Hello Tom in Boise,
With the 20+ years of experience you have with this car I'm surprised you didn't answer your own question. Or, perhaps you did and were looking for some validation?
Over the years all kinds of aftermarket kits to do all kinds of "performance" enhancing have been available for all kinds of cars. "Performance" of course can mean increased speed, better handling, etc. You should take note, however, that there was a dearth of such contrivances for the 113. Why is this? I have my own ideas...
1)
It isn't a sports car. Yes it is a two seater, and yes it held some appeal to those who purchased sports cars, but look at what it came with: bus-sized steering wheel, recirculating ball steering, swing axle, etc. and thus it could never compete well with sports cars such as the long gone British marques, or Porsche. SL=Super Light. It wasn't super and certainly wasn't light. It is a stunning work of mechanical automotive art; it is beautiful in its factory configurations.
2)
It was appropriately configured. You generally see brake enhancements when the braking leaves something to be desired. All the early test reports comment on how good the brakes are. You see horsepower enhancements (such as the Judson Supercharger for the 190SL) when the car was configured in an underpowered fashion. You see handling enhancements when the handling leaves something to be desired. For all its faults and foibles, the 113 was a great package and the "aftermarket" didn't see fit to make too many offerings. If they did and I don't know about them, the owners at the time certainly didn't see the need for them. It would be curious to go back and see a JC Whitney catalog from 1967-1968 and see what they had for it! It is arguably fast enough for the intended use; it handles well, and brakes well, too when everything is working as it should.
3)
It was rarely raced. Racing generally brings out the performance enhancements of all kinds. This is a "grand touring" car, a "boulevardier" to get you and your trophy wife or husband to and from "the club"--not around the track in a hurry. Oh sure, some were raced, but not like Porsches, Jaguars, Triumphs and even humble MG's. I'd be curioius to see what the annals of the SCCA would yield for 1968. Oh yes, there was that notable win in the '60's, and many of us have seen Pete Lesler's "race prepared" 250SL, but these are the exception.
While I wouldn't call it heresy--you should do what you want to your own car--but would you be creating something the car isn't and wasn't intended to be? How much extra horsepower would make you happy? Would you be creating stresses and forces that would shorten your engine life, or the life of other components? Criminy, a good number of 113 owners have trouble (read all the posts!) getting a standard
ignition system to work! For all the cost and trouble in trying to shoehorn a supercharger into this car--and making it work--you could buy a factory tricked out Mazdaspeed Miata (or something similar...), have
that kind of fun, and when your done at the end of the day, hop into your beautiful 280SL, take your lovely wife out to dinner and utter those oft repeated words to the valet that I do when I take the car and wife to a fancy restaurant:
"4 position is DRIVE and it doesn't go far--OK?"(NB it usually stays right in front next to the Ferrari's
)
Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red w/Black Leather
Restored
