It is hard to believe that lurking in this garage is a classic sports car that, in its heyday, was one of the fastest production vehicles on the planet. It is the 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster, and since those glory days, this particular car has fallen on hard times. It is now in need of a full restoration, and while this is not going to be a cheap or easy proposition, it is one that is well worth consideration. The 300SL is located in Los Angeles, California, and has been listed for sale here at the Beverley Hills Car Club. The asking price for this classic has been set at $799,995.
Had Mercedes-Benz been left to their own devices, there is a very real possibility that the 300SL would never have been built. The car was actually the brainchild of American Mercedes importer, Max Hoffman. He envisaged what was essentially a road-going version of the highly successful W194 Sports Race Car. Hoffman attended a Mercedes-Benz Director’s meeting and pitched his idea. Initially, there was some reticence on the part of Mercedes, but when Hoffman placed an initial order for 1,000 cars, the wheels were set in motion. The 300SL “Gullwing” Coupe was introduced in 1954 and remained in production until 1957. The roadster first appeared in 1957 and was offered until 1963. This particular car is 1-of-256 built during the 1961 model year. The owner also claims that it is 1-of-101 cars that were finished in Light Blue during the Roadster’s entire production run. I haven’t been able to confirm this conclusively, but given the fact that total build numbers over the 6-year production run amounted to a mere 1,458 cars, then this is entirely possible. It isn’t clear just how long this car had been sitting in that garage, but it appears as though it has been many decades. The environment hasn’t been ideal for the preservation of classic metal, and there is rust to be seen in numerous locations around the vehicle. The owner provides no information on the state of the floors, or the vitally important space-frame, but given the overall deterioration of the vehicle, I would be banking on finding more than a few issues under the car. However, given the potential value of the 300SL once restored, the reality is that bringing it back to its best will require it to be dismantled down to the last nut and bolt anyway. Therefore, that will provide ample opportunity to rectify any issues to the highest standard. As I said, this won’t be a job for the faint-hearted, and it will require a pretty fat wallet as a starting point.
The interior of a 300SL Roadster was quite a subdued environment, and it really didn’t hint at just how potent the vehicle was. The only real giveaway for the occupants was the process of climbing aboard the car over exceptionally wide sills, and occupants then finding themselves sitting incredibly low in the car. When you looked at the dash it hinted at some sporting pretensions but didn’t indicate that you were in control of a car that had the potential to nudge 160mph. The interior of this Mercedes has suffered from some pretty severe levels of deterioration, and its cause hasn’t been helped by the fact that the shredded top has offered absolutely no protection. Replacing the upholstered surfaces should be a pretty straightforward proposition, but my concern revolves around the abundance of corrosion visible across many of the metal surfaces, in particular, the plated ones. This suggests that the garage has been pretty damp, and may be an indication that items such as wiring, switches, and relays, might also have a big question mark hanging over them.
Lifting the hood on the Mercedes reveals what makes this car not only a giant-killer but also a ground-breaker. A 2,996cc OHC six-cylinder engine doesn’t sound like anything particularly spectacular, and it probably wasn’t until Mercedes chose to fit it with Bosch mechanical direct fuel injection. This boosted the power output of the Benz engine to the tune of 50%, with 250hp now on tap for the driver. This power found its way to the rear wheels via a 4-speed manual transmission, while proceedings were brought to a halt by power-assisted drum brakes. Mercedes were serious about extracting every ounce of performance potential from the 300SL, and to provide a car with a low and aerodynamic nose, the engine was canted over at an incredible 50 degrees. This achieved one objective but provided another headache because the engine now faced potential issues due to the difficulty of supplying adequate engine oil for lubrication. The solution to this issue was actually elegantly simple. The 300SL was fitted with a racing-inspired dry-sump lubrication system. This system provided two distinct benefits. The first was the fact that the engine now found itself receiving a consistent supply of oil, regardless of the prevailing conditions. The second was that the removal of the traditional oil pan allowed Mercedes to mount the engine even lower in the car, reducing the frontal height of the car still further. It isn’t clear just how healthy, or otherwise, the drive-train is in this 300SL, but the simple fact is that even if the engine turns freely, then the best course of action would be to treat everything to a thorough check and a rebuild. This is a car where there really isn’t any room for compromise in its restoration. When you consider the potential value of the 300SL Roadster, everything will need to be done properly. What will only serve to help the potential value of the car is not only the fact that it is a numbers-matching classic, but that it comes with a fully documented history. This includes all sales documentation, Owner’s Manuals, and a full service history.
