Author Topic: Finally finished !!! My 1965 230SL (Read 15880 times)

franjo_66 · « **on:** January 21, 2012, 02:35:05 »

Hi folks

Have been away from the site for quite a while due to some family health issues, but back better than ever.

At last my 230SL is back from a 10 year hiatus. Has been a long haul but after driving her again I realise why I fell in love with these cars in the first place !
She started flawlessly after such a long period. True testimony to the quality of these cars. I did take all the proper precautions and appropriate actions along the way.

Here are some pics. Location isn't the greatest, but I'll take some more appropriate shots as soon as the rain stops here in Sydney !

Best Regards
Frank

treedoc · « **Reply #1 on:** January 21, 2012, 08:51:11 »

Frank,

You are to be congratulated, stunning looking 230 and high quality restoration, all you need now is a running in drive to Noosa and a week or so stopover

Geoff
Tewantin

franjo_66 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 21, 2012, 13:21:52 »

Hi Geoff

Thanks for the feedback. I am very happy with the end result. Only thing is that maintaining a black car takes some doing ! But I love the colour.

Trip to Noosa sounds like a great idea. Just waiting to instal the 123 distributor and new Bosch red coil and we'll be on our way !

Regards
Frank

franjo_66 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 26, 2012, 01:41:21 »

Just been going over some of the old photos showing what shocking condition my 230SL was in !!! Has been a long journey........

franjo_66 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 26, 2012, 01:55:59 »

just a few more that I have found........still raining here in Sydney...........so will have to wait till I can take some more shots

franjo_66 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 26, 2012, 01:57:40 »

my youngest daughter felt left out.....so I promised to include her !

treedoc · « **Reply #6 on:** January 26, 2012, 09:39:42 »

Frank,

Smart girl, she's probably working up to getting you to teach her how to drive in it when she,s old enough.

Geoff

franjo_66 · « **Reply #7 on:** January 26, 2012, 10:01:56 »

You know Geoff, I have a dilemma on my hands as both my daughters want to "inherit" the car! I guess my only way out is to get another one...apparently it has to be silver to make my eldest girl happy!

49er · « **Reply #8 on:** January 26, 2012, 16:29:37 »

hello Frank,
Beautiful job of restoration! Thanks for bringing another one of these fabulous cars back to life and I hope you (and your family) enjoy many happy years of motoring in your 230SL.

John

franjo_66 · « **Reply #9 on:** January 26, 2012, 21:13:41 »

Thanks John, I couldn't ever imagine consigning one of these cars to the salvage yard. So glad that she is now fit to see out another 50 years on the road

Regards
Frank

Pawel66 · « **Reply #10 on:** January 26, 2012, 23:25:52 »

I wish I were where you are, but I am where you started... Great stuff!!! She looks beautyful!!! Both of them...

franjo_66 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 27, 2012, 01:42:08 »

I can understand where you are coming from, but keep at it and the long and at times frustrating journey will be a distant memory once you have finished your car. Those difficult days make the end result more rewarding !

KevinC · « **Reply #12 on:** January 27, 2012, 02:11:15 »

Outstanding!

dseretakis · « **Reply #13 on:** January 29, 2012, 02:46:39 »

Looks great. It's nice that you have photo documentation of the restoration. That adds a lot.

franjo_66 · « **Reply #14 on:** January 30, 2012, 06:44:33 »

Thanks Kevin & Dimitri for the kind words.

Yes, I have many discs full of images of the various stages of reqpir/restoration/etc. And I also have the "file" of all receipts/invoices/etc which I am too scared to go through and add up........

franjo_66 · « **Reply #15 on:** December 07, 2012, 03:21:18 »

Feeling snap happy today !

Flyair · « **Reply #16 on:** December 07, 2012, 10:53:57 »

Franjo

Jolly good, as they say. Astonishing metamorphosis the car went through. I wish you and the rest of us that our cars (and ourselves too;D) keep in such a pristine condition!

w113dude · « **Reply #17 on:** December 07, 2012, 14:09:28 »

Hey Frank,

That is one sharp looking Pagoda, The dark color contrast with chrome is amazing. The next time I'm in Sydney will have a cup of coffee in one of those fancy cafes in Rose bay.
(used to live there years ago)

Good on ya Mate,

TR · « **Reply #18 on:** December 07, 2012, 15:41:22 »

Agreed, the car looks gorgeous. The white wall tires really help to set it off. Can you say what brand they are and where you got them?

(btw, I also used to live in the Sidney area, would have lived just a bit to the west of you, maybe 10 minutes or so).

Garry · « **Reply #19 on:** December 07, 2012, 21:55:08 »

Frank,

Looks fantastic and love the wider than normal whitewalls.

Look forward to seeing it at the 50th in Canberra.

Garry

franjo_66 · « **Reply #20 on:** December 09, 2012, 21:44:58 »

Stan, Shaun, Garry & Tom - hanks for all the positive comments, it is much appreciated.

Good pickup on the whitewalls Garry, they are 205/75 series and fit perfectly on the original 6" rims. I had to deflate the spare one slightly to clear the trunk lid ! But I like the way that they fill out the arches.
If circumstances permit I will indeed make it down to Canberra, but my dad is very sick at the moment so I can't confirm with any degree of certainty.

Tom, from memory these whitewalls are a US brand (Coopers?). I will check my invoice file tonight and let you know. They were ordered from John Cain in Newcastle who gets them directly from the USA. They weren't cheap but I am very happy with the quality, tread, handling, etc. The whitewalls are three years old and still as white as the day they were delivered.

Shaun, hope to see you down under one day soon ! Coffee will be on me.

It's an honour (and pleasure) to have the means to maintain and drive these cars.

TR · « **Reply #21 on:** December 09, 2012, 22:53:17 »

Thank you very much for that feedback Franjo_66. That is helpful info.

BTW, I was incorrect when I mentioned having formerly lived approximately 10 minutes from your current location, which is a beautiful area. Actually I would have been about 10 minutes or so to the east. Well, at least I only got it backwards, not upside down

franjo_66 · « **Reply #22 on:** December 10, 2012, 01:10:28 »

No worries Tom, I'll get you the full details tonight. You could try looking at the DiamondBack tyres website (www.db.com) as I am pretty sure these are were my white walls were sourced from.

Gather that you were located somewhere around Vaucluse/Rose Bay/Clovelly ? It is indeed a nice area. How long ago where you there ?

franjo_66 · « **Reply #23 on:** December 10, 2012, 09:43:28 »

Tom, I checked my invoice file tonight and the whitewalls I ordered were from Diamond Back Classics USA. They have a 1 inch wide whitewall and are 205/75/14 in size.

Let me know if you need any other details. I can only say that I am very happy with them.

Regards
Franjo

TR · « **Reply #24 on:** December 11, 2012, 14:26:05 »

Thanks very much, Franjo, for the kind feedback. We're probably on the same track, because I've been looking at Diamond Back. I talked with them just the other day, but haven't yet made the final decision. Spoke with the owner; they seem to be good people.

And yes, you're correct, we did live in the Vaucluse area. Only there for a little over a year. I was setting up a new operation and my company had everything pre-arranged & fully ready for move-in when my wife & I arrived. It was a wonderful experience. The neighbors were all great, the house was unbelievable, and the view was to die for.

News:

Author Topic: Finally finished !!! My 1965 230SL (Read 15880 times)

treedoc

treedoc

KevinC

dseretakis

w113dude

TR

TR

TR