BananaSL

Owning an SL55 AMG

A Resource for SL55 Enthusiasts (Pinned Post)

2022-07-24 Commentary Tarus

I bought my first SL55, a silver 2003 model with 18K miles, in August of 2020. I fell instantly in love with the car, and figured I would never get rid of it. That was, until two years later, when this one of a kind yellow SL55 became available. After I won the auction my wife looked at it and said “it looks like a big banana” and the name stuck.

I am pretty particular about maintaining my vehicles in the best condition, especially this one, which I’m trying to maintain in a Hagarty’s “Fine” (2 to 2-) condition even though I do drive it. This will be reflected in the amount of money I am willing to spend to both maintain and correct defects with the car.

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Repair Shock

2022-09-29 Repairs Tarus

Okay, look, I know that high-end sports cars can require a lot of maintenance, but I can honestly say I was really disappointed when my mechanic sent me a list of things that need to be done to The Banana.

I’m not going to do all of them at once, but here are some things I have to do now.

  • Front rotors and pads
  • Engine Mount
  • Front Thrust Arm Bearings
  • Valve Cover Gaskets
  • Transmission Oil Cooler Hose Seal Rings
  • Windshield Wipers
  • Reseal Rear Differential

That last one is a doozy, as it is mainly labor and requires removing the differential from the car. I’ve asked about Limited Slip Differential options as it should be almost no extra label to install it during this process.

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Finally!

2022-09-20 Commentary Tarus

Last week I received the notarized title back from the seller and today we were able to get The Banana registered in North Carolina.

Whew.

It will be a few weeks before the personalized plate arrives but I was able to really drive it for the first time today. I took it through the country “loop” I like and it handled well. The battery is complaining because it sat so long but all the malfunctions cleared by the time my ride was done. I had the same issue with The Shark when I got it, and I’m hoping it will be the same with this car.

Matchbox “Superfast” Yellow SL55 AMG

2022-08-22 Commentary Tarus

I find it amusing that Mercedes never offered yellow exterior paint on any R230 as a standard color option, but that Matchbox made a yellow SL55 AMG.

Matchbox Yellow R230 "Superfast" Toy Car and Box

It was a limited edition of only 15,500 units, so I’m sure this will be worth something someday (grin)

Mercedes Benz to Bring Back the SL55 for 2022

2022-08-21 Reviews Tarus

I recently learned that for the 2022 model year Mercedes is bringing back the SL55 as a softtop roadster.

A picture of the new SL55

It looks like there are actually two models, the SL55 and a twin-turbo SL63.

I’m not in the market for a new internal combustion engine (ICE) car, but if I was I’d check these out. I’m a little disappointed that it isn’t a hardtop convertible, but it does save a lot of weight and complexity.

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The First Detail

2022-08-20 Detailing Tarus

Even though I can’t take The Banana out for a drive until the title gets back and I can get a plate, I did want to detail the car. I really enjoy detailing but when done right it takes me about two days, so for this first attempt I was just going to wash it and see what kinds of imperfections I could find and fix.

Since the car was registered in California it needed to have a front license plate, but there was no front bracket on the car. Instead it looks like they got creative and used a couple of wires coming through the lower front grill. Unfortunately, this isn’t very stable so it caused the plate to wear a couple of divots into the lower air dam, but since it is already cracked in a couple of places it will need to be replaced in the future. In the meantime, I thought the wires looked a little unsightly and wanted to remove them. I had to remove the grill by using a small screwdriver to open up a series of clips and then I used needle-nosed pliers to gently pull the grill away. I was then able to cut the wires and remove them. I thoroughly cleaned the area with the grill removed before snapping it back into place.

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Replacing the Trunk Lift Supports

2022-08-20 Repairs Tarus

One problem with getting a new SL55 is that now I have to go through all the other things I had to fix on the old SL55.

A common issue seems to be that the trunk lift supports start to fail. In both the service records for The Shark and The Banana I saw that they had been replaced, but when I got both cars the trunk lid struggled to stay open.

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