1961 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class 190SL

Description for Mercedes-Benz 190-Series 1961

3rd party inspection comments
FINISH Appears to be all or nearly all original paint to the car. Various cracking, itting and patina is seen. Couple of spots on the top of the fenders that the paint is faded/wore down to almost the metal underneath. Paint is cracking and there are several spots of minor bubbling and surface rust forming, ith all that said reflective quality is reasonably nice. Visually, edium font print can be read in reflection from 8-10 inches away without too much distortion. Reflective quality is consistent panel by panel. Overall, ery nice considering it is a Survivor car, nd presents as a "20-30 footer" .
BODY Exterior body is visually straight looking down both sides. Hood and trunk open, lose, nd latch as designed. Line fitment is nice. Doors open, lose, nd latch as designed. Magnetic adhesion all around the body is sufficient. Bottoms of door corner skin lip seams look nice, ith minor/surface rot or decay. Jamb surfaces all appear to be in very nice condition, onvertible top assembly is in good condition for age. Canvas is still nice. Rear plastic window is heavily oxidized and faded correlating with the owner's statement of being original. NO prior damage appears to be present.
FRAME/FLOORS Frame appears to be solid for an unrestored unit. No bends, wists, iamonds were apparent. The floors appear to have some fairly considerable amount of rust and spots of deterioration present. No large areas look completely rotted thru but I would venture to say that a screwdriver and hammer would make pretty short order of the floors in this car. Floors will need to be replaced for a compete restore.
BODY MOUNTS Body mounts appeared to be original. They were cracked and mushroomed as one would expect on a car of this age.
BUMPERS Front and rear bumpers both appear to be original to the car. No major dents or damage was noted. They were actually in really good shape considering the age of this unrestored car. They did show heavy patina throughout that I do believe to be past the point of buffing out. However good solid bumpers that we be an easy re-chrome.
BRIGHT WORK Heavy pitting and patina throughout all the bright work on this car. However no major dents or damage was noted. Everything appeared straight and true and in place. Once again a great survivor quality OR an excellent candidate to restore as everything is present and accounted for and in very nice restorable shape.
GLASS No major cracks, r chips to speak of. Some light pitting was noted in the windshield as to be expected on a car this age. Side glass is clear. Seals are all aged, ill require replacement.
INTERIOR Interior appears to be original along with the rest of the car. All gauges, witches, tc appeared original to the car. Steering wheel was in very nice shape with no major cracks in it rim or stems. Driver's door handle has pulled free from the door itself, eeding repair. The seats had no rips or tears and appeared to be original. The shifter needs a boot of some sort as the base of the shifter rattles against the undercarriage of the car going down the road. The speedometer cable appears to making noise as well. Nothing major, nd issues to be expected on a car of this age. Original dash had no major sunfade or cracks. Behind the seats was a cardboard cover of some sort that has major cracks and tears as noted in the picture. Factory original radio was present and in working order.
WHEELS Original steel wheels and hubcaps and beauty rings. No major curb rash, r dents, ends to speak of.
TIRES Fronts - Dunlop Axion 185/ 80/13 had inconsistent wear like the front end needs alignment 70-80% tread remaining. Rear - Mastercraft Radial 185/80/13's, ith about 80-90% tread remaining.
FRONT SUSPENSION Appears to be all original. Some wear noted in rubber boots on upper and lower ball joints. Some dry rot and decay on lower shock bushings, ll to be expected on an unrestored car of this age.
EXHAUST Appears to be original or duplicate thereof. No obvious leaks were noted and car ran quietly.
REAR END Known as a "Swing Axle" set up, EM solid rear axle with control arms. From what I could tell it appears to be in good working order, o noises coming from it while driving, inimal leakage from the diff, ppeared to be original and complete.
IGNITION/CHARGING Appears to be all original with an aftermarket battery in place. All wiring appears to be original and in good working order. Car started and idled nicely with no hesitation.
TRANSMISSION Appears to be original to the car, hifted nicely with no binding felt in the linkage going between gears. All 4 gears shifted up and down nicely, o excessive leaking noted from underneath. As stated previously the shifter boot needed replace as it hits against the body while driving. Some bushing wear is seen in the shifter linkage.
BRAKES Brakes operated as they should, o excessive pull when applied and stopped the car easily.
HOSES/BELTS Hoses and belts all appeared to be in good working order. No leaks were noted and no major cracking was noted on any of the belts.
RUBBER COMP. SEALS All rubber seals needed replace, ll were weather checked and hard.
ENGINE/ENGINE BAY Engine started and ran nicely with no hesitation. 1.9L 4 Cyl with dual Solex Carbs. Radiator looked to be leaking and some corrosion was noted in the pics. No excessive leaks under the car. Engine appeared to be correct for the car. Oil was at the proper level and no grit was noted in the oil between my fingers. Coolant level was full as well and maintained a clean green color.
TRUNK COMP. Trunk compartment was fairly clean and original in appearance. The factory jack was present and in place. Unable to determine if the spare was original to the car or not. Seal needs replacement as it is weather checked and cracked, ome rot and rust was noted in the floor and may need updating if restoring car.On Sep-14-15 at 07:00:12 PDT, eller added the following information:

This car is in Orlando, ot Delray Beach. I forgot to change this when creating the ad.