Pierre Trudeau in his SL
For much of his driving career, John had coveted a Mercedes-Benz SL roadster. He told me that he remembered the very first SL when it debuted in the mid 1950’s (you know, the one with the gullwing doors). Later, when he was a young professor in Montreal, he said that he recalled seeing Canada’s soon-to-be Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau driving his 300 SL in the streets of Westmount. Trudeau was one of John’s biggest heroes, and I think he reasoned that driving a car similar to his iconic one was one of the ways he could emulate him in his own way.
The 380 SL that John ended up buying was actually an insurance write-off; a truck had t-boned it on the left side front. He employed a competent body shop and within about three months, he had the car sitting in the driveway, better than new.
From my favourite angle!
A few of his more pragmatic friends commented that he’d fairly recently bought a nice Mercedes to serve as a fun car and that it seemed a bit…decadent and unnecessary to get another. To that he said “This isn’t a dress rehearsal for life, you know. You only get one.” Kind of the equivalent of somebody saying YOLO nowadays.
However, after having obtained the obscure object of his desire, John never seemed to be quite happy with it. His SL was a lovely car to look at (to him at least, I prefer the R129 chassis which followed it) but there were certain aspects he was never quite comfortable with.
His SL was painted a pretty champagne colour (a sort of light beige or light gold) and the interior was a lovely chocolate brown (again with MB Tex upholstery). As a latter-day model of the R107 platform (which debuted in 1972), the interior had been updated with modern HVAC controls and steering wheel, while keeping many of the other bits stock from the older design.
Sensible HVAC controls were similar to other Mercedes of the time.
But even though the chrome and wood and carpet and upholstery of the interior were high-class, other aspects of the interior just felt…old. The seats were comfortable enough but had next to no lower back support and weren’t very adjustable (and even that adjustment was manual, not electrical), and the door panels were covered in a chintzy-feeling plastic.
The old-school dashboard instrument binnacle.
Chintzy plastic door panels!
What he disliked most about the inside was the bus-like steering wheel which didn’t adjust at all. He often commented that he felt like a bus driver while piloting it around.
His SL came with the hardtop, which he reasoned he would get lots of use of in the spring and fall. That was until we tried to remove it! I swear that hardtop weighed at least 250 pounds and was not easy to take off or put on. I think we only put it on once or twice in the time he had it.
A 380 SL with the (very heavy) hardtop installed!
Taking the soft top down and putting it up was also not easy. The top in this generation of SL was not powered, so one had to turn a little handle in the rear luggage area to release the hard tonneau cover, unfold the top to the back and front, turn the handle again to lock the rear part of the sort top to the car, and then use a little handle to fix the front part of the top to the cowl.
With the fabric top up. Usually the one on ours was only put down once in spring, and left down for the rest of summer, due to the rather finnicky top-putting-down procedure.
He found the process rather annoying, and for most of the summer it was a sunny-day only toy. He found that it drove well enough (I found the performance a little sedate for a V8 engined sports car), but the little annoyances of the elderly design eventually got to him.
I know that there are many who regard the 107 chassis SL as the best one they made, and a quick look at Autotrader show that prices of this model are on the climb – for the few that are even on the market.
However, both of us eventually found that day-to-day driving of a vehicle which was once very expensive but now lacked the convenience features of a modern convertible was more of a pain than a pleasure.
I’m sure many Curbside Classic readers have long had a yen for a particular model. However, John’s fulfilling his long-burning desire for the SL he’d always wanted really proved to me that some dreams are best left unfulfilled.
He sold his SL to a local real estate agent who drives it to this day. I spoke to him once when I saw him getting into the car in a parking lot and asked him how he liked it.
‘I love it,” he said. “It’s the car I always dreamed of driving.” I told him I was glad.
However, John’s love affair with cars with the three-pointed star was not quite over yet, as the next COJL will illustrate.
An SL is always a beautiful car to encounter (though I’ve never had the privilege of driving or riding in one). I pass a garage/used car lot in downtown Toronto on the way to work every day that specializes in old Mercs, and it’s not unusual to see an old SL or two either on the lot or in the service bay. While your own experience with an SL wasn’t what you thought it would be, at least you’re not left wondering.
Rode in a 560 version that was for sale some years ago and I hated the ride and NVH. It was a low mileage car that they were asking 15K for. Post recession! I suppose it just felt like they all would, I just had different expectations of a more isolated ride and less obtrusive engine vibration.
