How to render a Pagoda worthless

[pauldridge]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___UNIQUE-1967-MB-230SL-race-car-w-SB-350V8_W0QQitemZ300282230187QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item300282230187&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A7%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

[Raymond]

Perhaps it's worthless to you or a collector, but to someone who just wants a reliable, stylish, relatively unique hot rod, this could be a good start.  His claim of "only one known to exist" is a stretch.  I've seen at least four other small block V-8 conversions pointed out by other indignant posters on this site alone.  It still has a lot of interior work to do and that steering wheel is too ugly for a pimped out Neon, but it's not worthless.  With all that horsepower, I hope he upgraded the brakes.

[scoot]

There are still some good parts left on the car -- I'll take the headlight doors and the tail lights...   I particularly dislike the abandoned heater inlet and outlet pipes coming through the firewall.   Ewwwwww.

[Dash808]

It would be a little more tolerable if he actually finished the job and made it look half way decent and "original", but when you gut the interior and botch the exterior...   And $32k is slightly  optimistic. 

[scoot]

Couldn't he have done as well doing minor mods to a 107 car?  Seems like that would have been much cheaper.   My husband had a 1957 Volvo Sport (fiberglass convertible - Volvo made 60 something of them in 1956/57).  An extremely rare car.  We saw one for sale and went to look at it.  The owner had gutted the drive train, and more importantly, the dash.  He got rid of LOTS of parts that were unique to the car that can not be replaced.  Instead he put in a bunch of crap that looked worse than the 113 on eBay.  The result was a dreadful flimsy "hot rod" that was worthless as a hotrod and nearly worthless because of all of the missing Volvo parts.    At least with a 113 you can get the parts to turn it back again. 

My opinion on the 230 SL is that the person spent the money on the car to make himself happy and he should consider that he got his money's worth by doing it.  Any expectation that the car is worth anything to others just because HE likes it is unrealistic.

[Mark280SL]

It's a one of a kind alright.

There's no accounting for taste and everything seems to have its price but at the end of the day with so many other cars he could have "done this to" why he chose a pagoda is beyond me, there many other vehicles that would be far more appropriate for this kind of customization, if you could call it that.

As it's the holiday time of the year I'll have hope that somewhere down the line someone will undo what's been done there and treat the car right.

[psmith]

Here's another one of a kind.  It almost looks like a factory experiment 

[Peter van Es]

That last one is actually a "Shooting Brake", a two door car with a big boot to go hunting with. A sort of Gentleman's express. This was probably executed by a proper Carrosier, and for someone with quite a lot of money. Probably fairly tastefully done.

Peter

[JamesL]

and I think my hardtop is heavy

[scoot]

That last one is actually a "Shooting Brake", a two door car with a big boot to go hunting with. A sort of Gentleman's express. This was probably executed by a proper Carrosier, and for someone with quite a lot of money. Probably fairly tastefully done.

I like it.  I like it a lot.   But I've always been a sucker for hatchbacks.  They are just SOOOO convenient.  I thought my C230 Sport Coupe was an extremely pleasant, attractive, and functional car.  Too bad that the quality was in the crapper.

[perry113]

Here's another one of a kind.  It almost looks like a factory experiment 

That is very very cool. Does this car still exist???

[JPMOSE]

Pete Smith....that car you posted is quite unique...in a strange way I like it!   Do you have more pics?   I'd love to see what the interior layout looks like.   

[pierre]

The pagoda shooting break is definitively NOT a worthless pagoda but a real prototypo made by the italian carrossier Pietro Frua.
Here some more pics and info:
http://www.pietro-frua.de/1966_mercedes.htm
 The result is not at all a conversion or a tuning made by a fool, but really a collector car, and a famous one you all should know!

[Mark280SL]

Now this one is definitely not worthless; and in fact very interesting and beautifully done based on what I see in the photo documentation. Wish I could read German.

The pagoda shooting break is definitively NOT a worthless pagoda but a real prototypo made by the italian carrossier Pietro Frua.
Here some more pics and info:
http://www.pietro-frua.de/1966_mercedes.htm
 The result is not at all a conversion or a tuning made by a fool, but really a collector car, and a famous one you all should know!

[psmith]

Sorry J.P. those are the only photos I have, and I can't remember where I got them.  It is an interesting car, but I prefer the hood and grill on the stock 113.

[JamesL]

Me too - I am reminded of a Mk1 XJ6!

However, looking at the German site, I think it's chagned hands in the past few years and still exists (Spain/Canary Islands?)

[hkollan]

Hi,

The car was commissioned  for sale here in Spain at Bolsaclasicos.com some years ago.
I was considering to go and have a look at it, but never got around to do it since it's a few hours drive from where I live.
After a while it appeared to have been sold, not sure if it went to a foreign buyer or not.
If remember correctly the asking price back then  was around 20k Euros.

Hans
 

[Halftrack]

It is a matter of taste, I suppose.
The engine conversion on the first car was disappointing, but I actually stopped breathing for a few moments when I saw the ghastly interior.
On the shooting brake, I can appreciate the functional reconfiguration but winced at the "sedanification" of the nose/grill.
Why do I keep thinking of a Groucho Marx nose/glasses on Scarlett Johansson?
-Mark D.