Yes, Bob you are right.
This issue just came up here, with me, and Dave got involved. And yes, the forum is for exchange of information. And while yes, the restorer could dig through his on-line MB link and maybe find the information himself, some of this stuff comes naturally to certain people, Dave Gallon among them. He could rattle off the part number before the restorer established the MB link and logged on.
A relatively new member of the MBCA (don't yet know if he has shown up here or introduced himself) has a 1966 230SL undergoing a fairly thorough restoration at a local shop, Motorwerks. It sits alongside TWO
other 230SL's in various degrees of disassembly all meeting the same fate: they will be brought to life again.
I was called in to the shop to help evaluate some of the direction they are taking. The issue of wheel covers and the beauty rings came up. Replace (if available), or repair and rechrome? (n.b. was only one of a myriad of topics we covered that day). The owner's goal is perfection. You cannot make the decision on how to proceed without knowing if the parts are available; you can't make the decision financially unless you know the cost. The next step would be having a plater evaluate the wheel covers and beauty rings, to see if the dents and dings and scrapes of 44 years of abuse can be repaired prior to replating.
If the parts were not available, repair would be the most likely option.
Information flow, and friendly dialog and exchange is what keeps all this going and why these 3 sad 230SL's will all be driving and looking pretty darn smart later this year.
