Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => General Discussion => Topic started by: Douglas on February 02, 2008, 13:05:51
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The Wall St Journal did an article on this clever Website back in January. No Mercedes (or BMWs) listed yet:
http://www.lost-car-registry.com/main.html
Douglas Kim
New York
USA
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Oh yes
Mine was a Mini (the proper ones, not those newfangled BMW things)
1982, red, blue/black check interior, 998cc engine. An "HLE" in the weird model types that BL (as it then was) put on things. It had 40bhp!![:p]
I had the seat so far back that the rear of the front seat touched the front of the back seat (I am 6'3"). Crashed it twice, minor stuff, and I loved driving it, despite having to contort myself. I'd love another...
I sold it in '84 for a 1.3 Metro of the same age. A little more practical, especially for lugging stuff to college and back...
The former car has not been taxed - so assumedly off the road/scrapped - since mid 1995, the latter (below) since April 1997.
(http://www.vpoc.info/vpmetro/2.jpg)
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1959 Bug-eyed Sprite / M.G. Midget.
(http://www.sl113.org/forums/uploaded/al_lieffring/200822174110_Spridget1972.jpg)
In 1970 I was in Junior High (they call it middle school now), a teacher told me that she had an old car in her garage that her son Carlton had dismantled before he left for Princeton, it had been sitting there ever since. I begged my dad for the $100 to claim it, he relented. We dragged home the body and I litteraly hauled home the rest in baskets. The body was rotted away so we found a solid tub in a scrap yard for a 62 M.G. Midget that I put the Sprite's driveline into after I rebuilt it all. By the time I turned 16 in 1973 I had it all overhauled, rewired, repainted and reuppholstered.
It was white with red uppholstery, the 948cc engine and an axle ratio of 5.?:1 gave it a top speed around 50mph. That summer gasoline in Kansas City was selling for $0.18-9/10 a gallon, the tank cost less than a Dollar to fill.
I sold the Spridget to buy my first Pagoda a euro 65 230sl.
Al Lieffring
66 230SL
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My mother's, brother's, then me. 1965 Mustang fastback, 289 V8, automatic.
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2275/2237913270_43182d2979.jpg)
John
1967 Early 250 SL Red/Caviar, Manual
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1966 MGB. Met my wife when it broke down and she helped me push start it. This picture taken our first summer together, 36 summers ago!
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- Mike Hughes -ô¿ô-
1966 230SL Auto P/S
Havanna Brown (408)
Light Beige (181)
Cream M-B Tex (121)
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'67 Pontiac Catalina convertible.
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch...
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I was 14 and bought a '62 VW with a sunroof for $100. The engine was in cardboard boxes in the back seat. My dad helped me rebuild the engine. My brother got it painted free at his job. At 16 I got my license in it and later discovered the importance of a nice back seat. My next car was an Impala. ;)
Ray
'68 280SL 4-spd Coupe
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When I had my Mustang, pictured below, in 1972 my mother got this '71. Drove it for 17 years before it rotted away...Wisconsin winters.
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2140/2238374052_208ff8d3b0.jpg)
John
1967 Early 250 SL Red/Caviar, Manual
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Well, I was just talking to M. Salemi about this...my official first car was my sister's hand-me down -- a 1974 baby blue Ford Mustang II. The II was for too bad your sister didn't have a '67. The good news was my "other car" was available for things like Senior Proms!
(dig the hair!).
(http://www.sl113.org/forums/uploaded/J.%20Huber/200822224244_1980.jpg)
James
63 230SL
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A 1971 2002tii! The most impressive thing was the handling. I bought the car on my own without telling my parrents ( yes I caught hell for it). Other than the engine losing compression, the clutch needing replacement and oh yes the large ventilation holes in the foot-well area (rust holes! I could see the ground through them) there was nothing really wrong wit it. ;)
1969 280sl 5 spd
Gainesville, Fl.
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1969 Lincoln Continental Sedan. Last year with suicide doors. I loved that car and had it several years as a second car restored (it was totaled in 1987).
Best Regards,
J. P. Mose
1968 250SL
1987 560SL
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My 1st car was a 71 VW, baby blue...
My other car, the one my parents let me drive, was a '65 190Dc. Not as sexy as James 113, but it did have a Blaupunkt 5-Band Radio... Not a chick magnet, but the guys liked the short wave radio!