Restoring this Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster is not going to be for the faint-hearted, and with the importance of a meticulous level of attention to detail, it promises to be something of a monster for the next owner. It also promises to be a fairly expensive exercise that should find its way into six-figure territory pretty easily. Couple this with a high initial asking price, and the word “cheap” doesn’t seem to enter the vocabulary on any level. However, the end result of a meticulous and detailed restoration process will not only see someone owning one of the most iconic sports cars to ever grace our roads, but they will also own a vehicle that should quite easily command a value of somewhere between $1,250,000 and $1,500,000. From a financial perspective, it looks like it is a project that makes sense, but sometimes restoring a classic car is as much about reviving a beautifully engineered and desirable vehicle, as it is about the almighty dollar.
Thanks Adam. Boxing Day gold.
To make a small fortune restoring this you need to start with a large one! Still, this is automotive holy grail and it merits a full resto.
Great writeup as always, Adam. Where to start, first off so sad to see this Amazing Benz in such condition. Next the price–800 large?? Is this car worth that coupled with resto costs?? This is a jaw dropping piece, sure do hope it gets into good hands. Resto would be for someone with unlimited funds. Would be great to see restored. Yep, Boys, there
If it’s so valuable then why don’t one of the very rich BHCC members restore it?? Or are they looking for a quick flip???
Beverley Hills Hair Club is neither a club nor in Beverly Hills. Cute name, probably fooled people when they were new, and apparently sometimes still do.
This car does not fit my modus operandi at all. If I had 800K to spend on old cars, I’d first buy a building capable of holding say, 25 cars, so probably 200K spent there. Next, I’d get a nice lift or two installed, with plenty of tools and a fridge. There’s another 50K maybe.
Next, I’d buy a lot of really nice 15K-25K cars, which I see everyday on the internet. I’m convinced that (with a few exceptions) nearly any nice classic car you can name can be purchased for around $15,000. So there I’d be in my building, pulling a beer out of the fridge, looking at my new collection of 25 nice Javelins, LeMans, Newports, Rivieras, Chargers, Impalas, Citroens, Galaxies, Skylarks, VWs, etc.
Meanwhile someone in LA has a rustbucket 800K 300SL that’s gonna take a few years and an assload of money to restore.
you need an award for this post. Very well put! far better ways to spend 800K than for something, by its condition, that someone else felt was worthless.
You’re absolutely right, Rex. That’s what 99.9% of us would do.
But the rich – they are not like you and me.
That was great!
Being in the car ‘bidness’ I know there’s a strata of ups that will ponder the 995 part of the price….& buy it. Thank goodness there’s a $500.00 Volvo sitting in the background to bring us all back down to earth.
Quite a coincidence to see a 300SL here as I earlier today saw a 300SL Gullwing driving right here in my neighborhood. I’ve never seen one moving other than when I saw Mille Miglia coming through Parma last spring.
As a side note, back in the summer of 1981 I was working as a Gopher at my dad’s uncle’s car dealership in Ornskoldsvik Sweden where I met a guy who invited me over to come to see his car collection. The guy clearly knew what he liked, I’m thinking there were somewhere between 5-10 300SL, one -63 Corvette Stingray and the rest were all Bugattis. Even back then it was an unfathomable fortune in those cars. I’ve been wondering who the guy was who had such a collection in such an unexpected location, and of course if the cars are still locked away up there or if they have been sold off and spread around the world.
Yeah, but the eventual end buyer for this car would sneer at your choice of cars. To each his own, if you are ever lucky enough to be able to do what you speak of, good for you. I think you will enjoy it more too.
I like Mercedes-Benz cars, I really liked my ’60 190, and wouldn’t think of sneering at anyone’s choice of make. But having resurrected some 8 cars in the last 7 years, I am well aware of what it takes (both in labor and materials) to bring any old car back to life.
