Hal Blog

I wanted a 380SL for several reasons. The biggest is that I’ve always wanted a convertible so I can enjoy driving around in the summer with the top down and feel the wind and sun. Of course, though, if you’re going to have a convertible like that, two things that really help make it more fun to drive around with the top down are a fun, pretty, intelligent woman in the passenger seat and a radio for good music. I can’t really give anyone advice on how to find the former, since that’s an individual’s choice, but I can add a little about what I had to do with the latter and how I got a radio/CD player working.

(more…)

I haven’t had time to post much lately and I still have a fair amount to catch up with regarding car restoration and repair work. There were several details to take care of that are simple enough to not rate a post on their own. This includes fixing the antenna, dealing with new keys, taking care of the air conditioning,  putting in a couple trans mount bolts, and fixing the interior lights. While these are simple, again, I’m blogging all that I do to this car for a couple reasons. One is selfish, so I have a record of everything I’ve done and I know if I’m the only one that reads it, I won’t have motivation to write it. The second is because the Internet community, as a whole, as been a huge help to me. I don’t think I could have started my business and gotten it running if it were not for the help I’ve gotten from people, literally, all over the world who gave me advice in email, on IRC, or through instant messages, about programming or dealing with technical software. While the people working on classic cars are not always going to be those who help people like me with software advice, the people I’ve dealt with on the web have been very helpful when I’ve asked questions about fixing or restoring cars. I’ve already been told, several times, that my posts on the fuel line and the low cost hoist I made for my roof have helped people. With that in mind, let’s look at these small details I’ve had to fix.

(more…)

I think one of the scariest repairs I’ve ever done on a car was the first time I ever worked on the fuel line. I know just having gas on the ground or open does not mean there’s going to be an explosion, but for someone without much experience in auto repairs, the first time you work on a fuel line, it keeps running through your head that there might be something you didn’t tighten properly or there might be a leak and at the next stoplight, you’ll be sitting there and a puddle of gas will be forming under your car, just waiting for when you rev your engine and — BOOM!

At least that’s the feeling I hand until I had worked on a fuel line a few times and got used to it. With my new car (often called Mrs. Peel because she’s such a classic beauty and can kick some serious tail, if you haven’t been following along), one of the two mechanical repairs I needed to attend to quickly, that could actually effect the functioning of the vehicle, was a leaking fuel line at the rear, near the fuel pump and fuel filter.

(more…)

To me, the biggest joy to owning a Mercedes 380SL (or a 450SL or a 560SL) is being able to drive around with the top down. I love the feeling of the sun on me and the wind in my hair. Yes, it’s a cliche, but it would not have been written about by millions of people if it wasn’t a good feeling. In Richmond it goes up to 102 in the summer on many days, with a heat index of 110 or more. Even on days like that, I can be seen driving around with my top down. Although it’s on days like that you’ll be more likely to find me feeling like I need to blow off steam and driving on the back roads leading away from the city and into the cooler areas in the wooded regions outside of Richmond.

There’s just one catch: If you’ve got the hard top on a Mercedes R107 body (which means the 280SL, 380SL, 350SL, 450SL, or 560SL), it takes at least two people to lift it off. I didn’t have anyone who could help me when it came time to finally lift the hard top off my first car of this type. I didn’t know if a hoist would damage it, so I searched the web. There was a company selling a motorized hoist for something like $850 that would lift the top up with the press of a button. There’s just one problem with that: I’m a cheapskate. I take great pride in my DIY (do-it-yourself, if you didn’t know) skills and was quite proud of myself when I found a way to easily make a working hoist for under $25.

(more…)

One issue EVERY owner of a Mercedes R107 car (which is basically any 280SL, 380SL, 450SL, or 560SL) has is the strong desire to drive the car without the top. In Richmond I’m lucky enough to have the hard top off about 7 months out of the year, depending on early or late warm weather. One wonderful thing about this car is that it can be driven with the hard top on during colder weather or to keep it secure, with a soft top up, or with no top. To use the soft top or go topless, the hard top has to come off and every owner of one of these cars is eager for that first day when you can remove the hard top and drive topless, using the soft top only when it gets cold for a day or two, or when it rains. The trick is in how to remove the hard top.

(more…)

When you get a car that is almost perfect, where do you start? Do you fix anything? Do you not touch it? Any used car, especially any classic car, has things that need fixing. In the case of my 1985 380SL, I had 2 issues that could effect performance. Both needed special parts and both required putting the car on ramps to get underneath to fix it. So I started with the easier stuff: body work. There wasn’t much, but every little bit helps.

(more…)

It’s been almost two weeks since I bought my new classic Mercedes 380SL. It’s in excellent condition and one huge thrill is that it was drivable from the start. I didn’t have to drive it directly to the mechanics and leave it for days or weeks while they fixed it up so I could drive it. So what have I been doing with it since I got it? Fixing it up, of course! (more…)

Here’s a poser: A little over a year ago I bought the ‘73 Mercedes 450SL that still has things to to for restoration and just a little over a week ago I bought the ‘85 380SL which is in excellent condition.  Which one would or should make me feel prouder? (more…)

Pain and pleasure. Sometimes one leads to the other and sometimes you can’t have one without the other. I had been looking for a newer and nicer Mercedes SL, preferably a 380SL, but had other things to deal with during the last few weeks of my Father’s life and after he died. I ended up going through several disappointments and frustrating situations that, in the end, led me to the 1985 version of perfection.

In addition to how I got it, I have a lot of pictures of this car. In some you can see my white 1973 450SL in the background. Here is the link to the pictures.
(more…)