UK Restoration questions 230SL

[Russell]

1964 230SL
the car is being restored at the moment and i have a few questions

Centre console.
It is made of wood and varnished and has the ash tray in it. is this normal or does anyone have a picture of what is supposed to be there ?

Indicator stalk. The end has a crack through it. where in europe could i get another end piece or do i have to replace the lot ?

Chassis plate
It is missing from the car under the bonnet near the bulkhead. not a clue where it went. How and where do i get another or even can i ?

Number plate and holders
does anyone have a part number or a picture of what they are supposed to look like if in the UK. the back doesnt have a chrome surround, the plate is just bolted on. the plate is a long one but i have seen square ones and some with an oval GB on them. what is it supposed to be?
the front has a chrome surround but it is beaten to death and needs replacing. anyone know where i can get one from.

Chrome parts.
i need lots of them. especially bits in the interior as well as outside. where is the best place to find them.

Interior
I want to replace the hood, carpets and all the material inside. Anyone got any ideas where to go from experience. i have seen SLS and another place Cabrio. anyone got any experiences?

apologies there is so much here
Russell

russell

[Greg]

Sounds like you need some parts here...

Yes, centre console is made from wood and has the ash try in it and carpet inlay.
Indicator stalk should be changed and replaced the whole. Cannot replace just the end. You can buy one from - http://www.mbclassics.de/index.php?a=4920&lang=eng
Chassis plate are nearly impossible to find. You can either contact mercedes classics and they can issue one for you or find one on ebay - http://viewitem.eim.ebay.se/Mercedes-W113-Vin-identification-plate-Pagoda-230sl-250sl-280sl/171043949363/item
Numberplate holder was mentioned in the forum not long ago.
And chrome parts same as the hood and interior you can find on the following sites or ebay.
Myself tried all the sites. They are all good and prices varies.

http://www.niemoeller.de
http://www.budsbenz.com
http://www.kkmfg.com
http://www.mbclassics.de
http://www.sls-hh-shop.de/

[Markbhai]

I have used hh-sls and can recommend.  The process is a bit of a faff on that you need to email for quotes etc but the service is good and despite being a German site their English is excellent.

For my soft top I used Pickering in Bradford, they were also excellent and got me a great colour match.  You cannot get originals anymore (Mb logo embossed on back window). The 'lining' is part of the top so comes with it (I think its 3 layers).

[Russell]

ok thanks,much appreciated, off shopping. yes sorry the number plate thing i got kindly had answered for the front a while ago (forgotten i had even asked and resolved that one) but it was more the rear i was really needing.
i dont even know what shape it is supposed to be at the back in the uk let alone if it had a surround on it or not. my friends is square with an oval GB but mine is rectangular. his though is a left hand drive import.

[Flyair]

Russel
for chromed parts you may want to contact Kristof who actually produces and supplies most of the resellers quoted by Greg. His website is quoted at the bottom of our Tech Manual
http://www.sl113.org/wiki/Main/HomePage

Although our site shows his body parts only, he also makes other things and the actual page where all the chromed parts are shown is linked here
http://www.retroteile.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12&Itemid=9&lang=pl

needless to say that there is an appreciable price difference.

[Russell]

that looks to be the place to go then, thank you.
i have so many part to buy it is all baffling at the moment but he would appear to have the answers to most of it.
russell

[Markbhai]

From the description of your car, it sounds like it is the same colour as mine...maybe they are sisters?

[Russell]

From the description of your car, it sounds like it is the same colour as mine...maybe they are sisters?

certainly look the same. could well be twins. do you have any pictures of the back and the number plate at all ?
do your hubs match the roof as mine dont and i am gathering from all here that isnt right. i also have the sills painted body colour and that i gather isnt right either. i think he had just the one pot of paint.

also am a bit baffled as to what the roof bracket assembly is made of. looks like the parts have benn galvanised or something. mine has rust spots and i am not sure what to do as it doesnt look painted to me
russell

[71Beige280SL]

I am a member of the Beige and Brown club as well! I have attached the number plate under the bonnet. Is this the one you're looking for? You will notice the paint codes of 181H (Beige body) and 460G (Brown hubcaps and hardtop). Previous owner painted the hardtop and hubcaps 181H. The soft top is brown. I am going to restore it back to the original colors in a few weeks.

[Markbhai]

 Hi Russell.

