My '69 280sl Project

[cjpoulos]

Hi,
I've just secured my ongoing purchase on a 1969 280sl which belonged to a family member who passed decades ago. The car was parked in 2006 and ran about once a month for a year or so, but eventually it was left alone. I've been chasing this for almost a year and hopefully I'll have her home by February. I'm 17 and this has been my dream car since I was 4 when I had a Pagoda pedal car! The car will be going with me to college where I'll get a bachelors in Auto Restoration, so it's going to be treated very well.

The pros of this one are:
- 14,799 original miles - never rolled over!
- PERFECT condition palomino interior (temp sliders are rotted of course)
- Complete service history
- All of the original documentation
- Absolutely no cosmetic damage
- VERY healthy family discount

The cons are:
- Custom orange over pearl white paint (doesn't look too bad however, and the paint's in perfect shape)
- Aftermarket slotted mag rims
- Not currently running (Hasn't for over 15 years)

I've done loads of research on the w113's and the m130 engine, but I was hoping you guys could give me any more tips or advice on making sure the project goes smoothly. Can't wait to get my hands on it!

Thanks.

[rwmastel]

CJ,

The most impressive thing to me about your post is that you're 17 and you seem to really know what you want to do for a living!  Congratulations on that, getting the car purchase worked out, and finding our Group.  I recommend you become a Full Member, there are a number of perks.  I see you're near Toledo.  One of the Full Member perks is sorting the membership list by Country and State/Province so you can find members close to you and contact them.  There are a lot of Pagodas in Ohio and Michigan.  Seeing other Pagodas next to yours and talking about all the details is a great experience.

This forum has been on-line for 20 years and therefor has accumulated lots of great information.  Get familiar with using the Search feature, it will be your friend.  Full Membership also gets you access to our "Tech Manual" where users have compiled and written out details about the car, procedures to be done, etc.

We can't wait to see pics of the car and follow along on the work to bring it back to life!

Curious - how did it end up with an orange(!) paint job when it has so few miles on it?  One would think a seldom used car would have just been treated nicely and not modified.

[cjpoulos]

Hey Rod!

I'm glad to hear there is such a great community among Pagoda owners! I'll definitely become a full member, sounds like a good idea. The story of my Pagoda is pretty interesting. From what I've been told, it was ordered in Germany by my 'uncle' (a very close family friends uncle) so it has the Euro spec bumpers and headlights but it's left hand drive. When he ordered it he chose Papyrus white over Palomino and it was shipped to the U.S. that way in the early 70's. He restored cars and raced them too, so he decided that he wanted to paint the Pagoda. He couldn't choose what color he liked until he saw his wife painting her nails one day, and he decided that the color of her nail polish was the perfect color for the SL. So, he and my aunt (his niece, who inherited and is now selling me the car) went around buying all of the nail polish they could find in that color and poured every little bottle into a paint sprayer and he painted the car with nail polish! He did a nice job painting it as he was a professional. It was his weekend car, so it only accumulated about 15,000 miles, which mostly came from taking it to shows and races where the car was awarded loooads of trophies! After he passed it retired to a garage for nearly 20 years. My aunt has held it for me for almost a year while I've been saving, and hopefully I'll have it home within a few more months! I'll attach some pictures I got of it last August. Can't wait to knock the dust off of it!

Colt

P.S.
The pictures aren't amazing but it's the best I've got at the moment!

[Vander]

I have a strong feeling your Uncle owned a C2 Corvette before this Pagoda.

You mention it has Euro headlights, but looks like it has US headlights. Hard to be 100% certain from the side angle photo.

[cjpoulos]

Haha, a bit flashy for a Merc admittedly. He actually owned an R107 after the Pagoda and another Benz before it.

You might have got me on the Euro headlights claim, I think there are ambers somewhere down there. Maybe he had them installed when it was brought across the pond.

[Cees Klumper]

Well with that background story, I would be tempted to keep it exactly as-is, sidepipes, nailpolish and all. Certainly unique.
You'll probably run into some major re-commissioning issues. Search the forums for tips, do's and dont's on reviving a car that has sat for so long. Think varnish where there used to be gasoline, stuck/frozen brakes, brake lines/hoses that are compromised, suspension rubber that has gone hard, rodent nests in impossible to reach places. Let's hope the engine turns freely and there's no damage to cylinder head from expired coolant. The fuel injection pump plungers may be frozen in their bores, the cold start systems may be inoperable - the list of things to check is long. But once it's all  addressed, you'll be turning a few heads!

[rwmastel]

That's quite a car.  You'll have to arrange for a few "local" Pagoda owners to bring their cars over one weekend this summer.

[cjpoulos]

Cees -

Thats the plan - keep her the way she is! The only modifications I plan make are a wheel swap and removing the fake side pipes. I love the look of the 15" or 16" bundt rims instead of 14" inch rims originally fitted to the w113, so I'd like to pick up a set of those with some Continental tires. I can't get behind the false pipes though since the trumpets at the back are still the real means of exhaust.

After my initial inspection back in late April, I saw that I will need to replace or refurbish the fuel tank, service the fuel pump and replace the soft top. I didn't have the resources on hand to begin inspecting the condition of the cylinders however, so I did not try to crank the engine.  I believe it will need some sort of anti seize fluid of a few milliliters of diesel dropped in down in the cylinders to free it up.

Colt

[cjpoulos]

Rodd -

Thank ya! I'm very happy to be on way into the world of SL ownership! Although some might consider it sacrilege, the modifications are alright with me and I love the story behind them. PJP, the original owner, really admired the car and I'm over the moon to be it's next proud owner! A local Pagoda party is a great idea, I'll have to arrange something when I get my girl on the blacktop!

Colt

[ja17]

Welcome Colt!
Interesting history indeed. You will have to make a visit to see all of the W113 enthusiasts here in Central Ohio (Columbus Area). In fact our International Group President, lives just up the road. Lots to see and learn here and you are close. In addition the Mercedes Dealer in Toledo, (Sylvania), is a collector and life-time enthusiast of all the vintage Mercedes cars. He is right around the corner from you. He would be fascinated to know that you are studying "automotive restoration" in college!

Be sure to contact me whenever you get down this way. Lots to see here. Keep active on this site we can give you an enormous amount of advice and save you time and money!

Try to collect and preserve all paperwork and documentation confirming that the mileage on your car is accurate and indeed correct. It will make a big difference in the value of your car. Are your gages metric or US? If the original kilometer speedometer was changed to mileage speedometer, true mileage may be difficult to document. Service records, original owner's records or receipts can help fill in the gaps.

Joe

[cjpoulos]

Joe -

Oh wow, I live about 15 minutes from that dealer, I'll have to find his information soon. I'm also fascinated by the college I'm attending in '24 (McPherson College). They have a couple Mercedes in their shop right now, but one of the restored ones in their collection, a gorgeous student-restored 300s, took 2nd at Pebble Beach this year! I'll link a picture of it.

My gages are U.S., and I've read the service history to confirm that it's only 14,799 miles!

I'll definitely stay in touch, this group has already been a great pleasure to be a part of! Hopefully we and possibly some other members can meet up to talk cars this spring!

Colt