New member introductions

[miniwarmth]

Hi All,

About a month ago while heading to the beach with the family I drove past a 230sl.  It peaked my interest enough that while heading home I took a detour to take a longer look.  After doing an inspection from a independent MB mechanic(Paul @ Star Service) and having Alex @ Dearborn Automobile (http://www.dearbornauto.com/index.shtml) drive it, I sought the opinion of this group (http://index.php?topic=5773) .  Well after lots of consideration I decided to pass on purchasing the vehicle - the toughest thing was telling the owner.  A really nice guy that reminded me a lot of my father.  Anyway, after feeling a bit down by not buying that vehicle, I came across that was listed on eBay - I know what all of you are thinking.  Anyway, I lost the auction but the winning bidder failed to close the deal and the owner called me.  We talked for 3-4 days and he started emailing pictures of the records - turns out all the owners of the car were meticulous record keepers - all the way back to new!  I'm sure, I'll never know if a record was omitted, but this binder + the original service book provided a real glimpse into the past of the car.  

Well I took a risk(1 way ticket) and flew down to meet the seller.  Everything he described in his original ad was accurate and the car looked great and ran great.  I'd say the biggest issue with the car was that the only thing this last owner did, except for wash it, was to change the oil.  Thankfully he only had it for 2 years.  The immediate concern was that he brakes were pretty well shot  - I didn't realize this until I had consumated the deal.  Well I nursed my new baby back home(500 miles over two days).  The following weekend was the local MB club Concours - couldn't miss that opportunity to see my car with its bretheren, so I waited on the maintenance for an extra few days(I'll post pics of the event in a another post).  As soon as the event was done though, I sent it straight to Paul(Star Service). They were thrilled that that I bought this one instead of the other. Paul was excited to work on a rust free, clean car that just needed regular(but expensive, as I would soon find out) maintenance.

I now have the vehicle back  and wow!!! What a great car - the 113's have been on my list for years and I'm thrilled to finally own one.  Except for few cosmetic items, the car is nearly perfect.  Anyway, sorry for the long winded post, here are a few pics: http://web.mac.com/miniwarmth/iWeb/Cars/230sl%20Pics.html .

Best,
Nik

[n/a]

Hi, I am a newbie from the north of UK asking for help. We are looking to buy a Pagoda SL; however I need a favour from someone near to Sheffield in the UK. I have had spinal surgery that has turned out none to well. I have lost no function in my legs but find some cars too painful to sit in as a passenger or to drive. Is there anyone local to us with a Pagoda who would allow me and my wife a chance to sit in the Pagoda before we begin to find one for our selves. Thanks Tony Marshall

[duemetri]

Ciao
Danilo, from Italy. Proud owner of a nice (very nice) 1963 Pagoda. Silver, in and in perfect condition.Bought off a gentle old lady, who  had it in a garage for a long time. I have yet to do anything to it, although there is little to be done.So far I have a marvellous 5000km done, out of a total of 100 000km. Absolute pleasure, both at low and high speed.

If there are any Italian members. I would like to get in touch.
Saluti da Reggio Emilia, cerco amanti e o possesori di Pagoda.

Thank you/grazie
Danilo

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I am the lucky owner of a sexy 230sl 1963 model

[KevinC]

You may have better luck posting questions in "general discussion" as opposed to under "new members". Not everyone reads about the new folks coming aboard although we cetainly appreciate your being here!

quote:Originally posted by madt

Hi, I am a newbie from the north of UK asking for help. We are looking to buy a Pagoda SL; however I need a favour from someone near to Sheffield in the UK. I have had spinal surgery that has turned out none to well. I have lost no function in my legs but find some cars too painful to sit in as a passenger or to drive. Is there anyone local to us with a Pagoda who would allow me and my wife a chance to sit in the Pagoda before we begin to find one for our selves. Thanks Tony Marshall

Kevin Caputo
Boca Raton, FL
1967 230 SL Automatic
670 Light Ivory
113 Bronze/Brown MB Tex

[KevinC]

WOW.

Keep the pics amd posts coming. Welcome aboard!

