Greetings,
I'm always interested in what others are doing to their cars.
A year a half ago I was faced with a rear axle decision out of necessity, due to a broken yoke in the differential.
I own a complete 1970 280SE parts car. However i learned quickly that nothing much on a 108 is easily interchangeable with the 230 SL's. So, I decided to rebuild my original 4.08 axle, as apposed to using the 108 and switching to rear disk brakes etc.
It wasn't until I had the axle back in the car that I discovered the torque converter had failed causing the axle failure, according to Mark at Sun Valley.
As it turned out I couldn't use the 108 transmission in the 230SL either. So, I purchased a reman from Sun Valley and kept my original. Much to my surprise, it now starts out in 1st gear. The rebuild is out of an older, compatible sedan. I personally have never cared for the way my SL stared in 2nd. I'm super pleased with the way the car drives and shifts now, going through all 4 gears. To me, it's much nicer to drive, but that's just my personal preference.
I said all of the about to say this. Since I did all the rebuild on my car, I can't help wondering how the taller gears in the rear, with a transmission that starts in 1st would be? To me, for an automatic, that could be the cats meow.
However, 30 years later, I still miss the stick I had in my first 230SL. I even considered the conversion on this 230. I sure envy the guys that have the 5 speeds.
Keep us posted on what you decide to do.
Ed Riefstahl
1966 230SL (Ms Magoo) Horizon Blue
1970 280S (Miss Daisy)
1999 BMW Z3 5 speed
1991 BMW 318I 5 Speed
1997 Toyota Paseo Convertible - One of 1000, (have you ever seen one?)
1997 Ford Ranger step side (Mater)
2023 Mazda CX 5