Accepted opinion is that that hubs are the same colour as the hardtop, there are others who suggest otherwise, but I have seen a photo of mine from the 60s and they were the colour of the top then so its good enough for me.

I don't have a photo of the rear handy, but will post one at the weekend when I get home, hopefully this will answer that question.

What do you need to know about the top? Is it hard or soft top, I will take a picture of that also of it helps.

Cheers

Mark.

[Russell]

i think i will go for the matching collar and cuffs bit and match the wheels to the roof as you have done. i dont have any old pictures of mine sadly but i have looked at a fair few and it seems to be the way to go and would break the colour up nicely.

the thing i need to know is with a 1964 230 with the rear number plate does it have a chrome surround or not ? i have worked out that the plate should be the long one for the GB. i have seen some with the chrome surround and some without. i havent a clue which is right for the early cars.

Also for the plates, were they the raised letters one originally or the flat silver on black ?

the soft top issue i have is with the mechanism or moving frame. it is some sort of forged metal and looks to be galvanised silver of a sort. i am really not sure. it has some silver finish to it. i cant take it apart to paint it i doubt and with the parts touching each other as it moves i think paint would come off but i dont know. it would certainly add to its thickness to make the friction worse.
it has rust spots all over it and i havent a clue what to do with it.

[Garry]

Hi Russell,

Cannot answer the number place questions other than to say that some MB Dealers added the chrome surrounds to the number plates here, some with their Dealers name on then.

On the hubcaps, yes they should be the same colour as the hard top.

WRT the soft top frame, they appear as a brushed chromed on the course metal and you will find if you take the top off the car and clean it up with s scourer it would normally come up very well without having to re plate. I have done it twice with two different cars and they have come up from what looked like badly spotted rust to not requiring anything more than a clean and scrub and clear coat to stop future rusting

Having just recently done up some of the interior of my 230SL I used cabrio.de and they were excellent and had the correct carpet with the 7 loop to the inch needed for the 230's rather than the generic 5 loop carpet that is being sold by most others.  I actually went to their factory whilst over there and had a look at their operation.  They were most helpful both for carpets  leathers seats etc and soft tops.

Garry

[Russell]

ok great news i will pass this on to my man

[Markbhai]

Hi Russell

I always seem to have problems uploading pictures so I will split these into three posts.  The first will show the UK plate. Mine has no surround.  It is a typical black plate with raised silver letters.

Cheers.

Mark.

[Markbhai]

His one shows the interior of my soft top. You can see the original interior headline colour and pattern and the frame. I have not tried to polish the rails, and yes they do look a little blotched.

M.

[Markbhai]

And finally, even though you didn't ask for it, I have tried to show you the exterior colour of my softop, which is a lovely chocolate.

This is the correct colour according to my data card...yours may have been different.

Cheers.

[Russell]

ok brilliant Mark thanks. one other small point, your filler cap looks like it has a key slot. was that standard on a 230 as mine hasnt , mine is a simple chromed job with a sort of knurled edge to it.

i also have another issue where in the dash i have an ammeter that we are sure is incorrect. another car i have seen has a clock. do you have a picture of your dash so  can see what it is supposed to look like

i have all the colours for the car
Interior Code            113
Colour Bodywork           Beige      181
Colour Hardtop      Brown   408
Soft top              Brown   437
Seats                       2400
Carpets               6454
Sills flat black            169

russell

[Markbhai]

 Hi Russell

The cars are sisters...same colour codes throughout, including colour of the soft top (assuming you mistyped the code as there are no 400s it is 737 brown)

I am not sure about the originality of my fuel cap, but judging by the general wear on the key I would suggest it is original, although I have seen a few designs on pagodas including knurled edges, MB logos, keys and no keys.  For security you might want to get a locking one from hh-sls?

Regarding the dash, I don't have a picture at hand, but they all had a clock, on 230s they were 'electro mechanical' which basically means they were powered from the battery, but only in so much as the battery wound the mechanical aspects of the clock up.  Time keeping s very bad on these and mine gains around 20 mins per day!  Some have sent their clocks way for conversion to quartz keeping the old face for originality.

Regards

Mark.

[Garry]

Hi Russell,
Here is the petrol cap data from the tech manual for the correct caps. 
http://www.sl113.org/wiki/Fuel/LockingGasCap

A couple of dash photos and also an alternative non locking, non chromed cap sometimes seen, together with the chromed one

Garry

[Russell]

well i certainly have something wrong in my car with the dash layout, i will get a picture taken to see exactly what