Kevin

quote:Originally posted by duemetri

Ciao
Danilo, from Italy. Proud owner of a nice (very nice) 1963 Pagoda. Silver, in and in perfect condition.Bought off a gentle old lady, who  had it in a garage for a long time. I have yet to do anything to it, although there is little to be done.So far I have a marvellous 5000km done, out of a total of 100 000km. Absolute pleasure, both at low and high speed.

If there are any Italian members. I would like to get in touch.
Saluti da Reggio Emilia, cerco amanti e o possesori di Pagoda.

Thank you/grazie
Danilo

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I am the lucky owner of a sexy 230sl 1963 model

Kevin Caputo
Boca Raton, FL
1967 230 SL Automatic
670 Light Ivory
113 Bronze/Brown MB Tex

[FloridaBIll]

Hello Everyone, I inherited my fathers 1967 250 SL which he restored in Stuttgart Germany when we were stationed there in the late 70’s early 80’s (Patch AFB).  At his death, I was too young to drive/maintain the car.  It went to a barn in North Carolina and sat for 7 years, but it was not prepped for the “wait” (gas still in the tank, etc.).  Fast forward to the present and now I have this wonderful car but it sure does need a fair amount of work to become a solid daily driver.  I was able to get the basics done (brakes, master cyl., Fuel pump, tank cleaning, etc.) and she does run and is tagged.  I still have a long way to go but it is great to have kept this car in the family.  His love was for cars and I have great memories of my dad and me cruising in the “Red Rocket”.  I will be asking for much advice as I have to replace many items that are worn.  I have average mechanical abilities but I have found a decent mechanic in my area.  It’s great to see the car that was in the garage growing up as a kid now residing in my small 1 car garage.  I live on the East Coast (right on the Coast less than 1000 ft from the Ocean) so salt air and rust is going to be a big problem.  Anyways, thanks again dad for the car ! We all miss you very much, your car is safe and will be top notch soon (I needed to write that, never got a chance to thank him).  

Thx.
FloridaBill


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[J. Huber]

Welcome to the Group, Bill! I think you are doing your father proud to get the car up and running. Best of luck on things. You will find plenty of info here and lots of folks willing to help. The only potential hang-up I see is you may have to refer to your beauty as the "Red Rocket II" -- we already have another enviable Red Rocket, owned by our esteemed Pagoda expert, the Benz Dr!

James
63 230SL

[RCS Coupe]

I am a mechanical engineer living in Arlington, Virginia. (See, not everyone living around Washington, DC is either a lawyer or a politician!)
I bought my 250SL Coupe in late 1985 from a Southern Maryland European used car dealer. It is a manual transmission "California" coupe (with a bench back seat and no folding top). At the time I bought it the engine was disassembled with parts in the trunk and the passenger compartment. I bought it because the body was straight, rust-free and still in original paint. The mechanical work did not bother me and I had it on the road by the summer of 1986.
History of car:
It was purchased new in Nurnberg by a U.S. soldier in April 1967. It was used as daily transportation in Germany before being shipped home to Virginia in September of 1968. On arriving at his new post in Virginia, the soldier's wife announced that she was pregnant and said that the Benz was too small for their impending family where upon it was sold to a friend. The friend ended up keeping it for the next 17 years using it in the Fredericksburg area of Northern Virgina. The car developed an engine problem that the owner chose not to resolve, so he sold it, making me the second U.S. owner. By the end of the 1990s It was looking pretty tired but had not developed any rust and had never been hit. I decided to paint it (for the first time since the factory paint was applied) which eventually lead to a full-blown, rotiserie, nut-and-bolt restoration, which I am just now completing.
While I was at it, I changed the color from 158 grey (190 dark grey top) with Caviar MBTex to 268 dark green (including the top) with Parchment. I kept it as a coupe.



Ray
(268)Green 250 Coupe

[Mike Hughes]

Welcome aboard, Ray!  Somehow I always thought that you were a member already!  For those who are curious about Ray's car, I posted a coupe of shots of it last month in my post-event report of the Pagoda Meet at Tom Sargent's home.

