Description
Now here’s something really special. An opportunity to acquire what Classic Cars magazine described in their August 2021 issue as “what must be the best 420SL in the world”. Their seven-page article describes in detail the nut-and-bolt restoration of this glorious motor car which came to the SL Shop as a stalled restoration project several years ago. E186EPA began life as a Signal Red car delivered new by Woking Motors to a Mr S Milborn of Southampton. By 1989 Mr & Mrs Burford of Poole had acquired the car, keeping it for 7 years before it came into the ownership of Malcolm Collins of Maidenhead. Accompanying invoices show that all the while it was being maintained exclusively by Mercedes-Benz main dealers. By 2012 Mr Collins had parted with the SL, and in 2016 with 85, 000 miles on the clock it came into the hands of David Burford of Bedford, who decided to embark on a full restoration, stripping the car to bare metal to replace the bulkhead and repair the ravages of time. Sadly, illness brought the project to a standstill, and that’s where the SL Shop came in. We were offered the car in its primed but stripped-out state and in 2019 began the process of creating a car that we were determined would be as near to a brand new R107 as it’s possible to get. Early on we decided on a colour change to Anthracite Grey, an appropriate colour for that period. The body was stripped to bare metal once again and some minor imperfections corrected before the final layers of paint were applied. The interior was completely restored down to the smallest detail. For instance, the dashboard instruments were reconditioned and the needles re-coated in fluorescent finish by a specialist firm in the Netherlands! A new/ old stock steering wheel was fitted and the seats re-upholstered in the correct material sourced in Germany. We then turned to the engine and transmission, both of which were stripped, inspected and rebuilt to factory specification. The suspension subframes were stripped and refinished with new bushes, ball joints, bearings, dampers and so on. The same level of care was lavished on the factory hard top. Accompanying the car are its original handbook pack, service booklet, a spare key and a copy of the magazine detailing the restoration. MoT certificates dating back to 1990 are there, and even the PDI check sheet from Woking Motors is present. This exceptional car has now covered just 430 miles since returning to the road. Words alone cannot do justice to this car. It must be seen to be believed.
