anybody here ever owned a sl500?

[UNGN]

I'm poor.

That is why my "luxury European GT car" choice would be a Jag XK8. Cheap to buy, cheap to repair. For about the price of a nice G-body you can drive a $70K in the 90's DOHC all aluminum V-8 European convertible with leather, climate, power everything that gets 24 mpg on the hwy. Good paint body LS Swap candidates needing a motor or trans are $1500-$2500, but very good running/driving cars are $4,000-$6,500.

They rust like no tomorrow, so get a nice southern one. They are scary on slick roads, some northern ones could be still good, but its a crapshoot. Jags have known "issues" which is why they are cheap, but these issues are repairable by any competent DIY mechanic with tools... which isn't 99% of new Jag buyers.

 

[motorheadmike]

I am now finding myself shopping for Jags because I know Natasha likes them... and LS engines.

 

[DRIVEN]

I had an S-type that I practically stole because of one of those "known issues". Previous owner ignored timing chain rattle on startup until the RS secondary tensioner failed. That was an easy car to work on and parts weren't really too expensive. The engine looks like a 7/8 scale version of the Ford 4.6 dohc used in Cobras and some Lincolns. The S-type shared platform with Lincoln LS and the most recent retro Thunderbird so you could substitue a lot of Ford parts.