1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Engine Test

[b009a]

That is a beautiful sound out of that engine. I have only seen one Gullwing 300SL. It was in a parking structure, and that car did not look like attention was given to it like the museum piece that it is.

I really wish I could hear a car like this in person.

[fairvoice]

Putting a bit of oil into fuel is a very good idea, I did this a long time ago when breaking in rebuilt MB engines in the State. I remember German Gasoline in the sixties as wretched stuff, often lots of water and crud, clogging the fuel filters completely.

[neilious01]

Do you think there was a British of Italian equivelant in the same era as the 300sl?

[wfs52]

@neilious01

D-type and XKSS Jaguar and various versions of the 250 series Ferrari.

[neilious01]

@wfs52 I would think those cars were fairly temperamental compared to the 300, then again I could be wrong.

[scwarzewaffe85]

that sounds beutiful,like a ww2 plane engine when it was 1st started!

[Klottelitsch]

Yes that works great with the 1:100 two stroke oil!!

[Ruelpsgruetze]

I have got a very good hint for you to keeping the nice old 300 Engine in good shape with todays ultra dry eco fuels: Use 1:100 API TC two stroke oil / fuel mix as regular driving fuel, that keeps the old fuel-system gaskets, rubber parts, alloy parts etc... and cast iron metal surfaces of those vintage engines in excellent shape...and it also lubricates the valves and upper piston regions. Most Porsche vintage owners in Germany do so :) Also keeps carbs and tank clean and rustfree

[wfs52]

@Ruelpsgruetze

Thank you for the suggestion. Our fuels are terrible and getting worse. You suggestion is great.

[dynaco]

@wfs52 I've read the identical comment on many other classic car vids (about using a particular 2-stroke fuel mix), so that user is just spamming you tube with advertising.

[dynaco]

@wfs52 great vid BTW. I never knew the 300SL was direct injection. Lots of people don't like the engine note on these but I think it's really nice..

[2URBO2]

@wfs52 Runs a bit low doesnt it?

[2URBO2]

@Ruelpsgruetze God idea!

But as for the carbs, as you may or may not know, doesnt matter, the 300SL engine has DIRECT fuel injection mechanicly. :) Mercedes was the first who did this, it is geniously. You can see the injectors at 0:17 and fuel lines back to the mechanic pump.

[Ruelpsgruetze]

I have got a very good hint for you to keeping the nice old Engine in good shape with todays ultra dry eco fuels: Use 1:100 API TC two stroke oil / fuel mix as regular driving fuel, that keeps the old fuel-system gaskets, rubber parts, alloy parts etc... and cast iron metal surfaces of those vintage engines in excellent shape...and it also lubricates the valves and upper piston regions. Most Porsche vintage owners in Germany do so :) Also keeps carbs and tank clean and rustfree

[Pnoerre]

I have got a very good hint for you to keeping the nice old Sports Engine in good shape with todays ultra dry eco fuels: Use 1:100 API TC two stroke oil / fuel mix as regular driving fuel, that keeps the old fuel-system gaskets, rubber parts, alloy parts etc... and cast iron metal surfaces of those vintage engines in excellent shape...and it also lubricates the valves and upper piston regions. Most Mercedes vintage owners in Germany do so :) Also keeps carbs and EFi injectors clean as new!

[Pnoerre]

I have got a very good hint for you to keeping the nice old Sports Engine in good shape with todays ultra dry eco fuels: Use 1:100 API TC two stroke oil / fuel mix as regular driving fuel, that keeps the old fuel-system gaskets, rubber parts, alloy parts etc... and cast iron metal surfaces of those vintage engines in excellent shape...and it also lubricates the valves and upper piston regions. Most Mercedes vintage owners in Germany do so :) Also keeps carbs and EFi injectors clean as new!

[mangokillah92]

1:20 lolz

[wfs52]

Good call. It has 2 coils, 2 sets of points on 2 plates inside the distributor, 2 condensers, 2 places in the rotor for the 2 carbon contacts inside the distributor cap to make contact, but only 1 set of plugs.

[NutsandGuts]

@wfs52 why such redundancy?

[wfs52]

@NutsandGuts

I have been told that with dual points, the amount of time the points are open is increased which gives the coil longer time to build and store energy before the magnetic field in the coil collapses and is sent to the spark plugs. This gives a hotter spark to the plugs.

