After two years of ownership, I now feel I’ve just about sorted my SLK230. Many will know the challenges of sorting a car.  Yes, the major issues are sorted quickly, but you often then procrastinate on the smaller issues, but are reminded every time of them when driving the car.

One of these smaller issues was the constant creaking/squeaking of rubber, mainly around the roof. Given my recent achievements, of removing and refurbishing interior, replacing roof lining and fitting new wind deflector. I felt like I was on a roll, so this was the time to act.

A quick search online, revealed many R170/R171 owners had the problem and a bottle of Gummi Pfledge Stift should fix the problem.

I ordered the product via Amazon, costing $21.90. The instructions were very simple:

1. Prepare the surface: Make sure the surface is clean and dry before applying Gummi Pflege.
2. Shake the bottle well before use.
3. Press the foam applicator against the surface and squeeze the bottle until the product starts to flow. Gently glide the applicator along the surface.
4. Allow the product to soak in and dry. Do not wipe it off.
5. Repeat: If you’re conditioning your weather seals for the first time, you can apply the product twice to ensure maximum absorption. After that, you can apply it every few months.

I have only applied it once and was initially somewhat disappointed with the results driving the car after the first application, but what I didn’t realise was that a month after application, all the roof creaking and squeaking noises had disappeared.

The following link is a PDF document, detailing all the rubber strips to apply product.

Over the summer I will perform another application.

Author:  Nick Gruzevskis is a contributor to classicjalopy.com, and the custodian of a great collection of classic and modern cars.  Links to some his other articles can be found here

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Two cars of the same chassis/model often drive differently after 20-30 years, depending on mileage, maintenance & number of owners. I got the opportunity this weekend to drive a 2003 SLK230 Special Anniversary Edition, enabling a comparison with my 1998 SLK230. To be completely transparent, these cars are quite different, the Special Anniversary Edition SLK230 has a touch over 70,000 Kilometres on odometer and is completely original, while mine has 185,000 Kilometres, has engine mods and has a set of R171 17” staggered wheels.

I met Franco at the MBCV Clubhouse, pulling up next to his car. Franco is a newish MBCV member and was keen to meet up with other R170 owners. Since purchasing my R170 I haven’t met anyone else that owns one, apart from a Jensen Club member who lives in South Australia. This started me thinking, how many R170s were sold in Australia, it was over 2500, with the SLK230 accounting for over 80%.

Franco was very knowledgeable about his M111 engine, as he quickly told me he had the smaller clutchless M45 supercharger and I had the larger M62, with the modified ASP pulley kit. Franco went onto to say, the M62 is more tuneable, as its larger and moves more air, but spins slower and engages at 2700rpm. The M45 moves less air but is always engaged.
The facelifted R170 has the M111.984, it has higher compression, but also MAF sensor has been relocated close to throttle body, to provide smoother throttle response. I won’t bore you with any other differences, but they are listed in this Benz World thread.

The SLK230 Special Anniversary Edition, had chrome strips around the window edges, chrome bar above rear number plate, a lovely Nappa leather interior, aluminium looking upper and lower dash console, grey speed and engine RPM gauges, unique 16” alloy wheels.

I offered Franco I drive of my SLK, but he declined, so I took him for a drive in mine. My SLK230 has a Jekyll and Hyde personality. It can be driven normally, and it’s quite & refined, but when you get over 2500rpm, you can hear the whine of the supercharger and becomes a different beast.

Moving to Franco’s car, his steering felt a bit lighter, and the body felt tighter, probably a combination of the additional mileage and upgraded 17” wheels on my car. His car felt more responsive down low and slightly more refined, but when stabbing the accelerator, didn’t have the outright acceleration as mine. Would be interesting to compare an original pre-facelift SLK230 to Franco’s facelifted car.

It was a fantastic way to spend Saturday morning at the MBCV Clubhouse. I want to thank Franco for kindly offering me a drive of his stunning Special Anniversary Edition SLK230.

Author:  Nick Gruzevskis is a contributor to classicjalopy.com, and the custodian of a great collection of classic and modern cars.  Links to some his other articles can be found here

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There are times when you feel like you’re making progress on a classic car and other times it just feels like you’re procrastinating. As I have just completed an interior, I was feeling positive, so decided to strike while the iron was hot.

Since putting the interior back, I’d used the car on freeways several times and noticed the steering wheel shuttering from 90kph and above. I dropped car off to Donnellans, noting that front wheels likely needed a balance. I’d almost completed drinking my latte when I received text message communicating job was complete. First job done.

I had been looking into replacing the original fabric wind deflector, not due to its condition, but rather as it was somewhat difficult to see out the rear with the top up. I had viewed the Pippins wind deflector some time ago, with most reviews being positive, but did note there were a few that commented on reflections.

I ordered the R170 wind deflector with roll bar inserts on Feb 22nd and they arrived Mar 3rd, costing $415 AUD including delivery. The wind deflector is 8mm think smoke grey Perspex. You can opt to put a logo or design, but I choose not to do this, as I didn’t want anything impeding my vision.

The rollbar inserts are made of the same smoke grey Perspex. Installation was quite simple, only tools you need is a Phillips screwdriver, removing the two screws that hold the hooks. It is tricky to install the deflector and put the two hooks back, took me about 30min to complete the job. The roll bar inserts are easier to get in, these just insert from the front of the car, inserting Perspex into top of rollbar, then compressing the roll bar material, pushing it into place. They are securely held in place by pressure/friction alone.

