california car ?

[BABAK]

If my car 64 230 sl gold in color came with no soft top would it be considered a california car ? What does it mean ?Is that normal for that year? I think a military person baught it to bring to us .
Well here is the numbers on the fender.
462 H 462 H 5
113042 10 4
00352 03321
I appreciate all the support i been getting from all you people with your knowledge And your nice cars .
ooooyah

[rwmastel]

The "Caliornia Coupe" actually had the soft top compartment removed and a rear bench seat installed.  My car was originally delivered from factory without a soft top, but the soft top compartment was there with a shelf behind the front seats.  Some owner along the way installed a soft top.

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[Klaus]

babak,
the 5 in the first line on your fender indicates that it was ordered ex-factory with a hardtop but without softtop. It is, however, not a "California Coupe", which - as Rodd described - is a 2 + 2.
The numbers in this line following the color codes can be
4 hardtop packed separate, with softtop on car
5 hardtop, no softtop
6 hardtop mounted, and softtop
7 "California Coupe"
The 4 at the end of the next line indicates "diplomat sales, NATO (military) sales, tourists (other than US-tourists) for delivery ex-factory", i.e. confirms your statement that the car was brought back to the US by a soldier.

Klaus
1969 280 SL

[waltklatt]

Babak, Klaus, Rodd,
If there was no hardtop mounted on the car would the data plate on the fender near the hood catch have the second set of #'s and letter G or H for the color?  If no hardtop then the color code would not be there, right?
Walter Klatt
1967 220SL-diesel

[Klaus]

Walter,
if the vehicle was ordered without hardtop there would be dashes in the appropriate spaces, e.g.
181 H  ---    -
I have a photo of such a plate from a posting in 2005.


Klaus
1969 280 SL

[RCS Coupe]

Further confirmation: I have a 1967 250SL "California Coupe" that I have owned for better than 20 years. It was in original condition, including paint, when I bought it. The fender plate numbers:
158H 190G 7 (white-grey body; dark gray top)
00194 01404
There is a folding bench seat in the rear and no compartment for a soft top. The center rear of the top has a hanging hook that latches to small bar bolted to the sheet metal separating the trunk from teh passenger compartment. This hook is threaded and tightens the center of the hard top down using with a knurled knob that also has hex flats for using a 12mm wrench. The other four latches (windscreen and sides)are the same as those used on standard roadsters. 1404 is stamped on the underside of the mounting flange for the top.
 
History of car:
It was purchased new in Nurnberg by a U.S. soldier in April 1967. It was used as daily transportation in Germany before being shipped home to Virginia in September of 1968. On arriving at his new post in Virginia, the soldier's wife announced that she was pregnant and said that the Benz was too small for their impending family where upon it was sold to a friend. The friend ended up keeping it for the next 17 years using it in the Fredericksburg area of Northern Virgina. The car developed an engine problem that the owner chose not to resolve, so he sold it to, making me the second U.S. owner. By the end of the 1990s It was looking pretty tired but had not developed any rust and had never been hit. I decided to paint it (for the first time since the factory paint was applied) which eventually lead to a full-blown, rotiserie, nut-and-bolt restoration, which I am just now completing.
While I was at it, I changed the color to 268 (dark green), including the top.

[RBurg]

Appears to be original CA 280 SL.
Check it out - not correct color acording to the dash color![ViewItem&item=320041473524&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNARL:MT:122


Ron - Minnesota
71 280SL Tobacco "O GIGI"
97 E420 Silver Mist

[Raymond]

As I understand it, the car was always available as a Roadster - soft top only, Coupe - hard top only, and Roadster Coupe - both.  The "California" Coupe with the back seat was introduced in 1967 in market response to the 2+2 designs of cars like the Ford Mustang.

I'd like to hear any additional information if anyone has it.

"Californina" is a nickname, (like Pagoda)that evolved because California was the only place where you could leave the hardtop at home and reasonably expect to come home dry.  Here in Florida, the fall has lots of day when I take day trips topless.  In the summer, afternoon showers make it dicey.  (You can't always drive fast enough, for the water to blow over the windscreen and miss the seats. )

I have only seen a few "California Coupes" but they all seem to be Classic White, with Cognac interiors and manual transmissions.  I have wondered if the California dealers ordered them this way.  Any coupe owners out there with other color combos or the same?

Ray
'68 280SL 4-spd Coupe

[Ricardo]

Hey Raymond
My '67 "california coupe" (113 043 10 00 1854) 4 speed man.,was originally sold in Stuttgart, had the bench seat and was shipped with cognac leather and 834 moss green metallic, both body and hard top...now 501 "winerot" with a gold hard top and an added soft top in tan and no rear seat.....