New member introductions

[Garry]

Hi DSG,

Welcome and good luck finding and actually being successful in buying a RHD car in US.

I tried for four years, saw three cars come up in that time, each one went within 12 hours of being posted on any forum, advertising site or car yard.  I tried to instantly buy sight unseen on each of them with in 12 hours,(the time difference was against me) and was still too slow.  Two went to Malaysia and the other I don't know but to actually be successful, you really need to be in the same town and instantly go and look or agree to buy sight unseen with all the dangers that that brings, so be prepared for a full resto.

Garry

[dsg]

Thank you for your welcoming comments, Oz and Garry.  Garry, my family live in Canberra (I have just returned to the U. S. from there), and I eventually want to ship my car to Australia.  I'm looking forward to learning more about these beautiful cars and to owning one eventually. Best, Dennis

[Garry]

Dennis,

Keep your eye out for them, they come up occasionally.  I lived in Philly for three years in the 90's and did not see one come up but over the past few years there have been some in what appeared to be average condition either in NY or CA.

They go almost instantly and you will be lucky to get to view it in time or even just ring and agree to buy before someone will guzump you as happened to me twice.  You may be even better buying one in UK where you will have time to get someone like Colin Fern, (Stick and Rudder Man on the forum) to look at it then ship it to US, have someone like Joe Alexander in OH or Tom Colitt in CA do work on it and then bring it home.  There is a wealth of experience between those three that is Pagoda specific that is sadly lacking in OZ and it is way more costly here not only in labour costs +25%,  but also parts and shipping + 30%.  I just did an exercise with an XKE out of the USA including conversion with Tom.  I should have stuck to the Pagoda.

Cheers
Garry

[FRITZ68]

I am a new member from NE Ohio.  Last spring my wife and I purchased a 1968 280SL convertible coupe (W113 I think).  We are just starting to sort it out and I will undoubtedly have some quesitons on some of the details, as have not owned an older MB, other than my wife's E420 sedan in 1997, which never needed a thing. This car was purchased at an antique car auction in Akron, Ohio last spring and after winning the bid, the previous owner (since 1978) introduced herself and brought us a large folder showing every single receipt during the 34 years of her ownership.  Car is very nice, but needs has a few minor issues.  This car is a German version and was purchased new in Germany by the first owner and then sold in Germany to the second owner in 1978, and shipped to the U.S. as a present for his wife, who drove the car until early this year. The car has always been well-maintained and is fun to drive. 

Fritz68

[Garry]

Welcome aboard Fritz68.

Your car looks like a very well kept example and having all those records from previous owners is a real bonus.  Be careful of rust under the after market chrome wheel arch covers.

Enjoy the ride

[stickandrudderman]

looks nice Fritz, especially the panel gaps. First thing on your shopping list is a pair of genuine wiper blades instead of those black plastic ones!
Stick.

[gerster]

Looks beautiful to me, special it's a Euro version, I like them most.

Greetings: Ger.

[t walgamuth]

Hi I posted recently and asked if anybody had pictures of a barn find pagoda with all kinds of sfuff sitting on it.  A kind and generous member sent me a lovely picture which I plan to show to my prospective pagoda seller to help pry his long dormant car out of his ambivilant hands.  I cannot find the correspondence now and would like to ask same member to send me a picture showing the car all cleaned up and so forth.

Thanks for the great help so far!

Tom Walgamuth
twalgamuth@comcast.net

[Flyair]

Fritz,
the car looks like a dream come true. Beware of the fact that 280SL Pagoda is highly addictive and may create some trouble if you still believe this is exclusively your wife's car
Enjoy.

By the way, you may want to go through a thorough check before using it for good. This site in not only full of good advices, but lists some of the best repair shops which can bring the jewel to the original shine in and out out seems perfect, but what about the "In" part???) 
Stan

[Sonia]

hi there,
just joined, my Pagoda is still   undergoing restoration. Hope it will be finished before I need one... 

[Garry]

Hi Sonia,

Welcome to the Group.  There are many here, including myself that are in the process of restoration, but there is plenty of support and help here for the asking.  Some photos of where you are at would be nice.

Garry

[Flyair]

Hi Garry,
did you mean photos of the car restoration of Sonia's?   

