Pretty 230SL - now WITH photos...

[MichaelB.]

Okay gents. As promised - photos of my newly acquired 1966. Original and untouched & treating me very well.































Please enjoy.

[Mike Hughes]

Can't open any of the picture links.

[MichaelB.]

Hmmmm... I cant get these clicks to work... Are the attachments working for anyone?

Edit: Fixed. I had another site host them. Perhaps the photos were to large for here...

[Nate]

Very nice!  Does anyone know if there are reproductions available of the "tire card" that's pictured hanging on the left arm of the trunk lid?

[Kemal]

Wow, check her out...
Love the hubcaps.

Congratulations.

Kemal
280SL
Manual LHD69

[DaveB]

Congratulations. The chocolate tex looks fantastic!

[thelews]

Verrrry nice!

[Douglas]

Beautiful! Love the color combination. Was this car on the East Coast at one time? I may know it.

[MichaelB.]

You gentlemen are too kind, and very astute!

Douglas. This was a Connecticut car. I personally have had a business relationship with the original family owners. Could this be the one you are referring to? It would be neat to hear more about it. The family (Father & Son mostly) were a wealth of information (as you can imagine).

I just took the car to the grocery store with my wife and one of my Sons in the 3rd seat. Its quite the time capsule.

[Douglas]

I'm not positive, but I think this may have been briefly owned by Bob Hatch of Hatch & Sons in MA back in the mid-90s. Does that sound possible?

[MichaelB.]

Dang... No sorry. This was owned by the one family throughout its life. Great folk, superb to the car in every way. Really took kind care of it since day one. It came to me very dirty exterior wise, but well kept (under the dust & oxidation). The interior (wood & MB-Tex, carpets) so well preserved that its shocking. Mechanically sound with nary a leak. Clock & radio work as designed, only the tires were reproduction (yet correct from Coker Tire).

A glorious German motorcar.

[Mark280SL]

You have a real beauty there, congrats.

[Mike Hughes]

Just lovely, inside and out.  It must look great with the Havanna Brown hardtop on, too! Of course, I'm kind of partial to these colors in combination...

[Kenneth Gear]

She's a beauty! I love the color combination as well, I don't recall ever having seen chocolate tex before.

It's the negative image of Michael's Hughes car.  Both are fine examples indeed!

[KevinC]

Looks like MB Tex #113 "Bronze". Is it?

[MichaelB.]

Data card = 181 light beige / 408 Havana / & 113 - which must be bronze.

Very good! Thank you all!

I think photos with the soft top up will be next. Then maybe you guys can tell me the name of its shade of gold. I think its parchment but you can help me out with that I bet.

[MichaelB.]

quote:I think photos with the soft top up will be next. Then maybe you guys can tell me the name of its shade of gold. I think its parchment but you can help me out with that I bet.

Okay experts... What is the color of this top:

[Mike Hughes]

quote:Originally posted by MichaelB.
Okay experts... What is the color of this top:

Clean!  And nice corner flaps, too!  Do I remember somewhere you saying that this is an original M-B top?  Your data card whould give you the original top color.  It is in the miscellaneous codes section on the right hand portion of the second code line.  Probably starts with either a "4" or a "7."

[thelews]

Michael,
Where in Illinois are you?  I've been trying to organize a tech session for midwest, Ill, Wisc, Minn. etc., Pagoda owners at www.blackforestllc.com in early October.  A bunch of us got together in Chicago early in the spring.  I live in the Milwaukee, Wi. area.

BTW, have you checked the mfg. date on your tires?  That looks like an old Michelin tread pattern.

[MichaelB.]

quote:Originally posted by thelews

Michael,
Where in Illinois are you?  I've been trying to organize a tech session for midwest, Ill, Wisc, Minn. etc., Pagoda owners at www.blackforestllc.com in early October.  A bunch of us got together in Chicago early in the spring.  I live in the Milwaukee, Wi. area.

BTW, have you checked the mfg. date on your tires?  That looks like an old Michelin tread pattern.

