Topic: Surprise SLK!

[Firm]

I swear I didn't really want another one of these....But I do have a history with them. Many of you will remember that I had an extremely mint 2001 SLK320 (3.2L V6) in Firemist red that I owned and loved for 9 years (2010-2019). I sold it when Firm Jr came along in favor of the XKR; which frankly is a little more family friendly and a LOT more car. Can't say that I don't occasionally miss the little roadster though, it's tiny dimensions and classic MB interior. My brother also owned an early example, 98 SLK230 (2.3L Kompressor) that he daily drove year round for 4-5 years before it's life was cut short at ~230K by a transport truck - his car was a little ragged, but it protected him well and he walked away from a pretty horrific looking accident.

Anyway, I needed indoor storage for the Trans Am this winter, so I reached out to an old friend who is renting an old farm property on the edge of town. He was happy to store the T/A for me, so I went by to make arrangements and noticed this little 2002 SLK230 Kompressor sitting inside the shop. I asked if it was his and he told me it belonged to the landlord who was the original owner, but had recently bought herself a newer model (actually a really well spec'd E-class Cab) and has asked him to try and sell the SLK, but he wasn't having much luck.

That got my wheels spinning, so I made an offer that everyone could live with and now I have another SLK. It's a win for everyone really; I get a new project, my buddy gets the spot in his shop back and a little commission in his pocket, and the owner gets a price she's happy with for her old car. Sometimes things just work out nicely I guess...

Anyway, it's a one-owner summer driven only car. Full service history from MB from new right until current, and she hasn't been shy about doing ALL of the recommended maintenance including stuff people rarely do like brake fluids, coolant flushes, etc. It's totally rust free top to bottom, and with the exception of one taillight (super common...the circuit board/bulb holder is a terrible design) everything works great including the top and A/C. No warning lights - which is pretty impressive for an R170 SLK.

It needs tires bad (low tread and big cracks in the sidewalls), and maybe brakes as it's been sitting a lot recently. It also need a good detail big-time, the interior is pretty gross, and the black paint is crying for a proper paint correction. Engine bay is surprisingly clean, seats are in great shape (aside from being really dirty), but the interior paint on the console is chipping badly - this happens to every R170 SLK and the paint is available on eBay to fix it, so that'll be on my list for sure.

I am not sure what I'll do with it....It was cheap enough that I am not too worried about it, and it's not worth much resale either, so iunno. I pick it up next weekend, for now I am gunna scrub the interior and store it for the winter. If gas prices remain as high as they are it might be a nice fuel miser to have around for errands

Thread on my previous SLK320 if anyone wants the reminder:
https://www.autos.ca/forum/index.php?topic=94650.0

Some poor (my buddy took them, so blame him) photos of the new unit

[Gurgie]

Nice find! Congrats on the new project!

You gonna work on it thru the fall/winter & then unload it in the spring when convertibles are in higher demand?

[ktm525]

Nice buy. Were these available in manual? I can't see how a 4 cylinder with an old style auto would be much fun. I guess for tooling around? The chipping paint is interesting. Having old Dodge's and Honda's of similar vintage but have not seen this. Cheap materials or neglect?

[Firm]

Gurgie, I don't really have easy access to indoor space to work in foul weather, and I am into another house reno project for the winter....so I probably won't do much with it till spring. Then, depending on the state of things I might sell it, or if gas prices are still insane, I might keep it around for awhile, especially if I am commuting to the office with any regularity it'll be nice to have a fuel saver like this

KTM, it was available in a manual, but very rare. I've only seen a few over the years. The 2.3L Kompressor (supercharged) is reasonably peppy, think it's around 190hp and 200lb.ft of torque. I remember my brothers always felt a bit sluggish in the city, but at higher speed had loads of passing power. It's not the most refined powertain though, that's for sure. That's why when I bought my first one, I specifically wanted the 320 model with it's silky smooth V6 and more linear power curve....IMO, the 320, or the 32 AMG (supercharged V6) are the ones to have. The 230 is by far the most common though, and it's a really durable little motor.

The interior peeling is just poor MB quality IMO. It's a rubberized paint used over the hard black plastic. It gives it a nice soft touch feel and matte finish, but it's not durable at all. Even my garage queen car can some spots of peeling. That said, it's easy to address, there's a company in German that makes paint specifically for this issue and once repaired (dab on with a sponge applicator) it's nearly impossible to tell it's been repaired. 

[Bubba]

Great find!

[ChaosphereIX]

This is a great little runabout. Cool.

[Arthur Dent]

Very nice. These early cars are really good lookers. 

[Allen]

Nice find, enjoy

[Railton]

Wow, pretty clean for a barn find! Boss!
Railton

[Firm]

Thanks guys, I am obviously a little biased, but I do think these have aged pretty well styling wise, and I dig the two-tone interior with all the metal accents. Mercedes interiors got really boring mid-2000's onward (exception being the really fancy stuff) until very recently when they've gone back to more multi-toned colors and a lot of metal accenting.