- Mike Hughes  -ô¿ô-
  1966 230SL Auto P/S
  Havanna Brown (408)
  Light Beige (181)
  Cream M-B Tex (121)

[n/a]

Greetings, everyone!
Please allow me to introduce myself, my name is A.J., and I'm a military policeman, recently returned from a tour in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), and currently residing in Clarksville, Tennessee.
About the car:
It's a 1967 250SL, European car, purchased by my father in 1973.  It served as his daily driver for a couple of decades, and in that time suffered blown engine and was replaced with the engine from a 250SE.  While a California car, it has it's fair share of rust from decades of daily exposure on the way to/from work and life in general.  This was the car that I grew up lusting after, sneaking out into the garage at night to dream of driving it about as far back as I can remember.  It's also the car that I actually learned to drive in.  My dad would drive out to the roads out behind our house, find the steepest hill he could find and park the car and then switch places with me.  His theory (and I agree with it) was that if I could start that car on a hill like that, then I could drive anything.
Anyway, long story (reasonably) short, when I returned from Iraq I heard that he was thinking of selling it, and when I asked him if he was selling it, he offered to let me have it, and even offered to rent a trailer and drive it out to TN from CA for me.  I flew out to visit my family, and then did the cross-country trip with my dad, which I must say was one of the best trips I've ever taken.
Anyway, the car is now in my garage, and while it's far from one of those restored jewels that I see out there, hopefully, someday, eventually it will be.  Granted, I'm working on a servicemember's salary, so it'll be a while, but it'll happen.
I'm looking forward to meeting y'all and sharing tips and techniques for keeping these great cars running and in peak shape.
- A.J.

[KevinC]

A.J.-

First, let me thank you on my own behalf for your service to our country. Secondly, let me offer my welcome to "the club"! One of the greatest things about this group is that we share the same fondness and passion for these great vintage cars. You will find that those with the "restored jewels" are happy to offer advise and input on 113's in all stages of life, whether as nice as their own or those in need of an "extreme make-over". The wonderful thing is you share the same interest as the rest of us and by just posting here, you are showing that its highly likely that another pagoda will soon be on the comeback trail.

Welcome Aboard and Keep the Posts Coming!

Kevin

Kevin Caputo
Boca Raton, FL
1967 230 SL Automatic
670 Light Ivory
113 Bronze/Brown MB Tex

[t-ford_man]

My name is Carl Luttrell and I live 30 miles nort west of Toronto, Ontario Canada.  I have had Model T Fords for the past 30+ years and am now trying to learn all I can about my newest hobby car, a 1968 280-SL automatic in dark blue with white interior.  This is a road worthy car I bought last August.  I have already gotten much help from the club forum questions and answers as well as from the technical section.  I am pleased to be able to join this club.

Regards, Carl

Carl Luttrell

[apispa]

Hello,

here is another proud Pagoda owner who has joined the group.

I recently acquired a 280 SL of 1968 (great year by the way  :oops:  ). The car had been with one owner from 1968 til 2005 in the U.S. and I bought it from a MB enthusiast who had shipped it to Finland.

All the service records, receipts and original documents have been kept with the car which is in the so called "original condition" having been regularly serviced but not restored. Having read horror stories of Pagodas that look ok outside but are something else inside, I was glad to find out that only minor defects were identified in a thorough inspection on the car.

I have a friend who specializes in old Mercedes and Alfa-Romeos and he will take care of the maintenance as I cannot do much of anything with cars. He will also have the car garaged over the winter months since I will only intend to drive it in the summer (winters in Southern Finland where I live are roughly like northern U.S. states or southern Canada - not good for a 40-year old car).

My car is light blue (horizon blau, baby blue 304) with matching-colour hard top and dark blue soft top. Interior is blue MB Tex and it has got four-speed manual gearbox (strange for a U.S. spec. 1968 SL 280....).

Looking forward to the next summer and just watching the car in our courtyard - let alone driving it.

Best Regards,


Aapo
SL 280- 1968 Light blue (304)
Finland - Europe

[Dick M]

Hi Aapo..
Welcome to the group and congratulations on your Pagoda purchase.
As you've probably seen, this site is a great place to learn and share Pagoda information.
I think all new Pagoda owners spend a lot of garage time just looking at and admiring their cars.... I still do.
Happy driving ..