I am about two hours South of Chicago in Central Il. I head up to Autobahn Country Club in Joliet quite often for car events and some track time in misc other cars. Black forest sounds like a ball. Keep me in the loop. Speaking of that I had a PM from Bruce who wants to do the same. We gotta get organized!

On my Data card it lists tires as Phoenix and the reproduction tires on it now (from Coker Tire) are the replicas of that tire. The car also came with a full set of 15 year old Michelins that are basically useless and hard as stone.

quote:Originally posted by Mike Hughes
Clean! And nice corner flaps, too! Do I remember somewhere you saying that this is an original M-B top? Your data card would give you the original top color. It is in the miscellaneous codes section on the right hand portion of the second code line. Probably starts with either a "4" or a "7."

Well... When talking with the original owner he assured me verbally and with photographs that this is the original top and configuration with no alterations since new. But the data card shows a code for a blue top. However the code is nearly the same for other tan colors (when one digit off, or maybe transposed) so I figured I would ask the experts. I know in the collector car world often times there can be hand written numbers (or typed) that get keyed incorrectly - so I am sure that is the case. But I would still like to know the colors name so I can look to see if the number is indeed close.

[thelews]

quote:Originally posted by MichaelB.


I am about two hours South of Chicago in Central Il. I head up to Autobahn Country Club in Joliet quite often for car events and some track time in misc other cars. Black forest sounds like a ball. Keep me in the loop. Speaking of that I had a PM from Bruce who wants to do the same. We gotta get organized!

Please do what you can to round up the cats and I'll do my part up here.  You won't be disappointed.

[Douglas]

quote:Originally posted by MichaelB.

Well... When talking with the original owner he assured me verbally and with photographs that this is the original top and configuration with no alterations since new. But the data card shows a code for a blue top. However the code is nearly the same for other tan colors (when one digit off, or maybe transposed) so I figured I would ask the experts. I know in the collector car world often times there can be hand written numbers (or typed) that get keyed incorrectly - so I am sure that is the case. But I would still like to know the colors name so I can look to see if the number is indeed close.

I would probably start by scrutinizing the top to see if it's an original. If you search the forums you'll see pix and descriptions of  the telltale signs. The markings in the rear window, the metal bars embedded around the rear window, etc.

It's surprising to hear a navy top is indicated on the datacard. My first thought was that it would be brown, of course.

(One last comment: Make sure that breather tube on top of the valve cover is secured with a hoseclamp. I'm not positive, but it looks like you may be missing yours in the pix.)

[MichaelB.]

quote:Originally posted by Douglas
I would probably start by scrutinizing the top to see if it's an original. If you search the forums you'll see pix and descriptions of  the telltale signs. The markings in the rear window, the metal bars embedded around the rear window, etc.

It's surprising to hear a navy top is indicated on the datacard. My first thought was that it would be brown, of course.

(One last comment: Make sure that breather tube on top of the valve cover is secured with a hoseclamp. I'm not positive, but it looks like you may be missing yours in the pix.)

Yep, I put the top through a thorough inspection even with the original owners word & photo documents (silly of me I know). Its the real deal, embedded metal bars & all. I would guess Hans back in 1966 just typed in the wrong digits.

The 'ol man did a valve adjustment on the engine not too long ago. I will check on that clamp.

[KevinC]

quote:Originally posted by MichaelB.

Data card = 181 light beige / 408 Havana / & 113 - which must be bronze.

Very good! Thank you all!

I think photos with the soft top up will be next. Then maybe you guys can tell me the name of its shade of gold. I think its parchment but you can help me out with that I bet.

Michael-
A couple of things you may want to consider...I believe that the ashtray cover should be the same color as your MB Tex. Also, for an interesting look, I switched out my black shift knob for ivory. They are available for standard trans, too. Beautiful car, btw!

[Douglas]

quote:Originally posted by KevinC

I believe that the ashtray cover should be the same color as your MB Tex.

Kevin, you're correct about the later cars, but not on one as early as Michael's. (You'd think they would've made them all match from Day One, but they didn't!)