Hello everyone,

I recently received an 85 380sl from a client of mine as a gift. Currently, it is not running and hasn't run in a few years. I ordered tires for it as it has flats at all 4 corners. I'm planning on picking up a battery when the tires come in and going over to his house to try and get it started.

Since it has not run in a few years, I imagine any gas in the tank needs to be drained and fresh gas put in. Is it safe to get the car started in it's current state in order to drive it the 20-25 minutes back to my place.... or would the best option be to get it in to my mechanic and have all the fluids drained and replaced before any attempt to start it is made?

If anyone else has any tips for starting a car that hasn't run in a few years, or any tips for this year model at all, please feel free to post. I look forward to being a part of this community and enjoying my first Mercedes!

- Kevin

 

If it's only been sitting for 4 years, you may not need to drain the gas, but that will depend on how full the tank is. If the tank was filled before the car was left sitting, it will probably start okay. Anything less than 3/4 full and you should drain as much gas out and put in fresh. This is just because the fuel will oxidize more if there was more air in the gas tank. Most cars are fairly low compression and will burn crappy gas. They won't run superbly, but enough to get it to a gas station and fill up with fresh premium. Don't worry about over the counter fuel additives (snake oil!) or anything like that. All pump gas these days comes chock full of detergents and other happy additives that will clean your injection system to some degree.

Remove the spark plugs, spray some oil into each cylinder and turn it over a couple turns then replace the spark plugs (might as well put new ones in while you're at it). Check the air filter for mice. Clean the air box and replace filter as necessary.

The biggest issue you'll probably have is the brakes. Make sure the brake at each wheel works before you try to move the car. You may need to bleed individual calipers, but don't skip this step. It would be a real bummer to start down the driveway and end up in the garage across the street without opening their door the polite way first.

Go ahead and change the oil and filter before you start it. Engines form condensation inside with the changing of the seasons (should be minimized if it was stored inside in an attached/heated garage) and you want whatever crud may be in there out before you start. Change the oil and filter again in about 500 miles.

Once you've got all these taken care of, it ought to fire up and be safe to take it around the block a couple times so you can make sure that it's safe to drive to your mechanic or wherever else. Before you head out down the road, check everything you can that's supposed to function. And if you have any doubts, hire a flatbed. A couple hundred dollars for a tow is excellent insurance for both the car and your life.

Congratulations, good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

thanks a lot for the info. i'll have a nice little checklist for when i go over there to get it started up. can't wait to get it on the road and start to restore it back into top condition. i have a large gap midday today (personal trainer) - maybe i can get over there and take care of a couple of the little things. if i do, ill take some pictures and post them up.

thanks again!

 

The only other thing I can think of would be to ask your client why he left it parked in the first place? Whatever it is probably needs to be fixed also.

 

he has a couple cars and basically just stopped driving it one day. story behind the car - he's a lawyer who works in nyc and settled a case for Mercedes in 84/85. After the case was over, the 3 lawyers who had been representing Mercedes received the 380sl. he is not a car guy and doesn't take care of his cars, so it was pretty much driven without being taken care of for 160k miles. i think it has a lot of potential and plan on restoring it with some help from my pops.

before i really start putting money into it, however, i want to get it running efficiently so i can have it for the winter months and keep my play car (07 mazdaspeed 3) under a car cover and in perfect condition in the garage.

pictures to be posted soon....