I Finally Drove Her (or is it a him)

[n/a]

I got the call today that my 1963 230 sl was ready to be picked up from the mechanics.  I felt like I did when the hospital sent me home with my son..."you better keep him...I don't know how to take care of this thing"!  After much prodding by the mechanic I paid the bill and finally drove my car.  (If it wasn't bad enough to have to take the freeway home I had to put gas in it for the first time!  Good thing I had read about that on this forum!)  The car ran well (I think).  The new muffler really makes a difference and there was no smoke coming from the front thanks to the new radiator.  There is still some black smoke coming out the back when I start it but then it seems to go away.  The mechanic wants me to drive it for a week before He investigates both the black smoke issue and the fact that the car runs so rough when first started.  

I need to drive another pagoda to see if it is my "new car" ears or if this car seems to be loud when I drive it.  (Although All the window rubber needs to be replaced with might help some).  On the freeway I kept looking for the fifth gear still because it seems to be at higher rpms.  I drove it for the rest of the day and got lots of waves and looks.  My kids actually took a ride with me (complaining about the one speaker of course).  They all teased me about how long it would take me to get a speeding ticket and blame it on the Kilometers.  It was a great day and I happily parked it at home.

Thanks for all your encouragement.

Oh yes, here is an ebay story.  I placed a bid on some kind of breather hose on ebay...bidding was $9.99 for an orginal hose..I didn't know if I needed one but thought what the hay...I placed a bid for $13.99 and forgot about the auction.  After a busy weekend I checked ebay to find that I had won the auction for $132.00! (Instead of typing $13.99, I had placed a bid for $139.99!!).  OK...Is that the most expensive breather hose you have ever heard about!!

Marti
63 230 sl

[keesing]

Boy, do I know those feelings...
I finally got my '67 on the road, after 3 months of tinkering, major repairs, back and forth's to the mechanic and umpteen posts for advice here! WOW, what a feeling to drive "her" (figure it's a woman, because of expense to make her happy). Similar concerns about gas, noise and family & friends comments. But those waves, looks, comments and thumbs-up's sure make me feel great!  

ooops, on the eBay thing... not quite as bad as yours, but I just bought a $2 (give away) keyring for $24.99, and a few lapel pins that I'll probably put in a drawer for another $60 +! Oh well! :evil:

1967 250SL Signal Red
1969 280SL "Tweety Bird Yellow"
1987 260E Charcoal

[France]

Congrats, Marti!

Every single time I drive Carling, I get smiles and waves.  Last week I stopped to let a woman cross in front of me on Main Street, and she yelled loud enough for me to hear over the closed windows and A/C (this was warm Sarasota), "What a wonderful car!!!"  People just love these beauties (which I firmly believe are girls) and have fond memories of desiring one (another reason their aura must be feminine).  Here's to many happy years of kudos...

Trice
1968 280SL US, signal red/bl leather, auto, kinder
Sarasota FL; Alsace France
There's two theories to arguin' with a woman.  Neither one works.

[lurtch]

Hello Marti - - - ATTA-GIRL! for getting your SL out on the road - -

You have made some perceptive observations that I can corroberate for you.

YES, they are noisy and  - - YES,  they are not geared quite right  - -  and YES, they run rich (black smoke)  too much of the time  

one more thing - - keep checking  ebay frequently because sooner or later the thing you need will show up there!  

Regards, Larry in CA    

 ( '66 230SL , "ICON 66" )

[RBurg]

Opp's If you screw up a bid and find you made a BIG mistake - it is possible to cancel you bid

Ron - Minnesota
71 280SL Tobacco "O GIGI"
97 E420 Silver Mist

[J. Huber]

Good job Marti. It sounds like you have a competent and trustable mechanic (essential to having one of these cars)... I agree they are a little bit loud -- but it's a good loud -- not the muscle-car deafening variety.

Each of our cars seems to be unique and they all have a personality all their own. In my case, The Guzzi (my car) is definitely NOT a girl. Nor is it a guy. I'd have to say it is a very well-loved IT. It just is.

Finally, this is a long-shot but if the breather-hose you bought is an original and IS the correct one for your car -- it may almost be worth that much! They are not available anymore...

James
63 230SL

[Ed Cave]

Yes, they are all quite beautiful German GIRLS, age 35 to 43.

My kind of woman.

Ed Cave
Atlanta, GA


1971 280SL
1973 911S
2004 A4 3.0
2006 GS430

[joelj]

congrats Marti.

the more you drive her the better she will run

As for the ebay bid, I am sure a lot of us have paid more than the value of the item we bought. this usually happens when we get soooo excited over something we think is rare. A friend of mine Almost bought a pagoda shop manual over ebay for over USD 1000.00 he was glad he lost but he already bid USD 1200 and someone out bid him. A few days later the owner of the shop manual emailed him to ask if he would be interested in buying the manual for the amount of his bid since the winner did not push through with the bid (yea we all know who the bidder was right!??!!) He declined since he got to his senses and realized that he was over bidding on the item. He finally got a shop manual for around USD 250 or so.

I asked him what made him bid and he said it was just the euphoria of getting somethng he thought was rare and winning the item. He was glad he lost :O

Cheers group,

Joel

1969 280sl auto
White /blue
Euro version federalized for US use

[Joe]

Some economists say that the winner of any auction always pays too much because he pays more than anyone else is willing to pay!
Joe
1965 230SL
1971 280SL