[JohnnyMac]

Good looking car indeed.  Would this be the same under pinnings for the Crossfire?  Strangely I always kind of liked the styling of the Crossfire.

[TheHire]

Good looking car indeed.  Would this be the same under pinnings for the Crossfire?  Strangely I always kind of liked the styling of the Crossfire.

Yeah definitely platform-shared with the Crossfire. Strangely, I agree with you, and prefer the stupid Chrysler's styling...

[Firm]

Yeah, the Crossfire never had the supercharged 4-banger though, it got the V6, so it shared a lot more with the SLK320 vs. the SLK230. I always thought the Crossfire got an undeserved bad rap. The Chrysler styling was much bulkier, I prefer the finer lines of the Benz, plus the Benz has the sweet vario top, which, when I bought my first one, as a big selling feature.

I remember watching the original MotorTrend review on these as a 7-8 year old and being mesmerized by the top. To this day it's still impressive to me, and mechanically the tops seem to hold up well. In our climate, a fabric top that's used year-round takes a beating and requires a fair bit of maintenance....So I really like these hardtop units. The SLKs, with the top up, have a very solid and secure feeling that you just don't get in a soft-top roadster.   

[rrocket]

^^Yea, I liked my SC430 top arrangement.

[valuator]

Hey, nice find!  Will be a great ride once it's been Firm-ified!

[KD]

Cool find!  Congrats Firm!

[Firm]

Picked this up yesterday and drove it home, despite sitting around for about 2 years the little girl just fired up and got down to business. I am still shocked, but zero issues; brakes, steering, suspension, all feel very healthy. No weird noises, no warning lights every feature works properly including the A/C and the funny little headlight washers.

I had never driven a post face-lift 230 before, but the refinements they made (different supercharger and progaming) definitely make a big difference. The car is much smoother and more refined than the '98 pre-facelift model my brother had. Drives much more like my '01 320. It has a lovable old Mercedes solid feeling, despite being a 20 year old hardtop convertible there are no rattles and shakes. The steering is not nearly as sporty as a Boxster or Miata from this era, but the car is still very tossable, I forgot how good it feels to toss these around tight corners with zero braking.

As for what else is needs....TIRES, badly. The tires on it (Fierce Instinct VRs....LOL. Google suggests some kinda discount GoodYears) are absolute trash. Nearly bald (even wear at least) and heavy cracked. They're noisy as heck and I am not even comfortable with them on the highway, so I've kept it on side roads thus far. One brake light socket needs repair, the vacuum line for the passenger side door lock actuator is broken so the door won't lock (hisses loudly though, lol), it would benefit from an oil change, and I am going to change the air and cabin filters for good measure. Not a bad list at all for a 20 year old FGC 

Cosmetically it's in desperate need of a good cut/polish, the interior paint needs to be re-done, and both door panels need some repairs to the clips. It has a few good stone chip too that need to be touched up, and a dent in the fender near the front driver's wheel. All of which I'll address in the spring.

Today's priority was to tackle the gross interior..... The cowl drains were totally blocked (common on these) allowing water to spill into the heater box and keep the interior damp. It smelt as bad as you'd imagine, and I didn't want to store it for the winter like that. So I pulled the cowl, cleared the drains and then spent the rest of the morning scrubbing the interior - and freezing my butt off. Came out pretty nice. Definitely smells a lot better too. I have a small dehumidifier from the house that I've got running in there now to pull out any remaining moisture, I'll let it run for a day or two. I also gave it a really half-arsed wash and lazily let it air dry.

Fuel prices being what they are, if I was still commuting into the office regularly, or just generally doing a lot of driving around the city, this would be a fantastic cheap and fun runabout, just as it sits. Would probably save a ton of fuel vs. the 'Slade and the DTS. I am very tempted to do just that, very tempted....but an extra car on the driveway, plus the upkeep really isn't worth it for the limited driving I do these days....and no rear seat means it'd only be usable for solo drives.

[rrocket]

Vacuum line for a door actuator! Because a thin electrical wire wasn't complex enough! LOL

Looking good

[Firm]

So, I really haven't touched this since the last update, other than charge the battery a few times over the winter. I had a little time last week to start thinking about what to do, and the first priority was new tires since the ones on it were legitimately the loudest tires I've ever driven on, and cracked, so a safe bet that they were pretty dangerous.

Shopped around for the cheapest tires that were in the factory size, available now (that was the biggest issue) and suitable for the type of car (I didn't want a touring tire or something). Landed on the Cooper RS3 G1 from CT, on sale, plus my employee discount, so it came out pretty cost effective in the end.

Got them installed today and it drives like a totally different car, much, much better.

It also sat from December until yesterday when I started it and let it warm up for a few minutes, started fine yesterday at -6, and again this morning at -10. Kinda impressed for an FGC where I haven't really done any work on it yet.

I am eager for the weather to heat up a bit so I can start in on some of the cosmetics, which it desperately needs. Going to use it as a errand car / commuter for the next little while..Hagerty coverage is only costing me $14/month, so why not.

Old tires:


New Units:

[PJungnitsch]

Should be a fun summer rig! How many years on those old tires?