My point was simply that one could spend 900K on one rusty car and then spend the same to restore it, or spend half of that on any combination of 25 European or American or Japanese or Swedish or whatever cars and enjoy them right now. I highly doubt there would be any sneering at any of the cars that could come to mind. Here’s the car I cruised this afternoon, I paid 6000 for it, and probably put another 5000 to get it into tip-top running order. 11K total…Sneer that.
Unfortunately people who sneer are also often those who’s fenders get “keyed.”
What the H happened to that car? The 55 year old paper bills are in better condition. Jumpin Jehoshaphat!
From what I have read online the BHCC has a, shall we say. less than stellar reputation.
So a practically junkyard quality, albeit legitimately rare, ’61 300sl is being sold by them for over 3/4 of a million dollars.
Cuidado hombres……imho
Bah – I wouldn’t give them more than $699,995 for this car…
Nah, I’d give them $750k, not a penny more.
A car this valuable allowed to deteriorate to that condition, and offered at that price in said condition, listed here??? Something doesn’t add up. It’s previous owner must have been sent to prison for a long stretch is the only reason I can think of, that a car as valuable as this would be left in such dilapidated storage…or else its been stolen a long time ago and it’s owner has been dead for some time.
Cars like this weren’t always particularly valuable. I have several friends with rare and valuable muscle cars that have been rat holed in the back of a garage of shop for decades. One is a 33 Willy’s that’s been parked under a covered patio in the SF Bay Area since the late-60’s. I have a friend with a couple of matching number Z28’s, two 69’s and one 68 that have been parked in the corner of a shop since the late-80’s. Onother friend has a 1957 Nomad and 1957 Chevy 150 business coupe that he bought both in the late-60’s, his wife has a red 55 T-bird that she drove in high school, they were all parked in his garage in the late-70’s when they started a family. He retired about 5 years ago and started working on them, the T-bird is now finished and the Nomad will be finished by next summer then it will be the business coupes turn. It’s easy to forget that people have lives and sometimes cars don’t come first, it’s too bad they sometimes aren’t taken care of, but unfortunately that’s how things work. It’s just life.
Steve R
While the cars you mention are nice collectible cars, the Mercedes here was always very valuable, being extremely expensive when new because of its limited production.
@Terry, If you have a lot of money to start with, it is just a car. Here in the upper Midwest, I see high end new cars driven all winter in the slush and snow. You and I would treat something like this as being precious, but really rich people, do not care. That is maybe how something like this rotted away, though I do like the cool idea of some nefarious person rotting in prison for decades as his car lingered unloved. Maybe though, just a rich old dude with equally rich kids, croaked and the kids having all the money they will ever need, just ignored it. Sure would be nice to hear the story on this. Hey, that might make a good web site. Ya know, old car stories.
say hello to my little friend!
So someone allows this car to become automotive compost and now wants 800 large. Only in America.
No, someone allowed this car to become automotive compost, probably sold it for 300-400K to BHCC, and those guys are trying to hit a home run. Those guys are known for exotic junkers, so this fits them well. I’d be shocked if they get 600K.
The car looks like it was at least a little worn out and beat up when it was parked. One receipt from 1970 says 70,000 miles, so it was definitely driven a lot. It’s so rusty that very little if any sheet metal will be original once it’s restored, which I’m sure will happen.
Dumbest buy ever. Get something easier to restore for less that will fetch a better profit. You could spend 200k in a rare Daytona or Vette and double your money or more. Buy the Mercedes for almost 1m, spend 300 more over 5 years and get 1.5.
This is sad. Who could let a car like this deteriorate to that level? Good luck getting anywhere near that number.
Not sure how you would turn a good profit on this car. 800,000 to buy it. Here the tax is 56,000. Just like a house in the high end zip code everything will cost you double or triple. Even doing all of the work yourself your time is worth something. The doors might be the best body panel still there.
A 318 Poly head would make wonder!
There’s nobody out there with more than three brain cells to rub together who will meet that 800k ask.(not even in new money/dumb money Beverly Hills) That being said…I’m sure they’ll gleefully accept 150k in a black gym bag.(discreetly of course) The hood…trunk…and doors appear salvageable.I would go carbon fiber with the front clip…front and rear panels…and the tub. LED lighting…and two-motor full electric drive train. Keep purchase price and restomod at or under 800k…flip for 1.2m.
