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1991 Mercedes-Benz 300SL 5-Speed

1991 Mercedes-Benz 300SL 5-Speed

Published June 11, 2018 by Andrew

Fresh off last weeks bit of random Mercedes-Benz facts about the 1990 300E that came in both a 2.8 and 3.2 liter, I’m back again with some information that might be useful every once in a blue moon. From 1990 to 1993, you could purchase a 300SL with a dogleg 5-speed manual gearbox. Yes, the same dogleg from the 190E 2.3-16v cars. You might think this is the best news ever, but not so fast. This gearbox in this car has often be described as sloppy at best and really isn’t an enjoyable experience. The throws are long and vague, with any hope of fast gear changes being wishful at best. Rumor has it that there were only 166 examples of these 5-speed cars bought to North America which make this a pretty rare car to say the least. But if no one wants it, does this make it valuable?

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Worth Restoration? 1988 BMW 735i 5-speed

Worth Restoration? 1988 BMW 735i 5-speed

Published July 14, 2016 by Carter

In recent posts, we’ve both talked about the expense of maintaining an old German luxo-barge and, at the same time, the joy of getting to experience their technical prowess. I mentioned in the Alpina B12 5.0 post that I was lucky enough to experience an E32 5-speed upstream of most of the major repairs they would need if you held onto them long enough. Seemingly in response, suddenly a wave of neat 5-speed E32s appeared. But is the allure of the 5-speed status worth overcoming some obstacles to ownership?

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2008 Audi RS4 Cabriolet

2008 Audi RS4 Cabriolet

Published June 26, 2016 by Craig

RS4Cab1In 2008, if you had a lot of money to spend and wanted a powerful convertible with seats for four, chances are you bought an M3. But if you wanted to stand out a bit, the RS4 Cabriolet offered an interesting alternative, with ownership of one of these cars putting you in a very exclusive club. Available only for the 2008 model year, Audi imported a mere 300 examples to the US and they were priced accordingly: an astounding $85,000 when new. For your money you got loud and aggressive, wide-boy styling, grippy all wheel drive, a six speed manual gearbox and a power soft-top to fold away so that you could hear the burble produced by the wonderful 420 hp 4.2 liter V-8. True, they were not as composed as the extraordinary RS4 sedan, but if you were in the market for a convertible you probably didn’t mind, since all convertibles are by nature compromised versions of their solid-roof counterparts.

These days, there are usually one or two RS4 cabriolets on the market at any given time and, owing to the god of depreciation, they can be had for around half their original asking price.

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1985 BMW 318i

1985 BMW 318i

Published June 24, 2016 by Craig

318E301Since joining GCFSB, I’ve resisted the temptation to write up an E30, mostly out of irritation at the overbaked market for the 80s era 3-series. Although we’ve recently featured some nice examples on the site, I’m tired of seeing so many rusted out, half-finished projects for sale with unreasonable price tags attached. And while there are some admittedly well-preserved and desirable cars out there, I can only stare at $150k M3s for so long before becoming bored. What traditionally made the E30 such an attractive proposition was that it offered all the best features of a sporty German sedan – a sorted chassis, a zippy motor and a manual gearbox – for not a lot of money. But as their prices have climbed upwards, so that even tired examples are no longer very cheap, the allure of the E30 has faded, at least for me.

I’ve relented, however, for the sake of this example. That’s because it’s so nice to see such an apparently clean, well-preserved and original E30 on the market. The price isn’t too bad either.

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1991 Mercedes-Benz 300SL 5-speed

1991 Mercedes-Benz 300SL 5-speed

Published June 18, 2016 by Craig

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The R129 has always been my favorite iteration of the SL roadster. Softer and more modern than the classic R107 that it replaced, but still sufficiently angular that it doesn’t succumb to the awful jelly bean aesthetic of the late 80s and early 90s, the quintessentially Mercedes design remains attractive today; sporty and taut yet elegant and handsome. While most US buyers opted for the V8 500SL or the range topping and magnificent V12 in the 600SL, the car could also be had with an entry level 3.0 liter straight six, as found in this 300SL version. Already a relatively uncommon spec, this car features the especially rare manual gearbox, available only on six cylinder R129s.

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