1984 Mercedes-Benz 280SL

Surviving unrestored R107s are getting harder and harder to find these days. Most of the bad examples have rotted away, with the remaining SLs likely to have received at least one round of restoration by now. Many of these have been elevated to spotless showroom examples and now command big premiums, which leaves little room for improvement in either condition or price.

The most desirable and increasingly hard to come by SLs are those original examples that have been well cared for with regular servicing and evidence of remedial work; carried out when it was needed. That’s precisely what we have here. Having covered a little under 120k miles, with its five former keepers, this SL benefits from some useful upgrades and a recent history that accounts for nearly £3,500 spent.

The Silver Blue Metallic paint (code 930) has survived its 36 years in good condition with just a few small areas showing signs of localised restoration. There’s a slight colour miss-match on the rear quarters. Some welding was carried out in this area – plus the boot floor – in December 2020 with a four-figure invoice in the service history to prove it. The paint match is really very good but the darker hue on the fuel filler cap gives the game away. During this local restoration work the opportunity was taken to refurbish the 17-inch AMG Monoblock alloy wheels (we’re unsure if they’re genuine or not).

Elsewhere, the sills and jacking points along the bottom of the car have seen repairs in the past as they’ve been given a coat of stone chip, then overcoated in body colour. They should be black. There are also a couple of other areas of very minor corrosion elsewhere, most notably a light bubbling under the driver’s side headlight and on the driver’s door.

The factory hardtop remains in great condition – other than a crack to its rear screen and some very small patches of bubbling just above its chrome edges. The trim on the inside appears to be in great condition and shows no sign of water ingress. Brightwork around the car is also very good – there’s only a few minor scratches and tarnishing to report. Overall this SL presents well.

The trim is all present and correct, which is the first hurdle to overcome when buying any unrestored SL. Finding good secondhand replacement trim is both expensive and time-consuming. There are the odd signs of wear and tear in here, however. The fabric is peeling from the edge of the tonneau cover and the dashboard has the common cracks along its top surface. Both front and rear seats however, appear in fine order. The nearside rear three quarter window has a broken winder handle and the aftermarket (Momo) steering wheel is either a bonus or not, depending on taste.

The soft-top is the only element of the interior that’s in poor condition. There are several rips in the fabric and it has been stretched out of shape. The frame hardware remains in working order though, so it could be recovered easily enough. Previous owners seem to have left the hardtop in place to keep the weather off and, as previously mentioned, it’s still in great shape. This SL wears its years on its sleeve, it’s not hiding the fact it’s nearly four decades old. Most of the wear can largely be dismissed as patina.

The underside of this SL is essentially tidy and straight with plenty of weather-proofing covering its exposed areas. New parts can be seen aplenty under here with a costly replacement Powerflow exhaust system (£780) fitted just two years ago. A new fuel pump and filter were fitted, along with a retune of the injection system in 2015, curing a running fault. Now the smooth and punchy 182bhp M110 twin-cam six-cylinder engine runs as it should. Though a peek under the engine bay does show evidence of an oil leak, likely from the engine’s sump gasket. It has been well serviced though with plenty of recent invoices in the history backing up its smooth-running character.

The engine bay is honest and free of any accident damage that we could see. The car has been the subject of a Category C write-off in the past, but it’s been repaired to a very high standard. We couldn’t in fact find evidence of previous damage. We did uncover a small patch of corrosion however, on the offside front subframe just above the roll bar. It will need a patch before long as it’s within 30cms of the suspension, but that appears to be the worst of any remaining rot.

Though by no means a complete service history, this car still has plenty of evidence of care in the past decade. A new old stock M-B key was purchased in Dec 2013, presumably after the old one broke (not uncommon with these). Annual service invoices go back to 2015 with bills for new oil (Mobil 1) plus filters every year since. The bills (always between £200 and £300) show an annual health check that has kept this SL running at its best. Our HPI check shows it was declared Cat. C in April 2008.

The latest service and check was carried out by Burnham Coachworks in Dec 2020. This included a spark-plug inspection and clean, plus a check and top-up of the engine oil. The only thing discovered at that inspection was a leaking coolant expansion tank (which was replaced) and some faulty fog-lamp wiring (which was also rectified). Also, in December last year, the soft-top cover and its surround were repaired and some welding was carried out in the boot. This pre-Christmas bill came to a not inconsiderable £1040. The car then passed its MOT at the end of Dec, 2020 with advisories for both lower rear shock absorber bushes and the corroded area of subframe we’ve already mentioned.

This appears to be a straight and tidy SL that’s been cherished by its five former keepers. The modifications might not be to everyone’s taste but they’re easily reversed and there’s a good market for the parts if you decide to return the car to factory standard. Ok, so it lacks a V8 soundtrack, but in reality the six-cylinder only loses out in horsepower by a little over 20bhp, and it still sounds pretty damn good when used in anger. We estimate £11,000 - £16,000.

The interior and trim are all present and correct (other than the aftermarket stereo). The seats are in great shape and the dashboard isn’t as bad as many we’ve seen. The paint presents well with plenty of shine. If you want pristine, then there’s a more room for improvement but it’s by no means essential. Buy this SL to enjoy driving it right away or as an on-going project that you can have fun with and hopefully make a little money on come sale time.

Viewing is always encouraged (within Govt. guidelines of course), and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.