Dick M
1970 280SL

[aomastu]

Hello All,

I am a new member in Austin, Texas.  I have a '69 280SL  D11304410003966.  There are a few items for me to work on (or get worked on) such as flush and fill radiator, power steering leak, A/C fix, broken tach & odometer.
But, the car passed inspection and i do drive it about.  There are many MB service places around, and I would love to find a repair person in Central Texas.  But, they all say they do not want to work on "older Mercedes".  So, I may end up giving it a shot myself, with help from this group.  Photos on the way.

Stuart

'69 280sl
P.O. Box 150128
Austin, TX  78715

[Cees Klumper]

A very warm welcome to you Stuart. I found out that most of the work can be done by yourself if you are at least a little bit mechanically inclined and are willing to invest some time to find he information on 'how to'. Most of that information is right here, in combination with a good workshop manual such as Haynes and the original MB Service Manual (AKA 'The Big Blue Book', a term coined by David Pease some years back). To me, doing my own maintenance and repairs was meant to be part of the fun of owning this car. At first, I was intimidated by the complicated systems on this car (I used to work on Triumph Spitfires which are a piece of cake compared to the SL, mechanically) so I tried to have the work done by specialist garages. None of them were both good and affordable, so I went back to the drawing board. With help from this group I was able to sort out most trouble spots from when I acquired the car, and made myself largely independent from professional garages. I also enjoy working on the car, have developed an ear and feel for potential problems (very rarely do these occur), and probably save myself hundreds of dollars (a bit less in Euro) a year to boot.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[deacon]

Hello,

Just found your site.  Looking forward to talking to other owners.  Mine is a '65 230SL (listed as CPE/RDS in the service manual - have all manuals and original paperwork).  It's a manual four speed. Originally bought in Pebble Beach, Ca.  My father bought it in 1972 and I bought it from him in 1987.  It's been in Northern California all its life.  It is steel blue with same color hard top and dark blue cloth top - tan interior - and a beautiful Nardi sterring wheel (optional equip).  It's pretty close to perfect but I drive it most weekends.  Had the entire exterior done five years ago and had all exterior chrome redone at the same time.  She SHINES!   Thing I love the best is people asking if this is the new Mercedes model.

Look forward to sharing with the rest of you who are in love with a really beautiful piece of machinery.

David

[J. Huber]

Hey David. Glad you found us. The car sounds really nice. Posts some pics in the photo gallery some time -- love to see 'em. Also, there are quite a few owners here in Northern Calif -- keep an eye out for a gathering this Spring or Summer...

James
63 230SL

[sjiatrou]

Count me as another happy W113 owner in "Northern" California.  If any other Central Coast drivers want to get together please drop me a line.

I picked up my dream car last month.  A 1964 230sl roadster 4 speed.  White with black interior. Ok, white was not my first choice, or my second but when a one-family early '64 in its original configuration comes along, you pounce!  It came with the full tool kit, jack and alignment pin, manuals and documentation (except there was no original data card), the original registrations (from 1964 through 2006) all to the same couple, and it has the original California black/yellow plates. The front, which doesn't have the registration stickers, is stamped 63 - yep, those plates are now registered to me!  It's #001515 and rolled off the line (according to the data card) on January 16, 1964.  I like the idea of having a "first edition" W113: 5.5" wheels, round horn ring, vertical spare, pins instead of screws in the speaker grill, removable dash panel for the radio, etc.  One drawback I've found is that I can no longer find the correct carpeting for the Kaviar interior.  If that's my biggest worry, I'm doing ok. If you see a white 230sl with black CA plates cruising around the Monterey peninsula, that's probably me.  Oh, and by the way, the vertical spare provides enough trunk space for my golf clubs!

It's great to be a part of the W113 world (if it doesn't have a hard top is it still considered a pagoda?)

Steve Iatrou
Seaside, CA
1964 230sl roadster
White (050)/Black (116)

[mbz.280sl]

Hello to all,

I finally decided to join this great forum after reading all of the topics and seeing what a great place it was to get answers about my 280SL. I bought a 1969 280SL in 2004, it's a 4 speed with AC and has spent a lot of time in the past couple of years getting restored. I had it painted in it's original color - sand beige - and replaced the interior and the soft top. It's looking real good. I have it stored away now but it still needs some minor finishing touches.
I have quite a few pieces left over from the restoration work. Some of the parts are the old original parts taken off of the car and others are new parts that were double ordered or not needed. I'll be posting a list of these some time soon.
I live on Cape Cod and have had an opportunity to see at least ten other 230, 250 or 280SL's here on the Cape. Some are in various states of repair and others are completely restored. These cars never seem to show up in the local car shows but I have seen one or two in local parades.

