Crane Owned: 1982 Mercedes-Benz 500SL AMG
Harvey Crane Jr was the man behind the company known as Crane Cams that has been building and selling custom cams since 1953. Crane pass away in 2013, but not before being inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame, East Coast Drag Racing Hall of Fame, and doing more for the automotive valve than just about anybody else. To honor his legacy, you could buy one of his camshafts for your hot rod or you could buy his old Mercedes. Find this 1982 Mercedes Benz 500SL offered for an undisclosed price in Saddle River, NJ via craigslist. Tip from Cory.
Before we get to far ahead of ourselves we need to calibrate on the North America R107 SL that was sold from 1972 through 1989. In 1982 for the SL, the only trim level was the 380 which used a 3.8 liter V8 and which would have been equipped with sealed beam headlights, big US spec bumpers, and a slushbox. This car has none of those things…or so it seems. In Europe you could get a 500SL with a 5-speed manual, so I’m skeptical about the AMG optional 5-speed claim, but who knows, it could be an aftermarket AMG part that was available in Europe.
If this is the European spec 500SL, then it has a 5.0 liter M117 V8 good for 240 horsepower and 296 ft-lbs of torque — decent figures for the early 1980s, but not exactly killing it today.
The 5-speed gearshifter certainly looks out of place on this side of the ocean, but it should make for a much better driving experience.
See another car with an interesting (and possibly dubious) history? tips@dailyturismo.com
I wish a knew a ballpark price.
Me too! I am drooling while dreaming this is anywhere near what I could afford. Love the colors and most definitely its a 5L with manual trans in Euro Spec making this one hell of a find in the US. Delicious little ragtop, I am happy to even just see the ad and pics.
Needs a bunch of freshening but that's exactly the right spec for one of those and it's good to see he ran the frickin' wheels off of it.
This model was never available with a manual transmission from the factory in any country. The only 107 SL with a V8 engine that was ever available with a factory manual transmission was the very early European 350 SL with the 3.5-liter V8. All other V8 models were never sold from the factory with a manual transmission in any country.
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To clarify – You could not get the 5 speed with M117 5.0 V8. This is indeed an AMG option. I am also the owner of the car and an pre-merger AMG enthusiast.
Kushal