Topic: buy a Mercedes SLC and race that MoFo
Like all bad decision, it started with a pursuing of craig's list. I had been looking for a SLC for a while, but most current owners think a 40 year old coupe with no power or modern amenities is worth somewhere in the ballpark of 4~20k. Yeah, not so much. Not sure what I am talking about, waste some time and read up on th elovely Mercedes 107 chassis here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-B … 7_and_C107
Anyway, back to my story of whoa and foreboding. After the June Buttonwillow race my brother, who lives in LA and races with the Sharks, decided we needed a family Vacy to Napa this summer. Being from Texas, any reason to be somewhere else in the summer, i.e my favorite Texas state park, Colorado, for example, is always readily accepted. So plans were made for a weekend in mid July. As I am want to do, I started searching Craigs list in the bay area to see if there was something I just couldn't live with out. Low and behold, a SlC came up for sale in the sub 1k range, how could I say no? Being that I was two weeks, time to ask for help from my Lemons brethren to help procure and pick up this fine steed.
I had hopes that this might be a runner but a bit tired. Chris (fatboys) and cdickman12 both responded to my call for help, so it was going to be a tag team affair! After a few calls and texts with Cory to confirm it actually ran and drove, a deal was reached for $650 and she was mine. Cory was nice enough to dray it back to his house in Sacramento (car was in Davis), where Chris picked it up a few days latter. Plan was to have Chris drag it down to Mountain View to THE Benz mechanic that I was recommended that I just had to use. Being from Texas, everything to me is a 2 hour drive, so dragging it from Sacramento to MV seemed normal. Plan was to have the mechanic go over it, replace what I absolutely need to get it back to Texas, so I could pick it up, and, well, um drive it back to Texas?
The car, which was lien sale from a tow lot, had a very dead battery. Chris ended up swapping one in, just to get it to drive on the trailer. But his good deed was not left unpunished, as his tow truck ended up popping a radiator while trying to escort it down to the mechanic. I think at this point, Chris was beginning to rethink his choices that brought him here. Day or so later he was able to get it down to the mechanic in Mountain View, who I had been corresponding with, so he could check it out and get it road worthy. I think this was Monday or Tuesday the 10th, I was flying in the 12th, hoped to pick it up the following Tuesday the 17th for my trip home.
With all that set, now just time to catch a plan to SFO and spend weekend in the wine county maxing out my Amex.
89 VW Jettarosa - #337 (11 motors later) <> 67 Mercedes 200 - #200, winner "most with the least" MSR Feb 11, IOE at MSR June 11 <> 88 Mercedes 560 SEL <> 76 Mercedes SLC - IOE at ECR March 13 <> now pimping performance parts for 1970-1980's Mercedes SEL, SEC, SL, SLC's