[V8] re SLC

Unka Bart gatorojo at earthlink.net
Sat Jul 15 13:54:01 EDT 2006 

Amen Ingo, very nice story, Shayne!

On Jul 14, 2006, at 7:06 PM, Ingo Rautenberg wrote:

> I suggest you submit this story to Car and Driver or Autoweek with a
> few photos :-)
>
> Great story, Shayne!
>
> On Jul 14, 2006, at 2:34 AM, quattro + 5 or 8 = fun wrote:
>
>> 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.
>> !
>>
>>
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>
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