SOLD. Original ski rack for sale

[carpress]

Offering this ski rack. Ships from  Germany. Asking price 1,400 euros plus shipping

[sully]

PM sent. Thanks, Sully

[carpress]

Uploaded new pix. Rack complete and ready to ship.

[Cees Klumper]

As we learned recently ('250Sl sold on BAT for $225K') it's accessories like these that can catapult the value of your Pagoda into the stratosphere! 

Seriously, this seems like a steal considering how rare these are and the condition these are in.

[zak]

Cees, they would look good on your Fulvia!

jz

[louie2]

Has this been sold?

[carpress]

Not sold but now located in Germany. Can ship from there, as per revised ad.

[fd-li]

What is the view of the group here regarding originality of this item? There are press photos from a 230 SL showing an earlier “triangular” design of the grey rubber pieces to be original (see eg https://www.classicdriver.com/de/article/classic-life/snapshot-1960er-mit-dem-mercedes-sl-auf-die-piste)

Were those rubber pieces changed during the lifetime of the pagoda to those shown in this advert? If so from what point in time onwards? Thanks.

[mnahon]

I believe there was a change at some point in the rubber pieces, but don't know when it happened. I say that because over the years, I've seen an equal number of Pagoda ski racks with either type of rubber pieces. These ones are the later type which were also on the 107 racks. Each rubber piece holds a pair of skis vs the earlier ones that hold a single ski.

[zoegrlh]

I agree with Meyer, these racks were manufactured for DB and design changed in later 67,68. I have the exact racks that Carpess is selling, and yes they would be very rare in US market. I lived in Germany and found a set. German market would have many more Pagodas with these racks as an accessory.  I think price is spot on. You would have to search for years to find another pair, and in as good contact condition.

[fd-li]

Thanks a lot zoegrlh an Meyer, much appreciated. I have been following a couple of offers for those ski racks in Germany too since (unfortunately) my car was delivered with them so it’s on the data card and I got to have them at some stage. Agree the asking price is not unreasonable but for the condition of my car just tricky to justify. Also agree the market in Germany for those ski racks is bigger for whatever reason.

If anyone ever finds more detailed info from which point in time the changeover from the old to the new ski rack version took place I’d be highly interested to know.

[Mark250SL]

The fellow from whom I bought a set of these in Germany told me that there were two manufacturers that supplied ski racks as an accessory for the W113:  ORIS (Otto Riehle) and Eckel.  I believe both are/were located in the Stuttgart area.   My rack is from Otto Riehle and looks like the one above.  The Eckel rack, which is perhaps more rare, had four rubber take-ups on each of the two crossbars.

[Jack the Knife]

I was certain a photo would be in the options catalog included in my car... alas! Just "for all models upon request." And it is underlined, ha.

[zoegrlh]

Mark250SL is correct two companies making these ski racks at time. My racks are by Eckel, and do have the four rubber take-ups on each of the two cross members. Probably need to take a picture of the racks to place in our manual.

[GarWood]

Maybe I can ad a bit to this topic, although its an older thread:

Eckel and ORIS were both producing these ski racks in Germany for Mercedes, mainly for the W113, but also the R107s - i.e. both OEM.

In the late 60s, they changed the set-up as stated above - changing form the beige ski holders to the grey/blue ones, the chrome roof rack holders stayed the same, but the W113 holders are not as wide as the R107s of course.

The grey/blue ski holders are known as being a bit more secure due to the blue straps that would hold the skis tight. There is currently one offered on eBay again.

Attached the ORIS brochure showing the later type and images of a recently sold W113 with such a ski rack - the Eckel late types looked exactly the same, some believe they were manufacturing these for ORIS as a sub-supplier. Both racks are rare finds indeed.

[GarWood]

Hello again,

as Jackson was asking me further, yes, there is also the other, very early option for the Ski rack to be mounted on the trunk, which can be used when the Hardtop is not an option. I have attached an image from Mercedes official sources for all your reference.

If anyone by the way comes across the roof rack for a suitcase shown on top, but for the R107 (yes, this was available, too - DB No. 107 840 0020), I'll be happy to trade/sell in my Pagoda W113, hardtop-mounted ski rack (DB No. 113 840 0291) for it right away - or my original Eckel ski holders (8 beige pieces on an old W114 roof rack, but they are exactly the same with the Eckel ski holders for the Pagoda), your choice and maybe we can all help each other.

[rwmastel]

That early ski rack is quite a complex contraption!  Whoever drove that car needed to learn how to reverse better - the rear valence is all dented up!   

[mdsalemi]

That early ski rack is quite a complex contraption! 

Not only is it complex, you cannot open the trunk/boot with the skis in position...not that there is much room in the trunk for all your weekend ski gear anyway, but you get the idea...

[teahead]

Not only is it complex, you cannot open the trunk/boot with the skis in position...not that there is much room in the trunk for all your weekend ski gear anyway, but you get the idea...

ya, but you can put the top down!

[Jack the Knife]

It reminds me very much of a trunk-mounted bike rack I had for my old 5-series. Who needs the boot. Having that top down allows you to stay cool. 

Interesting how the front is noticeably higher on this one. Posted by Mercedes' Twitter account.

[rwmastel]

Looks the same to me.  Imagine the top up, the skies would barely clear it.

[Jack the Knife]

Looks the same to me.  Imagine the top up, the skies would barely clear it.

I meant to say the front of the car, not the front of the rack. Does it look like an extra two inches to you?

[Mike Hughes]

Trunk full of schnapps?

[rwmastel]

Squatting under massive power acceleration!     Mike's theory is much more likely.

[Sami113]

Is this still available?