The Pagoda in the barn

[cascadia]

I received a call recently from a gentleman who had a 1965 230SL for sale.  It had been stored in a barn for the last 5 or 6 years and "ran when parked".  He said it had Euro lights and very minimal rust, that's all I needed to hear.  This morning I drove out about an hour north of Portland to see it.  As you can see in the photos, it was quite a sight.  In my business I've sold over a dozen pagodas, so in effect I get to enjoy ownership of them for a few weeks at a time. I've had some beautiful examples and some with rare options.  However,  I've always dreamt of finding a project that I could keep for myself, one that I could get running, spiff up a bit cosmetically, but basically have as a "driver".  What I wanted is a car I could run around town with, park anywhere, leave the top down, and not fret over.  

Well, today I found my car.  Outside the barn we negotiated a price over the sounds of hens squawking and dogs barking, it was a funny scene.  $3000 was the price we agreed on.  I had to take his word that the car ran well before it was parked 5 years ago.  I turned the motor over briefly and it's free.  The gearbox linkage feels good, brake and clutch pedal feel ok too.  I'll start by going through all of the fluids.  My 7 year old son and I really get a kick out of the car's green "patina", my wife just shakes her head.  The interior is a bit moldy but it's original and sound.  Doors open and close beautifully. Heater levers are original and move freely, carpet is original but will need to be replaced.  Seats and dash are great! Glove box is locked (no key) but I'm hoping to find some paperwork in there.  Speedo is in KM.  The firewall has an extra info plate with an address in Paris, maybe the selling dealership?  Would love to know how it ended up here.  There's some minor bubbling in spots that I'll have to address, floorboards are original and solid.  Trunk floor has been replaced, guess you can't have it all.  Feeling like a lucky guy.
Here are the pics....
Bob in Portland

[Douglas]

What a terrific tale. Let us know how the story unfolds. Thanks for sharing, Bob.

[waqas]

That is really cool. Would be great if you kept the thread alive with updates as you work through the kinks (with more photos!).

By the way, what paint code is that?    

[Peter van Es]

Bob,

might I suggest that these photos would be a marvellous addition for our Coffee Table Book... And yes, keep making more of them and keep us up-to-date!

I love that colour Green too...  

Peter

[Jonny B]

Right in step with the times, an eco-friendly Pagoda! Can't wait to hear the tales along the way.

With the French plate on the fire wall, does it have the amber back up lights as you would expect on a French car??

[cascadia]

Hey, re-use and recycle, right?  The left tail light does have the amber back up light, the right side does not.  I will definitely post pictures as I go along!

[bsimaz]

I'm so jelous....   I wish I could find one for that price.

It looks like it's suposed to be white, but what color is the interior?

[cascadia]

Exterior color is Papyrus White with a caviar (black) tex interior.  Here's a pic, it's pretty grungy. Most all of it can be cleaned and saved but I will have to spring for some new square weave carpet.   I spent the better part of today basically gutting the interior.  Once the seats were out I sprayed them down with Simple Green, scrubbed it in and hosed them off, they turned out great.  No real surprises along the way, although I did find a French 5c piece dated 1968 from its days in Paris.  The floors look good, found a bit of rust in one of the rear wells along with a mouse corpse, otherwise so far so good!  

[Paddy_Crow]

quote:Originally posted by cascadia

Exterior color is Papyrus White with a caviar (black) tex interior.  Here's a pic, it's pretty grungy. Most all of it can be cleaned and saved but I will have to spring for some new square weave carpet.   I spent the better part of today basically gutting the interior.  Once the seats were out I sprayed them down with Simple Green, scrubbed it in and hosed them off, they turned out great.  No real surprises along the way, although I did find a French 5c piece dated 1968 from its days in Paris.  The floors look good, found a bit of rust in one of the rear wells along with a mouse corpse, otherwise so far so good!

Be prepared to find lots of mouse poo. As I've been working on mine, I found everything under the dash was covered with it. I finally decided to tear into the ducts and found their nest. I must have pulled a cubic foot of what looked like batting out.

[scoot]

quote:Originally posted by Paddy_Crow
Be prepared to find lots of mouse poo. As I've been working on mine, I found everything under the dash was covered with it. I finally decided to tear into the ducts and found their nest. I must have pulled a cubic foot of what looked like batting out.

I mis-read this and died laughing.  I thought you said MOOSE poo, not mouse poo, and was having a difficult time imagining how this could be the case...

