Many thanks for another truism and insight re 107’s. I bought a neglected c107 last year and did all of these. Idler arm was fine but the starter motor needs to come out, so I was pleased to avoid that. Re rear main bushings, my advice to amateurs like myself. Do one at a time and make sure the main bolt goes in dead and I mean dead straight otherwise you’ll be at it for weeks if you are working with floor jacks and by yourself. I have been there and did the whole back end inc shocks, shock mounts, sway bar links, bushings and axle boots. End result was the geometry was out. To get that bolt in you may need ties to realign things. Just fyi, did take me longer than I care to recall to get this done but once done, drives like new, because it all is new :). Many thanks again for all your helpful tips and videos over the years.
Worked on many of these over my career, and the funniest thing was the many owners who had the 380 would switch to 560 emblems to fool the world. But as soon as you pulled the car around in the shop , the gig is up.
I owned a 1971 350SL back in the day. It was a much stronger construction than the previous 230/250/280 SL. The assembly workers on the line in Germany nick named it the Armored Car. I saw one spin out on the Bayshore freeway in Santa Clara and smack backwards into a concrete wall at speed. Amazingly the woman driver just opened the door and stepped out unhurt. The door would have been pinched closed by the force of the crash in any other convertible.
Blows my mind that Mercedes chassis were built like this in the ‘70s. All I can think is how American cars were built in this same time period, even up through the ‘90s you didn’t see unibody structuring like this and even if you did, the welded seams were certainly not sealed like this.
Excellent video Kent. Would you please consider doing a video showing how to remove the rear mirror and necessary trim to simply tighten the sun visors on a 560SL? The visors on ours keep falling, and I'm not sure how to fix them. Thanks.
Many thanks for another truism and insight re 107’s. I bought a neglected c107 last year and did all of these. Idler arm was fine but the starter motor needs to come out, so I was pleased to avoid that. Re rear main bushings, my advice to amateurs like myself. Do one at a time and make sure the main bolt goes in dead and I mean dead straight otherwise you’ll be at it for weeks if you are working with floor jacks and by yourself. I have been there and did the whole back end inc shocks, shock mounts, sway bar links, bushings and axle boots. End result was the geometry was out. To get that bolt in you may need ties to realign things. Just fyi, did take me longer than I care to recall to get this done but once done, drives like new, because it all is new :). Many thanks again for all your helpful tips and videos over the years.
Always appreciate the insight on the Mercedes Benz. I’ve enjoyed my 123,124 and 210 my longest lasting Mercedes ever always enjoy your inside
Very usefull tips there, thanks for sharing. Also good to know that the parts from 1972 to 1989 are the same, making parts chasing easier.🐞
I just bought a 1978 R107 that I will be restoring. I’ve added all of this to my procurement list. Thanks.
Thank you Kent for your video. I love my 129. These sports cars are fabulous.
SL are such beautifully designed automobiles.
Worked on many of these over my career, and the funniest thing was the many owners who had the 380 would switch to 560 emblems to fool the world. But as soon as you pulled the car around in the shop , the gig is up.
That's a clean example
Thanks, Kent. I think this is important on W126, too
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I owned a 1971 350SL back in the day. It was a much stronger construction than the previous 230/250/280 SL. The assembly workers on the line in Germany nick named it the Armored Car. I saw one spin out on the Bayshore freeway in Santa Clara and smack backwards into a concrete wall at speed. Amazingly the woman driver just opened the door and stepped out unhurt. The door would have been pinched closed by the force of the crash in any other convertible.
Blows my mind that Mercedes chassis were built like this in the ‘70s. All I can think is how American cars were built in this same time period, even up through the ‘90s you didn’t see unibody structuring like this and even if you did, the welded seams were certainly not sealed like this.
Excellent video Kent. Would you please consider doing a video showing how to remove the rear mirror and necessary trim to simply tighten the sun visors on a 560SL? The visors on ours keep falling, and I'm not sure how to fix them. Thanks.
Is a same kit available fir the 560 SEC ?
The 560SEC is a totally different chassis (W126) with a different front suspension design. Parts are different but the rubber still wears out.