Had 4 on the column, lots of room and very slow at the gate... Was also fun finding diesel fuel back then... mostly had to go to truck stops...
Parents bought it new and we took delivery at the Sindelfingen facility. We traveled in it, visiting relatives throughout Germany for 2+ months (May-July 1965)... This was my parents 1st trip back to Germany after moving to Dayton, Ohio in the early 50's...
(http://www.sl113.org/forums/uploaded/bpossel/20082382922_190Dc.jpg")
Bob
bpossel (Memphis, TN.)
'71 280SL / '97 E320
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VW Beetle here too.
Same spec and colour as in photo but unfortunately without all the er...scenery! ;)
(http://oldcarandtruckpictures.com/Volkswagen/1969Volkswagen-jan5.jpg)
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Peugeot Station wagon 1974...burgundy. The things was huge! Traveled cross country and slept in the back "wood paneled" bed. The beast had a 1/4 ton rating for a load. Two problems, often got passed by motor homes when going up a mountain pass (in 2nd gear) and almost had to settle in Elk City OK when my slave cylinder in the clutch went. Always had a thing for wagons, lots of room in the back :twisted:
christopher
1970 280sl
1985 300td wagon
1999 320 4matic wagon
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Alfa Romeo Spider Giulietta. A 1300cc engine with oil bubbling hot within the four spark plug wells. By the time I got it the car was almost a fossil of it's former self, having spent it's life around and now possibly within the La Brea tar pits.
1967 230SL
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My first car was a 1952 Plymouth Cambridge. Got it from my grandfather. It was so easy to work on. I wish I still had it.
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Rolf
1966 230SL Auto
1992 300D
1991 FLHS
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The nice thing about old American iron is that you could sit alongside of the engine while you worked on it. :D
1969 280sl 5 spd
Gainesville, Fl.
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1957 Cadillac Fleetwood, bought it from my Dad for $50 when he upgraded to a 1960 Caddy. It had all kinds of options, most of which did not work by the time I got it. Even had an automatic headlight dimmer. I sold it about a year later for $90 when the transmission started to go out. My first new car was a Datsun 240z, right after they first came out and there was a long waiting list, but nobody on the waiting list wanted the orange one with the black interior so I grabbed it.
1967 230sl (stick)
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First was a rotted 1933 5 window Ford coupe. But my first street car was a 1969 CHP car. 400 HP for a 16 yr old was fun.
Happy Benzing
Darryl, Hill
350 SL4.5 #60
1967 250sl "California"
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Mine was a 57 Chevy in 1968. A lot of rust and I had to replace the 6 cylinder with a V8. Learned a lot about cars working on it.
Bruce; 268Blaugrun(green) 1970 280SL; IL
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1970 Datsun 240Z. I was 18 years old. Even at that age, I really wanted a 280SL, but couldn't afford one. The Datsun was $3,528
out the door. I said to myself, "Almost the same engine-a straight 6!" Drove across country 9 times in the Z without even a flat tire.
I sold it after 7 years for a BMW 320I. I never owned a car longer than that Datsun until I finally bought a 280SL, which I have now owned for 8 years. There is still something about a straight 6 that sings.
Jackson Schwartz
1970 280SL automatic
Tunis Beige Metallic & Cognac
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A Ford Anglia 105E with more holes in it around the inner and outer front wings than metal! But oh boy did the Peco big bore exhaust make a difference :oops:
Rob Walker
1968 280SL papyrus white/green leather
Spain and Turkey
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VW Beetle, Sky blue metallic. I loved the way the side windows would open and direct the air to your face. [ Porsche Engine! (' :D ') ]
Kemal
280 SL
Manual 69 LHD
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'67 VW Beetle, hand-me-down from father and brother. By the time I got it in '72 it had already lived a full (and hard) life. Windsheild wipers used to flip-flop on that stupid set-screw and arbor thing...until everything rusted permanently in place, problem solved. Clutch went and I drove without one (clutch) for about a month until I scraped together enough $'s for the repair. Easy enough, living in Boston, could always find a hill to park on. Couldn't afford to be too picky about where to park, though. You could get the car to begin rolling forward by applying pressure to the gear shift from neutral toward first, never understood (still don't) how it did that. Tuned it up using a matchbook cover to gap the points. Finally destroyed it by setting the valves, at least some of them, don't know which ones, out of sequence. I think I was using the muffler as a combustion chamber. All I know is that I got it to run, for about 1/4 mile, standing on the gas. But things got dicey when I saw a faint "glow" out of the rearview mirror. Pulled up to the nearest house to use a phone to call the fire department...too late.
