Real or Not? 107 1972 350SLC Rally Coupe

3777 Views 20 Replies 12 Participants Last post by nobby, Apr 4, 2009

bhmc

Discussion Starter · Apr 2, 2009

Hi,

We have a 72' 350SLC that we believe is a US Spec Rally Car. Are there any tell tale signs to determine if I got the real deal or not?? ALL HELP is appreciated. Thanks!!

1 - 20 of 21 Posts

Fotografa

· #2 · Apr 2, 2009

What do you mean by the real deal? It certainly wasn't a factory rally car. Do you have photos?

What have you been told about it, and what are you trying to verify?

Oh, and welcome!

Foto

bhmc

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 2, 2009

5

Photos below:

I guess supposedly Mercedes brought in some 350SLC's into the US for the sole purpose of Rally Driving. Im trying to find out if this is one of them.
Let me know if I can supply other info.

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bhmc

Discussion Starter · #4 · Apr 2, 2009

Beverly Hills Motorcars - Mercedes-Benz
Beverly Hills Motorcars - Mercedes-Benz
Beverly Hills Motorcars - Mercedes-Benz
Beverly Hills Motorcars - Mercedes-Benz
Beverly Hills Motorcars - Mercedes-Benz

tork'd

· #5 · Apr 2, 2009

can't see someone putting over 100,000 miles on a factory rally car....

but i have been known to be wrong before......

things that make me say hmmmmmmmmm...

Werner W

· #6 · Apr 2, 2009 (Edited)

Hmmmmm... Is SLC another term for factory rally car?? Looks like and SLC to me.

The ad says Automatic. Looks like a four speed manual to me. Also for that year I'm surprised to see wood grain. I thought wood grain came in later years. And why would they put wood grain and other finishing in a "rally" car.

I think here the myth busters would say. BUSTED

ChiefRider

· #7 · Apr 2, 2009

It's easy to add the wood trim. Note that the horizontal strip on the dash is black plastic. The wood was most likely added. I gussied up my 240D with all kinds of wood that didn't come with it. Factory rally? You'd need to run down some documentation, otherwise it's a 350SLC, with the nice option of a stick.

isthisdave

· #8 · Apr 2, 2009

From The Ad said:
This car was imported by Mercedes-Benz to North America for the purpose of Rally driving.

Bullshit. The rally circuit in question did not even include North America.

Mercedes W107 Details

Click here for other rally car model specifications.

Mercedes W107 General Information

Mercedes was a team that absolutely didn't want to fit into the WRC. First the choice of car was a weird one. The 450SLC was absoltely the biggest thing Mercedes had on the market at the time. In fact it was a lovely car and it was good in endurance and African style events. But that was all it was any use at. The 450SLC was HUGE, HEAVY, and these words have to be written in capitals, because many cars could be claimed as too big and too heavy but the Mercedes topped them all! And they used a 5.0 V8 engine, which was powerful, but what a heavy lump that was. And it had automatic transmission, not sequential or anything fancy, automatic transmission like on granddad's road car - in a rally car! The whole package just was insane for its purpose, in a way a proof that Mercedes didn't understand what rally was all about!

And the way Mercedes acted on the events was the next issue. They had the biggest car with the biggest engine and they made everybody feel Mercedes money was a currency on its own. At times when Ford and co were winning World championships with relatively simple, straight forward cars, Mercedes invented service by helicopter! The servicing layout Mercedes had in place probably cost more than all cars of all teams in the WRC together! Several times it was reported that the budget Mercedes had per event was more than Ford and Fiat had for the whole season. And Mercedes' motorsport boss at the time Erich Waxenberger was a bit of an extrovert. Everything had to revolve around him and the make he represented. In the Acropolis 1980 one of his cars got stranded in a stage, so Waxenberger got into the service van, broke through the barriers, drove down the stage(!) to rescue his car as if no other team was existing in this event, and he subsequently crashed head on into the competing Escort of Jorge Recalde! During the Safari 1980 when Arne Hertz injured his hand, everybody around told Waxenberger that a navigator could not be replaced. But Waxenberger wasn't having any of this, he got into Arne's seat, told Hannu Mikkola to get moving, and at the finish line of the next stage the obvious and easily avoidable disqualification was executed!

The eventually best trick of Mercedes came when they wanted to compete for the WRC titles in 1981. They wanted a star line up and signed the reigning World Champion Walter Röhrl and Ari Vatanen for a full program. Then with days to go before the first event of the season Mercedes pulled the plug and - while Ari could return to his old, private team - the reigning WRChamp Röhrl was stranded without a drive as a result.

Mercedes claimed the withdrawal was a result of not getting the marketing effect they wanted, getting bad press and they were unfairly treated by everybody. They had a point because in WRC terms they were a very young team and as unlikely their rally car may have been, they got some decent results. Although in the African and long distance events, Bandama, Argentina, Peugeot gave them a hard time, Mercedes was a podium finisher on the Safari, they won the Bandama twice and the (non-WRC) Argentina once. Not bad for a pretty new team. It was just this attitude of Mercedes that led to the problems. They were the richest team by far, throwing millions at the sport and the opposition and press was enjoying the fact that this didn't guarantee them wins, often for basic mistakes. When Mercedes serviced by helicopter, delivering a brand new rear axle to the break down scene of a Mercedes and the new rear axle would fall and shatter into pieces as soon as it hit the ground, the whole rally World was rolling on the floor for laughter and pointing fingers at Mercedes with huge satisfaction. The same would happen when Mercedes entered the 1980 Rally Portugal and finished 44 minutes off the pace and when Mercedes entered the 1980 Acropolis with a 4 car team, only one would finish and that would be down in 14th place.

