New member introductions

[hwsteeves]

hi everyone,
put an offer in the other day, if they take it i will be an owner and an enthusiastic memmber of this forun. cross your fingers
x
 howard

[mkbull]

Hello All

I have now found a car and take delivery (by trailer) tomorrow, Its been off the road for many years but is apparently fairly complete.
A 1966 230 SL white with red and white interior includes both tops original radio manual gearbox.
I am told the engine was running when last layed up but she is now lying under a tarp, brakes siezed and generally being eaten up by the dreaded rust. I really have not had the chance (or indeed the experience) to closely look at how bad she is but hopefully its not beyond redemption.
If so I'll have a lot of spare parts and keep looking...

Thanks for all the great info...

Mark
UK

[Anfinn]

Hei!
I have just signed up, although I have been reading the information on the forum for a while.
Last week I became the owner of a 1970 280 SL. Color is Blue (same as Pauls on the picture below) with an non-original white interior with light blue seats. :evil: The original exterior was Silver gray (180),interior was red.
It is imported to Norway from Florida, and I hope to bring it steadily back towards original condition.
I expect I will have to ask a lot of questions as I go along, so be patient with this newbe


'andy280

[chuck3fire]

Just became a member as I am about to become a new owner. Within the next two weeks I will be taking title to a 1967 230SL. I will be it's 5th owner since new. It has been garage kept but not run in many years. I know the car but have not seen it in years (a relative is giving me the vehicle as an early inheritance). I have limited info as the data plate is not available to me at the moment. I will be needing much help if I am to restore this car to road condition. Will post pictures when I get them. Looking forward to being active in this group.

[Fernando]

Hi,
   i am very glad . In the moment i am thinking about to buy a Pagoda i have foud this forum. I have a lot to learn and this is the place to .

            regards

Fernando
.....................
G500(06),300GE(91),300D(83)Turbo

[awolff280sl]

I have been reading the discussions here on and off for years. Just recently I have found the time to do some major work on the car. I was given this '69 280sl 4-sp in 1980 by my father. He paid $8000 at the time. It was a essentially a daily driver for me up until 2003, with a paint job and replacement parts here and there. I let it sit in my garage (terrible thing to do) for almost 4 years, starting it up and running it to warm every few weeks. Unbelievably, I started driving it daily again over the past few months and there are no real bad problems. It still needs some work (always will), maintanence, and especially TLC.
This Forum is such a great wealth of information from so many talented people from many different backgrounds. I wonder how many other such in-depth Forums exist for other beloved cars?

[benzportland]

Hi everyone - just joined a couple weeks ago.  I recently became the proud new owner of a 1965 230sl 4 speed manual.  She's in the shop now getting checked over before getting pressed back into service.  A euro version, purchased originally on a fly/drive and brought back here to the states.  I am looking forward to learning much more here, and hopefully sharing my own experiences eventually.  I found a set of NOS seatbelts, 2 point retractable, so will be getting those in soon, and have a few other items I am looking at improving/replacing.

[France]

Hey Andy and 'andy,  glad to see you both joined and are now using cars that sat lonely so long.  

I guess you couldn't have more different conditions right now than FL and Norway.  Welcome to you both.


Trice
1968 280SL US, signal red/bl leather, auto, kinder seat
Sarasota FL; Alsace France; Switzerland
Think of your Pagoda as a woman with a past...

[BaronYoungman]

Well here is the car (Veronica...it seems to work much better if I name them) ...I really got it out of a barn...with about 15 boxes of parts.. I am sure i will be using this forum ALOT!

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[dhunter]

Greetings all.

I have recently inherited the 1970 280SL California Coupe of my late father Jim, a former member of this group. I have been on a number of outings in it with him over the years, and have grown to like it...so I expect I will be keeping it. It is a euro-spec model I believe, as it was bought new in Germany and imported to Canada in the 1970's by a military acquaintance of my father.

