strange rails on roof

[jharkin]

could the roof rails in this pic be OEM?

[Jonny B]

Hard to fully tell from the small photo. But the strips on the roof were an option, for a luggage carrier or ski rack.

[Pawel66]

But if my memory serves me well, those stripes were completely different...

[MikeSimon]

Can anybody really tell from the small picture...or do I need new glasses??/

[Pawel66]

I definitely do need a new pair of glasses...

But when I enlarged the picture it seemed to me that the original rails were wider and placed more towards the middle of the roof.

I may be wring though...

[cfm65@me.com]

Pawel
I have those original strips on my 250SL, and from the photo, mine is exactly there on the edge of the detent in the roof
These detents in the rails are where the ski racks mount.
Regards
Chris
Cape Town

[Pawel66]

Apparently I was wrong, need glasses...

[cfm65@me.com]

Pawel,
Funny enough, these ‘ski railed’ Pagodas are quite common in South Africa. I have owned four Pagodas in the past forty odd years and three of them had the rails. LHD ones are also quite common here.
I have only owned LHD SL’s. 2 X 190 SL, 4 x Pagodas, 2 x 350 SL, 220SE Cabrio a LHD 230 TE, even a LHD MGB. LHD Classic 911 Porsches are also quite common here.
In all these years I have only driven one RHD Pagoda and one RHD 190SL
I can only assume, with this being a relatively small country, we must have had a very small allocation of SL’s and therefor most of ours were used and private imports.
Regards
Chris

[Pawel66]

Just to make sure: I am not arguing, you are obviously right, it must have been my misperception.

Curious why so many of the cars in SA had ski racks. This is my ignorance, forgive me, as the only mountain I know there in this beautiful country (I was on top of it, if there is one) is the Table Mountain in Cape Town. I begin to develop suspicion you used the roof racks for ice boxes... which is, certainly, not their intended use. 

[cfm65@me.com]

Pawel,
As I mentioned above, all I can think of, is that we must have had a very small allocation of new SL models from MB, in the 50s and 60s. Therefor, I can only assume that many were second hand imports from Europe, thus the LHD as well as chrome rails for the ski racks.
I have never seen the ski racks as such, only the rails, which I think enhances the Pagoda roof design.
Yes, you are correct. We hardly have any snow in South Africa. We have a very distinct mountain range, the Drakensberg, running up the east coast from the Cape all the way up north west. This range do get some snow caps in winter. There is a small ski resort up there with a full time snow machine to help out if needed. We often get a little dusting in some areas, but very little.
Regards
Chris

[MikeSimon]

For certain countries, car manufacturers have historically included many options in order not to proliferate versions too much. This will ease specifications and manufacturing schedules.
Anyone who has bought a German car new in the U.S. and would compare that car to a model sold domestically in Germany will find out that the car is loaded with option you would have to specify individually if bought in the country of origin.

[114015]

could the roof rails in this pic be OEM?

Roof rails (garnish moldings, option code 60/0 or 600; see our WIKI https://www.sl113.org/wiki/DataCard/OptionCodes)
were always optional and a very common option for our cars. You'll find them quite often.
Much more often present than the ski racks, which are up on sale from time to time, or the very rare roof rack.

In each case these were mandatory when you as first owner may have wanted to add a ski rack or roof rack later on.


Achim
(both HT's with 60/0)

[Desertpagoda]

By far, most of the 113s I have seen/had had them. My '66 doesnt and Im glad. To paint a hardtop well, they must be removed....meaning a headliner as well