newbie here.

[dogbutter]

hi all.

first, i want to thank Al Gore for 'creating' the internet.  without him i could not have found such  awesome source to feed my obsession.

i have been lurking around for a while and reading the board and getting some good information.. but straight answers and opinions are hard to find (of course, everyone loves their pagodas..)

anyways, i have always been a japanese car kind of guy.  what i want above all is reliability.  Only when that requirement is met, i will consider style, love, and everything else.  i have been a long admirer of old cars' beauty and soul (and always hated the nature of my japanese cars)..  ever since i was in high school, i have wanted a mustang fastback.. but the reliability aspect of these older cars kept me away.. i just don't have that much time to deal with it.

past year, i have been researching stingrays and fastbacks.  Only recently i have found that pagodas are not so prohibitively expensive and sounds like there is good reliability to be had for a 30 year old car.  and it is soooo beautiful!!!

anways.. i been looking around, and it seems like i can get something in good condition for about 40k.. which seems like a bargain to me.  

i am wondering..

how many of you use your car daily (not that i plan to drive it daily)?  what year and model is most reliable in your opinion?(i guess i want to have pre-emission control year car).  are there alot of horror stories?  

i am almost tempted to run out and buy one right now, but fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how one looks at it) i am on a foreign assignment in Russia for my company for atleast one more year..  so i have plenty of time to research more.  I plan to purchase something that can be my passion when i am back in california in a year or so..

My passion has been motorcycles(yes, god awful sportbikes and racing) and i am feeling my age and i may have to give it up as i met a girl which i will soon marry.  I am not sure if i want to be riding sportbikes when i have a wife and kids... it would be unfair to them.
i have put some cash aside so i can buy a new 911 upon my return (no car payments please!) but i am beginning to feel that porsche is not going to keep me happy.. when i look at older porsches, they just look old, and not beautiful...

anyways, i would greatly appreciate your opinions in regards to any aspects of this post.. maybe about recommendations of which year and model(main theme here), maybe about the stupidity of my obsession over owning an 'old' car (my friends don't get it)..   any input would be appreciated..

i hope the value of the cars don't go up too much in next year or so..

thank you.

[J. Huber]

Hey Dogbutter, may I call you Dog? Welcome to the Group. You have asked some questions that are really hard to answer. Namely, which model and year is best and/or most reliable. The short answer is it depends. There have been many discussions here about the various attributes of each model -- some features appeal to some and maybe not so much to others. There are differences to be sure. But the bottom line is how well any given Pagoda has been treated and has fared over the last 40+ years.

Speaking from experience (20 plus), I can tell you that these cars can be reliable -- for many years at a time without anything but general maintenance. But I can also tell you of exceptions to this rule -- when things have gone wrong and cleary qualify as horror stories. So you dig in, fix it, and get back to unadulterated bliss.

I think your idea of 40K is pretty right on. You should be able to find a very respectable, driveable, car in that range (right here in California no less). You will see some for more -- and many for less. If you want to be top dog (sorry!) it will cost you quite a bit more. But 40 will get you in the very nice range.



James
63 230SL

[merrill]

here are some links to see what is available

http://www.oursl.com/listing-forms/inventory.htm

http://www.dearbornauto.com/showroom/index.shtml
http://www.motoringinvestments.com/MainPage.htm

Matt
Austin Tx
66 230 sl - "white"
78 300 D - Blue
98 C230

[hands_aus]

Hey Paul,

The early 280SL around 1968 were almost emission control free.

The single most important feature about the Pagoda of your dreams is to make sure the car has NO RUST.
While replacement panels are available, on the Pagoda they are spot welded on and not bolted on so replacement is tedious at best.

I suggest you keep reading the posts on here and also have a look at the http://pagoda113.com forum.
Information is out there. You just need to know what to look for ie, the correct terminology.


Bob Smith (Brisbane,Australia)
RHD,1967 early 250 SL, auto

[dhunter]

quote:Originally posted by dogbutter
My passion has been motorcycles(yes, god awful sportbikes and racing) and i am feeling my age and i may have to give it up as i met a girl which i will soon marry.  I am not sure if i want to be riding sportbikes when i have a wife and kids... it would be unfair to them.

I'm also new here having recently inherited my fathers 280SL. He was also a life long motorcyclist and had been riding for over 50 years before succumbing to cancer at 66. You can do everything "right" and you're number will still come up. Don't give up the things you love and expect any guarantees in life...perhaps it is time to take more of a risk management approach and keep the racing for track days and slow things down a bit on the street?

I expect there's room in the garage for the SL and the bike! There will be for me.

Regards, Doug