New-to-me Car

First impression of the new car - "Wow, it's in pretty good shape for a car so old."
Second impression of the new car - "We've got our work cut out for us."

So a couple weeks ago, I bought a 1975 Mercedes Benz 450SL hardtop convertible on the Internet. Yes, I bought it without seeing it in person. I know that it's a little crazy and a bit risky too, but it was worth the money. It arrived from North Carolina last week!

More pictures on Flickr.

Cosmetically the car looks better than I expected. However, after the first drive, I realized there will be plenty of work. The car came without license plates so its not exactly street legal right now. During the short test drive, I've already uncovered a whole host of problems.

The car immediately needed a new battery (easily fixed and so I've done that already). It seems to run pretty well, but I suspect it needs brakes. It may need some suspension work too...but that's a little harder for me to tell. The passenger side window doesn't roll down. The blinker doesn't work. The air conditioning does work, but the fan doesn't. The carpet, seats, headliner are all in good shape. I can't get the hardtop off yet so I don't know the status of the convertible top. Tires look better than expected, but the underside has some rust and chipping paint (probably obvious from the photos). The short drive I took went smoothly until I turned into the driveway. The engine started smoking a bit and there was some red colored fluid on the driveway. Red means it's probably transmission or power steering fluid. Because I was turning at the time, I'm guessing its power steering.

Overall, I'm very excited! And a little nervous, just because I don't know what I don't know. Chris is coming to visit this weekend and I will rely on his expertise to get things going with the car. I'd love to get it in good enough shape to get it inspected and street legal before it gets too hot here, but I suspect that's a bit too ambitious. Instead, I'll remember to enjoy the process since that's what a car like this is all about.

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