I was told it had been sitting for at least 4 years at its present location and rumor had it that it sat an additional 5 years prior to that, but how bad could it be for $500. If nothing else I could part it out and recoup at least what I put into it. Well, that was 2016 and now it's 2019, and that pathetic SL is back in its glory days.
While the car has been nearly complete for about 6 months now, there are still a few minor pieces that are in the works to get it right. This process has been good for me as it has tried my patience on more than a few occasions, but that's what restoring something does for us!
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| The day I found it. |
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| After it got home and I began the process of removing the crispy lambswool seat covers and copious amounts of trash. |
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| The end result. The dash, steering wheel and console are original that I restored and recolored. |
While the car was a mess, I noted that nothing of importance was missing or destroyed. My goal was to keep and restore as many original parts as possible and that ended up working out in the end. As you can see, the car originally came from the factory with a navy interior, which matched the 904 navy exterior along with a navy convertible top, yikes! For a car like this, that was entirely too much navy, at least for me, and 1970's or not, I still would not have bought into that monotone madness.
So it was off to the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Irvine, California to find out what my color options would have been in 1975, and the news was good. Did I wan't to change the original exterior color? No. The interior was all that needed to set the monotony apart as I liked the MB 904 very dark blue, almost a blue/black. The interior color palette was not extensive but a lot better than what it was. My 1975 interior color options: black, blue, parchment, tobacco, red and bamboo. The winner: tobacco.
Next was the top and carpet. From what I was told, the top color options that were directly available from the factory were black, blue, wheat and brown and the loop carpeting was available in palomino, cognac, charcoal, bamboo, black, blue, beige, red, brown and gray. The winner: Brown, which is a speckle of lighter and darker brown in the loop. The top was the last item to throw in the mix and it was a tough battle with everyone weighing in on what would look best. Blue was the major consensus and that just didn't seem to create the delineation needed to bring this alluring car to its prime. The winner: Brown
While the car doesn't appear too neglected in the photo the day I found it, it had been painted white, from the original blue, and the job was so bad I think it would be an insult to say Maaco did it. Regardless, the car was stripped to metal and properly painted.
The entirety of the 450SL went through a deep clean including the engine that was home to a family of Packrats among other critters. Thankfully they only chewed some of the vacuum hose, but no wiring thankfully.
The following are snapshots of the restoration through time.
So it was off to the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Irvine, California to find out what my color options would have been in 1975, and the news was good. Did I wan't to change the original exterior color? No. The interior was all that needed to set the monotony apart as I liked the MB 904 very dark blue, almost a blue/black. The interior color palette was not extensive but a lot better than what it was. My 1975 interior color options: black, blue, parchment, tobacco, red and bamboo. The winner: tobacco.
Next was the top and carpet. From what I was told, the top color options that were directly available from the factory were black, blue, wheat and brown and the loop carpeting was available in palomino, cognac, charcoal, bamboo, black, blue, beige, red, brown and gray. The winner: Brown, which is a speckle of lighter and darker brown in the loop. The top was the last item to throw in the mix and it was a tough battle with everyone weighing in on what would look best. Blue was the major consensus and that just didn't seem to create the delineation needed to bring this alluring car to its prime. The winner: Brown
While the car doesn't appear too neglected in the photo the day I found it, it had been painted white, from the original blue, and the job was so bad I think it would be an insult to say Maaco did it. Regardless, the car was stripped to metal and properly painted.
The entirety of the 450SL went through a deep clean including the engine that was home to a family of Packrats among other critters. Thankfully they only chewed some of the vacuum hose, but no wiring thankfully.
The following are snapshots of the restoration through time.
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| The day I found the car and purchased it. The car was then taken to my home where we got it running and checked out the necessary items to make sure it was worthy of a restoration, and indeed it was. The rims on the car at this point were the knock off chrome Ronal rims that were pealing and badly pitted, and they went to a junkyard. Original 14in. Mercedes wheels were fitted. I found out from Mercedes the car original came with hubcaps. |
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| The car being taken from my home to the restoration shop fitted with proper Mercedes rims and the last of the production 14in Michelin tires. |
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| At the shop getting stripped, Bondo'd and prepped for primer. |
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| Primed, masked and in the paint booth ready for paint. |
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| My paint guy mixing the original Mercedes blue. |
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| Laying down the color. Truly felt like this day would never come! |
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| Prepping the "show clear" coat. |
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| Laying down the clear. This guy is an exceptional painter and so fortunate to have had him do this car. |
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Done!
Even though it's done, there are still some things that need fine tuning. More will be posted on those items as they get worked on. |
Wondering if you came across any instructions as to how to remove the dash. I've found the bolts, but it seems to get hung up on the AC vents, etc. Also, where did you have your dash refinished?
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