[Sem80-88]

I always loved the R129 SL and looked forward to the day I could find a decent example. The example I was looking for had to be before 1993 as after that the accountants took over at MB and the quality went down for a number of years and also upto 1993 they were hand assembled.
had been looking for number of when when a friend told me a knew of a good clean example one owner from new and it was a 500 and had the adaptive suspension which was must . I never wanted the V6 it had to be a V8.
So three years ago bought H919( reg no ) became mine. Over the years I have fixed the little things that needed to be fixed , upgraded the ICE, sourced the Lorinser 19 inch LM1 staggered alloys , Lorinser Exhaust and now its has gone for a respray as after 20 years it needed a bit of TLC

( mods please move the thread if it is the wrong section )

[Dippy]

Thats a great looking SL Sem80. The R129 is a personal favourite. Since you have started an ownership review, it would be nice if you put in more details of your ownership experience from the time you bought it till date. Looking forward to read more. I'm sure the other members would love that too.

[Sem80-88]

will do a full ownership experience and post new pics as the car is back from the bodyshop.

[n.devdath]

Thats a nice looking Merc. I have a slightly OT question though. Since the UK is RHD, like India, would it be possible import such an example at a reasonable price to India since the car is quite old in terms of the number of years of its age.

[Dippy]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Thats a nice looking Merc. I have a slightly OT question though. Since the UK is RHD, like India, would it be possible import such an example at a reasonable price to India since the car is quite old in terms of the number of years of its age.

Of course it can be imported. If he has owned the car in the UK for a couple of years he can bring it down with him under transfer of residence on his own name if and when he decided to come back to India for good.

[EP.]

Great car, majestic looking wheels Sem80-88, looking forward to your report. By the way, are you respraying the car to a different color?

[Sem80-88]

The car is being resprayed in its original colour. Want to keep it as close as possible to its original spec. I had to import the wheels from USA as I could not find them anywhere in UK and lorinser do not make the LM1 wheels anymore. Did not want to put new style wheels as they would not have gone with the age of the car and I think these suit the car. The exhaust is also a lorinser which I found after a year of searching. It has 15 mm H&R wheel spacers on the front axle and 20 MM H&R wheel spacers on the rear axle .
I have changed the front indicators from the original orange to the later white ones.
otherwise the car is standard.
I have thought of exporting the car to India on TR but have to find out that will it be cost effective. So if anyone can work out what the duty will be or if you know of a shipping agent in Mumbai who can work it out for me please point me in the right direction.
will post a detailed report soon.

[nandishpal]

you got a lovely car their sem80-80
i have a w140 s320,in total stock condition,i am keen to get these wheels or the AMG monoblocks,both he aero 1 & aero 2 are ok with me,i am looking at 18" for my car.i have been on a look out for a r129 sl500 for myself,found a good sl320 though in mint condition which is yet to be on sale,please give a detail report on the complete ownership to make it easy for all of us,

[V-16]

Great Car Sem80-88. Am a great fan of the R129 and have a 1991 SL300.24. Have had it since the last two or so years and it has bought only smiles to my face whenever driven. One thing though, i found that it has many components common with the W124, since its built on the W124 platform. I slso find that there are not many R129s in India, wonder why?

I am myself on the lookout for some serious looking wheels for my car as i feel the original rims it comes with do not do justice to the looks of the car.
Coming to the most important part, i have been getting spares from London regularly for my other Mercs as well. I was wondering if there are any specific and reliable, not to mention cost effective parts dealers in and around London, from where i would be able to source parts for the SL. I have been buying from various breakers but have not found a specialist. Could you share these details with me, either on the open forum or if you like on PM? Thanks in anticipation.

[Sem80-88]

The car has been back after its respray for some time now. Ricky at the bodyshop took a week to get the car done. He has done an excellent job took all the trim off to do the respray.
took a few pictures today
Did not get time to wash the car . It is a bit filthy

[Dippy]

Thanks for sharing the pictures. The car looks as good as new. The Lorinsers suit the car perfectly. The first two pictures are superb. Those headlight wiper just add that fine touch. Timeless Mercedes design. Period.

[Sem80-88]

A bit more about my R129
The the car was first registered in 1991 by the owner of a Mercedes garage in Essex . It's cost in 1991 was £ 80,250.00 including the extra's. The most expensive of which was the ADS suspension ( £ 3950.00 )
The car was sold in 2002 to another gentleman in London who used it as a weekend car. I bought the car in 2008 for just under £ 7000.00 ( yes I got a deal ) and the reason for that is the gentleman who owned it was giving up driving and wanted to sell it to someone who will look after her.
The car did need some work some of which I did and some was done by Highams Park Motor Company. The rear suspension spheres were replaced, all suspension bushes, tie rod ends, steering idler arm bushes, gearbox oil,diff oil, new brake pads all around with new rear discs, coolant changed, suspension oil changed, brake fluid replaced.
The car now purrs and puts a smile on my face every time I drive.

[Mpower]

Nice to see a new HU that doesnt stick out like a sore thumb in a older Mercedes. Which model Alipine is it?

Although I must say, booming subwoofer noises doesnt suit an elegant gentlemans car like the R129 SL. (

[Sem80-88]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Nice to see a new HU that doesnt stick out like a sore thumb in a older Mercedes. Which model Alipine is it?

The the HU is a Alpine IDA-S 305x

Although I must say, booming subwoofer noises doesnt suit an elegant gentlemans car like the R129 SL. (

I do not like booming noises as well just clean crisp sound. That's is the reason I am using the imprint processor as you just get a hint of the bass not the boy racer BOOM

[Sem80-88]

Since I moved to India at the end 2012 the SL was parked up. One thing for sure does not help these cars is being parked up and not driven. Was in in UK for 2 months and it was time to get the old girl back on the road.
The battery was the first item to be replaced . The car started up straight away but had a misfire on idle. Took it down to MBS Southampton for a service since I had taken all my tools to India in 2012.
MBS did the following work.
1. Oil Service
2. Brake Fluid Replaced
3. Front Springs Replaced ( one was cracked , replaced the pair )
4. Both the Distributer caps replaced
5. Fan Clutch ( Viscious Coupling ) replaced
6. Fuel Filter replaced

after all this was done the car had its MOT done and road tax paid
have been driving the car around with no problems.