Testing for the first time, rear vision is dramatically improved. I’m not sure if wind buffeting , more testing is needed here, but looks a lot cleaner than the fabric deflector. The cons, apart from the cost, you do get some reflections from cars in front of you. It’s not really a deal breaker, just something to be aware of.

Author:  Nick Gruzevskis is a contributor to classicjalopy.com, and the custodian of a great collection of classic and modern cars.  Links to some his other articles can be found here

The post Guest Post: SLK230 – Installing a Pippins wind deflector appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

Sometimes the journey on improving a classic car seems to be more fulfilling than using the car. I’ve now owned the Sally the SLK since July 2022.  Every time I looked at the colour
combination of silver and the two-tone interior (red/black), I thought wow what a great colour combination, but then when I got closer to the interior plastics, specifically the paint
on the plastics she had all seen better days.

In my last update I wrote, I stated “the quality of the interior plastics vinyl paint is awful. Last September I decided to attack this problem, removing all painted interior trim pieces. I knew I would need to be careful when removing trim, as the plastics can quite literally crumble/break in your hands. Given my SLK had been garaged all its life I thought I’d be ok.  Still, some of the plastics quite literally broke when removing screws or panels. It was also obvious interior had been re-painted at least twice, maybe three times.

After removal this is what interior looked like:

I dropped off all the trim pieces to Bill Moussa at BM Leather Creations, where the paint needed to be stripped, the plastics that were broken went to the plastic welders, then back to Bill for two coats of two pack paint and two coats of clear. It is a long and arduous task and not cheap just given the labour required. In between dropping the plastics off, I purchased a 2001 S430 and then sold it a few months later. When seller asked me why I was selling it, I said I needed to focus on getting my SLK back on the road. Anyway, I digress.

Fast forward to Feb 2024 and interior plastics were all ready for collection. Bill had done an amazing job. Now the rest was up to me, to carefully re-install.

I picked a good day to re-install, temperature was expected to be 34C, in a garage that wasn’t insulated. I started early and by midday I had most of the interior trim back in. I did have a heart stopper moment when the roof wouldn’t go up or down but found the cable connecting to the roof button wasn’t fully pushed on.

I can’t believe the transformation; the interior just looks fabulous. Sally the SLK is now ready for the AOMC British and European Day on the 18th of February.

Author:  Nick Gruzevskis is a contributor to classicjalopy.com, and the custodian of a great collection of classic and modern cars.  Links to some his other articles can be found here

The post Guest Post: Owning an R170 SLK230 appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

Oskar the 300SE ready for auction

Moving forward a year, I had an itch to buy another classic. I attempted to justify the purchase, but in all honesty, I couldn’t really, apart from knowing that our cars had contributed to my mental wellbeing during COVID. I also knew Naomi wouldn’t say no, as she has two lovely classics, a Jensen Interceptor and Triumph Stag and can’t resist another exciting addition to the family.

We have always subscribed to the philosophy of owning cars that suit different purposes. Looking at the garage we have enough four door vehicles and no longer need to worry about carting kids around on Club events, so the focus turned to a two door Mercedes. In the last five years I’d seen values escalate for the Mercedes models I grew up with, so I started to think about the more recent Mercedes models, CLK (A/C208, A/C209), SLK (R170/R171). Initially I did look at the CLK, but as I own half a C209 CLK320 with our daughter, I didn’t want another 209 even if it was a convertible. I also thought about the R129 (for less than a minute), but values were way outside my budget.

Eventually I started to look at the SLK R170 as I’ve always been a huge fan of Bruno Sacco and loved the design queues of its elder brother, the SL, with its power domes on the bonnet and optional two-tone interior options. The two-part vario-roof was also a large plus for me (even though it does consume a large amount of boot capacity when down). Within 25 seconds you can enjoy the fresh air of top-down motoring or close it and enjoy the warmness of what could be described as a coupe. Our Stag is much more usable when we have the hard top on too, but we have to use a winch, so just flicking a button is a huge leap forward. The other bonuses are that the SLK will be club plate eligible in 2023 and it’s an approved vehicle for P probationary drivers (excluding the SLK32 AMG).

The SLK range initially consisted of the SLK230 Kompressor released Feb 1997, then followed by the SLK200 in Oct 1997. The series II was released in Jul 2000 with revised safety equipment (electronic stability control) and suspension. The SLK200 Kompressor replaced the SLK200 and the SLK320 was released, while Sep 2001 marked the introduction of the SLK32 AMG. The R170 sold until 2004, with Mercedes releasing Special Editions to mark the end of the line for the R170. It came with exclusive features including pleated seats in fine Nappa leather, special aluminium trim on the dash and console, stepped 5 twin-spoke 16-inch alloy wheels and a special grille finished in the body colour.

The good news I found was there were plenty to choose from in terms of colour and engine combinations, but on the downside, there are plenty of bad ones which appear to be dragging down the values of good ones. Initially I wanted to buy locally, but it quickly became apparent that I couldn’t find one in the condition and colour combination I wanted. The search turned to interstate where I identified a listing for a 1998 SLK230 in silver with the two tone, red & black interior. It’s always fantastic to connect with a lovely seller and in this case, he was more than happy to supply 11 years of receipts, listing all the work done and dollar amount spent. We are delighted to welcome Sally the SLK as the latest member of our family and a lovely way to keep my Mum’s memory alive.

Sally on her way to a new home

Author:  Nick Gruzevskis is a member of the Mercedes-Benz Club (Victoria) and the owner of 1979 450SE, 2005 CLK320 and now an SLK230

The post Guest Article: In search of another Benz – Part 1 appeared first on Classic Jalopy.