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Early in the summer of 2023, I had a decision to make concerning my 2004 SL500. With only 78,000 miles, the car was pristine, but I found I was just not driving it very much. Whenever I came out into my garage, I would shy away from looking at the car, hoping it was not "on the ground" or leaning to one side. When I drove it, I drove it with great care, trying not to hit any potholes or cornering too hard. The red warning light started coming on more often, and I feared the accumulators were going bad.

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Notice I added in here - enjoyable. You can have a reliable diesel mechanically, but that does not necessarily mean it is going to be enjoyable. If the seat springs are broken down, heater works sporatically, power windows stick and make noise, water leaks into the cabin, glove box door won't close, etc., etc., etc. - then it may not be all that enjoyable.  There is nothing that can put a bigger smile on your face than when you get into an old W123 diesel, starts right up, drives smoothly and everything works - even the cruise control.

This is a very special 300D turbo diesel sedan. It was named "Bubbles" by the previous owner because she felt the color looked like the color of champagne. Rather than try to tell you all about this car, I am going to have you watch a number of videos below. The first video will explain how we came to be owners of this pretty W123. The second video will show you why this one is a real rocket when it comes to acceleration and speed. The third video covers what we did to get the automatic transmission to shift properly.

The M116 and M117 V8's survived production for over 20 years (1970 to 1991), so now these engines are all 30 to 50 years old.  The rear fuel delivery system is an important part of these engines and it is often neglected even by professional mechanics. Recently I have seen two cars that had their fuel pumps replaced professionally, but the old fuel hoses were not changed! Every single one of these old V8's I have seen in the past 5 years needs something done back there whether it be for safety, reliability, or performance. Once again, if you want it done right you need to do it yourself.

So you want to pick up and restore an old Benz - maybe even a classic SL convertible? I have a recommendation. Bring home a running and rolling restoration project. Do NOT bring home a project car that is not running, needs a repaint, and shows severe signs of neglect. I get people disagreeing with me all the time on this, but you can not believe how many "project" Mercedes I run across that people have given up on. Follow along as I do this on a loved 380SL. You will understand better why I am such a believer in approaching any old car project this way.

Have you ever wanted to make a cross-country road trip in a 30 plus-year-old Mercedes? I have always thought it a little “risky” unless the car was thoroughly checked over. I usually recommend if you are purchasing a car that old from “afar” you might want to consider having to truck it to your location. We have heard from a number of our customers who have made such a trip successfully and suggest I might be a little too cautious. A couple years ago I sold a 1980 240D to a buyer on the East Coast. I suggested he truck the car back east but he was adamant about driving it.

From my own experience and from hearing from lots of other's experiences I can not stress enough - DO NOT NEGLECT YOUR IGNITION TUMBLER AND STEERING LOCK ASSEMBLY! If your key is starting to "stick" or "catch" in the tumbler then you shoud replace it before it will not turn and leave you stranded!  In the picture here the owner tried to drill it out, but let me tell you they do not drill out very well. If you neglect this warning you could end up spending hundreds of dollars instead of less than $50 for new new tumbler and keys.

It is the end January 2017 and Kent has just finished filming a new video on how to find air leaks in an Airmatic suspension.  There is nothing like driving a Benz with Airmatic, but there is a price to pay... and that price does not need to be that much if you learn to diagnose and repair the leak (s) yourself. Do not be afraid to tackle these systems! Kent will make it easy for you to save lots of money if you are willing to learn and apply knowledge. 

This is that time of year we pull our prized Mercedes out of winter storage and get it ready to hit the road. Just today (April 8) it was 72 degrees and bright blue skies here in Bellingham. Tomorrow I am going to put the top down and take Happier (my 280SL) for a tour of the countryside. :-)

Many owners forget that sunroofs need to be serviced. If neglected there is a price to pay. The NUMBER ONE cause of sunroof failure is lack of lubrication! When a sunroof can not slide easily on the tracks due to dried out lubricant and dirty slides, it puts a heavy strain on the drive mechanism. This leads to tilt arm, motor drive and cable failures. Even manually operated sunroofs can suffer from broken handles and latch mechanisms due to lack of proper lubrication.

I realize that not all our customers want to restore an older Benz. Some would rather spend the money and purchase a nice Mercedes that does not need a lot of work. Even if one spends top dollar for a pristine model, it usually turns out to be cheaper than buying a project car and paying to have it fixed up. From my experience, the only time it pays to restore an older Benz is if you do all the work yourself and don't count the cost of your own labor!

This weekend (July 30, 2011) I had the privilege of meeting a true American World War II hero. Our radio Control flying club had a model warbird fly-in on Saturday. We invited Joe Moser to attend the event and share his story and sign copies of his new book. Joe was a P-38 pilot who flew 44 combat missions over Europe in the period leading up to D-Day and the weeks immediately following the invasion of Europe. On August 13, 1944 his P-38 Lightning twin engine fighter was shot down by enemy gunfire over France.