New 280SL Owner with some general questions.

[Pagoda_84]

Hi guys,

I just got my dream car, a 1968 280SL. It's DB158 (White Grey) with Red leather interior. 4 Speed Manual and kinder seat - I really enjoy driving it and I'm looking forward to learning more about these cars.

I have just a few questions I would like to ask:

1. Window Winders - the knob on the winder feels very loose, almost like it's going to come off the handle. Although it seems to work just fine - I'm try to keep the car original and would only use genuine parts. Does anyone know if it's the winder itself of just the knob that needs replacing?

2. Kinder Seat - Although my car has a kinder seat that looks to be original, it doesnt seem to have the space for your feet that I have seen in other cars with the Kinder seat. There is a panel trimmed in carpet, it looks as though it may lift out but so far I have not worked out how to remove this item. Is this normal? What is the process for removing the panel?

3. Cold Start/Running Rich - When I bought it, the previous owner explained that the cold start was not working correctly and was disconnected. The car is quite hard to start (requires a lot of cranking) however once warm it runs and starts nicely. It does appear to be running quite rich, a heavy throttle input will create quite a lot of dark smoke (very clearly appears to be fuel).

4. Blinker Stalk - All functions on the stalk work however the stalk itself is very 'loose' and moves about, it is what I would describe as floppy. The auto-cancel feature also does not work although I am unsure whether these cars have an auto-cancel function for the indicators. Is this common? Any idea on how to repair?

5. Wheel Caps - The car has 14 inch hubcaps. They are in reasonable condition however I note one of them has a split and a few others have some kerb rash. Can I buy wheel caps from other models of Mercedes from the same time and fit them? Are the parts identical? Or can the wheel caps be restored and repaired?

Aside from that, everything works amazingly well. Heater works a treat, all lights on dash appear to work with the exception of one of the lights behind the 'cool' switch which presumably should be Blue in colour. The gearing is really short however I understand this is characteristic of these cars generally, even in the automatics.

Look forward to reading your reply.

Jonathon

[Tyler S]

Jonathon, welcome to the group and congrats on your new purchase!
Have a look at the site's manual. (Link below) You will find loads of information and the answers to most if not all of your questions. Each section is divided in sub-catagories for easy navgation.
You can also use the search function to narrow down threads that pertain to specific topics. Have a look at the vendors list to find parts and additional info. You will have a great time learning all there is to know about these cars.
Again congrats on your dream car.
http://www.sl113.org/wiki/
Tyler

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Hi Jonathon,

Welcome to our Pagoda SL Group and Congraulations on your dream car find. In time, some of our knowlageable members will chime in to help you out with your questions.

On the window handle, something might be worn you should have a closer look.

Re; Hub Caps, there are places you can purchase them, start with the Classic Centre in California to get a price. Provide them with your ViN number (be careful purchasing used stuff, when you get it it might be worse then what you now have ... I got burned a few times).

Item 3 you might solve once you have a read thru our Linkage Tour, see my comment to Taylor below (when I had my car first I was faced with similar issues, once my linkage was properly adjusted no more issues in that regard).

Dieter

Hi Tyler,

Jonathon as you know may not have full access to all options on the link you provided until he joints as a Full Member. One of his issues might be resolved by going step by step thru the Linkage Tur once. He joined as a Full Member.

Dieter

[Garry]

Hi Jonathan

Welcome to the Group. 

To answer a couple of questions quickly, your door winder is probably just tired. the rivet that attaches the winder to the nob has probably warn out.  S search of the Tech Manual may see if others have fixed this in some way.

As Dieter said, you as an Associate Member have access to most but not all areas of the Tech Manual and that especially applies to what is termed the 'Linkage Tour’ for setting up all the linkages and ancillary items to ensure your car runs correctly.  You will need to join as a Full Member, something you can do once you realise the value in doing so. others may chime in here for the cold start solenoid fix.

Kinder seat. you can prise up the foot well cover.  Its wood and just clips into the well in the centre. You will then have to carpet the foot well that is below.  See photo below.

Blinker stalk sounds like it is just worn out.  Again some previous articles talk about removal and repair and the Vendors list will also help if you are not able to repair it.

On the hub caps.  yes any of the 14” caps will fit from the sedans.

Garry

[Pagoda_84]

Thanks for the response Garry. You seem to be very helpful everywhere I go (you have helped me on the W113 FB page).

I would be interested in the wheel caps but honestly wouldn't even have a clue what a fair and reasonable offer would be. I might only need 2 x, I'll have a better look tonight and let you know.

[Garry]

I had a bit of a look at them today, They are not as good as I remembered and I had not seen them for some years. You are welcome to two of the best ones for postage only but they definitely have some scratches so you may do better just going to the wreckers and getting two that are good.  They need to be 14” and they can come from a variety of cars.  Just be careful that the don’t sell you 15” ones that are far more common here.