For everybody involved in the sport it wasn't quite clear if you should be happy or not with Mercedes' presence. On one site they tried to kill the sport with their money, on the other hand they turned the laughing stock for everybody. Rally New Zealand 1980 was probably the best example for the mixed emotions Mercedes created. It is no good to have one flood light equipped helicopter per car to light out the night stages if you forget to put petrol into the cars - as happened to Mikkola for SS1! On the other hand the situations came to that extreme that you had to feel sincerely sorry for Mercedes and their after all very enthusiastic team boss. On the same Rally NZ Björn Waldegaard had an off, really minor stuff, hardly worth a mention, had Björn not collected a prick fence in the process. The barbed wire wrapped around the front rim and the rear driveshaft and caused both right hand wheels to block. Erich Waxenberger came in with the helicopter and ripped the prick wire off with his bare hands! Ouch! Waxenberger's face was covered in pain, but it was not physical pain, it was the pain of the most heart moving desperation you could imagine! However, in the summary of things, despite Waxenberger's 11/10 score for enthusiasm, the satisfaction that money could not buy results was the overriding feeling for everybody, and exactly that was made very public!

No wonder Mercedes didn't enjoy their stay in the WRC. The 450SLC was actually a characterful, big, unusual and somehow lovely sight on the rally stages, but you can rest assured that nobody is really missing them after their display between 1978 and early 1981.

Mercedes*W107 Details : Rallye-Info.com

Mercedes*W107*450SLC 5.0 Specifications & History : Rallye-Info.com

Mercedes*W107*500SLC Specifications & History : Rallye-Info.com

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Fotografa

· #9 · Apr 2, 2009

At the end of the day, without any documentation to substantiate the "Imported by Mercedes-Benz to North America for the purpose of Rally driving" claim, then there is no basis for it. And I'm guessing if the documentation was there, then this question wouldn't be being asked.

And I guess the question would be asked, if it was indeed imported for that purpose, then how come it never rallied?

Sorry bhmc. Looks like whoever sold or traded this car is spinning a yarn.

You might also want to be careful that your listing for it doesn't constitute deceptive advertising, as well.

rowdie

· #10 · Apr 2, 2009 (Edited)

I checked my '72 SL and the tach shows redline at 5750. Have you checked with the Classic Center to see if they have any info on the chassis number?

Oops, guess I should hit refresh before I post. Didn't see all the responses.:asshat:

isthisdave

· #11 · Apr 2, 2009

This car pops up from time to time, Whether it is the same seller or sequential victims, I do no know.

daryn

· #12 · Apr 2, 2009

Where is the cage? Where are the headlamp protectors? All that is is a 350slc, great car BTW. Nothing about that car has any indication it was rally raced. One hint is if the cars exterior is in good shape I doubt it was campaigned. Racing is tough on cars.

If it doesn't have the oil pan protection it definitely wasn't raced.

Legerdemain

· #13 · Apr 2, 2009

It just looks like a standard early Euro SLC with the ugly US lights added on.
Nothing odd about the higher redline - the 350s were always screamers and always had the higher rev capability.
Manual gearbox was an option way back at the start and AC wasn't a delete option - it was a pay extra option.
It's kind of an odd mix actually. Was burl wood an option back in '72? And it is odd that even though the console and heater is burl, the strip along the glove box etc. is black.
The leather looks to be the later perforated leather too. As far as I am aware, the earliest SLCs with leather had non perforated leather as the option with fabric or velour as the standard.

I dare say $15k is asking a bit much.

I'm not sure what you were told by the past owner, but you might want to check their trustworthiness in the future...

rowdie

· #14 · Apr 2, 2009

Good job of getting around the Forum Rules in the For Sale Forum. No Commercial Interests. Gentlemen, I think we are being played

isthisdave

· #15 · Apr 2, 2009

^ He is a day late though....

rowdie

· #16 · Apr 2, 2009

isthisdave said:
^ He is a day late though....

And $14,950.00 short.

roncallo

· #17 · Apr 3, 2009

Its worth $2000.00 for the trans bell housing, flywheel and clutch pedals.

rowdie

· #18 · Apr 3, 2009

roncallo said:
Its worth $2000.00 for the trans bell housing, flywheel and clutch pedals.

So now it is $12,950.00 short?

This car pops up from time to time, Whether it is the same seller or sequential victims, I do no know.

Did you mean to say "poops out occasionally??

flyboyike

· #19 · Apr 3, 2009

Anyone notice the thing seems to have no blower fan control?

rowdie

· #20 · Apr 3, 2009

flyboyike said:
Anyone notice the thing seems to have no blower fan control?

Yes, I did but thought it was just my imagination, or they put it somewhere else.

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