1979 Mercedes-Benz 350SL

This NO RESERVE Mercedes-Benz 350SL was first registered on 6 August 1979 and has since had 7 owners.

Bought in 2015 from Chelsea Cars, who we understand had it on their books for some while, the last owner intended to return it to the road but had several cars in a similar condition and never got around to this project. It is believed he put the car away in a garage still wet after heavy rain which has caused most of the condition issues you see today. He is now passing it on through a restoration specialist in part-exchange for a newer car.

The specialist vendor knows R107s very well and tends only to acquire examples which present a good opportunity for restoration. When he collected the car, and once he’d connected a jump pack and discovered the immobiliser switch, it reportedly fired up straight away. With a little air in the flattened tyres, they were able to drive the car to the trailer. Since then all he has done is put in some fresh petrol, steam clean the engine bay and fit a new battery.

The 350SL runs and drives well with the auto ‘box changing up and down smoothly, but make no mistake, this is very much a restoration project. There is much to see on this car in terms of its general condition so once you’ve read through the description and scrutinised the detailed gallery photos, it would be well worth potential bidders using the ‘Contact Seller’ option to get in touch with the vendor to find out more. Ideally, we would recommend a personal inspection but if this isn’t possible, maybe arrange for a video call where you can discuss the car’s condition and zoom in on areas of concern.

Generally, the visible coachwork and its Magnetite Blue metallic paint coating are in a straight and sound condition with good shutlines and even panel gaps. There are, however, a number of areas where bubbling and corrosion is either beginning or has taken hold - notably the front nearside wing, the bonnet edges and around the bonnet badge.

The body-coloured hard top appears in good shape and seems to fit well. The folding soft top operates well and whilst the hood fabric isn’t in too bad a condition, the plastic window inserts are badly discolored and torn so would, as a minimum, need replacing.

The chrome trims and other brightwork around the car are in reasonably good condition with a little corrosion around the rear bumper. The headlamps and fog lights appear intact but a few of the indicator and light lenses around the car are cracked and would need replacing.

Like the rest of the car, the 14-inch ‘Mexican Hat’ alloy wheels could do with attention, although probably only a light refurbishment. It is likely that all the tyres will need replacing regardless of tread depth due to perished sidewalls where they have been sat deflated and not moving for most of the last decade.

The cream/beige interior has certainly seen better days and although the seating and door cards could probably be refurbished and retrimmed where the sports-check fabric is discoloured and torn, it may be simpler and cheaper to replace other trims with reproduction parts. If you can find a whole donor interior somewhere, even better.

The dash top needs cleaning up but is in reasonable condition aside from the small split in the vinyl to one side of the instrument binnacle. The wood veneer inlays in the centre console and dash go from being intact and sound on the facia to almost disintegrated down past the gear shift where it would need repair or replacement. In terms of electrics, both windows are working but the stereo hasn’t been tested.

The carpets all appear to be present and whilst not in the cleanest of conditions, they seem to be intact. The headlining under the hard top also appears in good order but the sun visors attached to the windscreen frame are a little baggy and their mirrors have rusted.

There are a few light rust areas around the rim of the folding roof stowage and under the tonneau cover panel. However, the metal floor plates under the rear seats are almost entirely gone through rust, exposing would-be passengers’ derrieres to under car breezes and any water spray. This gives credence to the previous suggestion that the car was left out in the rain and water had managed to collect under the seats before it was put away in a garage.

Under the bonnet is where most old Mercedes SLs score a little higher - with their generally bomb-proof mechanicals and very reliable engineering. There is surface rust across the air-filter housing and on various ancillaries, bracketry and fixings but largely everything in the engine bay is in a tidy condition. The underside of the bonnet itself is mostly in good order although there is rust showing across the rear-most section by the hinges.

Underneath the car rust has gained a foothold in the metal in the centre section under the rear seats. Although with the vendor having a lift, we have been able to get good photos of the undersides, it is hard to distinguish exactly which structures and surfaces have fallen prey to corrosion.

The vendor says things underneath are not as bad as they may first appear and estimates there to be about a working-week’s worth of welding to be done, mostly under the rear seat area where the panel rotted away. He reports that the chassis is still very strong and hasn’t previously been welded.

In the boot, the carpets and linings are all there, if a little grubby, but there are signs of rust around the rim of the opening, in the bottom corners and under the spare wheel.

The service booklet which comes with the car indicates the first few years servicing at Hughes of Beaconsfield - a Mercedes-Benz main dealer - followed by the next 10 years up to 1994 being serviced pretty much annually at Phil’s Classic Autos near Windsor. This decade of diligent servicing was above and beyond what Mercedes prescribed for the car but the owner at the time liked to do things the right way and had an interim oil change service in between the recommended service intervals.

The car’s last MOT expired in February 2008 at 75,969 miles, since when it has been driven only a few hundred miles. Although now MOT exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have the car retested after project completion. The cost of an MOT is a small investment when offset against the purchase, restoration and upkeep of any classic car, and it gives an independent, third-party assessment of the car’s condition, which not only provides reassurance to the owner and any subsequent purchasers but is also invaluable in the event of a bump when negotiating with the police and any interested insurance companies.

R107 prices have been on the up and up in recent years, and there’s a reason for that: it’s a Mercedes-Benz SL. They’ll always remain desirable, as buying one guarantees the purchaser smooth cruising top up, or top down, satisfaction.

As a mechanically sound but extensive project, we think you could buy this car for somewhere between £4,000 and £8,000 but as it’s offered with NO RESERVE, the car will sell from the very first bid and a low offer could easily win the day. 

With R107s, there is quite a big gap in prices between concours queens and project cars, which gives more than enough headroom for someone to grab this car cheaply, spend wisely and restore a deserving 350SL to a higher value bracket. 

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located near Silchester between Basingstoke and Reading; 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’.

This vehicle is not with us at The Market’s HQ near Abingdon, which means we have had to rely on the owner’s description of it, in conjunction with the photographs you see here, to compile the listing.

With this in mind, we would encourage potential bidders to contact the owner themselves and arrange to view the car in person, or to arrange a dedicated video call in which they can view the car virtually and ask questions.