1954 Mercedes Gull-Wing 300SL

[Deleted member 16736]

Only 5 days left to bid!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170888990951#ht_25855wt_1112

 

[ButteMT61]

I'm 10k shy of the starting bid. If only I could sell some jackets... lol

 

[Angus Forbes]

One of the Smothers Brothers used to write a column for Road and Track (I think it was). In the late 1960s, he suggested that anyone who wanted to make some money should buy a bunch of Gullwings and put them in storage. In those days, they went for a couple thousand dollars each, maybe five thousand.

 

[Rathdown]

1968 I bought a 1960 300SL roadster for $3,800 and passed on a 1955 "gullwing" at $4,750. Gold was pegged in those days at $35 an ounce, and if I had bought 100 ounces of gold it would be worth approximately $150,000 today. That said, I think the car on ebay is a tad high, but then auctions are really all about two dogs scrapping over a bone, so who knows?

 

[Stanley Doble]

You haven't missed your chance to buy a Mercedes sport model cheap. The SL 2 seater convertible series ran from 1972 to 1989 with various 6 cylinder and V8 versions. Very well built, you can buy a good one for the price of a Hyundai. Keep it for nice days, maintain it by the book and it will last you for life. About the last car built with a real engine, real chrome, real leather, and real steel.

 

[dhermann1]

It was Dick Smothers. He did a lot of race driving back in the day.

 

[Stearmen]

Fast House & Airplane

I just realized, for the buy it now price, I could buy the fancy house I pass by a lot in one of our best neighbor hoods, and a modified Yak 11 with a Pratt & Whitney R2000, that would be three times as fast!

 

[Rathdown]

The owner of a 300SL gullwing revels in a triumph of style over speed...

 

[p51]

I saw over a dozen gullwings grouped together at the grand opening of the Lemay Car Museum in Tacoma in June, couldn't get them all in one shot!

 

[Giftmacher]

At least I can admire amazing photos

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Among the Gullwing owners was the late George Putnam, a well-known L.A. news anchor in the '50s and '60s.

 

[Tomasso]

They're a pain getting in and out of......

 

[David Conwill]

For that money I could have a really nice '54 Corvette with a multi-carb'd GMC 302 and a three-speed manual gearbox professionally installed.

What are Jag XK120s going for at the moment?

 

[SHOWSOMECLASS]

I do the same thing regarding money and where to spend it.
That said, gold now vs., antiques or a car at its peak?
Gold/silver is always going to be a quick easy dump when prices reach 1800+ a ounce.
Love the cars but, metals are always the best way to dump ones investmets.

 

[Rathdown]

A really nice XK120 will cruise in at the $90k mark, with older restored examples punching above their weight at around $125k; at the end of the day it's all about condition, both cosmetic and mechanical. A car with only average cosmetics but spot on mechanically would probably fetch something in the region of $65k in today's market. Interestingly, $125k will buy you a dead nuts great XK120, XK140, XK150, or XK-E (E-type for you purists reading this).

 

[p51]

They're a pain getting in and out of......

A lot of high-end cars are, too. A guy I went to high school made a fortune on the commodities market very early on and he bought a Lamborghini Countach, and my WW2 Jeep is far more comfortable to ride. There's no AC, no roll down windows, and the door handle is a length of hemp rope! It goes fast and looks good on the outside, THOSE are the only good qualities of a car like that, but you'd never know if you never got into the driver's seat and took it for a spin (got this car wound up to over 150 along "Aliigator Alley" outside of Miami).

 

[Carl Miller]

The gullwing is an uncomfortable car ( I'm 6'5) but they are damn pretty.

[video=vimeo;42913762]http://vimeo.com/42913762[/video]

 

[Giftmacher]

Indescribably amazing video!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

[video=youtube;3D4k188PqJQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D4k188PqJQ[/video]

 

[BigFitz]

Definitely belongs in the fantasy vehicle thread.