I don't think it needs too much. It seems to run well and looks great. He was won a few awards at Mercedes club and other car events in recent years. I hope this group will provide a great resource for keeping it hapilly running !

Regards, Doug Hunter
Ottawa, Canada

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[edward.roeloffzen]

Hello everyone,
I have finally managed to talk my father into selling his 69 280 SL to me(he originally had a 230SL). My father purchased the car back in the late seventies with 38,000 original miles, now it has 42,000 most of those miles with me in the passenger seat. I always looked forward to the first nice day of spring when we would pull the cover off the car, install the battery and take it out for a spirited country cruise. I am the only sibling that shared his fascination and love of cars. I have been blessed with son who like his father and grandfather is also fascinated by cars. I look forward to continuing the tradition my father started so many years before.
Respectfully
Ed

[benzomontreal]

Hello all
I bought a 230 sl 1967 white over blue last September.  I am from Montreal, Qc, Canada. I can't wait to read more about your experiences.
Best

BenzoMontreal

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230sl 1967
s280 AMG 1973
e320 wagon 4matic 2005

[Martijn]

Hello Everyone,

I am recently the new and proud owner of a 250 SL. Since a long time I have been looking for a nice Pagoda. I think the Pagoda is a beautiful car because of the timeless design. Also with the help of this website I found a lot of information about these cars.

When I saw this 250 SL, it was a kind of love at first sight and I decided to buy it. I already have enjoyed a few hundred miles with it. It is wonderful.
I am from The Netherlands and live in a little place just below Amsterdam. The weather in Holland is not always very good to drive a classic car. But still, I intend to drive it often.

Kind regards,

Martijn Sjerps



1967 250 SL - manual - dark blue 332

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[Peter van Es]

Martijn...

"Welkom... die ziet er mooi uit!"

Benzomontreal...

for you the same message in English: "Welcome... that car looks great!"

Peter

1970 280SL. Also known as 'admin@sl113.org' and organiser of the Technical Manual.

[dhunter]

Nice 230 there. Very pretty. I see you have the optional aluminum rims as well. I'm a recent member as well...not too far away in Ottawa.

Regards, Doug

quote:I bought a 230 sl 1967 white over blue last September.  I am from Montreal, Qc, Canada. I can't wait to read more about your experiences.

Best BenzoMontreal

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[konstantin]

Hi everyone,

I'm excited to joing this forum with my '68 280SL in silver/red,
from Portland, OR!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Konstantin


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[hkollan]

Konstantin,

Great looking car in a beautiful setting.  Gives me inspiration for my next restoration project, a 1968 Silver and red 280 SL.

Hans

[Gene Glip]

Hello everyone!!! Just a brief introduction... I'm Gene Gliponeo from Southern California & the 280SL has been my dream car since childhood. And, I am finally a proud owner of a red/black top '69 model. I hope to be of support & "to get support" as well. I'm going to need it as I continue to work on it!!!

[Tom Zelinsky]

Hello All
I acquired a 280sl this year #896 she's registered as a 69 but I think the numbers make her a 68? I have owned a slew of older MB's and both my daughters pushed there first into our driveway and repaired them with dad's help. Having a 89 300ce as a driver now and just completing an atlantic crossing as engineer aboard a  Dutch built 40 meter yacht with a pair of German MTU 12V396TE's that's almost 4 liters per cylinder. Married to a Dutch girl I guess I enjoy the northern european quality Being  on this side of the pond for the summer I would like to meet some of   YA'LL  (I live in Savannah Ga.) and acquire some parts ie aft exaust  manafold I'll be in Golfe Juan in a few days please feel free to contact me if just to say howdy  
Tom Zelinsky
tezelinsky@yahoo.com

[Barney]

Hello,

I've had my 1966 230 SL now for almost 20 years, and it's been a great car and lots of fun ! Too bad we don't have warm weather to drive it all year in Buffalo, N.Y. !!

