71 280SL Tires

[71Beige280SL]

Apologies to all for a new owner asking a basic question...again! My 280SL has thin white wall tires. Trying to stay true to what came from the factory, was this common, an option or a previous owner faux pas? I've owned a lot of German cars over the years...none ever had a hint of white walls. This is why I ask.

[69280sl]

Is your car a US or a Euro model? If US, it may very well have come with "thin" whitewalls. Search Pheonix tires. This was the factory furnished whitewall.
Gus

[49er]

My '69 came equipped with Continental WW tires (option code 641, $46.00)


John

[71Beige280SL]

Thanks for the responses. My car is a US model.

[hauser]

Factory WW was 3/4"  wide.

[Iconic]

My '69 came equipped with Continental WW tires (option code 641, $46.00)
John

This code, 641, can be found on your Data Card for sure. Possibly on the Data Plate under the hood (Body and Paint number Plate), but I'm not sure.
You can look in the Technical Manual for great Data Card and Body and Paint number Plate information.
Data Card is available from Classic Center for free if you don't have it.
Most probably, your US '71 came with white walls.
 

[thelews]

Data Card is available from Classic Center for free if you don't have it.
 

Not any more.

[49er]

This code, 641, can be found on your Data Card for sure. Possibly on the Data Plate under the hood (Body and Paint number Plate), but I'm not sure.

I got the code from my original window sticker showing the options for the car. It is not noted on my data card or data plate. By the way, I got a new copy (free) of my Data Card from Tom at the Classic Center a few months ago.

John

[Iconic]

I got the code from my original window sticker showing the options for the car. It is not noted on my data card or data plate. By the way, I got a new copy (free) of my Data Card from Tom at the Classic Center a few months ago.

John

Well, I guess data cards are not 100% accurate or maybe the dealer put the white walls on your car?
My original data card (the one from the original documentation, not the Classic Center) does show 641.

[49er]

Well, I guess data cards are not 100% accurate or maybe the dealer put the white walls on your car?
My original data card (the one from the original documentation, not the Classic Center) does show 641.

The car came from the factory with Whitewall tires. I went down to the dock in San Pedro the night the car was unloaded from the freighter and they were on the car. In fact, I had to have them replaced because the green rubberized coating over the whitewall could not be cleaned off. The dealer's theory was that it got too warm down in the ship's hold and the coating was "baked" on. Luckily, the rest of car was fine. The information that was put on the data cards seems to vary from year to year from what I can tell. I never really knew what much of it meant until I joined this forum I "lost" my original card last year when I brought my car into the shop to have it brought back to road worthy condition. Somehow, it got misplaced there.

John

 

[ljg]

Coker Tire sells the 185-14 Phoenix Firestone tires.
I have them on my 1971 280 SL-they look very correct.

[Iconic]

49er,
That is why I put the  , I knew you would have a interesting story.
In our next exchange, you'll be telling me you went to the factory to assemble your car, or maybe you did the drafting for the drawings. 
I hope you know I am kidding. I am a freak when it comes to originality, so I love to read about you and your car. I hope to someday meet you and your car.
A one owner car is rare after ~41 years.Are you going to PUB this summer?
A guy willing to share his experiences is valuable and interesting.
And the fact that even picked it up at the dock is fantastic.

There are many strange things that happen in the manufacturing of cars and other complicated "mass" produced machines. So, it does not surprise me that the data cards are not 100% consistent, as I have read about many other inconsistencies.
But, for the most part the data card is more information than you can get on some other vehicles.

Back to the original question, 71Beige280SL might be able to find 641 on his/her data card, might be able to get a data card from Classic Center, and definitely can read about white walls, the thickness, the position, tire options, data cards and many other things by searching in the Forum and the Technical Manual.
I guess it is my turn to rant.

[49er]

And the fact that even picked it up at the dock is fantastic.