Wifey, and I have friends who own a little used car lot in a tiny country town in central KY. honestly, mostly P.O.S. cars, but now and then they bag a gem at auction. Have bought several cars off of them that where just fine. A Volvo S60, an Accura Integra, and a mid 90’s Explorer that was in VG condition, until a Kamakzie Deer gave its life to seek revenge on hunters, I guess.Which brings me to The 1992 Mercedes 190e we bought. Cuter than a bugs butt, white over gray interior, with MB “Pleather”. Classy after market wheels, automatic trans. First problem, was a bad shimmy at 55-60. Found out the wheels, while classy, didn’t actually fit the car. spacers on each wheel solved that. Then the drivers side window crapped out. Very expensive fix there. A/C, when we bought the car, freeze you out. Then nothing. Last straw was when every idiot light on the dash lit up. We ended up trading the car in with the friends. They sold the car I think at least 3 more times. Last I saw it was sitting behind his garage with grass growing around it. My point is, and I do have one, Is there is nothing more classy looking then a Mercedes, and nothing more heartbreaking and expensive than a “cheap” Mercedes.
Definitely can relate to the idea of lusting after a car, rationalizing it, getting it, going through a honeymoon period, but then quickly becoming disillusioned when reality sets in. When that happens, the smartest thing one can do is to just move on.
Phew! I though you might be about bursting my 300-SL convertible bubble. I’m totally with Trudeau… it’s my dream car.
However, I can relate to the experience that John had, although it was with a 280 SE 4.5 sedan. I drove one every day for about a year and a half around the turn of the decade of the ’90s. It was a ’73, I think, and to this day, might have been the most solid, confidence inspiring highway cruiser I’ve owned. It was also very competent on twisty roads for such a big fellow.
But, after a lifetime of US cars, it was curiously out of date in some ways also: The 3 speed automatic (Borg-Warner?) was not a smooth shifter, and the air conditioning was quite rudimentary. Then there were those vacuum door locks…. (BenzClassRoom photo)
The 300 SL is still in the Trudeau family. Beautiful car.
My folks had several SLs in the 1980s. I’d graduated college and moved away by then, but drove theirs occasionally when home visiting. “Sedate” perfectly describes the driving experience. That and heavy; these are not spritely machines. It’s an incongruous driving experience for an ostensible sports car, which, of course, it really isn’t. Beautiful to look at, nice to maybe dream about, and left at that.
Even here among friends (we are all friends here, right?), I hesitate to discuss the secret truth about driving classic cars, and especially driving classic convertibles.
Except for about 10 days a year, it can be like having a beautiful beautiful but noisy mistress with expensive tastes who is often sick, smokes, has crude manners, and who can’t do any modern dances.In fact, I just can’t make myself do it…. because on those 10 warm nights a year, when you remove her top, and get her to start making excited noises somewhere out on a deserted country road, it’s all worth it.
Ha ha ha! Yeah!
Counterpoint: I love the R107! My late father had three, a 1983 380SL and two 1989 560SLs. All three were low miles, one owner used cars and the features that annoyed or disappointed John, were features that appealed to me. I liked the big steering wheel, manual top, and traditional Mercedes interior. The interior reminded me not only of the interiors of the Mercedes we had in the 70s, but also it was not too different from my dad’s 1986 260E.
To me they were like German muscle cars (or maybe pony cars) in that “stab it and steer” sort of driving dynamic. They were more refined if driven slowly, in my experience, and I remember thinking back in 1988 when I got some good wheel time in the 380SL around east Hampton and Montouk NY that it was the perfect car for an older man to drive one handed to the country club while resting his scotch and soda on the comfortable armrest. (Not endorsing that kid of behavior! The car just had that kind of vibe.)
One innovation that the R107 SL introduced, but for which it rarely receives credit: the R107 introduced the roll bar integrated into the windshield. In fact, I believe many credit the roll bar with saving the life of Richard Dreyfuss in 1982. http://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/12/17/Actor-Richard-Dreyfuss-may-escape-a-felony-drug-possession/9898408949200/
The roll bar added weight and raised the center of gravity, but allowed Mercedes to sell the R107 when other manufacturers abandoned convertibles for fear of roll over protection regulations, and may have saved hundreds of lives over time.
Pierre was great socially. Horrendous financially. Kind of like a Mercedes. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
I loved my European Spec. 1975 350SLC ~ this was the Coupe version because I don’t like Rag Tops .
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It sure was heavy but a great handling Pony Car it was ! .(right until high speed and inertia overcame traction abilities)
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It left most others in the dust when I attacked the mountains and canyons in it on many Road Rallies .
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The driver’s seat has manual adjustments needing a socket wrench, I did those and my broken back (I’m crippled and have chronic pain) was quite happy .
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The fuel economy was HORRIBLE .
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Agreed, a ” Cheap Mercedes ” will usually be the single most expensive car you ever own but they’re dead simple to repair so that’s do – able in your driveway DIY style .
