Barn Find Mercedes Benz SL R107 survivor - Will its V8 start? For this barn find, the car in question is a Mercedes built during what is widely regarded as the finest era for German robust engineering and build quality. Having owned a handful of 1980s era Mercs, and upon discovering the car was languishing only a few miles from where Jonny was born and raised, he had to film this convertible garage find.

We were contacted on the show by a viewer called Ben Drew, whose parents bought a 1981 R107 380 SL Merc when living in America during the 1990s. Ben was only a lad, but he remembers living in San Diego, and his Mum always fancying a 'Dallas spec' (or Beverly Hills Cop spec, depending on your preference) SL. His Dad has never been a car person, but agreed and they found this car for sale in a copy of Auto Trader. That was 1995.

Being a 380 it is a 3.8-litre V8 - the first of the then-new design alloy V8s - and being a US spec car, said 3.8 isn't the most powerful. US market cars were somewhat strangled for smog regs, which wouldn't be such an issue if Mercedes hadn't decided to use a single row cam chain (as opposed to a duplex). These were prone to failure, and many engines ended up lunching themselves and being replaced under warranty.

Thanks for stopping by The Late Brake Show.

For a detailed story on how this shoot went and for some behind the scenes shots, join our Patron:   / thelatebrakeshow  

DO YOU KNOW OF A CAR THAT MIGHT BE WORTHY OF JONNY HELPING TO UNEARTH ON VIDEO? DO YOU OWN A CAR IN A BARN/HEDGE/GARAGE THAT MIGHT JUST RUN OR NEED A NEW HOME? Email the Late Brake Show via [email protected]


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Filmed by: Nick Poole https://www.nickpoolecreator.com/
Edited by: Alex Tyler http://filmthistyler.co.uk/
Thumbnail by: Matt Tarrant Design https://matttarrantdesign.com
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Jonny Smith
Creative content maker, car presenter & car pervert for hire since '98
Website: http://www.carpervert.com
Instagram:   / jonnycarpervert  
Twitter:   / carpervert  

CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro

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