Angelfish

I did join Benzworld and there is a tremendous amount of knowledge there. I’ve found the AACA to be a little friendlier overall and have had just as many questions answered here as by the Mercedes guys. I lucked out with the 380SL, It was well maintained by someone who knew how to work on it and the fuel injection hadn’t been fouled up. So of course that means I know how to work on the 450. Seller claims the 450 runs well with a lot of new fuel system parts. It’s the interior that’s a mess.

I had the 380 out yesterday in the unusually pleasant January weather. I still can’t believe I waited this long to own one. I’m collecting the set, still need a 500SEL and a wagon but I’m so happy with the 380SL I decided I needed the big brother to go with it. You’re killing me, now I see it too.

1973 450SLC.

Hers was yellow, but I bet property values go up.

Well, if they hadn't taken it apart, I never would have ended up with it. So I can't complain too much. Although I could have done without the rattle can paint on the frame, axles, suspension, brake lines and transmission.

Local shop in Billings, MT. I still haven't driven the car so I can't tell you if it works, but it sure looked nice when I picked it up. Cost me $4500. https://aatran.com/ I did discover that you cannot fill a Dynaflow to full fluid capacity without running it. You have to full 1/2 - 3/4 worth of fluid and then run it in neutral for a few minutes before you can fill it the rest of the way. And then if if sits long enough it will dump fluid out the bottom. Keep a pan under it for winter storage. Rear end was just POR15 chassis black applied with a brush. A lot of time with wire brushes and wire wheels in the drill. I did an old truck the same way and it looks good 10 years later.

I’m so happy with what I’ve got that I want more. In no particular order, Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Auburn Boattail Speedster Cord 810/12 Morgan Plus 4, the older the better Duesenberg, any Bugatti, a real one, any Aston Martin V8 Vantage Triumph TR3 Citroen DS Porsche 911, 1980s Mercedes-Benz 450SLC 5.0 Rally

WHAT HAS BEEN SEEN CANNOT BE UNSEEN. I feel I'm owed some kind of compensation for clicking on this.

They are available and seem reasonably priced. I’ve thought about buying another one for my wife to replace the one she drove in college, but she doesn’t seem to want one all that badly and I like that we have a good project for the next generation to learn on. By the time it’s done it would been cheaper to buy a good running car, but we’re teaching a man to fish, not giving him one.

Tinfoil Hat Society Lifetime Member chiming in. I have this all figured out and I’ll tell you what’s up. In 2009 the American tax payer paid $3 Billion to destroy 700,000 cars with the Cash for Clunkers program. The resulting glut of scrap metal caused steel prices to crash and used car prices to increase. China bought the steel for $5 a ton, used car market took many years to correct after the loss of inventory, and taxpayers paid something like $24,000 per clunker to make sure no one could ever drive them again. Now prices on older cars are finally coming back down, but with every sociology major that graduates from the American education system, we have a population increasingly less capable of keeping an older car on the road. Worldwide there is more and more pressure to limit the use of private automobiles. And purely by coincidence, enter the 2024 Ford Mustang. The owner’s manual is 500 pages, and if you dig long enough you’ll find that this car is nothing but a rolling 24 hour surveillance machine. This car is in constant contact with the software company, collecting data on speed, g force and overall driving habits. This car collects your phone records, text messages and contact list. It knows where you are, where you’ve been, who you talk to, how fast you drive, if you were exceeding the speed limit. And the owner has no control over how this data is used or shared. Now you have a generation that can buy an old car relatively cheaply but lacks the knowledge to keep it running. So what happens when the federal bureaucracy implements Clunkers II? These sociology majors will ditch the cheap old car for the easy money and the cycle starts all over again. The remaining old cars are purged, lower income families are forced into public transportation, a huge amount of American wealth is transferred who knows where, and China cashes in. And before you know it, the only car available is a surveillance machine that can be shut down remotely and broadcast your location. While we’re at it, which cars can survive an EMP?

In general, just a source for parts that you need as you go along. Specifically at this time, motors for the rear quarter windows, belt line trim, the instrument panel has some intermittent problems that we haven't investigated yet, we will need a new top but that's for a later day. Engine parts seem to be available.

Thank you Lance that’s good to know. Doesn’t seem right to just paint it the same as 57Century, but it’s a beautiful combination. It is unlikely we’d ever end up parked next to each other in the Walmart parking lot.

I had to warn my son when he bought it that, to people 40 and older, the LeBaron convertible was a source of much ridicule. I was never sure why. My wife had one when we were first married and it was one of our favorite cars. Someone of my generation asked what he had bought, "Chrysler LeBaron convertible. " The disgusted look on the guy's face was priceless. But for the under 20 crowd, he's become the Kid with the Red Convertible, and despite the tiny back seat and subpar overall condition, they still want a ride home in it. I hope they get the recognition they should while there's still some left. Not many of these cars come up for sale and parts are elusive. Seems to me the Sebring didn't age very well, I'd take the Z28 too.

Besides the junkyard? We're working on a 1995 LeBaron convertible. This car seems to have fallen into the parts black hole with very little available for it. Near as I can tell I can't even source new headlights. Weather seals, assorted trim pieces, electrical parts, all the little things needed to restored a neglected car. Rockauto has come through with some basic stuff to make it roadworthy. It runs and drives but was run hard and then hauled to the junkyard where it sat for three years before we picked it up for $600. We replaced the shocks, struts and ball joints, and despite a lot of noise out of the top end of the engine (3.0 V6, parts are easily found for that at least) it has been a reliable summer driver. We'd like to get as close to new as we can.

Keep your expectations low and they will always be met.

It's the same people who call talk shows and say "I'll keep this short."

I will most likely do that in the coming future. A search revealed that there are some members here who have at least given thought to participating in these events, I was going to contact them directly but I thought it might be interesting to others as well. (At the risk of ridicule and sidelong glances, I would consider renting a car, at least the first time out, just to make the logistics easier.)

Peking to Paris, The Sahara Challenge. That sort of thing. Not the Ken Block full on racing. Although it might be wise to start with a shorter event in North America. This would something completely new for me and a few years off. Yes, it's expensive, we'll put that aside for now. I would like to learn about the nuts and bolts of starting from zero and building the practical knowledge to have a reasonable expectation of finishing. Where to start, who to talk to, what to bring along and what to leave at home. Anything to help learn about these events.

I don't know but I could jump the terminals where is was connected and see if it worked. Sometimes the most obvious things are also the most elusive.

1995 LeBaron convertible left rear quarter window. Bosch motor 0130821135. We have not been able to locate a new one. Seems like these were a common failure in these cars. I disassembled and cleaned a very stuck armature. Now the motor does click when power is applied but it does not spin. In the picture below, there is the red rectangular item with two terminals. I removed this from the brush assembly and I'm assuming it's a capacitor. It has the marking 480 210 and I'm further assuming this means 48 mfd, 21 volts, and that it's nonpolarized. But we all know about assumptions. The resistance across the terminals is near zero. I don't have a capacitor tester. You can also see where I soldered in a standard polarized capacitor to see if it made things work. It did not. There is also a lot of play in the shaft and it's possible that the armature is contacting the stator. So, looking for wisdom and advice. Given the choice I'd like to get this one working and reuse it, but if a replacement is available it's good to have the option.

I'm allergic to bees.