Pagoda SL Group

W113 Pagoda SL Group => General Discussion => Topic started by: bogeyman on September 05, 2010, 20:16:18

Title: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: bogeyman on September 05, 2010, 20:16:18
Saw this on ebay and - WOW
Hurricane victim?  Bottom of the ocean?
Any ideas?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TRUE-1971-Mercedes-280SL-W113-ONE-LAST-ONES-MADE-/120617669176?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1c155f9238
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: 69280sl on September 05, 2010, 23:36:14
Like the seller says " rust here and there"

Gus
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: douglas dees on September 06, 2010, 00:04:09
Saw this on ebay and - WOW
Hurricane victim?  Bottom of the ocean?
Any ideas?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TRUE-1971-Mercedes-280SL-W113-ONE-LAST-ONES-MADE-/120617669176?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1c155f9238

This car has either been submerged  in water or a very damp storage. You don't see interiors with mold like this unless there has been extensive water damage. My car was stored out doors in snow and rain under a cover for 4 years and it was clean on the inside.
Buyer beware
Doug Dees
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: Ulf on September 06, 2010, 07:05:39
Could possibly have been stored under blankets that have soaked up water - sad, but the right person might turn it into a jewel again in a couple of years.
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: Bernd on September 06, 2010, 11:20:20
yeah Ulf..assuming they don't run out of money and enthusiasm. IMO only good for parts...and given the amount of rust, only SOME parts at best
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: JamesL on September 06, 2010, 12:18:25
Much of that looks, to my untrained eye, to be surface rust - the underside is not too bad. The seller knows what he's selling and has photo'd the obvious bits - trunk foor, headlamp bowls etc

It's a resto job and a biggun but I reckon that's no basket case. Then again I know nothing
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: Shvegel on September 06, 2010, 16:15:59
Sure. It's been in a back yard in Florida for 20 years. Someone bought it, Thought they would get it running. Realized the engine was frozen beyond belief and the fuel system was toast and hit the silk.

If you could inspect it well it might be worth a couple of dollars for a restorable body but it needs everything else.
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: Shvegel on September 06, 2010, 16:19:40
After looking at the photos again I'd say it was bought to go under the fiberglass 300 Gullwing shell in the background and it was too far gone to be worth getting it running again.
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: al_lieffring on September 06, 2010, 16:53:51
I looked through the photo gallery and it looks to me like there is not one single servicable part on that entire car. Aluminum scrap metal is at an all time low, so there is not even any value there. That is not surface rust, you could poke a screw driver through about any steel panel on the body or frame. The frame is even rusted through at the steering box mount, that is the thickest metal on the car.

My guess the car had extreme rust patch work done maybe 30 years ago and after that was driven into a lake, was dredged out and left to sit for several decades with the hard top off under a blue plastic tarp in someone's back yard. The bottom of the hard top is completly rusted away like it was burried 6" in the mud when they found it.

The best way to make a little money working on old cars is to spend lots of money.
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: Jordan on September 06, 2010, 18:05:54
It might just be me but I am sensing a bit of negativity here  :D ;).  You have to give him/her some credit in that it looks like they tried to shine up the tires, and the hub caps look usable. ;D
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: Cees Klumper on September 06, 2010, 22:20:41
... You have to give him/her some credit in that it looks like they tried to shine up the tires ...

I saw that too! That has to be the ultimate.

This is probably what that car that sat in the German Neckar river for decades would turn out like after your average all-out restoration job. I am all for saving every last Pagoda, but even I would hesitate to call this one ...
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: IXLR8 on September 06, 2010, 23:54:49
Hi--

I suppose that I shouldn't say this, but my 230SL started out worse than this.

Lots of K&K panels are welded into mine--headlight buckets, floor panels, trunk floor, rockers, front and rear quarters, etc. It had been hit, so I also sprung for a new nose piece.

I bought mine with a friend 20 years ago on a mechanic's lein. It had sat out for three years. We got it for $3000. He bought me out, and now I have bought him out.

Incidentally, the eBay car is up over $9000 with more than 5 days left on the auction.

Joe
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: Ulf on September 07, 2010, 07:39:40
9000 dollars??? Hope it's a very skilled (and rich) DIY-guy, who gets it...
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: mdsalemi on September 07, 2010, 11:42:23
Looks a bit better than what I started with.
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: J. Huber on September 07, 2010, 22:27:02
We seem to be of 2 minds on the value of this car. I would never have thought it would fetch 9000. Based on this, maybe mine is worth more than the 12-14 I think it is? Anyway, just hope the buyer understands what is ahead in restoring this one.
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: badali on September 07, 2010, 23:39:04
OK,  All that being said.  I bought mine for just a little more and it mostly needed to be driven.  They are at $9850 now and I think the new owner may have buyers remorse at its current price.
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: Shvegel on September 08, 2010, 10:46:57
It's a fairly common trap to fall into and I know it all to well. I spotted mine out back of shop where I was installing a convertible top on a Saab about 10 years ago. I said to the shop owner "I really like those cars but could never afford one." He said "You can have that one for $5000USD" The interior was nice except for the powdered heater levers, The engine was stuck hard, the body looked OK but had been butchered by a previous restoration attempt and when I got it home I found out the shop owner had sold off some pretty expensive bits like the convertible top frame and the turn signal stalk.

I make it a point to not get involved with three strike cars. Any car that needs Body, Mechanical and Interior is almost always not worth bringing back to life unless of course it is a Gullwing 300Sl found in a hedge that was owned by a young King Hussien.

Whomever the new owner is I hope he goes out and finds a running 280SE driveline and gets it running in a hurry. Maybe if he can drive it a bit it will ease the sting of what is to follow.
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: IXLR8 on September 08, 2010, 14:48:42


NOW at $10, 350!!

The value of all of our cars is going up!!

Joe
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: badali on September 08, 2010, 16:39:33
This may end up being the case of the non paying bidder.  I bet we see it relisted in a few weeks after the auction.
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: Bernd on September 11, 2010, 17:49:13
Ridiculous. The person that buys this either a) has too much money, b)is a saint, or c) has absoulutely no idea what he/she is getting into.
I hope it works out.  I would DEFINITELY not want to pay the restauration cost on that one, and I am one of the crazy DIY'ers that like to tinker. Even then  just adding up some initial items would kill my budget. Forget it.
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: IXLR8 on September 11, 2010, 23:41:43
.

Now at $11,600 !!!


18 hours to go. (This is like a suicide watch.)


Joe
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: menesesjesse on September 12, 2010, 03:49:07
Can someone say Katrina because this looks like an great example of what salt water does to cars.  11.6 is strong money and it is interesting to see this play out.
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: gzmavian on September 12, 2010, 14:06:33
The bidders must feel reassured knowing the car  front headlight -body panel notches as pointed out in the photos.
Title: Re: Any ideas where this car has been?
Post by: IXLR8 on September 12, 2010, 22:12:15


Winning bid: US $12,100.00

Now, I've got to call Hagerty and increase the value of my cxar for insurance purposes.


Joe