Doors, hood, trunk lid are aluminum. All the rest is steel.
As my pit bull would say “RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ruff ruff ruff.” Whoa. That shot of the engine bay reveals rust THROUGH the top of the driver’s fender. How much must reside on the rest of this Benz? Also, between the as-found indoor photo and the reveal photo, it looks as if someone pulled the grille out of it’s cavity and one bumper overrider now points a few degrees down from where it once was. I’m sure this car won’t go to the crusher, but Leno and Carolla already have theirs.
Great write up Adam, this is what I love about this forum. You have stimulated and urged the lively art of conversation. We, the readers, benefit from learning and experiencing from varied opinion. Win-Win.
Read thru the docs, this car was purchased by a Colonel. Sad to see it go to the BHCC gang. Back in my day there was one parked on a cul de sac. I knew it was valuable and asked about it. At 20 years old I had bought a dozen cars by then. That would have been the one to keep!
What an amazing car-left to deteriorate to an incredible waste. The underside of that car holds some scary realizations I’m sure. Based on the photos-this looks like an upper northeast car—surely the garage did very little to keep the car preserved. Kudos to the next owner and anyone who attempts to bring this one back to glory..
A few years ago, I picked up a Triumph TR6 from a fella who had purchased it from BHCC a few years earlier. What a POS! Frame was full of rot. He bought the Six sight unseen–first mistake–and when it was delivered, he soon realized it was beyond his capabilities. I made the individual a reasonable offer for the non-running car which he accepted. If memory serves correct, he paid $5-6K and I paid around $1K for it. I got the engine to run and sold it for a modest profit to a fella who needed a parts car. Win-Win for the next buyer and me, but sadly a loss for the BHCC buyer. Lesson learned: Never buy a car unless you inspect it personally–or hire a reputable person to provide an accurate assessment. Approach it with eyes wide open and don’t kid yourself into thinking this is the “last one”. The only exception to this rule is if there is a personal connection to the car, such as it having been owned by a family member and your desire is to keep the car in the family.
That 50° canted engine is interesting. I imagine a lot was learned about dry-sump lubrication from the Messerschmidt me109. They installed that engine upside down, with the crank at the top.
(Wiki: The Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine, built during World War II, was used from 1942 to 1945 in the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter, … In other ways the engine was essentially identical to the 601, being a 12-cylinder, inverted-V (with the crankshaft above the cylinders) …)
Who’s going to find the next one? They are out there, languishing!
Absolutely no question this car will be bought and restored. The provenance, originality,relative rarity, iconic status and completeness will guarantee that as it’s future. The price it changes hands at may not approach this BHCC ask but will be steep. Top quality restoration shops will compete to be chosen for the very expensive work ahead. Even with almost 1500 produced during its run every one that exists still command a high price relative to condition. And every one of them still stop traffic anytime they are seen on the road.
Certainly out of the financial capability of most working mortals these cars are out there being driven in cruises and rallies and often parked at a weekend car show in many places around the country.
There are not many of us car-centric people that would not want to have one appear in our garage.
A sad, sad story..
They are asking waaaaaaaay too much for this roadster, but thats’ what BHCC does with their listings. I think a more realistic price would be in the $200k range at best, considering that one could easily sink $1 mil into this car to do the job right.
I miss those ‘good ol’ days back in the mid-’60’s when you get a nice Gullwing for $3-5k, and would not have to sweat driving it on the street as you daily driver (I enjoyed mine for 2-years before parting with it).
Yep, in 1965, I had the opportunity to buy a Gullwing for $4,000 US. I decided not to because it would’ve had to my daily driver. I owned a pretty 190SL at the time, and new that driving these cars in the winter was not a good proposition.
My 1958 190SL had never been driven in the salt, but I still had to have pin hole rust repaired in both front fenders.
Looking at the engine compartment, I shudder to imagine how badly it is rusted everywhere else.
It is certainly restorable, it is only a matter of money.
All that considered, it was an awesome car in its day.
