Broad Arrow recently had an auction of a <10k miles 1969 280SL (
https://www.broadarrowauctions.com/vehicles/jc24_r015/1969-mercedes-benz-280-sl-pagoda) which appeared to be in the original condition one might expect. There were extensive photographs of the vehicle, including of course the underside.
What caught my eye was a cover plate over the drive shaft intermediate bearing. I had never seen nor noticed one of these before, and a scan through the pristine W113 examples that have traded show none with this cover. I am intrigued as to whether this plate is original. If not, it is a curious add to such a low mileage vehicle. Does anyone have any insights?
(I did do a forum search here, but found no mention of this particular cover plate.)
I attach a marked up image from the Broad Arrow listing, the plate is circled in green.