[cascadia]

The nest I found was in one of the rear wells, and yes, there was a huge amount of cotton fluff of some sort in there.  I also found a couple of mouse corpses in one of the forward footwells, in the void behind the kick panel.  The only items that are giving me a hard time are the sill trim strips, those tiny screws just don't want to come out.  I went ahead and removed the soft top frame, the top itself looked fairly sound but I think I'll want to start with a fresh new one.

 I was afraid to discover what I would find underneath the seat cushions when I pulled the seats but they are surprisingly perfect.  My upholsterer tells me that there's something about the way the horsehair is treated that doesn't appeal to mice.  Being paranoid about Hantavirus I wore a mask and gloves throughout the process.  After this picture was taken I ended up taking the glove box and radio panel out as well.  Looks like they were scurrying about in there to but thankfully no wiring had been chewed on from what I can see.  Pretty disgusting work all in all but that's what you get with a $3000 car.  

[Richard Madison]

quote:I mis-read this and died laughing. I thought you said MOOSE poo, not mouse poo, and was having a difficult time imagining how this could be the case...

It could have been a small moose and anyway the car has an air freshener so all would be OK  )

Richard M, NYC

[Paddy_Crow]

There was probably some mouse poison in the barn, which the mice ate and died when they returned to their home. For whatever reason, they seem to have left all of my wiring alone too.

[114015]

Bob,

What a great story!

Mice debris is a comon find in SLs being stored for a long time. Both of my SLs I had "collected" that kind of experience.
The little rodents usually enter the passenger cabin through the open flap of the ventilation cowl, nibble themselves through the old filter mesh & start to build nests in the heat & ventilation system until they run out of food...[:0]

Once I found myself dreaming behind the wheel of my non-drivable car when I suddenly heard a strange crinkly noise behind the dashboard. I closed all ventilation in- and outlets .... and you guess it :oops: , the noise disappeared after a while. Well, some strange smell came in then and stayed ...[:0]

Once when the car was still around one of these little colleages entered the trunk through one of the rust holes and chew up the red handle of the (crank-type) jack. This plastic thing was really without any nutritious value for the little rodent, however, good enough to cause some additional "mess around".
 :?

All these little stories

Achim
(parts & knowledge collector)

[Mike Hughes]

Don't get me started on rodent damage...  I've had them chew insulation off wiring causing shorts.  One got a terminal shock when it chewed through the insulation of the hot lead from the battery to the starter solenoid.  I've had them chew the rubber sheathing right off of brake hoses.  I've had them chew through rubber coolant and vacuum hoses.  I've had them chew right through the plastic charcoal canister and make a nest inside.  I've had them eat the insulation behind carpets amd make nests in seats.  Most recently I've had them climb in the intake and make a nest out of the paper element in the air cleaner.  When they ran out of nesting material from the filter element, they shredded half the backing off the hood insulation and carried it up into the air cleaner to complete the nest.  Started the car and it tried to suck the whole nest, family and all, down the intake manifold before the engine literally suffocated and quit.  What was it one of the feline cartoon characters used to say?  "I hate meeses to pieces!"

[cascadia]

Ok, here's an update.  The car's fuel system, as expected, is kaput.  I pulled the gas tank and have sent it off to be boiled out and sealed.  The tank fixit guy says he knows to keep the passages clear under the flower pot so I guess I just have to trust him, he says he's done these tanks before.

I have power to the fuel pump but no movement.  Tried some gentle tapping, nothing.  My hunch is that the injection pump is going to be gummed up too.

Thanks to Craigslist I've found a 67 250SE sedan for sale, running and driving but with body problems for $1000.  From what I've read, the IP and FP from the 66-67 sedan can be swapped over to the 113, I'm going to see it tomorrow morning and check it out.  If I can get it as a parts car I figure I'll be well ahead of the game with just getting those 2 items swapped over for under $1000.

Here's a pic of the car, I've begun de-trimming it.  Tomorrow it's getting towed over to the steam cleaners for the engine bay and undercarriage.   I'm actually going have him stay off the body so I can keep the green swamp look for awhile.  Once I get it running and driving I think it will be a hoot to run it around looking like this![:p]

[114015]

Bob,

Still a great story, what a find!

There's more to take care of.
Make sure the brakes work well, especially the brake hoses gum up internally with the years & the brakes won't release any more although the pedal feels fine. Please check also your tires, it's not impossible that those are already 20 years old - too old.

