Occasional 230SL Conversion From Kinder Seat Version to Parcel Shelf Version

[Tomnistuff]

Help, please!

I'm finishing my 1966 Italian version 230SL restoration, have encountered a "supplier difficulty" and am humbly asking for advice.  I'm planning to drive my 230SL to PUB2017 - Virginia in September and would like to configure my car as a "Parcel Shelf Version".  It is currently a "kinder Seat Version".  To accommodate that conversion, I need two wood parcel shelves - new or used, two bound pieces of Blue German Square Weave Carpet (MB-4) to cover them, two sets of hardware to attach the shelves to the floor pan and two new thumb screws - mine are badly corroded.

Bud's Benz apparently sells wood boards (I call them parcel shelves), but without the carpet and without the hardware.  They sell the thumb screws separately.  They sell the carpet that I need, but only as a complete kit, apparently.  I use the word "apparently" because my last two emails have gone unanswered since early May.  I was waiting for a quote that never came.

While waiting, I thought of making the boards myself but I will still need the bound carpeting pieces.  I can buy the hardware from Authentic Classics.  So I asked K&K for a quote (by email, then by phone when I got no email answer) on the two carpet pieces - no answer, although by phone, they said in late May that they would get back to me.

I emailed and asked GAHH for a quote on the carpet pieces as well but have received no response after four legitimate working days.  I suppose there's still hope of getting an answer.

I once had problems communicating from French Canada to Eastern Europe, but I've never experienced communication problems between Canada and the US, particularly since I'm an American and speak, read and write reasonable, if not perfect, English.

Can anyone provide advice as to how to get an email answer or even a phone answer from our Pagoda suppliers, or do they only reply when you send an order with payment for something they already have on their web site, in stock and priced?  Buying something for a Pagoda in Canada is almost impossible.  If the US suppliers are going the same direction, maybe it's time to sell my car.

Has anyone else experienced this sort of problem?

Tom Kizer
Levis, Quebec, Canada

[Benz Dr.]

Well, let me give you my take on all of this. At  one time, I had ambitions of being the place to go in Canada for all things 113 or 190SL. It seemed like a fairly easy thing to do since I live right on the border and I know both cars well. But here is what happened:

I have several US and a couple of Canadians suppliers but the internet changed all of that.
Almost anyone here can go on line and order their own parts today going completely around me.
Markups are small on vintage car parts and with fluctuating exchange rates you can easily loose a lot of money - stocking parts can ruin you.
Border rules constantly changed leading to delays and costs on shipments. We did our own brokering for over 25 years until that option became difficult.


If you want answers from anyone, including USA vendors, phone that company first and then email them later with your requests and contact info. Trust me, it will give you much better results.