[Garry]

Yes any photos are always good even if they are of cars in parts. Like this is where my car was some weeks ago,  Its in even more bits now to paint the engine bay.

[Flyair]

Garry,
I fully agree with you. I just thought for a moment that you wanted Sonia to post pics of her own restoration . My Bad
Stan

[Garry]

Stan

My body needs a restoration.

See the effect of oil on engine mounts on my photo. The oil had been leaking out the breather for some time and getting on the mount. The left side has really taken in the oil and swollen.  And now I can put in one of the W113 Group firewall pads as well when it comes back from the painters

[tpfarm]

Hello , just joined the group today.
My wife of 16 years has a  1967 230 SL automatic that she has had since 1974, signal red w/ black interior. Very nice driver quality car that we have been restoring a little at a time since we have been married. Just found the data card hidden away in some old papers and are using the teck manual to dicipher the information,( that's how I know the color is signal red). Looking forward to exchanging info with other members.
Tony 

[gerster]

Welcome here Tony, I hope you can place some pictures of your car.

Greetings: Ger.

[jorge espinoza]

Hi just became the owner of 11304410260309 and will be taking delivery on Friday . It's a privilege to have access to this knowledge pool  . If anyone has any history of this vehicle please contact me to fill in all the blanks of where and who owned this lovely 280SL .

[Flyair]

Welcome and feel free to share with us details of the car. Who knows…. if it is originated from the USA, you may get title tracking history as I just did at the Title Registry office in Atlanta Georgia. While the registry only showed three previous owners (I skip dealers that intermediated in the sale process), my internet research gave amazing results as to who these persons actually were. In Europe that may be more difficult.
Stan

[Russell]

have just bought a 1964 230. not seen it yet. owned by someone i know for umpteen years and a non runner at the moment. will pick it up in a month or so. good bodywork just not been started in 8 years.
cant wait to get it back here to play with it.
hello to everyone

[Flyair]

wow. The car doesn't look in need of major works, but I know that our jewels always have some "hidden treasuries" .
Registration plates also look as there were there from the start.
Good luck

[49er]

Hi just became the owner of 11304410260309 and will be taking delivery on Friday . It's a privilege to have access to this knowledge pool  . If anyone has any history of this vehicle please contact me to fill in all the blanks of where and who owned this lovely 280SL .

 Hello Jorge and welcome to the Forum,
  Your VIN appears to be in error for a '68 model. The last 6 digits should be in "003XXX" or less range.

John

[Neil Thompson]

Russell - car looks sharp, I hope you get it running easily

Neil

[csjose]

Hello Pagoda Group,
My name is Jose Luis Altuve and I just joined last week to this amazing group.
I owned a 280SL 1971 ( ...long time ago in 1976 .....I sold it when I left my country) ......years passed fast  ....but the love for the Mercedes pagodas continues.
-
Now that I live in Austin, TX working for a large IT Corporation, I would like to be in touch with someone who locally owns a Pagoda to feel again the emotion.
-
Also I will like to be informed if some Pagoda event is coming in the near future to the Austin area.

Best regards to all members.

Jose Luis

[gboyd]

I've been a member of the Group on and off for many years as I searched for my perfect Pagoda.  I'm elated to say that my dream came true this weekend when I bought my first Pagoda after my infatuation started  with them 25  years ago (wish I had bought then).  After many attempts fell through for various reasons I stumbled upon a beauty recently.  When I saw her, she winked at me with those little eyelashes (notches) on the headlights (pretty hard to find) and, I knew it was love.  Meticulously cared for in the south all her life, she shines like crazy.   Originally bought in from a dealer in Alabama in 1970, moved to Atlanta and never left the South.  Not a bit of rust to be found.  I dont think the last owner of 15 years ever put the top up - and as you know that is never a good idea.  After much trepidation I finally got the soft top up to find it in almost perfect condition, albeit a bit dusty.  Original carpet, welds and firewall and all that good stuff.  It drives fantastic at 80MPH (could not resist). I'm so happy to be a member of the Pagoda Group and have enjoyed reading the postings over the years.  Now I can finally contribute back.  I looking forward to meeting some of you at the 50th next year in VA.  Here are a couple of pics I snapped from when I first saw it in the shop.  The lesson learned - Wait for the right one.  I always heard ..." buy the best car you can afford, or you will spend way more on fixing problems".