A Daily-Driven Mercedes SL Turned Track Day Warrior

The 1980 Mercedes SL you’re looking at was purchased back in 2003 solely as a daily-driver by a man named Paul Reynolds. He bought it from a friend and drove it for several years until he purchased a newer SL, which he then appointed for daily-driving duty.

With the new SL in the picture, Reynolds could start modifying the older SL to his liking, as well as to be reliable. He started by yanking the tired 3.8-liter V8, swapping an updated 5.6-liter V8 in its place. Reynolds then got into the hobby of circuit racing the SL, and also competing in tarmac rallies. Many engines were grenaded while Reynolds raced the car, so he started discussing reliable racing engines with Silver Arrows Racing out of Belgium. He soon found out that there was a flaw in the metal Mercedes used to build engines for that generation, and the fact that the small engine bay contributed to excessive heat, which aided in grenading engines.

With this new knowledge, Reynolds decided that he would use two engines to race his SL; the authentic 5.6-liter Mercedes engine for events that require originality, and a powerful, reliable GM LS3 for road racing. Not a bad choice at all, if you ask us.

The LS3 was upgraded to put out a healthy 500 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque at the wheels. The LS3 was then mated to a Turbo 350 three-speed transmission after destroying three Turbo 700 transmissions. Reynolds also upgraded the suspension to a late model SL setup, which didn’t alter the geometry at all except for the spring and dampening rates. As you can see in the video below, it still rolls a bit in the corners and looks a little bit too soft, but its definitely a big improvement over the factory suspension. Regardless, this little SL still rips around the track, and its really cool to see some of the older Mercedes models getting LS love.