1990 Mercedes Benz 500 SL (R129)

1990 Mercedes Benz 500 SL (R129)Marquee History:The Mercedes Benz SL class is a Grand Touring sports car manufactured by Mercedes since 1954.The designation SL derives from the Greman Super-Leicht(Super Light)The R129 model was the first convertible/roadster to offer the 'automatic rollbar' deployment in event of rollover. The motorist can also manually raise and lower the rollbar should he or she choose to. This facilitates the clean look of the R129 without compromising the occupant's safety. Features:ADS (Adaptive Damping System)Automatic extending roll-over barPower Windows, Seats, Mirrors and hydraulic automatic top. Beautiful Tan leather interior equipped with an array of amenities including Air Conditioning, Lumbar Support, Air Bags, Tilt/Telescopic Wheel, Heated Seats and AM/FM Stereo! Automated (electro-hydraulic), collapsible soft top, with a shell-like, colour-matched, tonneau cover. All R129s came standard with an aluminium detachable hardtop that was fitted by folding the canvas roof down and manually attaching the hardtop. Engine:Powering this Roadster is a M119 5.0L 32-valve DOHC V8 (322 hpMedia Attention:The R129 received heightened media attention in Great Britain in 1991 when Diana, Princess of Wales sold her Jaguar XJS to lease a metallic-red 500 SL and became the first member of the royal family to use a foreign car. This was not without controversy as it sparked a media storm as it questioned whether a member of the British royal family should drive a foreign car. Media pressure eventually forced her to return the car to Mercedes-Benz in 1992, with whom it now resides in the Mercedes-Benz Museum.My Ownership History:A family members son was stationed in Hawaii where he was recovering from gunshot wounds while deployed in Iraq(Marines). During the final stages of his recovery he bought this Mercedes and drove it around the island for several months.He enjoyed the car so much that after he fully recovered, he had the vehicle transported back to the States with him.While in the States he drove the car for a short time then he fell in love with a heavily customized 4 wheel drive vehicle so he donated the Mercedes to his Dad (Stacky).Stacky drove the vehicle around town for several months and by this time it was needing some basic maintenance work so he took it to a local Benz dealership and asked them to completely evaluate the vehicle because he was considering long term ownership.The Dealer checked the car over and gave Stacky a list of maintenance items needed as well as other items he might want to address if he was thinking about keeping the vehicle for a long time. Over the next year he had the Dealership go thru the car from bumper to bumper and his total expenditure was almost $30,000.I told Stacky he would never get all of his money back if he ever decided to sell the car and he said “I'll never sell this vehicle, it's very special to me because my son gave it to me and it reminds me of my son's near death experience”Roll forward one year and Stacky was diagnosed with Liver Cancer.The cancer treatments stole all of his energy and his mobility was very limited so he had to leave the car in his garage. Occasionly he would start it up and let it run for a while to keep things lubercated.Things got so bad he eventually had to stop making trips to the garage.Three years later he lost his battle with Cancer.Stacky's wife and son knew I had a classic car hobby and asked me if I wanted to buy the car before they put it up for sale to the public.We agreed on a price and I accquired the vehicle.Due to the vehicle sitting in his garage for three years and not being driven my plan was to evaluate the current condition of the vehicle before I tried to move it. After my initial eval verything looked ok, fluids, mechanical items, etc …I replaced the battery, all the fluids and tried to start the car. It started, didn't idle well but it ran well enough for me to drive the car to it's new home.During this period of my life I was a couple of months from Retiring so I was spending a lot of time tinkering with my classic car collection and my wife asked me “You are retiring soon and you always have your head under one of these cars and we talked about traveling but I don't see how with the responsibility of your classic car hobby so I'm proposing you sell all of your collection and purchase Only ONE vehicle, is there one vehicle that can hold your interest for a long time?”I thought about what she said for a couple of days and during supper one night I said “You're right, at this stage of my life I need to downsize and focus on one vehicle. I've thought about it and there is one Special vehicle I would love to own and it would easily hold my interest for a very long time – an early 70's Detomaso Pantera”Of course she had no idea what that was so we spent the rest of the night looking online and researching Panteras. During the last few years Pantera prices have risen dramatically but my wife and I set a price and I told her if I could find one in that price range I would agree to sell my collection.Roll forward 6 months and I located one 60 minutes from my house, a 1974 Pantera LThe next day I inspected the car and was please with it's condition and price so I purchased the vehicle.I parked the Pantera in my garage next to the Mercedes and started the long journey of preparing my classic car collection to be sold as soon as possible and to motivate me to only concentrate on selling my collection my wife said “You can't work on your Pantera until you sell ALL of your collection” I reluctantly agreed …The process of selling my collection took a lot longer than I expected but currently the only car remaining is the 500SL. I kept it until last thinking I could talk my wife into letting me keep it but alas she stuck to our original plan so it's time to sell and sell quickly because I'm anixous to get started on my Pantera. Vehicle condition:Overall I've spent very little time on the car but it starts, runs and drives.The main issue is it's been sitting up too long and needs someone to completely go thru the vehicle to ensure everythings OK before confidently putting it one the road.Whomever buys this vehicle is getting a solid car that has TONS of potential due to it's condition and the restoration work done by it's pervious owner ...The vehicle has always been garaged, absolutly no rust, no accidents and has a clean CARFAX report confirming its full service history. My brother, who manages a Toyota dealership, ran a Carfax for me and said “I've ran hundreds of Carfaxes and this is the best one I've seen, especially given it's age”The exterior and interior look good and the tires have a lot of life remaining.I have a box full of Receipts showing all of the work Stacky spent restoring the vehicle as well as receipts for the work I've done.