It’s a shame when someone gets a project and can’t find the time or interest to get started on it. Of course, if you’re a GM guy and you get handed a vintage Mercedes-Benz, it’s understandable if you’re not fired up to work on it. The seller claims it hasn’t run in 20 years, and it sounds like it somehow ended up in his lap versus he went out and tried to find a rare C107-chassis fixed roof coupe. This 1976 Mercedes-Benz 450SLC is listed here on Facebook Marketplace for just $2,000, and thanks goes to Barn Finds reader Terry for the tip.
This is one of those cars that’s just rare enough that it shouldn’t be scrapped, but it’s hard to justify heavy investment in the car relative to its value in the marketplace. It’s a shame, but the C107 coupe suffers the same effect as the likes of the C3 Corvette where sheer production volume hurts the bottom line. You can find oodles of R107 convertibles for sale on a daily basis, which were produced at a far higher volume than the coupe. Still, most people don’t see the difference, especially since the coupe and convertible are identical save for the roof configuration.
To the seller’s credit, he includes this photo of the interior stripped out, which is doesn’t appear to be in other photos. Did he pull all of this material out for the purpose of showing how should it is? Or was this from a previous owner who embarked on an ambitious plan to restore it before abandoning it at a local shop? I can see plenty of surface rust and a few holes, so it seems likely that you’ll need to address floor repair at some point. This SLC is full of mystery as it relates to who owned it and whether they were planning on a proper overhaul before work stopped.
While it’s simply a matter of a hardtop versus a soft top, the effect is significant to my eyes in terms of creating a far more attractive car in SLC form. The slimmer European-style chrome bumpers would transform the looks dramatically, but I’m worried some level of bodywork will take precedence as there appears to be some rust poking through right above the taillights. The seller is not asking much for this V8-equipped coupe, which could make it worth the risk for someone who’s been hunting for the elusive hardtop version.
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