BTW, $4,000 in 1965 dollars, is the equivalence of $32,000 in today’s dollars.
Bob
Not too bad for $79,995.
Oh, wait…
This poor car sat in classic car Hell & Perdition for far too long IMHO. Who in their right mind would allow this to happen to such a fine automobile?
I’m saddened by this kind of neglect.
Bob
Now unfortunately it’s a very expensive rust bucket. It may have been stolen, left unclaimed and abandoned is the only reason I can think of.
From the letters it seems that he was not knowledgeable about maintaining a car and didn’t expect the amount of maintenance and expense that a car like this would require. I can almost understand why the Colonel or someone else just parked it and let it sit after reading through all of the service receipts. The car was in the shop being serviced every few days it seems, and to add to the aggravation, someone at the shop stole some items out of the trunk. No matter how much you might like a car, if the time, money, and aggravation becomes too much the enjoyment of ownership goes away and the car becomes a nuisance. He might have attempted to sell it and got no decent offers so just parked it.
This made me chuckle. If you look closely at one of the Ussery letters, evidently the Colonel actually wanted to dicker on the dealer’s asking price of the car. Even in 1963, I would guess these cars commanded MSRP or higher and only a fool would go in expecting to make a “deal.” Maybe on the Studebaker side of the store, but not the M-B! How many of these would be allotted per dealer to begin with?
Its funny to look at those receipts and see that someone brought a 300SL to Sears for service. Also that letter with detailed pencil drawings outraged that Sears’ convertible top did not fit the car. The service receipts for less than five dollars are pretty funny but as someone pointed out, 12.99 in 1965 was about $100 today. It probably added up to a money pit back then.
Out of my league… I truly do not understand why this is worth so much. But what a lucky seller… Enjoy your cash. I am sure you have not enjoyed this car very much.
Won’t get anywhere near that for it. Price as bait to see how much a buyer will go Or scare them off. This isn’t a how bad do you want it car but the seller sitting and waiting and hoping to get lucky. Maybe $100,000 which still is a lot of money for what you’re getting now, not then.
if the ‘gul wing’ would it B worth more, but still only 1.2 this price…
Mercs are nice.
But, even if I won a large lottery, I would not buy this car.
The rust appears so integrated into this cars’ being that a jolt could cause disintegration of what looks like a fender, bumper, or door jamb.
So I mean no rudeness to Adam, but this car does not seem to be worth much at all…
Buy for $800 large, spend Fort Knox to fix, and then what ?
Wait three lifetimes for it to bring $1.5 at a $100k loss.
Nope.
Again ,I do not mean to be rude.
matt
It’s not rude to call a spade a spade. I’m no expert, but a rust bucket for just short of a million? No way! I wouldn’t care if Jesus used to own it.
It’s probably easy to say that Alex (Alex Manos, Owner, Beverly Hills Car Cub) is a little over the top on this one but it is of a special nature, and if you intend to keep the car for a long time go ahead and do it, at Mercedes in Wittier California, spend the big number and have something really which separates you from the herd. There aren’t many of these around no matter what condition they are in, and yes, include the Volvo as a package deal, the car to drive while you are waiting for the Mercedes to be finished.
Don’t laugh. It’s the only approach here, and don’t worry about Alex’s reputation. Alex sells project cars in various states of existence; bring your sense of humor and remember that the beginning price is not the price.
Rex, the person who buys this already has a building bigger than what you’ve described, and has it full of their favorite cars. A wise man once told me, “remember, when you’re rich, every day is Saturday “ . He’s bored, he wants something else to do, And realizes that this is a major commitment of time, funds and energy, whether your doing the labor or just writing checks. He’s smart , likely will pay nowhere near the ridiculous asking price for this. They really don’t care if they break even or looses a little If or when it sells. He OR she just wants to point at it and say “lookee what I did !!! “ some people just get off on the big project. BH probably doesn’t own this car and is just being the broker here. But hey, you can ask anything you want.
