Pagoda SL Group

W113 Pagoda SL Group => General Discussion => Topic started by: ddodson1 on July 22, 2022, 14:58:01

Title: Looking for restoration shop near Charleston, SC
Post by: ddodson1 on July 22, 2022, 14:58:01
Can anyone recommend a good restoration shop in Charleston for my 1965 230SL?

Thanks,
Drake
Title: Re: Looking for restoration shop near Charleston, SC
Post by: Alex D on July 22, 2022, 16:25:51
Not full restoration shops but you can start with these two.

H&H Auto Service - Hilton Head

Star Motor Service - Charleston
Title: Re: Looking for restoration shop near Charleston, SC
Post by: Shvegel on July 23, 2022, 09:41:00
If you are swinging for the fences there are 2 shops on the East Coast the are top notch.  Hatch and Sons and Aaron Householder at Das Auto Shoppe in Knoxville.  Either will deliver a show winning restoration.  Both will empty your wallet.
Title: Re: Looking for restoration shop near Charleston, SC
Post by: mdsalemi on July 23, 2022, 14:35:01
If you are swinging for the fences there are 2 shops on the East Coast the are top notch.  Hatch and Sons and Aaron Householder at Das Auto Shoppe in Knoxville.  Either will deliver a show winning restoration.  Both will empty your wallet.

ANY restoration will empty your wallet. The cost of parts is just too high, and labor (regardless of rate) is fairly extensive on a restoration.

But, seriously, those are the two you came up with?

I've been here since the inception and never heard of any reference to Das Auto Shoppe. Oh, AaronH was a "guest" on the forum a couple of times (like a million others passing in the night) but couldn't find anyone talking about the shop. Not to say he isn't good...and Knoxville is 8 hours "from the coast".

Hatch was shut down for a while when Bob Hatch senior retired and then stopped doing any restorations, concentrating mostly on consignment sales. Are they back restoring cars?
There's always Paul Russel in Massachusetts, too.

What about Gernold and SL Tech? People send him cars from all over, even though he's in southern Maine.
Bud's Benz is in Georgia, and they've done plenty.
Pierre Hedary has been known to orchestrate restorations, he's in Florida.
The Foreign Service is in Raleigh, NC.
Silver Star Restorations is in Topton, NC, 90 miles west of Asheville in the mountains.
Tony Labella in New Jersey
Bob Platz in New Jersey

...the list goes on...how many did I leave out?

My own car was restored by someone off the radar screen, (now gone) back in 1999-2000.
More recently there's been a lot of solid work done by Motorwerks Group in Commerce Michigan, and they know the W113 very well.

So, seek and you shall find. Do your homework and talk to the restorers, and choose one you feel comfortable with.

I chose mine based upon his ability to allow me to take an active role, and also not just someone who would want periodic checks $$$ but also one who would welcome visits and interactive work.  I specifically rejected a restorer because they wanted to spend an enormous amount of money/time just documenting everything, and restoring everything instead of making sensible decisions. For example, this guy showed me the bills for another W113 he did, and I remember specifically a couple of pages of detail (along with something like 4 hours labor each) on the teardown and restoration of the starter and alternator. I knew this was silly; just take the cores to an auto parts store and get Bosch factory rebuilts. So there's a lot to choosing a shop to restore your car. Unless you have a bottomless pocket, you'll need to do some research.

Good luck!


Title: Re: Looking for restoration shop near Charleston, SC
Post by: ChrisInNashville on July 23, 2022, 17:57:51
Mine was restored at Silver Star in western NC.  A very good experience for me.  PM me and I’m glad to share my experience and costs…
Title: Re: Looking for restoration shop near Charleston, SC
Post by: zoegrlh on July 25, 2022, 00:43:04
I agree with Michael, question you need to ask yourself, is how much restoration you want. Do you want a Pebble Beach trailer Queen, or do you want a really nice driver, or are you looking to flip this car and make a few bucks?
Bob
Title: Re: Looking for restoration shop near Charleston, SC
Post by: ddodson1 on July 26, 2022, 18:12:23
I'm familiar with Buds Benz having used them for parts for 20+ years as I did the mechanical restoration on my car.

Main things I need now are to weld in new floor pans and replace interior carpet/seat covers, roof liner and soft top. Hoping to find someplace reasonably close to Charleston.

Drake
Title: Re: Looking for restoration shop near Charleston, SC
Post by: mdsalemi on July 26, 2022, 18:39:55
Provided you didn't just move to Charleston, try calling all that pop up here:

https://www.benzshops.com/

You may have known about some or all of them. Worth a try.