YouTuber Tyler Hoover from Hoovie’s Garage recently became the proud owner of a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, his dream car. It had been sitting at an estate for some time, and it quickly became a car on Hoover’s radar, with its condition lowering the price slightly.
What also helped was that the dealership selling the Gullwing was willing to take in Hoover’s Bugatti Veyron in exchange for the Mercedes. The Mercedes classic center was able to get the car up and running again, but there has been one big problem with the car that Hoover mentioned at the start of the video.
That is, the engine has blown. After getting the car up and running, Hoover installed a sport camshaft on it, giving him around 30-40hp extra. It was, however, consuming oil at an alarming rate, but he was still able to take the car out and enjoy it.
Fast forward a bit, and while driving the car to a show, Hoover attempted to pass a truck. It was during this that something suddenly failed dramatically; the car lost all power, and the oil pressure dropped right down to zero. That is when the dream car became a nightmare.
Hoover Explained What Happened to the Gullwing
The YouTuber sat down with Ed Bolian’s VINwiki channel to discuss what had gone wrong with the Mercedes. He showed the car off at Motor Miami, threw it around the track a bit, and then had it shipped back home. With how long it takes the car to get up to temperature, Hoover knew it wouldn’t be driven as much. “You don’t want to do, like, short five-minute trips to the shop,” he said in the video.
McPherson College asked Hoover if he’d be happy to bring the car over to them for a show. As it was an hour away, it was the perfect drive for the car, so Hoover took himself and his six-year-old son to the show. “As I was cruising down the highway at around 80mph, I went to pass a truck,” he said in the video. But the truck driver didn’t like the fact that he was being overtaken by the Gullwing, so he accelerated hard to intimidate Hoover.
“But this is the world’s first supercar, so I wanted to go watch this,” said Hoover. So he floored it, and then, after passing the truck, something went wrong. “I don’t know if that was a ping or the bearing at the bottom of the engine,” said the YouTuber, and he noticed the power had gone and that the oil pressure was gone. He got the car to an exit, shut it down, and checked the oil. There was plenty of oil in the car, but when he went to start the car up again, the noises were “unbelievable,” according to Hoover.
Hoover Knew That the Motor in the Gullwing Had Gone
The YouTuber knew instantly that the engine had gone. Remarkably, the local tow truck guy was fueling his truck at the same gas station where the Gullwing had died. Hoover was able to get it over to fellow YouTuber and friend The Car Wizard’s workshop to get it looked at. He agreed to get the car stored for the weekend and to have a quick look at it to confirm it had failed.
Another stroke of luck was that DC Motorworks was nearby, and they had Gullwing experience and access to a trusted machine shop to work on the engine. It was during inspection of the engine that it appeared oil starvation was the reason behind its failure, with the inadequate lubrication causing significant damage to the bearing and the engine itself.
What’s Next for Hoover’s Mercedes Gullwing?
While it has become a nightmare, Hoover is still getting the car fixed. He admitted in the video that he had ignored some warnings about the engine, but the flipside is that, when fixed, it should run exactly as a 300SL Gullwing should. With his wife having bought special seats to go into the car, Hoover is looking forward to getting it back on the road again.