The classic car restoration business community is small. There are really only a handful of dealers that specialize in restorable classic cars in the US. I’ve visited nearly all of them and purchased from a few of them. I’ve been to BHCC twice to look at about a dozen cars and the level of… marketing license taken on the cars I saw was huge…sort of like the location of the dealership itself. BHCC buys a lot of cars in the East and ships them out west, which explains why the garage images here don’t look like California. (Homer Herndon was a shop in Tampa, so that’s a plus) Fortunately, for a lot of buyers, pictures are worth a lot and they do take a lot of pictures. And this car looks like it comes with a lot of records, although 50 year old records don’t mean much when it comes to the condition of the car. I’m not sure how this car got to BHCC, but I am pretty sure that the price doubled once it arrived. I would start at about half of asking price, assuming you have another million to put into the restoration.
Really now…. a flipper can’t lose. Dump some oil in das cylinders, crank it over. Put some fuel to the rail & juice to the coils & if it doesn’t start send it to Benz, they’ll buy it no prob.
A true Christmas Miracle. Another 300SL emerges from the stable.
It would probably end up costing more than $800K to restore this car – probably well over $100K just to get the engine running. People who can do the kind of work required to do the body resto are VERY expensive – it will take someone on the level of Moal Coachworks to bring this rustbucket back. I doubt if Wayne Carini would even touch this at 1/2 the price.
Me thinks they’ve moved the decimal point 2 places too far…Hoping to reel in a fish!
Possibly the seller’s $799K figure refers to the estimated resoration costs, not the cost of buying this sad sack Benz. There are precious few restoration shops out there that are able to properly take on a project of this magnitude. This one maybe best suited ti be sent back to M-B for the restore work. I’d sure like to see this diamond in the rough when [if] it’s finished
Now if the seller included a complete restoration for that nearly 1 million, even that might be too high. As it is, the body would just about have to be remade..before you even get to the rest of the car.
Hemmels could/might tackle this as well. Most likely a re body but retain the aluminum and body tags. It would technically end up being a clone of it’s former self. Would love to see the blue body, blue steel wheels and hubcaps with painted blue centers.
Barn Finds Holiday Joke.
This is a parts car.
Get real people.
Beyond saving
..interesting comments to say the least !!
As a Ford driver (and big MB fan-esp 230s – owned two ) this car is at a level all its own. Agreed it’s going to take a truck load of money and time but it’s beyond being a car now and more a ‘work of art’
Someone with more money than a lot of us will get it sorted – it’ll win prizes at say Pebble Beach or Phoenix then go into a well healed collection somewhere on the planet. Lucky them !!
More importantly for me at least-it gets saved and restored. Even in this condition it’s a stunner !
Looks like the Colonel was a piece of work–and this is the opinion of an Army brat. The car went from being serviced at the M-B in the northeast to random service at Sears & Roebuck within 8 years. Then there is the matter of the top not fitting properly and a letter to Sears. In these pre-internet days it is still amazing to see how much back-and-forth the owner did writing letters to explain he and his wife’s emotions over a car that would call for so much pampering. Maybe the sale price now in 2019 should be paid out to all the aggravated technicians, service advisers, parts counter employees, repair shops and Sears catalog minions who got a dose of the Colonel’s grand elocution?
This was likely acquired by one of the companies in Europe that specialize in restoring and maintaining these cars. Their primary interest will be the advertising value which comes from touring it around on the European show circuit. Their concern will not be an eventual profit from restoring and selling the car. The exposure gained is well worth the $800k (or whatever) cost of acquisition. At least this has been the case with similar 300SL barn finds in the past — and this one is on a different level as an eye-catching art object – as it stands.
I’ve seen pictures of one of these in Cuba with Beetle bumpers and lights on it. I worked at the M-B restoration shop in Camden, NJ in the late Seventies. We had a metal guy who rebuilt the body on a Gullwing. I see myself tearing down the car to the frame and body shell and giving to him for about 6 months. I can still hear him in the back. Tink, tink, tink all day long. I also see spending 1.5 to 2 million for a 1.2 car!
Amazingly, BHCC has listed the vehicle as sold. No selling price mentioned, so I wonder how much it actually took.
Wonder if the buyer/new owner will be restoring to the highest standard — Sears Roebuck convertible top, Sears motor oil, JC Whitney seat covers, Pep Boys tires…..
Little cars LMFAO!!! So true!
Cheers
GPC