[kreekrats]

Just joined today. My wife and I have had a bunch of mercedes cars (not to mention Fords, Chevies, Triumphs, hot rod, etc) over the years. We have 5 daughters and each one took their first car ride in one or another of the Mercedes. We recently purchased a '68 280SL. It was a 'barn find' parked under cover for 11 years in Topanga Canyon, CA. We are absolutely thrilled, and are calling it our 30th wedding anniversary gift. It's red, 4-speed manual, hard top & convertible. The numbers show it as a 250SL, so we're not sure what it is. We plan to have it on the road soon..

[johnshenry]

Hello Group.

I've been a vinatge VW nut for 28 years now, and more recently a hardcore VINTAGE VW nut (that means trading bolts like baseball cards with your fellow enthusiasts so you can get a full set of Kamax or Raschle M8s under your fenders with no "mismatches"...).  I own a '57 VW that I spent 8 years restoring (chronicled at thebugshop.org), a '50 Sunroof that I spent about 30 seconds writing a check for, and a '51 Standard Sunroof that is years away from being completed but will be one day.

A few pics:

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/237133.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/467706.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/16372.jpg

I started a web business 5 years ago part time and make some previously unobtainable parts for the very early VWs (zarwerks.com), mostly wiring harnesses and intake manifolds.  I restore semaphores and heater boxes.  Needless to say, I am a car guy, vintage nut, and mechanically adept.  My shop was featured in Hemmings "Your Garage" article a few years ago:

http://zarwerks.com/zaradmin/hemmings%20cover%20july%202006%20shop%20article.jpg

Anyway, what leads me here?  My wife was lamenting her new Camry ownership, tops in both practicality and boring, and I made the comment "Maybe we should get you a nice little convertible vintage car to drive on nice days".  I started looking at mid 80s 450SLs because you could find real nice one owners for dirt cheap.... but they are ugly.  Then I started looking at the older ones.

I had totally forgotten how much I loved the look of these cars, and am now bent on buying one.  I have a few leads I am following.  I am quite surprised at how many are for sale and appear quite affordable.  $20k seems to get you a nice little original or restored runner.

I am not looking for a project (have several already, thanks...).  I am looking for a nice even-patina or good resto 230.  I favor the 230s over the 250/280s mostly for styling and simplicity.  I want to buy something that will hold its value.

So let me float a difficult question: "What to look for when buying?".  Now I am a moderator on a split window (-'53) Beetle forum, and I hate when people ask those overly broad questions.  But I would like to ask this group what are the NOT OBVIOUS "run away" things to look for?  I know what rust and rot, and bad body work look like and how to spot it.  I know what hacks and "mods" look like (and REALLY value vintage preservation).  But what are the not so obvious things to look for in the SLs?  I fear the drivetrain mostly.  I sense that most all parts are available, but not cheap.

Any comments?

Other good resources on the net?  I have been doing a lot of reading, and intend to do more.  I have a "What to look for when buying article" on my BugShop site that addresses the "you paid how much for THAT!?" issues that the newbie will easily miss.  Any such thing for Pagodas?

Thanks in advance for any help, I'm sure you will be hearing from me in the future.  I look forward to the day my wife an follow me in my '50 Deluxe Sunroof VW (she lasted about 9 miles in that car with the non synchro tranny) to a cruise night in a nice 230SL....

JH

[Douglas]

Welcome. There are other vintage VW enthusiasts here as well, one in Australia I recall with a very nice 230SL. I'd like to think there's a certain sensibility we all share... perhaps based on our age to some degree. :-)

Here's a website I always refer people to when they're looking for a Pagoda SL:

http://silverstarrestorations.com/113SL.htm

The prices are way off, but the information is spot on.

Good luck, enjoy the "hunt" & keep up posted on your progress.

[dwbmonkey5]

I just joined the Group and am in the process of taking ownership of a 1966 230SL from my uncle who has owned the car since the early 70's.  I'm excited to have the group as a resouce and am enjoying reseaching the history of this amazing vehicle.

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[ja17]

Welcome Doug,

You should find plenty of good reading here. Keep us up to date with your new aquisition!