Wow!

[70chevelle]

I've had my 70 Pagoda for about 3 years now, but have never really taken it on a long journey.  Due to the price of gas, and my main vehicle being a Durango, I decided to take the Pagoda on a golf trip.  It was about 100 miles each way.  I drove the PA and OH turnpikes, and WOW!  Cruising at 70 mph, and smooth as silk.  It was very enjoyable, and without issue.  Now, getting gas the nite before had it's events.  As I was pulling from a parking lot to go to the gas station, I heard this horrible sound, and then metal dragging.   I pulled into the gas station, and low and behold my exhaust was on the ground!  I put it on 2 years ago.  The rubber hangers must have melted or broke.  I got it temporarily hung, filled up, and went to the autoparts store.  Bought a few new hangers, went home & rehung the exhaust.  I finished up about 9:30, but was definitely a little concerned when I pulled out at 6:00 am on Friday.  But, all went well.

70 Chevelle 13.7 @ 99.7
70 280 SL Silver/Black top
05 C230 Kompressor
03 Dodge Durango SLT

[joelj]

Hi 70 chevelle,

Nothing feels better than our Pagodas on the highway with the top down

Cheers,

Joel

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

[Cortez-Campos]

Yes gas for the pagoda is very high, here in Denmark it cost 6,9 $ pr. gallon, so it is a expensive hobby.

but it is worth it for a big smile while cruising ;o)

280 SL 1969 anthracite 172, with red inteior.

[Ricardo]

Wow Christian
Do you actually mean $6.90 US for a US gallon [:0]...I guess I shouldn't complain about $5.18 Cdn. for a Cdn. gallon of 94 octane (highest available) which converts to about $3.75 US for a US gallon )....

[keesing]

Oh My God... I've been griping about the $3.19 here in Santa Fe - guess I better be thankful and go for another drive this evening!
Filled up today at $3.03! Still less than a gallon of milk and I sure enjoy it more than my lactate acid stomach after a glass of milk. Guess it's all relative - those smiles and waves are worth it!

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

[Chad]

$3.69 today filling up just outside Grand Canyon NP.

I think the w113 gets better mpg than more than 50% of modern cars.

1967 230SL (Manual)
2006 Prius (Mostly Electrical)

[joelj]

Hi Group,

Wow the $ 6.90 per gallon is really quite an amount for a gallon of gas. Here in the Philippines it cost roughly $ 3.00 per gallon.

I remember when I was studying in Californnia in the mid 80's gas was like 99 cents per gallon or was it 1.99? Or was I dreaming?

With the cost of oil going up I shudder at the thought of the gas prices even increasing. What more for our European friends who are currently paying the high cost of fuel.

But if that's what it will take to keep our pagoda's running then I believe all of us will find a way tosave some money to "filler up"

cheer,

Joel



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

[Rhodrich]

GBP 1.00 a litre here in the UK - that's $7 a US Gallon.  In addition, to drive into london, you have to pay a congestion charge of GBP 8.00 per day ($15).

The crazy thing though is that no matter how expensive fuel is, it's still cheaper to drive than to go by public transport.  The government just seem to want us to stay at home.....

[joelj]

Hi Rhodrich,

Now it seems like I've heard it all ??!!?

I can't imagine the public transport to be more expensive than driving your own car??? What in the world is your government thinking??

Yes I agree, you should just stay home and admire your pagoda

cheers,

Joel

1969 280sl auto
White exterior
Blue interior

[Longtooth]

Even at $3.50/gal last week it's worth it to cruise down 101 at 85 mph with the top down, doing a little 90-95 to avoid conjestion now and then... I'll pay $5/gal and still not complain about it when that price comes to pass too.

Think about it... at $3.50/gal, and a fill-up of say 19 gals, getting around 300 miles/fill-up, you're gas cost is circa US$0.22/mile... so at 85 mph you're paying US$0.35/mile or so... I figure it this way... a flight from  San Jose to San Diego costs an average of around US$200... sometimes more, sometimes less.  That's about 2 tanks of gas... say 2 1/2 to be safe.  So it costs circa US$170 to get there from here in my Pagoda... and other than the time on the road (and getting thru LA!!!) it's a breeze other than the bug collection you get on 5 going down the valley.  Call it a price wash vs flying....

Of course you have to figure the other costs... wear/tear, oil, but you have to do that whenever you drive no matter what.

So you can't complain too much about the price of gas as long as it's being sucked up by your Pagoda.... and fwiw, gas is the cheap part of keeping it maintained in tip-top condition anyway.  All things in perspective.

Longtooth
67 250SL US #113-043-10-002163
95 SL500