Road-trip: Los Angeles to Portland in our 1987 Mercedes 560SL!

We picked up Lira’s classic Mercedes in Los Angeles and drove it back home to Oregon!

[@Sardalani7]

That must have been a fun adventure! Beautiful car and beautiful scenery. It doesn’t get better than that. Thanks for sharing your journey. I have a 1988 560SL (among other classic Benz’s) and it’s a joy to drive. Although hopefully you switched to 91/93 octane gas. Mercedes began requiring premium with the release of the 560SL/SEL/SEC. Also, drive thru car washes are a terrible idea on these older cars. Seals get bad with age. These should only be hand washed by you. I wouldn’t even trust a handwash car wash business.

[@CruisingInClassics]

@@Sardalani7 Thanks for watching our video. So glad you enjoyed following along on our adventure. You can rest assured that the 560SL is sipping only on Premium fuel and that she gets hand washed here at home. Hope you continue to enjoy your 560 and other classics. #KeepDriving !

[@byronpink9061]

Great classic Mercedes Benz!! Incredible trip. So glad you all made it safely. Thanks for sharing!!

[@CruisingInClassics]

Our pleasure. Thanks so much for watching!

[@yardarm5]

Watched your most recent bug journey, this was just a nice to enjoy, thanks, my grandmother let me drive hers after I washed n waxed all day, what a beautiful car 🎉

[@Fanzindel]

Had an 87 560SL with the same interior and gray exterior in LA. Rebuilt the engine for fun and it drove like a dream along the PCH and through the Santa Monica mountains. Sent it to Germany to my brother when I moved to NY. Now I get to drive it back home anytime I visit. Love that car and color combo and glad it stays in the family. Congrats to yours, it’s beautiful!

[@CruisingInClassics]

Thanks so much for watching our videos. So fun to hear about your PCH experience in your SL. Keep Driving!

[@michaelmcdonald379]

Probably my most favorite car ever built! I sure miss mine, hope y'all enjoy it, it really is beautiful!

[@CruisingInClassics]

Thanks for your comment. We're looking forward to our time with this regal SL.

[@user-mr7jm3bb4d]

Hey guys! I'm looking at buying an '89 560 SL. Thanks for keeping it real with the carwash scenes. I think even the very best sealed tops would leak under those circumstances...lol

[@CruisingInClassics]

Thanks for watching and the comment. Hope you get that SL 560 you're considering. You won't regret it. Even if you get a little wet in the car wash 😉 #KeepDriving !

[@1962RollingStone]

Thank you for this great video and keeping one of the great classics on the road!

[@CruisingInClassics]

Our pleasure! And thanks for turning in. If you like what you see, please consider subscribing. We've got more fun adventures in these Classics lined up. #KeepDriving !

[@baboo423]

One lucky fellow....classic car with a pretty babe by your side. Great videos!

[@CruisingInClassics]

Thanks for tuning in Majeed. All of these cars featured so far on our channel are my wife's. She has great taste I'd say! 😊

[@japanjack62]

Beautiful, You're lucky to fit in it. I'm too tall, I have to scrunch down when I drive one.

[@ralphbernard3908]

That Mercedes looks like a real gem!

[@larryjex6485]

This brings back memories of driving my buddy's '75 450SL, which looks virtually identical to this '87, from San Fransisco to Portland. We'd ride the coast up to Cannon Beach and head into Portland on Hwy 26, the Sunset Freeway. And yes, his top would also leak if you took it through a car wash!

[@CruisingInClassics]

Fantastic hearing about your own coastal adventures in a classic SL. Good times and great memories are definitely made in the cars. Thanks for watching and for sharing. #KeepDriving !

[@jpadicecoffee9812]

I was more scared of scratching and denting my car driving through the tree but I got the pictures. Nice drive along Redwood coast to Oregon, if I only have 7 days to spare. CA is best while driving along the coast.

[@that_random_dad]

Beautiful car and looks like an epic little ride home!

[@CruisingInClassics]

We couldn't agree with you more! Thanks for watching.

[@cuh720]

Ok. This video is making me want to buy one of these.

[@CruisingInClassics]

Do it!!! Thanks for watching and for your comment. #KeepDriving !

[@PeterGoyer]

I just bought an 1987 560SL and I am in the process of updating all of the missed maintenance items, and general repairs. The fuel pumps died when I was taking it home from Oregon, but it made it 500 miles. Finished it up on a trailer. The hard top had been taken off in more than 8 years, so the convertible top looked brand new.

[@CruisingInClassics]

Thanks for watching and your comment Peter. Congrats on your 560 SL purchase! We had the fuel pumps fail on ours after returning from our road trip. Common issue. Wishing you lots of miles & smiles in your SL. #KeepDriving !

[@rhendriks6359]

The best MB ever! Nice film!

[@CruisingInClassics]

Thanks for tuning in and for your comment. We couldn't agree more!

[@Scotty4806]

Nice! The best for the best. Nice car, nice company, nice trip. Hey guys Please don't put 87. Actually, the car has a sign, say Only use 93/91

[@FacelVega58]

Thank you very much for this very nice sharing of your trip ! Your 560 SL is beautiful ! I am french and live in the south of France, and just bought december 5th 2022 a 1986 560 SL original Texas car, 127 000 Mi, here in France. I also own a 1988 560 SEL. Cheers, Wilfrid.

[@CruisingInClassics]

Merci Wilfrid! Appreciate your kind words about the 560SL. So excited to hear about your '86 560SL from Texas. So fun to think of a German Car that lived in Texas, which is now in France. Hope you enjoy your SL just as much as we do. #keepdriving !

