[V8] re SLC

[quattro + 5 or 8 = fun]

WOW, you guys bring back the memories.  My first car was a 1972 Mercedes 280
SEL.  I bought it when  I was 15 1/2.  I did not even have my license.  I
just fell in love with it.  I am now 31.  When I was 15 1/2 the Eagle Talon
was the HOT car.  But I just wanted that Mercedes.  It had about 180K miles
on it.  Amazingly, I kept it running.  My dad redid the interior for my 17th
birthday.  Leather from Italy, perforated in German, sewn in Spokane WA.  He
spent $5,000 on the interior.  He made fun of me for owning a car that was
always needing work.  For two winters, I drove it to college without a
heater.  And, if you have ever experienced a Spokane winter, THEY SUCK.  I
had to roll down the windows to keep it from fogging up inside.  I started
dating this girl who lived 3 hours away.  I would work like crazy just to
buy premium unleaded to go visit her.  I barrowed a 1980's boom box for
tunes as the old Becker was dead.  Just after 220K miles, the tranny went
down.  I thought my life was over.  I was about 18 when that happened.  My
dad came through again.  He bought me a BRAND NEW tranny.  I could not
believe it.  He still made fun of me.  Then, about 3,000 miles later, the
timing chain went through the valve cover.  I was devastated.  AGAIN, my dad
came through.  He bought the motor.  I was lucky enough to find a grey
market 4.5 and get it in the car.  Turns out, it had about 55 more HP then
the stock engine.  OH YEA!!!!  He still laughed at me.  Shortly after the
new engine was installed, I decided to drive 1200 miles to Denver to give
the car a "shake down".  I did it in 12 hours FLAT.  The speedo recorded a
152 top speed.  This was back in the day when Montana was "safe and
prudent".  Or, when you are 18, driving a 23 year old car with an original
suspension 15" tires and old brakes, that meant balls to the wall as fast as
the damn thing can go.  Yeah, the exhaust manifolds glowed.  Yeah, it was
115 degrees out.  Yeah, I passed a cop doing 135.  But who cares!?  I was
18, had a Benz and was unstoppable!  I continued to be senseless, driving it
into the winter with 300 pounds of sand in the trunk.  I did this routine
until 1998 when the car was hit.  It had 330K +/- on it.  I tried to sell
the car over and over again.  But, who wanted a beat up nearly 30 year old
car that barely ran?  Thankfully, I came to my senses.  I still have it.  I
am NEARLY done with a 40K$ restoration.  I have a custom suspension that I
designed and built.  It has a new paint job.  Not concourse, but VERY nice.
I have about 2 weeks of solid work left on it.  Yes, it has a ton of miles.
But, it is has CLASS, CLASS AND MORE CLASS.  It will hit 70 MPH in first
gear, roast a Camaro Z-28 from 60-120, sounds AMAZING with a dual 2.5"
exhaust and most importantly got me to and from the girl who is now my wife.
I will die in that car.  Oh, my dad still makes fun of me but I now know he
secretly loves the car.

I plan to drive her again this summer or early fall.

What a car...what a car.


BTW, I also plan to install the ABZ 4.2 in my 5 speed this summer.  YEEEEEE
HAAAAAAAAAAA!!






Shayne


PARTING:  1972 Mercedes Benz 280 SE 4.5
PARTING:  1986 Audi 4000 CS quattro


> From: Ed Kellock <ekellock at gmail.com>
> Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 17:10:44 -0600
> To: <v8 at audifans.com>
> Subject: Re: [V8] re SLC
> 
> I may never get over the 1973 450sl until I own one.  The gated shifter in
> it is directly responsible for my first interest in the Audi V8.  I had
> never seen that configuration in any other type of car before.  And it
> also had a V8.
> 
> When I was 10 my mom bought a '73 450SL brand new after my grandfather
> passed away.  We (mom, dad, me, sister) bugged the dealer for over 6 months
> before she ordered one.  Then she got impatient and had them find her
> another one that could be had sooner.  I'll never forget the drive home with
> her that night.  I was mesmerized.  My father and sister followed in our '69
> Plymouth Fury III.  It was silver green metallic with green MB Tex interior,
> black soft top, no alloy wheels.
> 
> From them until '86 or so when Mom sold it and I was not able to afford it,
> I dreamed of the day I would own it, drive it, and continue to care for it
> as I had for the 13 years we had it.  It had 86k miles then.
> 
> I was never officially allowed to drive it and was caught red handed only
> once, but I did get my seat time.  My first time ever driving a car was in
> it when I was 14, before my parents probably ever even anticipated the
> concept of a teen driver.  They still don't know that I snuck it out of the
> garage one night at 3am, all carefully planned and executed.  I drove it
> around for over half an hour before returning it to the garage and going
> back to bed.
> 
> I know by today's standards it's not that special, but I still love the look
> of the pre-'74 small-bumper cars.  To my eye, the silver green is the best
> color.  I really liked the SLC, still do, we considered one a couple years
> later when we decided to ditch the Fury for another Benz.  Instead we got a
> Harvest Beige 1973 280.  That I was allowed to drive and had my 1st two
> accidents in, both very minor.
> 
> I still have the metal vin plate from the 450 and the original bill of
> sale.  In '86 it went to a doctor in Toronto.  I mailed him a letter and he
> mailed back offering to let me buy it for 18k because he had put some money
> into it.  We sold it for 12k.  I would like to find it.  I think I'd be
> incapable of not buying it unless it was thoroughly trashed.
> 
> 0-60 in 10 seconds, in 1st gear all the way.  Leave the gear selector in S
> and at 50 mph, floor the accelerator enough to punch the kick-down button,
> and it will drop into 1st.  Fantastic feeling and sound.  No Ferrari and no
> Audi V8, but I'll never get over it.  Until I own one maybe.
> 
> I still have Instamatic photos of every single new Mercedes on the lot from
> those dealer visits.  I also used to ride my bike around the neighborhoods
> near our house at Edwards AFB and catalog all the Mercedes I could find.

>> 
>> ... funny Ed, the longer I know you the more I realize that we're cut from
>> very similar cloth ...
>> 
>> I have to admit, a '74 450 SLC was the first (and only) MBZ I ever
>> drove.  In fact it was very likely the first non-murkin car I drove.  There
>> were three things that hooked me on the SLC ... I loved how flat the car
>> stayed in hard cornering (compared to what I was used to) ... I appreciated
>> the slushbox that would also downshift on deceleration ... and I really like
>> the lines and scale of the car.  To some respects the SL with the hard top
>> installed (how often do you see that?) is a bit short and abrupt for my
>> taste ... although I like the concave top ...
>> 
>> ... and if I'm going for an "SL" ... I'll take it as an ur-300SL thank you
>> very much!
>> 
>> Steve B
>> San José, CA (USA)
>>> 
>>> The ugly comments are merely subjective.  I like them, but not enough to
>> own
>>> one.  When I get one it'll be the SL.
!