Those Stainless Steel Bumpers.............

[hank sound]

   Hi,  can anyone who has experience with stainless steel bumpers for their Pagodas, share their impression of taking this route.   I want to replace my old, faded and dented overrider bumpers on my 280.   Looking at all the options, these SS bumpers from the UK, at only a bit more $, seem like a very sensible approach.

Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated,

Hank

[IXLR8]

Hi--

I bought a set, and they are like jewels.

Purists will tell you that the stainless is not quite the same color as chrome. That's true, but They are much better than reproduction chrome. Also, rechroming your stock bumpers will cost more than the stainless.

On balance, the stainless for me is the right choice.


Joe

[hank sound]

Hi Joe,

Well........the purists sure wouldn't like the color of my "chrome" (duuuuuuullllll) !!!

Thanks so much for your thoughts.   You've just pushed the right button

Cheers, Hank

[66andBlue]

Will you ever reproduce the grill star? 

[Drewtee]

Nathan , email me the pics and I will try to upload for you.


Alfred, now that would be nice.

I might be a little biased here....
Its my company Harrington Group that produces these.
However, i am also an enthusiast and both my wife and I have a w113 each. Both with our bumpers fitted!
i would upload photos- but do not know how...

you can see the bumpers fitted on our silver 230sl here http://www.classiccars.vn/classiccar/website_cars/merc230.asp

if you want to see photos of bumpers fitted please give me an email address to send to.

regards

nathan

[natred]

Hi Alfred,

We have looked into this.
the problem with it is- its a trademarked logo! Legally we would be treading on thin ice.

Mercedes do know about us,our parts and our half sized Mercedes 300sl's, they like us. They have bought parts for their in house restorations quite a few times!
legally we can produce reproduction parts for any car, as long as we do not claim them to be OEM. however, badges and logos are a different story!

On another note and a bit of trivia.... Mercedes Benz do actually have a factory here in Saigon. Producing CARS! they are knock down kit E class, G class, S class and sprinters.  Shame they cannot repair my 230sl injection pump.....

[JamesL]

I've always loved your old Vespas - although would want a new engine and CVT gearbox!

My bumpers are getting ratty and once I recover from my current bill may well be in touch for a set of yours.

[natred]

Funny you should mention vespas, and new engines.....

i managed to get hold of 20 brand new vespa px 5 port reedvalve 14hp engines- which bolt straight in to the classic vespas! not CVT but they do have electric start- and are fast! twice the power in fact. 14 left!

[JamesL]

WOW, that should be fun/scary! I can't do gears

[mdsalemi]

Will you ever reproduce the grill star? 

Few wish to encounter the wrath of angry lawyers.  Guess you'll have to do it yourself.  http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/ 

[JamesL]

Michael

That reminds me of this: Richard's reactor
http://richardsreactor.blogspot.com/2011/05/110514-introduction.html

or

http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/radscout.html

I know it's quite a distance from a bit of sandcasting in your yard to a Fukishima in your kitchen but we've all started a little project only for it to become a big one

[mdsalemi]

Tosh, I've lived in Michigan since 1987.  My wife has lived here since 1985.  Shortly upon arrival, she noticed there is "always a Michigan connection" to things.  The backyard reactor?  Clinton Township--thankfully the OTHER side of town, a good distance away from here...but I remember the story!  Have you heard of "Rocket City Rednecks" a new National Geographic Show?  Look it up...

All kidding aside, the problem is the commercial manufacture of the 3-point star.  Barrels abound--they rarely break, but the stars often do.  A good star is perfect for a lost-wax casting.  Jewelry makers do it themselves all the time, albeiit on a slightly smaller scale.  Could also be made out of acrylic and painted with Cosmichrome or something similar.  You just won't be able to get anybody to do it on a commercial basis because of the lawyers.  If the price rises much beyond the $1,200 it costs now for a new Star, you can bet someone will be trying very hard.  There once were brass ones sold "under the table" here in the USA but alas, the lawyers found them too.

[hank sound]

I might be a little biased here....
Its my company Harrington Group that produces these.
However, i am also an enthusiast and both my wife and I have a w113 each. Both with our bumpers fitted!
i would upload photos- but do not know how...

you can see the bumpers fitted on our silver 230sl here http://www.classiccars.vn/classiccar/website_cars/merc230.asp

if you want to see photos of bumpers fitted please give me an email address to send to.

regards

nathan

Hi Nathan,

I have the feeling that my 280SL, Ingrid, will be wearing your SS bumper set.   I would love to see additional pictures so, here's my email address: hankgarfield@sbcglobal.net  ....

Cheers, Hank

[ncsurfer]

Does anyone know how much the SS bumpers are?

[66andBlue]

Here is the link to the company's web site with prices:
http://www.groupharrington.com/en/part/140/mercedes-pagoda-w113-bumpers.html

[Benz Dr.]

Tosh, I've lived in Michigan since 1987.  My wife has lived here since 1985.  Shortly upon arrival, she noticed there is "always a Michigan connection" to things.  The backyard reactor?  Clinton Township--thankfully the OTHER side of town, a good distance away from here...but I remember the story!  Have you heard of "Rocket City Rednecks" a new National Geographic Show?  Look it up...

All kidding aside, the problem is the commercial manufacture of the 3-point star.  Barrels abound--they rarely break, but the stars often do.  A good star is perfect for a lost-wax casting.  Jewelry makers do it themselves all the time, albeiit on a slightly smaller scale.  Could also be made out of acrylic and painted with Cosmichrome or something similar.  You just won't be able to get anybody to do it on a commercial basis because of the lawyers.  If the price rises much beyond the $1,200 it costs now for a new Star, you can bet someone will be trying very hard.  There once were brass ones sold "under the table" here in the USA but alas, the lawyers found them too.

I had to get a star and barrel for a 190SL last week and it was almost $1,800.00 list! I priced it out only to find that the new price was 300 more than I quoted, so I had to go back and tell my customer that the new price was more and ask if he still wanted it.

I'll check first before I price stuff like that.......

[pj]

Regarding the Harrington bumpers or other aftermarket products. . . here's something I've been wondering about. Why were the original bumpers designed in 2 pieces? I presume that the "seam" in the middle joins the 2. In this day and age when folks ship fenders and hardtops and ZF5s around the countryside, surely it's not impossible to ship a Pagoda bumper all in one piece. Wouldn't it be better that way?

And further to that. . . the bumpers are beautiful, the front of the car is beautiful. But what up with the pushed-in flat section? I presume it's to hold a registration plate. But for crying out loud, in N.A. our registration plates aren't that wide and besides that, many Pagodas are in areas where it's okay to drive w/o front plates anyhow. I'd hang mine underneath. Wouldn't it improve the look if the bumper line continued all across, instead of being interrupted by the flattened part? So, could Harrington make the bumpers that way?