Great memories, except for that very last one.
Best
g
'64 230sl, fully sorted out...ooops, spoke too soon
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'66 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV for EUR 250 in 1977. Since I did not have a driver's license yet, my friend had to drive me around. The first fast run we did late one night, and it was only after some 10 miles at top speed that we discovered the car had a hand brake - and that it was still applied! It went even faster after that. Leaked oil so bad that to this day I am sure you can see the marks on the pavement where I used to park it, even though I only owned it for a few months. Traded up to a Jaguar 4.2 sedan with its own stories (and a larger back seat, which seems to be an item here!).
Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic
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My first was also an Alfa — a 1978 Alfetta GT. The finnicky 5-spd gearbox taught me how to shift gingerly as well as the value of double-clutching. Very fond memories that I have absolutely no wish to re-live. I'm quite content with German iron!
Douglas Kim
New York
USA
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Mine was a fine piece of Detroit Iron. A 1971 Plymouth 340 Duster with a 4 speed manual transmission. I was taking home $63.50 a week and putting $30 of that in the tank. Had to sell it 6 months later. Couldn't afford the gas or the rear tires I kept replacing. Firestone Parnelli Jones.
Patrick
'68 250SL
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quote:
Originally posted by cees klumper
'66 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV for EUR 250 in 1977.
Hey Cees, I'd no idea Euros were in use back in 1977! [:p] (or do you mean Guilders?)
If anyone cares, I started off with a 1987 Honda Accord... I know I know, boring compared to y'alls massive back seat equipped vehicles.
Waqas in Austin, Texas
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I am going to show my age by saying that my first car brought in 1965 as a student from another guy at Univesity was a 1930 Ford Model A that I used as a daily driver for several years, including surf boards on top. Great car, traded it in on a Mini Moke!!!!! and regretted it from day two.
Garry Marks
Australia
69 280SL Manual
02 320ML
05 A200
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A 1978 Citroen 2CV.
I bought it for £425 from a retired US lawyer who had a castle in South West Ayrshire, Scotland and had used it as a runabout on the estate. It wasn't pretty or fast. With an annual weld of the floors to pass the Ministry of Transport test and a few new tyres it lasted me throughout my student years and I sold it for £25 more than I paid for it. This is an economic miracle never since repeated.
I am not sure whether this is relevant to all the ooh-er back seat chat but with the Citroen 2CV one could remove all of the seats - for a picnic!
Happy and inexpensive memories.
Regards
Andrew
1966 230SL
1969 280SL
1989 420SL
2007 S320CDI
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quote:
Originally posted by AGT
A 1978 Citroen 2CV.
I am not sure whether this is relevant to all the ooh-er back seat chat but with the Citroen 2CV one could remove all of the seats - for a picnic!
Good thing too. That suspension would play havoc with any rhythm... :D
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Hi Guys,
1981 320i in bright red with a sunroof and monster custom stereo. License plate "INFERNO" Kept it for 5 years and traded it on a red 635csi which had always been my dream car. Hmmm...red seems to be a theme for me.
Trice
1968 280SL US, signal red/bl leather, auto, kinder seat
Sarasota FL; Alsace France; Switzerland
Think of your Pagoda as a woman with a past...stable now including a 92 911 Carrera 2 Tiptronic (not red)
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quote:
Originally posted by AGT
A 1978 Citroen 2CV.
I bought it for £425 ... and I sold it for £25 more than I paid for it. This is an economic miracle never since repeated.
I bought a DAF 55 (for EUR 200, or 450 Dutch Florins for Waqas ;) ) to commute to college in for one winter, so I could keep the Triumph Spitfire garaged and salt-less, and at the end of that winter the car was run into by two drunks in a VW Beetle. They agreed to take the DAF off my hands for what I had paid for it, so I guess not as impressive as the quoted story, but I felt good about at least breaking even!
Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic
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Cees,
Glad to hear you avoided catastrophe this morning, lucky the road was dry and you had left enough for a stop. I hate to sound too cynical, but there is really never an excuse for running in to a car in front of you, no matter what the speed or conditions, and it sounds like you were maintaining a safe distance, which saved your bacon. In those situations I always worry about the guy in BACK of me more than the one in front.