While a fuel pump swap is ok (I assume you are going to switch from the large body style towards the small style with the 250 SE part), the fuel injection pumps cannot be exchanged. Theoretically they could but the 230 SL's engine (M 127 II) has a unique injection pump, which it does not share with any other FI Mercedes passenger car.
Do all the timing, adjusting, linkage tour (very well described by Joe Alexander here on this homepage, http://index.php?topic=5003).

New points, new filters, new fluids (including differntial & gearbox and all these things are mandatory.
Finally, don't forget the lube job (19 grease nipples) described in the owner's manual.
Check that all the electric components are working well, at least the mandatory ones.
And ah yes, as we are (only) talking about rodents traces, please make sure that no hidden damages have been caused by them.
All rubber & coolant hoses ...

Oh, there's o much more to take care of before you start your engine for the first time in the last 100 years ...

Good luck!

Achim

[hands_aus]

you could rebuild you existing fuel pump if it is the original. see here
http://www.sl113.org/wiki/pmwiki.php?n=Fuel.FuelPumpRebuildEarly

[cascadia]

Yes, I decided to pass on buying the sedan.  The IP was indeed a bit different.  I think I will go ahead and take a shot at rebuilding my fuel pump, the wiki page is a great resource.  Thanks for the advice!
Bob in Portland

[perry113]

I would recommend sending the injection pump to Jerry Fairchield Industries, Redding, CA 916-241-1592.

They will rebuild your pump and set it up. Send your injectors along with the cold start valve. There too much to know to try to rebuild it yourself.

He did mine and I couldn't be more satisfied. All you have to do is take it out and put it back in. It's a no brainer.

I went though everything you will have to do.( Gas tank, fuel pump, injection pump rebuild and fuel lines)

Good luck with your SL.
Peter Perry
1965 230SL

[perry113]

This may some good reading material for you relative to injection pumps.

reference:
http://www.slmarket.com/fuel.htm

Peter Perry
1965 230SL

[seixever]

Hi Bob,  
last year I found a car like your which was sleeping from 1979.  
The only difference was the engine running and the body without mouses...  
I spent 3 months to rebuild injection pump, to change all hoses and other small maintenance but now the engine is perfect, upholstery is clean and the body is still original, also the soft top.  
I don't know why but I'm quite sure your vin number is close to mine so I'm curious to know your.
Mine is 11304210013755, made 11/2/1965.

How I found my 230Sl



How is now



production data

[cascadia]

Very similar indeed!  You're right about the production sequence, the production numbers are just 429 apart!  Neat car, I really like those Italian side marker lamps.

[gilles82]

quote:Originally posted by cascadia

 I really like those Italian side marker lamps.

The Italian side marker lamps are the SAME of FIAT 500 and others Fiat models  

[cascadia]

Ok, progress.  I received my gas tank back last week from cleaning, it looks good.  Found some time today to get the car on the lift and remove the fuel pump.  Carefully unscrewed the bottom cover, there was a perfect impression of the vane imprinted on it with gummed up gasoline varnish.  I took a razor blade and got it cleaned up in no time.  Sprayed some carb cleaner on the vane, it moves freely.  Put it back together and ran a mix of gas and injector cleaner through it for a minute or two, this thing pumps like crazy, it's working great.  Sometimes the jobs you think are going to be big aren't that bad after all.

Download Attachment: fuel_pump_test.jpg
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I blew out both fuel lines on the car, put in a new fuel filter.  Oil and spark plugs were changed last week.  Points, cap and rotor look good.  Mounted the new gas tank and put in a few gallons.  Turned the key and listened to that fuel pump work.  Now the moment of truth...... :| ......after a few seconds of cranking it started right up!  I only ran it for a few seconds then checked things over.  Turns out part of the throttle linkage was frozen, right where the rod comes up through the intake manifold.  One of those pivot arms was locked up tight.  Tried penetrating oil and then a blow torch, nothing.  I ended up having to remove it
and mount it in a vise.  30 minutes of tapping and oiling and it came free.  Cleaned up the shaft and reassembled it with lots of grease.  Ran the car a little more, it sounds pretty good.  I added a pint of injector cleaner to the 3 gallons of gas in the tank for a concentrated mixture.  The car idles great but will stumble and die when I move the throttle, will have to  figure that one out.  All in all though, a good afternoon!