eliminated most collector type buyers, leaving the driver condition buyers to pay around what I sold it for or possibly less! Then factor in the hassle of dealing with an auction and paying a listing fee, and in my opinion, this sale was a better option.

Edit to add: It would be one thing if the bumpers were more aggressive or otherwise more noticeable than factory offerings. The fact is, the car doesn't look much different than any other R129. You said it yourself earlier in this thread or another than the front bumper in particular does not vary from the OE styling by much. The only real difference in the rear bumper is the cutout for the exhaust, which is just a simple muffler delete, not a Lorinser muffler.

mahunt

Did you contact Lorinser to find out what was modified on the car?

Technician117

They never replied back. The engine is stock, maybe it has a tune but I doubt it. The intakes are stock, the exhaust was stock, with no signs that the stock muffler was ever removed and replaced. The turn down exit was rubbing on the inside of the bumper and had been for a long time as evidenced by the wear in the bumper.

My best guess is someone ordered the bumpers and sill plates and had them installed. I could not find any repaired damage but there is evidence of the rear quarters being resprayed. It's possible the car was in a minor accident not reported to insurance and as part of the repair they bought aftermarket bumpers.

mahunt

You are most likely right.

I was looking at a factory 7.2L V12 Lorinser and like AMG, the speedometer had a "Lorinser" insignia just above the odometer.

It's the only Lorinser body work I've seen in detail and you saved the car from certain death all the while making a profit. Nicely done.

Technician117

The knowledge I learned from you and others (as well as the experience gained while working on it) can never be taken away and is worth a lot more than any profit made. Profit is nice, but the restoration and saving is what really does it for me. Also getting to enjoy it myself for a while. And then to pass it on to someone else to enjoy really caps it off.

Baltistyle

im Not sure if you have heard of novus products for plastic but my family has used this product forever. They are light polishes. I would try number one and two but definitely research.

In the pinball hobby many people will re bleach yellowed plastic by using hydrogen peroxide in the sun. And it works incredibly.

HLG600

This and the full-package Koenig R129 are the two rarest big-displacement M120 SLs out there.

Technician117

Hey guys. I just found that ADS2 solenoid block on my parts shelf. I put an ad up for sale, would really like to see it brought into an enthusiasts garage and would HATE to toss it, knowing the solenoids are still good, just need new wires. Email me if interested. tekudla at gmail.

P.S> I heard from the new owner of my car a couple years later. He's still loving it and said "I'll never sell it".

mahunt

Email sent.