1981 Mercedes 380SL Head Turner + Mechanically Sound

Royal Blue 1981 Mercedes 380SL

This 380SL is the best looking and most mechanically sound SL I’ve seen. This was originally sold to a wealthy investor in Texas, and it is very evident the car was garaged all its life. There is not a speck of rust in any capacity—no spots, no bubbles, nothing. The original invoice is shown in the last photo--really cool!

-Hard top and soft top included.

-The body and paint on this car are practically flawless. There are no bends, or major defects in the paint. The car has been garaged all its life and that is very evident in the paint—you can see your reflection. Moreover, all the chrome and aluminum trim pieces are bright and in great shape. The paint on this Mercedes looks as good as any of my new cars.

-The grey interior is a fantastic match for the royal blue paint job, and it is in equally great condition. There are no tears or rips anywhere. The seats are well supportive and not sagging like many of the older Mercedes. The seats and carpet are all bright and clean. The lights all work in the interior as well. Additionally, the original Becker radio works and sounds great! The power antenna comes right up and goes down as expected. The interior on this car is top notch!

-Unlike many other Mercedes from the era, the heat and a/c work flawlessly. Many of the earlier 380SL Mercedes had a troublesome heater servo that made the system very unreliable. I had this replaced with a modern upgrade kit. The a/c puts up a good fight to the N.C. summers.

-Mechanically the car is also in near perfect condition. The steering and suspension are very tight and comfortable on long trips. The transmission shifts smoothly through all the gears. The brakes work well. The engine fires right up and runs very smooth. For preventative maintenance, I recently had the injectors replaced and tuned. The power is so smooth through the entire range of rpms—a true joy to drive.

Perhaps on of my favorite things about this car, besides how good it looks, is all the little things work: power locks, all the lights, heat + a/c, Becker radio, etc. It truly feels like a new Mercedes.

Finally, I have nearly all of the maintenance records since new. You can see them piled up on the trunk in the last photo. The 380SL Mercedes had a single row timing chain in this year, which has been professionally replaced. The car now has a double row chain and is all set for years to come!