Two Steps Forward
Last Thursday was supposed to be a huge milestone in the restoration of my 1995 Mercedes-Benz SL500. After a year-long process of removing, rebuilding, and reinstalling the transmission, the car was finally ready to drive. I took a glorious maiden voyage and snapped the picture at the beginning of this post. However, there are a few problems.
One Step Back
The first problem is that at higher throttle positions the transmission isn’t downshifting as expected. I think I can adjust the throttle linkage to solve this, but the brittle plastic adjuster screw is cracked. Otherwise, the transmission is working wonderfully: shift quality rivals modern automatic transmissions, all gears engage, and reverse now engages once the car is warmed up.
The second problem is a pretty significant oil leak from the bell housing between the transmission and the engine. It’s almost certainly due to a mistake I made when replacing the rear main seal of the engine - a job that wasn’t even necessary, but one that I did “while I was in there.” To fix this, I have to pull the transmission again.
The last problem is more annoying than serious. Before my first drive, I queued up my favorite yacht rock, but when I turned on the head unit, the speakers only output a high-pitched whine at full volume. Somehow, over the past year, the amplifier died even though it wasn’t even connected to power or being used. The same company that rebuilt my head unit and added bluetooth also repairs these amplifiers, but it isn’t cheap, so I might try to DIY this repair.
How much has this project cost me?
The adage of “there’s nothing more expensive than a cheap German car” is ringing true. I bought the car last February for $5,000 and I’ve spent an additional $9,000 on maintenance, taxes, and registration. The only time I have paid for labor on this vehicle was for an alignment. I don’t want to imagine what a shop would charge for the work I’ve done. Here is an up-to-date detailed list of the costs for this project.
There is an argument that I should have just spent double and bought a better example of this model and I would’ve ended up with a better car. But that ignores the less tangible benefits of this endeavor. First, I am preserving a car that might otherwise have been discarded or neglected. Second, I am learning a ton. I work professionally as an Automotive Engineer, and projects like these are essential to intimately understand how a car works and also helps me empathize with mechanics when designing systems and components.
Next steps
If I ever want to quit renting and become a homeowner, I’ll need to rein in spending on this project. So until I buy a house, I’ll only do what’s absolutely necessary to drive this car without causing an environmental hazard. My goal is to have the transmission out by the end of this weekend and reinstalled by the middle of next month.