280 sl as a Dad daughter project

[Orendain]

Hello, I am brand new to this forum, please excuse any redundancy in my questions.  I am fairly handy mechanic, and have a above average home shop.  I DO NOT currently own a "Pagoda".  My 17 year old daughter and I have come up with the idea of purchasing a 1969-1971 280 SL.  Our plan is to do a ground up restore over the next 2-4 years. Our thought is one last thing before she heads off to college.  We picked the 280 sl, because of my life long dream of owning one and her idea of how "cool" the car is ( with the top off of course  ).  I'm really looking for some advice. Like any big reasons why I should not take on this project, and any advice how to pick a car.  What I should look for and what I should avoid.   thank you, I look forward to any constructive critiques. 

[w113dude]

Idea? Great
what to look for? Rust
what do need to know? If you have worked on engines before and armed with the content of this great site, you shouldn't have much problems.

Life's too short, go for it

[mdsalemi]

Why is this in Photo Gallery?

Orendain,

Don't go planning on a ground up restoration for a car you do not own--there is little sense in that unless you just want to spend a lot of time and money.  You'll never come out ahead--and I'm not talking profit here.  A ground up restoration these days could approach $100K depending on the level of parts.

However, there are plenty of nice cars out there that are drivers, or need a little work but are ready to go.  If you have a drivable, functioning car, you can bond with your daughter, learn all about it as you go.  You'll have a better time learning about things together and driving it than having a pile of parts and a disassembled car in your garage.

You focused on one model, that's great.  Now start scouring the want ads, here; MercedesHeritage, The Star, Hemmings, etc. and also start looking at them.  That by itself is a great task to start learning about them!  Join the MBCA, there is a wealth of information there with local clubs, articles, etc.  You will find other Pagoda owners in the area, and meet with them at club events.  It's a long process but well worth it.  We've all been there in some manner shape or form...

[kampala]

Agree ... fun idea.  Many will advise to keep your options on model open ... if you lock yourself to a 280, you may lose out on a much better 230. 

Check this link in the Tech Manual ... it will help.

http://www.sl113.org/wiki/Buying/PrepurchaseEvaluation

Much depends on how much work you expect to tackle yourself ... as you will find, the costs can be shocking ... but this may not be an issue for you ... it might be really be about building something together and that's "priceless."  Just don't be fooled into thinking you can restore these like many other cars.  Read about costs of engine rebuilds on this site, injection pump rebuilds, new grill, hard top effort to repaint properly or change headliner.  The amount of effort is huge and will help you gauge your appetite for how much restoration you want to take on or not.

best of luck ....

[Jonny B]

There is a small 113 gathering planned for tomorrow, 9 Feb in Carlsbad - see the events section. By google maps it is about an hour away from you. Should be 5 Pagodas there. From one owner (!), to restored, to driver to "under construction"

[mdsalemi]

Kampala, this would be a perfect event to attend with your daughter.  The cars you see and knowledge you gain (even if JonnyB were the ONLY one to show up!  ) will be well worth the investment of your time.  With it being about 9 degrees F this morning and having just cleared 6" of snow yesterday here in Michigan, I only WISH I could be in Carlsbad today... :'(

[kampala]

Michael,

I think you meant to address your post to ORENDAIN.

I also think he should attend the Carlsbad event today ... its amazing what you learn from meeting a few pagoda folks.