Not my normal Porsche restoration....Mercedes 230SL

[gruen911]

Freddie,
Car looks nice. Do you have any photos of he resto you can post? I would love to see where these cars rust. Also, is the Pagoda hardtop made out of fiberglass or metal?

[Marek]

Nice looking Pagode, I ve seen your post on the 113 forum

I just sold mine 230sl chassie number 24 first export car sold to north america ,did a full restoration of that
and I can tell you one thing , if any one is dreaming of buy a resto project pagoda
if you think porsche parts are expensive ,wait until you get the bill for Pagoda parts
and after new years they will be more expensive and harder to get since MB change there structure for MB classic parts

Just finishing my 280Sl 3,5L v8 I will offcause post some pics of this, but thats how they have should done this drives like a rocket

The question about the 5 speed Mercedes got 883 5 speed Zf gear box no numbers how many went to 250 or 280 sl models
I even had a w111 280 se cabrio with 5 speed , ZF have just launch the "re"production so you can buy it again, price approx 10.000 Euro
orders taken now as I know of
I must say for a correct european set up (different gear ratio in US) is not a very big difference if you drive 4 or 5 speed not worth 10.000 € + MY opinion

the hard top is made of stell ( very few made with sunroof by golde in Holland VERY expensive used )
typical rust on these are floor, outer panels and trunk expensive body parts

the pagodas are NOT race cars but boulevard´iers my favorit cruise car, had all models
and can say MOST underrated is the 230sl look at it as a swb
I am a sucker for early cars had my chance to work on chassi 20, 21 ,24 ,26, 33, 46 so I know them a bit
but I allways had Porsche fever .....

regards

Marek

[execmalibu]

IMHO... The 280SLs with Automatics are nice around town but horrible on the Hi-Way/Freeway...

I have a 1971 280SL and my mom used to have one back in the 1980s... They are nice and Zippy around town but once the speeds increase above 60MPH they sound like a very loud sewing machine. The SLs with Auto trans are so low geared that on the LA freeways the engine is so loud and reving so high you think that you are in the wrong gear! There are several local MB shops around LA that have put in a higher ratio rear end in to cure the problem. So obviously this issue has been noticed by other owners...

Having Alloy Hoods and Doors with 180HP you would think that they would be competition for a 911S but no way!

[blucille]

nice job, Freddy, your work is an inspiration!

we've own a couple of 113's prior to catching the 911 bug....ours were both manual transmission cars, and having driven some automatics while shopping, I wouldn't even compare the two experiences, simply night and day. Our first was a very early '64, had some unusual, factory original touches, the dash vents were painted body color, something that existed on only the first 2000 or so cars....upright spare tire...

still, compared to an early 911, the 113 is not for the driving enthusiast, but I do agree with what others have said, the build quality is phenomenal, and parts are outrageously expensive.

Lewis

[FHernand]

Parts are these cars are expensive. Lot's of after market seals and panels that do not fit properly. Most of the times I had to custom fit these items to make them work. But like anything else, when you really want to see an excellent finish, you make it work. The hardtop on a 113 fully stripped of all windows, seals and moldings is around 150 lbs. The car is a heavy one. Despite the aluminum hood, doors and lid, the car struggles due to it's weight to power ratio. Even though the door shells are light, the inner door mechanism including hinges, window and window frames make the door extremely heavy. The car is built to last and has demostrated this over the decades. A classic car should not be compared to another. The 230SL is a car that I love for what it is...elegant, sexy with a sport feel all in one package...not easy to find this combination in a true classic automobile.

[Mike Baum]

Thanks for the Top Gear link - That sums it up.

Shameless plug - If you want even more idiosyncratic style, oozing elegance and crazy engineering in a package that is equally sporting and not sporty, check out Lancias. Cheaper to get, cheaper to run (Well, some of them).

Mike