My 66 230SL

[Ph2ocraft]

Sooooo
I bought a 66 230SL that wound up being in much better condition than I could have ever hoped for :-)
It's Creme colored with black interior and 119K documented miles.
All books and records

I repaired both door rattles (hate the way the aluminum rails fall off the windows).
Removed the wood and sent it for rework
Found an NOS ash tray, mine was missing the cover.
I do find I'm in need of a few items
Chrome covers on the door lock plate
Plastic clamps for the window rail
Wiper blades
2 beauty rings

Other than that she's all there and most of it looks original.
It does need some paint.

[Garry]

Welcome to the Group and W113 ownership.  Now the fun starts and the difficulty of deciding where to stop.  Make full use of the Forum although as a Basic Member you will not have full access to theTechnical Manual that will guide you through almost any situation or repair. At some point think about becoming a Full Member and receiving your Pagoda World and the Pagoda Notes access as well as full access to the Forum and some critical parts such as the Linkage Tour, a must if you want to get your car running properly.

Garry

[Ph2ocraft]

Thanks
My first step is the wood refinishing
I've read its French Walnut, any ideas if this is acurate?

[Jonny B]

You can use the search function to help with the wood trim question (go to search, then "wood trim" as the search string, and limit to topic only).

I did a little poking around, and appears that walnut is the wood, keep in mind it is a (very) think veneer. So be careful with sanding, stripping, etc. There is a lot of information on the site about what others have done. The wood trim on the Pagoda is nowhere near as complex as the big coupes and cabs. It was also a choice of one of one, again not like the big coupes/cabs, where you could get some pretty spectacular pieces.

[Ph2ocraft]

Thanks for the input
I've been all over the search bar (it's my Freind :-)
I just never seem to find a definitive answer on wood type and finish
All the "wood" guys will make it anyway you want but I just want original.
I mean this car even has the original fabric that sits between the window rail and covering, just crazy.

I also get that it's more a satin finish and not glossy but my wood guy needs to purchase the small stop (veneer) as mine is virtually colorless.
So I guess if I go with French Walnut with a medium Satin finish I'm going to be pretty dang close :-)

[mgandrew]

With regard to Wiper blades, my, new to me, 250 SL came with wiper blades that had no blades left on them. I bought a set at my regular old auto parts store. I am sure I could find "Bosch" if I wanted to but I guess that isn't important. I don't plan to drive it in the rain.

[DaveB]

The front of the speaker cover, where it slips under the dash pieces, is protected from weathering and should show the original finish pretty well.

[Jordan]

Another way to do a search is through Google.  I find it can bing up threads that may not normally be found.  Type in site:sl113.org wood finish, or what ever you want to search.  The search function on this site is actually quite good but some other sites are terrible so I go through Google.  There are no spaces when you type in site:sl113.org

Jonny, I assume you were trying for "thin" rather than "thick" since both work. 

[Jonny B]

oops, I was trying for "thin" versus "thick". You need to be careful with the "thin" veneer to be sure you don't sand through.

[Ph2ocraft]

Dave
Good tip on the speaker cover.  I'll have my wood guy take a look.

The wipers blade inserts I have.  It's the wiper blade I'm looking for, hate the black...such contrast.

Another item I'm now looking for.
The small plastic clips that hold the dog leg seat chrome in place.
I repaired the back test turning knob and hinges so the seat now comes up evenly.
Somebody had the spacer bushing in backward.  It wouldn't allow the screw to bottom out and tighten up the hinge properly.
This car is a blast to fix.

[KevinC]

Another place to look for the correct wood color is around the rear window on the hard top. Due to its placement it hardly ever sees wear or sunlight.

Wiper blades come up on eBay from time to time.   

[Ph2ocraft]

My wood guy says he's got it under control...I can't remember how many times I've heard that just before it all went South LOL

[Ph2ocraft]

So I didn't like the way my trunk lid was lined up.
It also closed a little tight.
I observed the seal didn't have an arch to it near the hinge side of the trunk and it would bind while closing the trunk.
I ordered a new one and peeled the old one off.  There was some very slight surface rust in a couple places where the glue was very light or missing.
I had to shim one hinge just a tad and got the rest of the trunk to align with the body with just some small adjustments.
I sanded the rust, neutralized it and gave it a quick shot of paint.
Should have the seal Friday so I can finish her up:-)

[Khurram Darugar]

I have most of the plastic clamps if you still need them.

[Ph2ocraft]

I do still need the plastic clamps for the window rails.

[Ph2ocraft]

One other thing I noted about these fine rides are the poor headlights.
Since I knew I could make a significant change and still keep everything stock I decided to change to the HELLA headlamps with the H4 inserts.
But I made one little change.
I installed a set of High/Low HID's in the H4 HELLA's
Man what a difference!!
What I like the most is that I can actually see the road and everything around it :-)
I've always loved the HID's with a high/low beam motor so you always have that nice bright light.
Nicest difference so far.

[Ph2ocraft]

Took off my wheels with the hub caps and beauty rings so they don't get stolen as I plan to take it everywhere.
For now I installed some of these.
I think they make my ride look just about right.