left quarter panel lock pillar striker mount

[wamingst]

has anyone come across this problem:  I had to replace the left quarter rear panel due to accident, and the left quarter panel lock pillar where the striker mounts is different from what came off the car (1967 250SL) and Mercedes does not have a supper ceded door striker that fits the mount.  Anyone come across this issue before and have a solution?

[ja17]

There is an early and late configuration. If I understand correctly, you now have the later door jamb and cannot get the striker from Mercedes?  Some sedans of the era used the same striker. You may have to source a used one if new is NLA.

[Benz Dr.]

This is very timely as I'm dealing with the same problem right now. The striker is only part of the problem as you also need the door latch to go with it. This will likely mean modifying the door frame to receive the later 280SL latch.

If someone could come up with a system that only changed how the early striker mounts that would be very helpful. Meanwhile, a lot of people are going to find out the hard way.

[stickandrudderman]

Your panel shop can extract the nut plate from your old 1/4 panel and modify the new panel to suit.
There are more than two types of latch (two or three mounting holes) as some have a single rib to the underside of the striker whereas other have more of a saw tooth arrangement. I believe all door latches will interchange in the doors without modification but getting the latch to function properly with mismatched striker components is impossible.

[Benz Dr.]

Your panel shop can extract the nut plate from your old 1/4 panel and modify the new panel to suit.
There are more than two types of latch (two or three mounting holes) as some have a single rib to the underside of the striker whereas other have more of a saw tooth arrangement. I believe all door latches will interchange in the doors without modification but getting the latch to function properly with mismatched striker components is impossible.

Door latches won't interchange and a 230 door shell would need to be modified to receive the different 280 door latch. Also the striker can be changed but it should be done before your car goes to paint if you want to keep the 230 system and now have the 280 nut plate. The bottom holes on the B pillar would need to be filled in and a center hole would need to be made in order to clear the door striker once mounted.
 It sounds simple enough to do but it's a bit more work than you might expect. If you decide to upgrade to the 280 latch and 280 striker you can simply mount the 280 striker as is and grind out areas on the 230 door shell to allow the 280 latch to fit. Since the door is all aluminum it won't rust where you modify. Any modifications on the B pillar would need to be painted.

My situation is that the doors and car are already painted and going back would be as much work as going forward. So, I'm moving forward.

[Benz Dr.]

I just found out that there's a 3rd version striker that's sort of a hybrid of early and late - if you can find one.

[Benz Dr.]

This is the definitive answer. Use a door striker from a 250S/SE sedan or a 250SE coupe. They use the same chrome box portion like a 230SL  but the nut plate is the same as a 280SL. There may be other cars that use the same part but this is the easy solution.
 The B pillar will need to be drilled open a bit where the back of the striker is mounted to allow some clearance but that's the only modification needed. All parts on your door can remain intact and unchanged.