Electric fuel pump.
Smog pump.
Exhaust transducer.
General tune up.
Bushings.
Worn lobe on L camshaft.
Timing chain tensioner.
All in all, for a daily driver this car is very reliable with normal maintenance. The biggest problem I have encountered is finding a reasonable and honest mechanic.
This car still needs to be restored to her original beauty, and the leather interior is poor. Apparently with the previous owner, the dry climate dried out the leather, and unruly children shuttled to day care took its' toll.
I am also encountering some high temperature when in heavy traffic, but she rapidly lowers once we start moving again.
Other than that, I am very pleased.
It was mentioned that the 450 SLC will run high temperatures
in stop-and-go traffic. My 1979 SLC did exactly that for
many years. I have owned it since 1990, we did a full restauration on it and use it as a summer vehicle only.
And this year we found the fan clutch did not function
properly anymore thus the high temperatures. A replacement
solved that problem.
I got a 78 450SLC real cheap because it to ran hot. Fan clutch bad and electric fan not working. Even with those fixed it still ran real warm 220F. or better. closer inspection revealed bottom tank of radiator plugged up. My local radiator shop re-cored the radiator for less than 300 dollars. New radiator 750 dollars. Cool as a cucumber ever since, even in southwest Florida.
We have a 1979 450SL Silver, she too runs hotter than normal in stop and go traffic. The replacement of the electric cooling fan did the trick. Living in Florida this is essential. She is a pleasure to drive, but as I'm not a "small" (6'0" and 225lbs) guy it's a little tricky to get in and out. She also needs to have the odometer repaired. She was owned by a little old lady and literally only driven on Sundays. Now we put about 20K miles a year on her. We got her 2 years ago (2002) with 33,000 actual miles! The engine is clean and has no sludge build-up! We hope to enjoy here for many many years.
Luke Lucas and Barb Flynn
West Palm Beach, Florida.
What is a reasonable price for 1978 450 slc in good condition with 120K miles? I am looking at one and started my research by visiting this page.
The 450 SLC was originally the highest price Benz in it's day. It was actually considered a better car than the convertible, but did not sell as well. Generally you can pick up an SLC for a couple thousand less than the convertible counterpart. I actually have a 1978 350 SLC gray market for sale right now. I am asking 8,500 for mine. The 350 SLC is the same as the 450 SLC, but was not originally sold in the United States. Mine only has 82k and a rare velour interior. Write another comment if you live near Philadelphia and might be interested.
Mike near Philly PA.
I just purchased a 1979 450 slc, for $2900. Temperatures are okay so far, it's a great car. Original 4 speed manual transmission. I was told it is a AMG package, and it has the spoilers and side skirts to prove it, but I am still skeptical if there even was AMG back in those days. Does anybody have any information?
Hi there merc 450 SL/SLC fans.
I am from South Africa and my dad just bought a 79 450SLC with 80000kms on odo...
He has been after one of these for years now and has always been his dream to own one...
We have replaced the front discs with bearings & brake pads, done a service and very happy with the car...
Was a bit of a mission to get to the spark plugs, but we managed...
Is there a forum I can post questions to fellow 450 drivers?
I was wondering what fuel consumption you guys get?
The car tends to get very hot inside, don't know if there is a faulty heat valve allowing heat inside...
The V8 sounds lovely, 165KW of power is brilliant...
Many thanks.
Sure AMG was around in the 70's. Just the fenders and the stickers don't mean that it was actually tuned by AMG though.
I live in Australia and purchased a 1977 450SLC back in 1992. It has a full AMG body kit - front spoiler, rear 'sausage' spoiler on bootlid, side skirts and all the chrome has been colour-coded the same as the body - bright red metallic. It also has the original 5 spoke AMG mag wheels which have the centres painted to match the body colour. She may be an oldie, but she still draws comments and looks when I take her out on the weekends.
For the gent from South Africa. There may be a problem with your heater tap as these operate on the air system and a leak will cause it to stay open - the vacum closes the tap. It's on the firewall in the middle behind the air cleaner and you can pull it open and wire it that way with a cable tie or similar onto the air cleaner - I had the same problem and the repair of the air vacuum system is a nightmare - try this solution first.
Hi all I will be aquiring a 450 SLC in the next few weeks, it is a Uk model with 63,000 miles on the clock I believe it is a 1979 model. IN the UK they have stoppped Leaded Petrol (Gasoline) will the vehicle run on high octane unleaded petrol and not cause damage? please email rickykothari@hotmail.com thanks for your help.
Hi all,
purchased a 1974 SL 450. Had it restored completely. It too runs hot, but thanks to the advise in this forum I will check it.
Am in Dubai, UAE and it is less easy to get the right parts here.
Big question: What kind of Gas should I use; 95 or 98 octane.
Heard two versions now...
Anybody knows?
I recently purchased a 1975 450SLC, California car with just over 60,000 on the meter. Perfect, except for the speedo. The odometer seemed to be functioning correctly for quite a while. The speedo would typically just select a setting and stay there. Regardless of speed, or even when stopped. Then, sometimes it would decide to work again. Especially if it was real cold. Then it would hum real loud for about ten miles until it warmed up, and then the humming would stop, but it would keep working. Except that the odometer stopped working.
I know to disconnect the speedo cable from the trans first, and to remove the wire from the oil press gauge (among others...) before I can completely remove the cluster, which seems to have been removed before, perhaps by a blind person, judging by the way things were done...
Anyway, can anyone help me???
Jmshea0527@juno.com.
Greetings from Sunny Namibia with my 1977 450 SL.
I just bought a 1977 450 SL with only 69 500 km on the clock. Just had it serviced by a professional merc mechanic, but the fuel consumption is between 23 - 30 liters / 100km's. Any suggestions as I am told I should get between 15 - 19 liters / 100 km's. Otherwise all is in impeccable condition. Fitted a Grundig MP3 radio / CD that fits perfectly with round dials that match the ventilation knobs.
Gorden Walters.
I have also have a 450 SLC that was given to me by my mother. It has about 96,000 original miles on it and the body is in near perfect condition. I have had problems with the lock system, power steering pump and now I am having a problem with it stalling. I have brought it to my mechanic and they cannot find anything wrong with it. I am hoping that perhaps one of you can tell me if you've had a similar experiance or give me some advice.
When I begin driving everything is fine, as I continue driving (mainly in stop and go traffic) the needle on the oil icon on the dash (it starts off at the "3") consistantly gets lower and lower until it reaches just under the "1"...then my car stalls and even stopping at a stop sign it will stall. It only lowers when I am not giving it gas/idleing and seems fine on freeways, but the needle will still be pretty low when I get off and stop at a light.
Thanks so much for any info...
Teal.