What did I do now…Mercedes 380SL

I saw this car on marketplace yesterday for $3500 and I figured I need to get it and get it for less. Body is straight with two spots of rust that can be fixed but no major rot.


(In my garage)

$2700 later it’s home and I already regret it. But that’s how it always go. Hahahaahha.

I have a background in classic Mercedes Diesels so hopefully this doesn’t throw me for too much of a loop.

Why was it so cheap you may be asking.



Last owner pulled the intake and mechanical Bosch fuel injection out to rebuild it because it ran poorly. Not his best decision so now I get to figure out how it all goes back together and make it run.

Goodbye money.


I’m already considering just tossing the engine and transmission and doing an LS swap or Chevy 350. Something cheaper and more reliable than the mechanical fuel injection and finicky V8 it already has

 

@Speedytech7

 

WOW, was hoping to never see one of those again.... HAHAHA

Retired last fall after 28ish years as a Euro Car Tech. Worked on A LOT of those.

A few words of advice, if I may.

Once the Fuel Dist is back in the car hook up the fuel feed, turn on the key, jump the fuel pump relay and either lift or push down (gently) on the big, spring loaded disc in the center of the fuel dist. Fuel should spray at all the inj's all the time. There is no pulsing, they spray all the time and the quantity is controlled by that disc as it moves up and down.

DO NOT take the fuel distributor apart there are places that can rebuild them or exchange them they're assembled in a jig and cut with a laser
It's CIS Inj not mechanical. CIS = Continuous Inj System. Or as we called it Crappy Inj System
The system in vacuum controlled so replace ALL the vacuum hoses including the sockets and o-rings where the inj's sit
The timing chains like to fail, you can hook a new one to the old one and feed it through w/o complete disassembly
Also had top end lube issues and like to eat cam lobes, mostly pass side. Just look through the oil fill cap at the lobes, any scoring and pull the valve cover for a look. bad wear seemed to start at the rear cyl's. This could be what the owner was chasing when he took the inj system out.

An LS swap would be cool. A brake upgrade would be required.

Those are kinda cool old cars for just cruising around. They didn't have much power or very good brakes and the suspension was soft and vague but the cars are beautiful.

Have fun, neat old car....

YMMV RON