Found: #378

[Douglas]

This 1963 230 SL in CA is erroneously titled as a 1967. It's a very early 230 SL from September of 1963 that was clearly in Italy at some point. Check it out on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=ADME%3AB%3AAAQ%3AUS%3A1&viewitem=&item=290106105459



Douglas Kim
New York
USA

[nick350]

Douglas

Looking at the ebay pictures and particually at the side view of the soft top, is this a OEM do you think. The top on my car has a 1" longer back, like when your hair is too long and it touches your collar.This one looks too short. I think that the extra fabric is meant to cover the rubber seal on the compartment. Is the extra strengthening bar shown on the outside of this one or am I imagining it?  What do you think? Apologies for the clumsy analogy.

Nick350
r107 SL red
w113 SL white

Download Attachment: 2.jpg
71.52 KB

Download Attachment: 1.jpg
78.53 KB

[Jonny B]

It may just be that the top edges have curled up a bit and are not covering the seal (which they should).
The chrome piece across the top of the window was used on the earlier tops (Rodd's car has this), but don't remember when they were taken off. There is a wood slat in the soft top frame that this is fastened into.

Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

[mdsalemi]

Found: #378

Was it missing or something?

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red w/Black Leather
Restored

[Douglas]

quote:Originally posted by nick350

Douglas

Looking at the ebay pictures and particually at the side view of the soft top, is this a OEM do you think. The top on my car has a 1" longer back, like when your hair is too long and it touches your collar.This one looks too short. I think that the extra fabric is meant to cover the rubber seal on the compartment. Is the extra strengthening bar shown on the outside of this one or am I imagining it?  What do you think? Apologies for the clumsy analogy.

Nick350
r107 SL red
w113 SL white

Download Attachment: 2.jpg
71.52 KB

Download Attachment: 1.jpg
78.53 KB

To my eye, the top looks like a vinyl replacement top. (Too shiny and not generous enough with the material.) And yes, that chrome bar was found on the earliest models. It's a nice touch (a la W111 cabriolet) that was lost shortly after production.

Douglas Kim
New York
USA

[waltklatt]

The top looks like a Vinyl one, but weren't the early tops with the small steel bars above and below the plastic window?  
Also, the #199 is languishing in a southern Ca, junkyard.
I've got the vin tag from it.
Not the machine stamped #'s, but hand stamped.
Does anyone else keep a collection of vin tags?
Walter
1967 220SL-diesel
9 deceased SL vin tags

[Douglas]

Walter,

The steel bars in the soft top above and below the rear window are stitched into the canvas, so you can't see them. You can only feel them. They're not decorative.

This chrome bar is purely decorative and is nailed into the wooden crossmember found on the earliest cars.

Douglas Kim
New York
USA

[PnHi]

Italian?  My limited experience with manual trans. Italian SL's are that they  are 5 speeds.  Could be an interesting car.

[George Des]

Not all Italian delivered 113s were 5 speed. I recall seeing many more that were not while I was stationed in Vicenza during the late 70s and then again from 81-82. What I did not see many of were automatics. The tail lights on the one on E-bay, however, are not what you would expect to see on an Italian delivered model unless they were at some point changed out. The Italian tail lights typically had an amber outter portion although it is not the same as seen on the later 280sl models. It is a one piece chrome/plastic combintion exactly like the totally red lenses on the 230SLs and 250SLs

George Des