1974 Mercedes-Benz SL 450SL from North America - Comments

When purchased, the vehicle had the following problems:

Broken front parking light lens;

Inoperative windshield washer

Inoperative cruise control.

The radio (original) is horrible as a tuner, sounds great as a cassette deck.

The odometer quit at 125599 miles.

I found this car for sale sitting along the road about 40 miles north of Chicago.

The paint and interior are original and flawless. The complete service history was with the car. The seller installed new spark plugs and wires, new tires, and filters, along with a new fuel pump.

My previous convertible was a 1973 Corvette, which I owned from 1977 to 1978. This is definitely not a Corvette; it's much, much better. As we have 3 more Mercedes sitting in our driveway, I know from experience that this is a much more reliable and better-designed car than the Corvette.

This is a very fast car. While not as fast as current models, it still has the acceleration that is absolutely exhilarating.

The seats are very comfortable, with ample padding and lumbar support. There is plenty of leg and foot room for the average driver. However, this car is not made for the very tall or very heavy person - there just isn't enough room.

The main drawback for 1974 cars made for the US market, no matter what the make, is the abysmal gas mileage. This model get about 9 to 10 mpg (urban).

In closing, if you want a SL and cannot aford the cost of a new one and can live without all the bells and whistles, this series is a great substitute. However, please bear in mind that although the purchase cost is low, repairs are not. Afterall, it is a Mercedes Benz.

Addendum to Original Review:

I have now had the car about a year. During that time I had the car in the shop several times, mainly fixing what was not fixed by the previous owner.

Problems with the car so far:

Unable to open rear deck to raise/lower top - this repair cost over $500, mainly labor. The cables were adjusted and lubricated.

Radio stopped working - what I thought was the original radio turned out to be a replacement. This car came with a Becker Mexico AM/FM receiver. The original owner replaced it circa 1980 with a Blaupunkt AM/FM/Cassette. This radio was the first ever to have a cassette. I purchased a Becker Gran Prix off eBay as a replacement. The problem with the Blaupunkt turned out to be it became unplugged.

I repaired some rust over the left headlight and on the right fender. The area over the headlight had been previously repaired - with Bondo!!

Bushings and Motor Mounts - These were bad at time of purchase. I purchased all the front bushings, the steering stabilizer and motor mounts from autopartswarehouse. com (for less than my mechanic can with his discount at the Mercedes dealer). Total cost was $800. The old bushings were original to the car.

I put in a K&N air filter (bought locally for $61 - cost is much lower at autopartswarehouse.com). My gas mileage for the last tank with the new filter was 13 mpg.

The car runs great, although it occasionally will 'miss', which I think is because the car sat quite a while before I purchased it (it did not run for quite a while because it had a bad fuel pump).

Altogether I am very pleased with the car, the ride is superb, handling is excellent now that I replaced the bushings. Mileage is better than I expected and I am ready to do some serious touring. At sometime in the near future I want to replace the top (original) as there are 2 small holes/tears on each side by the front.

BTW the color of my SL is Silver Green Metallic. Everybody stare at the car, whether or not it's moving.

On the misfire: Check the ignition points and especially the condensor. Mine was bad on my 74 SLC and caused arcing in the points. Replacing it cured the problem.

I own a 450SL (1974) this car is in excellent condition, run great, but drivers seat is worn out. This car has blue interior, I am looking to purchase used seats preferably in good to excellent condition. Any suggestion where to purchase. please send comments at: R3goldhill@yahoo.com.

On other note on the misfiring: My 450 SLC has the old style distributor cap, and the previous owner apparently had it just slightly misaligned (the hold-down screws do not have a nice positive engangement the way the newer clip-on caps do.) Re-seating it got rid of the remaining misfiring on my car! Replacing the ignition condenser was also crucial. (You may have to search a bit online to find the part.)

A few other tips:

--My car had a high idle when I bought it (about 1300 rpm). Replacing a dried out hose to the manifold pressure sensor helped a lot. I then simply adjusted the idle speed screw.

--Stumbles during warm-up for a few minutes, but then runs fine: I replaced the engine temperature sensor and it fixed the problem.

Questions for others:

--LIkely cause of erratic gauges?

--If you've had a fuel pump fail, what were the early warning signs?

Update on my 1974 450slc from previous posting:

1) Began to be tough to start when cold, but started fine when warmed up and otherwise ran fine.

--Solution: Corroded contacts on thermo-time switch for cold start valve. (Be careful removing the connector, as it has a plastic tang that must be nudged before the thing pops off.)

2) Had been suffering from random, but continual popping and spitting (almost like a misfire). Only occurred when warmed up.

--Solution: Finally cured it by carefully adjusting ignition point gap and setting idle speed to specifications. (It's always the simple things!)

I got a 1974 450SLC from my grandpa. It runs pretty well, but is idling very fast, and the gas peddle is sticking. I can't find out how to turn on the windshield wiper fluid. I have checked all the knobs, but maybe it isn't working. Can anyone let me know which knob it is.

I have a 1975 450sl. The window washer switch is located in the footwell for the left foot.