Otto

[Erik Bentzon]

Hi
I am a Canadian cousin to the group--I just bought a 1964 230 sl-silver out of California that is 95% restored.  No history on it as it passed through two dealers hands before reaching me through a Porsche (can we use that name??)Restorer in Oregon.  Great fellow! The car was part of an estate sale.  The last 5% wasn't done and interior parts are missing. I'll post a "hope for list" in the next forum.  I got it through US and Canadian customs and now am working on the Provincial safety inspections and then registration. In the mid seventies as a teenager I owned and rebuilt a gas and then a diesel pontoon (60-61) only problem was that I had little money and was dependant on them for all transport.  An Austrian friend's family introduced me to Mercedes and I have loved them since.  Now a few decades later I can play with my new Mercedes while it is a "toy" rather than main transport.  I found the Forum and was impressed by the knowledge base and friendliness of the members.  I am certain to look for help on how to research the history and where to find parts.
Erik

[deke54]

Hello:  I have been lurking for some time reading many interesting and informative posts.  I have a 1968 280SL.  It's tobacco brown with a cognac MB Tex interior and a tan top. It's a four speed, no air, no power steering.  I've owned the car for nearly two years and it has become a passion if not an obsession.  Since buying the car I have changed the wheels to Bundt type alloys, added headrests, retractable belts, and period correct Hella driving lights.  I look forward to participating in thess pages.  Don K.

[WTF]

Hello to all! It is especially agreeable to see some other Canadians as members of this select fraternity! To start with,I am "a young 66 yrs" enjoying my retirement,who would like to call himself "t-ford_man II", if I could figure out how to set it up!In any case,althought we drive our restored 1912 Model T Ford Touring over 2500 miles every year in club activities,3 years ago I purchased in Florida,a 1969 280SL Roadster, that I finished restoring just last spring. New Paint,leather interior,new soft top,chrome,mechanical needs,etc.(I say finished, but for my present project-a complete upgrading of the original Frigiking AC system.) "It is truly remarkable all the excellent data and information that is freely exchanged in these Pagoda SL Forums. What a blessing for the neophyte requiring help to tackle this sophisticated machine!Of special interest to some, may be my installation of a Borg-Warner overdrive unit that -as I desired- brings the engine rpm at 60 mph and 3350 rpm down to about 2350 rpm!What a joy on the highway!
When I have the time I'll write a report on this unorthodox, but successful installation.

Tom Forsythe
8766 Marcel Cadieux
Montreal, (Quebec)
Canada, H2M 2L1
t.forsythe_inc@videotron.ca

'69 280sl Dark Olive DB 291
Automatic + OD,PS,PB,Air,2 tops



W.T.Forsythe

[ScottyNeutron]

Hello,

I've been lurking for a few weeks. Not yet an SL owner, but I'm on the lookout for just the right one. I love the information here and hope to participate with something constructive once I own my own SL.

Current owner of a 2005 Thunderbird and previous owner of a 1957 Thunderbird (among other interesting cars).

Scott Newton

[Sigman]

Hi all,

I've been a member for over a year now but not been posting anything in the forums.  I've always loved all SLs (especially the 560SLs as a child).  I purchased an '86 560SL several years ago to get my feet wet.  I'm not a mechanic and it's a great learning experience.  I recently purchased a cherry '69 280SL 4-spd with John Olson's help.  It's a 717 papyrus white body with a 135 blue mbtex interior and a 904 dark blue hardtop. All original color schemes (unfortunately not 100% original paint). 56K original miles with A/C (factory installed unit in USA) and power steering. The 2nd owner owned the vehicle since 1975.  Though the car is in excellent shape, my future plans is to completely detail the engine bay, repair a small rear fender dent and obtain the correct radio (original was replaced). I will try to attend Blacklick 2007  and learn more about the W113 mechanics as well as meeting other enthusiasts.

Cheers,
Michael



--------
1969 280SL
1986 560SL
1989 Toyota FJ62
2003 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro