Seat Hand Wheels for early 230SLs

[franjo_66]

I have a 1965 230SL that has the early style seat hand wheels. I had been searching fruitlessly trying to get a good second hand set (as new ones are NLA).

However as luck would have it, I have tried a set of the latter style hand wheels which have been modified to fit directly onto the early style seat shafts with minimum fuss. Please refer to the attached pictures. The whole kit comes complete with everything you need to mount the new latter style knobs onto the seat shaft. I want to make it clear that I have no commercial interest or otherwise. I am just a very happy customer.

The kit enables you to tap a thread into the existing pinhole that sits near the end of the seat shaft. You then simply use a screw fitting (supplied) to secure the seat knob (with modified housing that accommodates the screw) to the shaft. It is a very firm & secure fit. The knobs & seat caps are excellent repro items that I couldn't discern from an original set.

The vendor I bought these from will start selling these. I have bought from George before on Ebay (Benz55) and can whole heartedly endorse the quality & finish of these parts, as well as the vendor's integrity.

I repeat that have no financial interest or gain whatsoever from this. But I thought it would be good to let those of you who have the early style setup to know that there is a good product available for our cars. George also sells the repro knobs and caps for the latter 230/250/280SLs with the same factory housing for the latter style seat shafts (ie as per OEM).

Rgds
Frank


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[114015]

Hello Frank,

A viable solution for the early type - thanks for sharing with us.

Nevertheless, I personally prefer the original looks of the older/smaller type although the later ones are more user-friendly.

The old style hand wheels ar NLA, you can, however, use the W110 fintail front quarter window adjustmend turn wheels. These look absolutely identical and are (quite) cheap - about 7 Euros or so; I have to dig for the parts number ...
The center opening needs to be adapted to fit the early style seat shafts.

Best,

[franjo_66]

Hi Achim,

I also prefer the old sty;e hand wheels, but I could not find a good set anywhere !

I did try to get a set of the fintail front quarter window adjustmend turn wheels, but I was told by MB here in Australia that they are NLA. Only the centre cap is available ?

I will be sending my old style hand wheels to George to see whether he can make a repro set. That would be the best solution !

Best Regards
Frank

[Benz Dr.]

The 1/4 window hand wheels won't work. I tried this idea and gave it up as a lost cause. They may look the same but they're very different inside.
The pin on the early seats is square while the insert on the hand wheel is brass. The 1/4 widow wheels have a steel shaft and the design isn't even close.

[Via Manci]

I just read your post which is over a yerar old concerning the Seat wheel.  Could you tell me who is George and where did you get the wheel replacement from?  Thanks

Michael

[franjo_66]

Hi Michael

George is a seller on Ebay (seller id is Benz55) and he has the kits for sale constantly on Ebay. He actually manufactures them himself. They are of excellent quality.
Search in the car parts section using '230sl' or 'W113' as your search text

Rgds
Frank