New member introductions

[mmizesko]

ehabs, Starchild and RT.  Welcome.  RT, Pierre is a good choice.  say hi for us.

Mike Mizesko

[dldubois]

Welcome Starchild.  I'm also down here in South Florida.    Had some work down on mine (new top, paint work) in Palm Beach which is how I discovered the concours.    Suspect I'll get up there next year.   

Great location to own a pagoda.   Mine ventured from here in South Florida to Sarasota for the weekend.

[thy306]

New member from Canada. Bought my new-to-me 1970 280 SL from SL Shop in UK. I had been actively searching for two years - I think I exhausted the internet! But through the process I learned about so many things to look out for. This site helped greatly.

The car has a few things to work out (more than I expected, actually). I am no mechanic - I’ve just loved these cars for many years and am happy to finally be part of the Pagoda family. I loved the stickers and patches you get when you sign up as a member

Tom

[Peter van Es]

Welcome, Tom!

[rwmastel]

The car has a few things to work out (more than I expected, actually). I am no mechanic - I’ve just loved these cars for many years and am happy to finally be part of the Pagoda family.

Tom,

Don't be afraid of basic maintenance.  You can do a lot with basic tools and a little help from us.  It will get you more familiar with the car, which over time will help you communicate better with your mechanic.

[thy306]

Tom,

Don't be afraid of basic maintenance.  You can do a lot with basic tools and a little help from us.  It will get you more familiar with the car, which over time will help you communicate better with your mechanic.

Thanks, I appreciate the support! This site is such a great resource

[Katie]

Just joined the forum. I'm from the UK. Was surprised on Valentine's Day with the most amazing present of a 280SL Pagoda. It's a UK car, with matching numbers and done 77,000 miles. Its got a good history and all the books. Looking forward to asking many questions!

[JamesL]

Someone loves you. Hope your other half knows who it is!

Congrats - there's a couple of us reasonably local if you need anything (Dulwich, Bromley, Orpington off the top of my head)

[DavidAPease]

Welcome, Katie!

You're the second Katie from the greater London area in our group.  The other (Merc_Girl) is in Godalming.

             -David

[Katie]

Thank you! Will definitely need a bit of help I'm sure 

[HuxleyT]

Welcome Katie, this is a great club to be a member of even if like me you use it more as a technical resource than a chatbox. The benefits of becoming a full member far outweigh the the £24 ($30) annual fee.

[Targa7106]

Hello,  My name is Jonathan and I live in Cumberland, Maine.  I have a small collection of Porsches and Alfa's and just recently acquired a 250SL California Coupe.  I have always been attracted to the W113 design and look forward to driving, learning, and interacting on this forum. 

[rwmastel]

Jonathan,

Get to know Gernold at SL Tech in Arundel,  Maine.

https://www.sltechw113.com/

[Ted_RGG]

Hi Everyone

I'm a fabricator, machinist, coachbuilder in Greece where I work for a shop that restores and maintains classic Euro and American cars; from an original body hot-rod Ford Model A to a 1967 280SL Pagode (which I'm in the process of completely restoring). The car was purchased (sight unseen if I remember correctly) as a "restored car" but upon closer inspection, the entire car has rust and the entire driver side has some minor accident damage that wasn't repaired correctly. This is the first time I've had to dig this deep into a car to repair and/or replace panels.

I've already ordered most of what I need to replace the damaged/rotted panels... about 25 pieces so far, and have fabricated a few pieces that didn't make sense to order. The only part I wasn't able to find was the area inside the dashboard where the airscoop in front of the windscreen is. The left side of that area has rot and holes. I still don't know how I'm going to go about fixing that area, but it's not time for that part yet.

I'm going to post a full thread of the restoration at some point.

Thanks for this resource it's helping me make sense of this all!
-Ted

[Cees Klumper]

Welcome Ted, and will be watching your restoration thread with interest. Sounds like a massive project if even underdash panels are rusted out!

[rwmastel]

The only part I wasn't able to find was the area inside the dashboard where the airscoop in front of the windscreen is. The left side of that area has rot and holes. I still don't know how I'm going to go about fixing that area, but it's not time for that part yet.

I'm going to post a full thread of the restoration at some point.

Ted,

Welcome, and yes, post pics sooner than later.  Ask for advice before taking action.  It is like "measure twice, cut once".  There may be things that you think make sense, but other members with experience may have different ways to do it, or different sources for parts, or other advice.

[BUKTLST]

Greetings, 

I am the proud new owner of a 1967 230SL.  She is Dark Green over Black Interior with a hardtop and soft top.  The car belonged to my brother who was the second owner.  He cared for the car since 1995 and now has passed that duty along to me.  I have owned several Mercedes Benz autos but nothing special like this car.  She is in very good condition with just some minor issues to resolve.  I am looking forward to participating in this forum to gain knowledge about this car.  First project is to give the radiator a good flush to see if I can get coolant flowing evenly across the radiator.  She gets a little warm (+200°) at 60 MPH. 

Bill S.
Milton GA
1967 Mercedes 230SL
2006 Porsche Carrera 2 Cabriolet
2012 Porsche Boxster Spyder

[67230SL-Vinny]

Hi Bill,
I'm a 30+ year 230SL owner, but a newbie here.

Re: Your runn'in hot issue:
A good coolant flush seems like a good start. And a thermostat check too.

Does your car have a fan shroud? (See image below)
When I first brought my 230SL to Florida, she also ran hot, but I discovered that Mercedes offered a fan shroud as an option for hot climates. I added the fan shroud and now it never goes above 180 F even on the hottest days at highway speed. Part was $300-400 if I recall but well worth it to solve the problem.  Just my 2 cents.  -Vinny

[BUKTLST]

Thank you Vinny!  I really appreciate your advice. My brother had been told "Just get use to it, they are made to drive in cool climates."  Sounded fishy to me but what do I know.  I will check tomorrow to see if it has a shroud.  I see Bud's Benz has a reproduction.  Nothing on the M-B Classic parts site.  She is not a concur car but a great looking driver so a reproduction is fine. 

Thanks again.

This is why I like to join these forums, great people that love cars and share what they know. 

[67230SL-Vinny]

Thanks BUKTLST,

Good Folks at Bud's Benz.  They did much of my 230SL restoration.

A quick Google search of 'Mercedes W113 Fan Shroud' will bring up lots of choices for you.

Welcome to the journey!   -Vinny

[rwmastel]

Welcome!  Best to discuss this stuff in an dedicatrd thread in an appropriate sub-forum.  I believe 230SL and 280SL radiators have different mounting points for shrouds, so be sure to get the right part.

[calivon]

Hi everyone - I just became a full member, but I have been using the forum to learn for awhile. I plan to buy a Pagoda sometime in my lifetime and came across a 230SL recently that I need some help on (which led me to do my first post on these forums!).

I would be interested to connect with owners or enthusiasts in the SF Bay Area. Surprisingly, I have not seen many Pagodas on the road here; I guess everyone in tech likes new cars more  .

[BobH]

Hello, welcome, if you click on members, members list, above under your name, you'll see a full list of members, you can sort the columns, or easier to do a page search, i had a quick look and there didn't seem to be many members in the direct area you're looking at, so perhaps widen your search slightly.  If you then click on the members name you can send them a message

Good luck

[rwmastel]

You'll find a lot outside SF in the Sierras and wine country.   Use the contact links available in the membership list to organize a small gathering.  You'll be hooked!  You've done it right by joining here before buying a car.

[calivon]

Thanks rwmastel and BobH - I have been checking the membership list and have found a few more members when searching by specific city names near me.