At $11,500, Is This LT1-Powered 1982 Mercedes 380SL a Deal?

Right now’s Good Worth or No Cube 380SL carries an unassuming shock below its hood; an LT1 out of a Corvette. Let’s see if its price ticket leaves us simply as shocked.

When Tina Turner’s Aunty Entity first encounters Mad Max in Bartertown previous to his bout within the Thunderdome she scoffs at his look. After trying him up and down, Aunty summarily dismisses Max, declaring “he’s only a raggedy man.” Lots of you had the same impression upon seeing yesterday’s 1984 Honda Civic CRX. Its sun-worn look and non-operational registration standing proved cautionary and known as the vendor’s $7,500 asking worth into query. In the end, that resulted in an 80 % No Cube loss.

This previous weekend I attended an Octoberfest occasion at our native cidery. It was a wild mixture of lagers and lederhosen, however I’ve to say that the spotlight was the wiener canine races. That’s the sort of sausage fest that’s enjoyable for the entire household. At the very least so long as they’re all of ingesting age.

Together with dachshunds, shorts with suspenders, and beer, Germany is thought for its automotive firms. In truth, the nation’s carmakers are typically thought-about to construct a number of the best-engineered autos on the planet. However that doesn’t imply these automobiles can’t be made even higher.

This 1982 Mercedes-Benz R107 started life as a 380SL, powered by a 155 horsepower 3839 cc version of the M116 V8. Mercedes supplied the all-alloy SOHC engine in U.S. market automobiles from 1981 by means of 1985 as a solution to make them extra fuel-efficient and emissions-compliant as was the necessity on the time, however the engine’s efficiency proved mediocre.

The corporate changed the small V8 with the bigger 5.6 liter starting with the 1986 mannequin yr, however that solely managed to bump energy to 227 horses. Our two-seat Benz has a 350 CID LT1 V8 taken from a 1994 Chevy Corvette which, if nothing has been misplaced in translation, ought to be capable to muster about 300 ponies. As Homer Simpson may say: woo-hoo, hee-hee, ho-ho, oh my.

In keeping with the advert, the engine swap introduced alongside the Corvette’s 4L80E four-speed computerized transmission and Chevy ECU. The vendor says the latter was “reprogrammed to accommodate the burden and gearing variations of the Mercedes.” A customized oil pan was welded up for the V8 to clear the R107’s entrance cross member and nonetheless permit the hood to be totally shut.

Together with the engine swap, the automotive is claimed to have had an expert respray. That seems to be the manufacturing facility purple if the door jambs and engine bay are to be believed. All of it seems fairly respectable, apart from the black eyelashes painted on the cornering lamp lenses. The manhole cowl wheels additionally look to be in nice form and fortunately aren’t chrome-plated. The automotive comes with its arduous and gentle tops, however we solely see the previous in use. The diving platforms disguised as bumpers additionally seem to have respectable rubber.

The cabin reveals a bit extra put on and tear, with noticeable crazing on the seat upholstery, a splash toupee, and a few mismatched wooden on the console being probably the most egregious offenders. Remarkably, the transmission is ready to be operated through the unique Mercedes shifter.

The vendor says the automotive runs and drives nice, regardless of having been in storage for the previous 10 years. Now it’s claimed to wish a superb residence with somebody who will truly train it. Per the vendor, it comes with a clear title and a suspiciously-low 14,700 miles on the clock. That mileage is sort of a puzzler however the odometer is six barrels and it’s arduous to consider it’s gone all the best way across the horn. Both method, the Corvette mill breathes new (or not less than somewhat extra) life into the previous Benz.

What ought to one thing like this moderately price? The vendor is asking $11,500, and that quantity is outwardly a latest worth discount. What do you suppose? Is it a deal at that asking? Or, ought to the vendor carry on dropping?

You determine!

Kalispell, Montana, Craigslist, or go right here if the advert disappears.

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