Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Just when you think you hit are ready to swing for a home run, here comes a curve ball in the dirt. Today’s car, a 1986 Mercedes-Benz 300SL up for sale in Italy, is one of those curve balls in the dirt. Maybe more than one.
This car had all the ingredients on the surface to be ideal for me. A Euro-spec car in a rare green color, a brown leather interior, and a five-speed manual transmission paired with the M103 inline-six. Then everything fell apart once I looked a little closer at it.
For all the days I wish I had a Porsche 911 GT3 to crawl into the sport bucket seats and shift my own gears, there are some days when I just don’t want to think at all. For a lot of people, that is most days. A comfortable convertible with an automatic transmission and soft suspension sounds pretty good! If that is your thing, you are in luck given they are by far the least expensive way to get into a modern 911. Today’s car, a 2005 911 Carrera finished in the rare Carmon Red Metallic, checks in with 42,000 miles.
When someone says “engine swap” on an old car, my mind automatically goes to a big V8 swap in an American muscle car. It certainly doesn’t go to today’s car.
What we have is a 1980 Mercedes-Benz 450SL with a Toyota 1JZ-GTE turbocharged inline-six. Talk about an odd couple. The R107 is so far from the tuner-culture 1JZ that I’m really struggling to see who this appeals to. Toyota fans who want something classy? Or R107 fans who want easy power? Either way, I am extremely impressed with this build. Something I don’t say often.
Last week I laid out why I think right now the R230 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class is probably the best value in the Mercedes-Benz world. It has the perfect combination of very high production numbers and the perfect timing of too old to be modern but too young to be a classic. Today, we have the previous generation that had a similar production run, which means it can still be had for very little money given how many are out there floating around. Of course I’m talking about the trusty R129, and more specifically an early 500SL.
This example up for sale in New Jersey is finished in one of my favorite colors of Spruce Green and just has shy of 51,000 miles. The best part? The asking price is only $10,900. Of course there is a catch.
This is a way to make an entrance. I’m all for fun colors, but if you go for one, you have to own it. This is especially true for colors like we are checking out today — Viola Purple Metallic. Needless to say this is a Paint to Sample option, and a pricey one at that, and even more crazier when you put it on a convertible. Still, this is much better than another black or grey car, even at it’s current crazy pricing considering this is still just a Boxster S. Love it or leave it?
