It's interesting the various changes that happen to a car over 40-50 years. My car has been in our family since 1970 ... we are just the second owners, but even in its early years there were changes. The data card shows my top originally was also white, which is why my hubcaps were white as well. I vaguely remember my Dad telling me he thought the car had been in a sand storm in the desert of S. California (that's where I'm from) and the first owner had to repaint the roof. The evidence was the chrome strip, at the front of the roof, which was pretty badly pitted before I had it rechromed. And at some point, there was a spot where the white was showing through.
My car also has a black shift knob with a white steering wheel, which is unusual. When I had the interior updated, I had the pad on my steering wheel dyed black to match the rest of the interior, not knowing that's an originality no-no. The white pad had not aged well, turning yellowish and brown in spots, but the pad was not cracked, so I went with the dye. I like it. At some point in the 70s, my dad had also installed the U.S. spec side lights to make it look more like a 280SL. I never liked them and had them removed and the holes patched when I repainted the car a few years ago.