 I didn't quite pick it up at the dock, although I would have loved to have driven it home that night. I ordered my car several months before it was actually delivered and during that time the dealer kept me informed of the car's progress. When it was loaded on the freighter over in Bremerhaven, he gave me the ship's name, the "Ditmar Kole". The Los Angeles Times listed ship activity down in San Pedro and about 6 weeks later, the ships name appeared in the list showing in would be in port the next day and what pier it would be tied up at. That afternoon I drove down , found the pier and the ship. There were about 40 Mercedes lined up on the pier next to her and of that 40, 6 were 280 SLs but only one  White with Cognac interior and a 4 spd. My car Things were different in those days, no fences and if there were guards, I didn't see any. The car was unlocked and the keys were in the ignition. Different times indeed. A couple of days later, the call came from the dealer to come down and pick it up. The rest is history. I have always loved the car and am so happy to be amongst others here on this forum that share that love. Probably will not be getting back to the PUB this year. Bit of a drive from California. Thanks for the invite though.
 One last word on the WW tires. The Brochure that Mercedes printed for the USA SLs, showed the cars equipped with white walls. Even though it was an"option" practiacally all were delivered so equipped.

John

[Leester]

That's about the time I was stationed for a short time in LA with the Army. Most of the time I was in the San Fernando Mission valley but many day trips down to Fort MacArther - which was home to - none other than Omar Bradley. Home then, as now, was the DC area - I remember going to the beach in February - and it was at least 70 degrees - a little unusual but very enjoyable -  it was probably snowing in DC.  There were some pretty strange parts of town in LA and San Fransisco back in those days. 

There sure can't be many original 113 owners out there. You have a fantastic story.

[Iconic]

There were about 40 Mercedes lined up on the pier next to her and of that 40, 6 were 280 SLs but only one  White with Cognac interior and a 4 spd. My car
John

I'm speechless. What a great visual.

[Iconic]

Quote from: Iconic on February 09, 2011, 01:36:08 PM
Data Card is available from Classic Center for free if you don't have it.

Not any more.

John (thelews),
Where did you get this from?
Today I confirmed with the Classic Center that they still provide the Data Card (for free  )with proper ownership documentation.
Regards,
Mark

[thelews]

From the 190 SL Group, Mike Kunz (he runs the Classic Center, in case you don't know).  It wasn't an issue of money, but protecting the matching numbers cars.  Perhaps they are just checking out the requester's information more thoroughly.

An easy way for them to help police the situation a bit better would be to ask the requester for the numbers currently on their car before releasing data card info.

http://forums.190slgroup.com/showthread.php?8284-Mercedes-Zertifikat-more-cut-backs-service-is-suspended&highlight=classic+center

[Iconic]

Maybe the activity you are talking about is specific to the 190 SL.

I was in email contact with Robert Woods today, specifically about my 280 SL. His response confirmed the Data Cards are still available with proper ownership documentation. Tom Hanson was copied on the email string. I have my original data card, but I've been curious to see the Classic Center version (not that curious because I've owned my car two years). They provided the Data Card today for my car and confirmed it is normal practice to provide with documentation ... Based on your comment regarding Kunz, I assume Woods and Hanson work for Kunz. I have seen Tom Hanson post on this site.

For now, we can still get the Data Card from the Classic Center.

[thelews]

I really don't think Mike Kunz statement is 190 SL specific, read it again.

I'll ask for you this weekend, if I remember, I'll be seeing all of them.

[Theo]

From what I saw looking extensively at cars (and books) in Europe, whitewalls were mostly an item for the American market.

Theo
66 230SL

[Tammostubbe]

For now, we can still get the Data Card from the Classic Center.

I was on a biz trip to Irvine last week and went by the classic center.  They gave me my datacard and sent me the PDF and the de-coding in e-mail too.  Proof of ownershiop was required, but it took about 5 minutes to get the data card.  Appartently my car had white walls as well (I am the second owner) when sold at MBZ of San Francisco.

[Jim Donati]

They gave me my datacard and sent me the PDF

Did they provide you with an actual card similar to the original or just a printout of the data that would have been on the original card?  When I requested my data card a few years back, I received an email (pdf) showing what options my car came with and an explanation of each code, but I did not receive the actual (reproduction) card.

Jim