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It’s easy to see the R107 SL’s appeal. The design is neat, well-proportioned and has earned itself a timelessness through two decades of production. The engineering underneath is some of Mercedes-Benz’s best, offering today’s driver plenty of classic character twinned with superb refinement. Then there’s all the specialist support, the parts availability, and rock-solid values that are all only getting better. But that’s the easy bit, the part that comes after you’ve got yourself a good one. So let’s work out how to do just that.

The R107 was introduced in 1971, becoming the third SL in the series that had begun in 1954. It was slightly larger, heavier and more powerful than its Pagoda predecessor, and in many ways was fully prepared for its 18-year production run. It premiered Mercedes-Benz’s new design language and was also one of the first models to use semi-trailing rear suspension rather than the old swing axle.

At first it was just V8s under the bonnet, a 3.5-litre and 4.5-litre both lifted from the S-Class, but