I bought my 1967 250 SL in 2007. Pulled the car in the garage, took some pictures and promptly removed the hardtop, took it in the dry finished basement and covered it, never to be used again by me. I'm building a home and hope to move in spring, thus, the hardtop needs to be on the car for transport. With my son home visiting, we carried it up and installed it on the car. I have to admit, I forgot how classy the hardtop makes the car look. All that extra glass, chrome, wood and nice headliner. Car really takes on a polished, top end, finished look. The soft top, lets admit, is really just a rag on a dull bow, doesn't do anything to enhance the interior (actually detracts) or exterior. But, the hardtop, 1st class all the way and makes all the other jewelry stand out in the car, especially the 230s and early 250s that have more chrome and detail than the 280s. It's fun to look how MB created lines of chrome all the way around interior and exterior spaces.
That said, my car is VERY RED now! My mother's car in the early 70s was red with a black top and black hubs. That was a nice look.
These pics are from the previous owner.
Oh, one point of interest. There must be some foam between the headliner and metal roof. With the windows closed, when I close the door, it blows disintegrated foam pieces out the rear vent of the hardtop just above the window. I do believe the top is original, possibly repainted in 1975 when the entire car was.