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-Nate
These were probably the most desired cars of the 80’s. Insanely desired. Richard Gere drove his in “American Gigolo”, dressed in the period’s finest menswear. It was the dream car in “Star 80”. A very sad movie that reflected the emptiness of those materialistic dreams. The car was the object of desire of so many aspiring Yuppies and MBAs, but honestly it was just a car. I love the big wheel and beautifully mechanical look of the instruments.
At this time Mercedes didn’t coddle, it had firm seats, a stiff ride, and a busy mechanical vibe. It definitely wasn’t plush, like a big 70’s Thunderbird or Mark IV.
I think these cars should be thought of like the classic two seat Thunderbird of the late 1950s. Not a real sports car, just a flashy impressive cruiser. I wouldn’t mind having one!
Yes, the 380 had the single row timing chains which turned out to be a problem. The factory fixed that with the 450 and 560 models.Most surviving cars have had the upgrade.
Sorry that he didn’t like his car. But it tends to be those anachronistic things about an old car that I love the most. I get a modern car every day and do enjoy how simple everything is with them. But the obsolete ways of doing things is part of the charm to me. Which is, I guess, why I have never been drawn to restomods.
I’ve owned a 380SL for 17 years now. I’ll let my estate sell it eventually.
The most satisfying performance from the car is at high speed on a freeway. It goes bullet straight with no fuss, quiet, refined and confidence inspiring.
Sure, the fuel mileage is poor but I truly don’t care. The hardtop has been sitting on its stand for the last 15 years or so. It is a bear to manage. I just erect the soft top in the winter. In the summer I leave the soft top down (but the car cover on) and drive it only on a nice, dry day – maybe 15 times a year.
The single row timing chain was only found on the ’82 & ’83 model year 380SL; ’84 and ’85 do not have the issue as the engine was upgraded to the dual row. Mine is an ’85.
The driving dynamics would not be satisfying for a person used to a modern Hyundai. The car was designed in the late ’60s for introduction to the market for MY 1971 (in Europe, a year later in USA). My car’s performance is dated even for its model year of 1985 but it was about the most satisfying driving experience available when introduced here as the 1972 350SL. It is very simple, quite satisfying even in modern traffic. By driving this car, I know how little one needs (or I want) current car technology.
I like this SL. Two issues. Watch for rust BC they tend to rot in hard (expensive) areas to fix. Also if ur tall as I am its not a comfy ride. I was very disappointed in leg room even with seat all the way back.
The 350 SL introduced to the U.S. market in 1972 was quite a bit heavier than the model it replaced, but the V-8 engine worked well with an automatic transmission and air-conditioning and delivered a bit of performance as well. The lack of luxury features, such as tilt steering wheel, was typical of German cars.
Years of increasingly stringent emissions controls strangled the performance out of the engine in the late 1970s and when the 380 SL was introduced for the 1981 model year it was not significantly less powerful than the 450 SL it replaced. However, by this time it really was outdated, although still well-built and beautifully finished.
The 5.6 liter engine used in the 1986 to 1989 models returned a lot of that peformance missing from the late 1970 450 SLs and the 380 SLs, but it was still an old-fashioned car by then. The 1990 500 SL didn’t come a moment too soon.
I’ve heard that in Los Angeles, it was fairly common for garages to have a pulley installed over the parking place to remove the detachable hardtop of the Mercedes SL. Even so, I imagine that it would be a 2-person job.
Interesting but please note:
– the R107 hardtop weights approx. 90 lbs, not 250
– rough and vibrations? Something wrong with the one you drove. These things are as smooth as silk.
– putting up the soft top is an exercise in manual simplicity – 2 minutes at most. Watch the opening credits of American Gigolo and watch Richard operate the manual top. He does it very well by the way. No R107 has a factory power operated softop.
– the R107 was introduced in 1971 and sold until 1989. No panel changes at all. For its entire life it was sold at premium prices and was always in short supply and in fact sales progressively increased over its lifetime. I cannot think of a single other model by any manufacturer that can match such a successful model cycle.
– there is no such thing as a cheap Mercedes and I think that applies to any car. You always get what you pay for unless you find seller who will accept less than the car is worth.
– you are very unlikely to find a 380 with single chain these days and my understanding is that in RHD markets they always had double row chains from the beginning.
– they drive beautifully and are exceptionally comfortable even though seats are firm and lack the support of today’s car seat designs.
– the C107 hardtop version had a successful rally career.
I have a 1981 380 SL in the same Champagne colour. It is in excellent condition inside and out and it drives magnificently. I take it for a spin up a nearby mountain road every weekend and look forward to this drive every week. It is exceptionally reliable and durable and it’s overallnrunnng costs are remarkably low.
The R107 SL is an important car and its influence in the 1980’s was immense. It was always more GT than sports car.