[LeCorbusier1929]

Dual coils does NOT make for dual ignition. Still a single plug head.

[BenzFan08]

this time surely the best engine in the world

[Michaelxxx1936]

Saw my first one in Germany the year it came out. It was a red one. Top was down and the driver was a nice looking blonde lady. I've always remembered the car and, as I was only then 23, the blonde too !!!

[nelsonafonso1]

amaysing!

[jak4cars]

HOW ADVANCED IS THIS THING FOR ITS AGE!?

amazing

i thought todays mercs gave avg results and its not as far ahead is it once was

great job fella

[LiquidRetro]

sounds kind of similar to a Porsche Flat 6 in the boxster.

[FundingLoans]

Just brilliant!

Amazing, after all these years the beast still puurrrzzzzz niiicely....awesome vid and GREAT CAR!

Another testiment to the generations before that built these great engines/cars they call Mercedes Benz.

[ManassaMaulerKO1]

3-pt star motor gets a 5 star rebuild. Sounds smooth and powerful like an aircraft engine, I bet that SL flies now!

Recently had the rare opportunity to check out that motor underhood a beauty 61 300SL roadster in a shop. The mech said convertibles are actually rarer than gullwings surprisingly.

[HalebtsiAram]

incredible video. This made my day. Thank you so much for sharing.

[D750124]

Forgive my ignorance, didn't Merc bring the 8cylinder out in a road going car? A true work of art, it gives me goose flesh everytime I even see a picture of one. A great pity Merc didn't make more of them

[HUGOMERCHAN]

mercedes benz beatifull for ever i love it

[alna1287]

Very nice work, but how can you fail to mention the desmo valvetrain?

[wfs52]

Easy, the 6 cylinder 300SL does NOT have desmodromic valve train. The 8 cylinder racing 300SLR DOES have desmo valve train.

The 6 cyl method of valve adjustment is very conventional for the time, an adjusting screw that acts on the top of the valve and a jam nut to secure it. For more info on this subject go to Wikipedia and type in desmodromic. Thanks for watching and for the comment.

[alna1287]

Oops!

[wfs52]

"Oops!" not necessary. It is fun to share info and talk about old cars. Thanks

[wkwickham]

Awesome work - do you have a shop? - if so where - I have one of these and experienced mechanics are really hard to find - I'm having some differential challenges maybe you could help me with

[wfs52]

I rec'd another msg from you, more detailed and responded to it. If you did not get that response thru YouTube, let me know. The short answer is I think the dif noise you hear is normal for a 50 year old race car, which is what the GW is, in which you sit about 16 inches away from the rear axle.

[dynamo88]

respect! great job! greets from germany

[mmu83]

GEIL!!!

[DrCadillacV]

Brilliant, simply brilliant! Good on ya mate!

[wfs52]

Thank you for watching. It was lots of work but very rewarding.

[313kee]

Nice engine... WHERE'S THE CAR???

[wfs52]

At the restoration shop or perhaps with the owner by now.

[COCOT20]

Exelent Job !!!! My congratulations !!!!!

Direct injection ? WOW !!!

Didn´t Audi invented the direct inyection about 5 years ago (FSI) ?? jaja just kiding !!

[8MunchenBayern8]

wow what an engine!

[Thermactor]

excellent video, excellent work, 5/5

[wfs52]

Thank you. I wish the video work was better, not so jerky and better lighting. It was my first effort. It took a great deal of editing. You Tube allows 10 min or 100MB of video. I did 9 min of vid and was way over the 100MB limit. There was a great deal more info and running of the engine in that 9 min clip. So then I had to severely edit to get under the 100MB limit. The orig clip was more fluid and followed the engine run from start to finish. With no load, I only went to 3500 RPM.

[lsx46]

What a remarkable engine- even for today's standards. Kudos to the guy who rebuilt it.

[lsx46]

As an FYI; the exhaust should be polished- not painted.

[wfs52]

Excellent observation. These were supplied by the customer already ceramic or poweder coated by Jet Hot. Paint would burn right off. Also, if I may, I think you are partially correct. The exhaust manifolds, which are stainless steel, should be natural, as they left the factory, for authenticity. But they look fabulous polished. At night, under full power, the exhaust glows red for the first 6-8" due to the stainless steel being so thin. Thank you again for viewing and commenting.

[wfs52]

Thank you, it was a group effort.