[@FacelVega58]

@@CruisingInClassics Thank you very much for your kind reply ;) My 560 SL is a 1986"full black" car, I would like to put a "camel" soft top on. The interior is in very good condition except the dashboard which has some cracks like yours at the same locations, leather of the seats is very nice, carpets and mats, central console, door panels too. The hard top had been probably forgotten in the USA, so I bought another one for only 300€+ 130 shipping from center of France to the southwest, in very nice shape, but with no rear defog, and white, I will spray it in DB black 040. I bought recently the hardtop/ soft top book instructions for using NOS in Pennsylvania (eBay), and an inside rear view mirror because they screwed a GPS sensor on with the autoradio. The antenna is a Hirschmann but not the good model for a R 107 or W201, I bought another one on eBay with the seal still deliverable at my Meredes Benz dealer. The driver trafic light lens was broken, I bought one at y MB dealer. I have 4 Becker Mexico of this time, end of the eighties, I will put one in. At this time because of a bad job, a man put a sort of insulator that kept the moisture inside the front floor panels, rusty but not ruined, I ordered two new ones and will replace it to make my title in february, at " SLS HH shop" in Berlin, cost was nice, I paid 250€ for the two panels, the accelerator pedal floor hook, a set sunvisor retainer, driver's side. The trunk is in very good condition, due to no "bad insulator" inside , and the body of the car is very nice shape, fenders, doors, rockers, trunk lid, hood, wheels ( Gulli). The car was delivered new in Houston TX, and spent its last 4 years in Fort Lauderdale FL. Came to France in summer 2021. I hope you spend many good times with your beautiful one ! Do you know its history ? Are you in Face book ? I wish you a very nice day. Wilfrid. PS : Happy to saw a 63 Tbird Landau in your links ! I also own a 64 Tudor T.Bird ( original french export).

[@estalobalova]

Nice car, got one in red cabernet. Enjoy it, hello from France

[@CruisingInClassics]

Bonjour and thanks for watching our video! We love hearing about others enjoying their classic SL. #KeepDriving !

[@carsmusicandclothing7066]

This is what you call "Grand Touring" in a car built for it. @5:04 you can put 87 octane in these cars?? I have a 560SEL and only use premium fuel.

[@beparr3081]

Right. In that car only use premium. Of course I can imagine what it would have cost to do that!

[@bogdanbosoi1483]

I have the exact year model and colour, great cruiser! However despite being a very quiet car the seats are not so great on longer trips...

[@CruisingInClassics]

That is so cool! What color is your interior? If your seats are uncomfortable, perhaps they just need to be re-stuffed. So interesting that Mercedes used Horse Hair for the seat stuffing material.

[@VenerableYorge]

F A N T A S T I C ! ! ! 💯👍😀

[@CruisingInClassics]

Thanks for tuning in!

[@lilibethdoherty295]

Add a Quart of lucas oil stabilizer on your next oil change, My R 107.45 never burns any significant amount of oil between oil changes after 200 K miles and 37 years of use !

[@CruisingInClassics]

Thanks for the tip! We've used Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak on our other cars. I'll pick up some oil stabilizer next trip to the parts store.

[@norcaltophoenix2768]

Love that mid century hotel you guys stay at. Where in Cali is it and the name of the motel. I owned a 86 560 for 10 yrs. Same color as the one you guys drove. Sold it to a producer in Studio City back in 2013. Loved that car.

[@CruisingInClassics]

Great to hear about your previous SL 560. Fantastic color! The motel is in Crescent City, CA. We've stayed there multiple times and love it. It's called Curly Redwood Lodge. www.curlyredwoodlodge.com

[@azmike3572]

What did you two do for security at the motels? I'd always be worried about vandalism or theft.

[@CruisingInClassics]

Nothing too fancy. Just locked the doors and parked in well-lighted areas nearby the room so we could keep an eye on it. If it had a Manual Transmission, that could have been the ultimate theft deterrent!

[@azmike3572]

@@CruisingInClassics Thanks. A manual transmission is also the ultimate carjacking deterrent! ("Really--you can drive a stick?" "Well no...move along.")

[@dennisyoung4631]

As a matter of fact, *yes* - I can drive a stick. Two of the three cars/trucks I had had manual transmissions, and all the bikes did, of course. Haven’t owned a car since 2002, though - mostly a matter of money…

[@williamthomas2729]

I have same car , same color.

[@CruisingInClassics]

You've got great taste! 😉 Thanks for tuning in to our videos.

[@mrross7436]

Cheap gas cheap oil and Machine car wash it was a very nice take better care of it

[@douglasthompson9482]

Yikes…please wash the car by hand…lol😅

[@CruisingInClassics]

That was the one and only time the car has gone through a car wash, which was a Brush-less version. We hand wash all our cars. Rolling back home after a 3-day journey after dark, we just wanted to get it clean. The Brush-less wash was a decent option for that goal. It's been a bucket and wash mitts ever since! 😊

[@RedWolfgarage24]

Beautiful car but man it hurt my soul to watch you pour cheap oil in it.

[@CruisingInClassics]

Half a quart to get us home. She got the full Amsoil Z Rod treatment with a fresh oil change and filter when we got back.

[@jamesreckling6697]

The gas mileage in these cars is atrocious.

[@CruisingInClassics]

Agree. But we drive them for their "Smiles per Gallon" rather than their MPGs. 🙂

[@linarson1]

beautiful but these horrible bumpers......

[@Nick-rr3pv]

US bumpers ruin the looks a bit