As for the GTV, I am envious. That Alfa is the only other car I have lusted for, both then and now, even at my advanced age. I had a Berlinetta, I think it was a '76?, but it was no GTV.
Best,
g
'64 230sl, fully sorted out...ooops, spoke too soon
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My 1st was a 1955 Green Studeaker that I purchased in 1965 for $50. The bumper chrome was pristine. The 3speed (on the tree) manual transmission with an automatic overdrive transmission was flawless. The radiaor cap was adequate, other than that the entire car was a rust bucket and pile of junk. There wasn't a car on th road that could pass me (the oil smoke did not allow them to see) It got 25 miles per gallon of gas and 250 miles per gallon of oil (yes gallon of oil not miles) I only had it 6 months but learned so much about repairing cars while owning it. What a step up it was when I junked it and paid $25 for a 1954 Chevy that i purchesed with the seller making full disclosure it needed a brake job
Daryl
'64 230 SL Buckeye Benz Scarlet interior and Grey top Serial # 508
'77 280SE
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This was a fun website to browse through and most everyone had such exotic first cars. Mine was a Honda CRX, and believe it or not I still have it and drive it on a regular basis. I tend to get emotionally attached to cars, and actually dread the day when I might finally have to let it go.
Amanda
1966 230SL
Manual
Red/Tan
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My first car was a 1964 Chevy Impala (white with black top, red interior) back in 1974. I remember it had a huge, unpadded metal dashboard. It was given to me by my dad, who "acquired" it when a tenant couldn't pay his rent. We used to call it "Jaws" because it looked as if a great white shark had attempted to take a bite out of the side. If you slammed the passenger door, the window would come off it's tracks and fall into the door; fortunately, it wouldn't fall completely into the door and was easy to pull back out.
1970 280 sl silver/red
1992 NSX
1998 GS400
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My first car was a 1937 Buick with a straight eight and three on the floor. Black with chrome bumpers and chrome door handles. Nice car. Ran very quiet. I lived in Zurich then. There was no heat in the car. Most people installed a "Southwind" hot air heater that ran on gas. We put a warm water bottle on the floor, once the engine heated up it was warm enough. Got married when we had this car. Really impressed people. One winter, on an icy road, we encountered a VW coming out of a turn, spinning like a top. By the time he hit us, we were stopped. I had witnesses in the car and his insurance paid off; they totaled the car.
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First car was a '61 Volvo P544, 4spd, red, with red leather interior... in Germany where I lived at the time. It was my neighbor's who bought it new. It was his pride and joy... and I got to drive it around to the back of the building to wash, vacuum, and wax it at least 1x per month (or more if I could convince him it needed it) before I got my driver's license in '62. In mid '62 the owner was transferred back to US and offered it to my parents for well under blue-book IF they let it be my car while I was still in Germany.
My parents bought it for me and I drove it 'til mid '64 when I came back to the US after graduating high school... I was just turning 19. Drove it all over Europe (Italy, France --- mostly the Riviera for a teen-ager's fun in the sun and surf, & back seat), Neatherlands, Switzerland, Paris (more fun, no sun) topped out all the time (Autobahn's at that time were open roads, no speed limits on any of them... and no speed limits on most of the highways either (until highway went thru a town or village). My parents sold it right after I left Germany for only a little bit less than they paid for it. I had to pay for insurance, gas, & maintenance though, not to mention ferrying my younger sister around whenever my mom or dad did'nt want to (which translated to anytime I was home).
I learned to drive on icy cobblestones in mid-winter, in major cities (Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, Amsterdam, Geneva, etc)... around the arc de Triomph in Paris without hazard... one thing about the European drivers at that time... there was a discipline in driving... everybody followed the same unspoken, unwritten rules, though the Italien's drove with a bit more "freedom" than most.. still disciplined, but on the hairy edge. Rules were that you passed if you thought you could make it... whether or not you could see around the bend or over the hill.... at least those were the rules I learned ... and since I survived it, I guess I learned those rules well enough.
Driving back in the US I was appalled at lack of driving discipline, and speed limits that people only marginally exceeded... 65 mph limit mostly at that time, and drivers rarely drove over 75. I was used to a minimum of 80 mph... 90 kind of normal in cruising along... 100 - 110 (115 was the Volvo's max) when I was either racing somebody down the freeway (kind of a European "sport"), or drunk... sometimes both. In the US people passed you on the right on the freeway's... and in US there was no discipline about slower drivers keeping furthest to right, with consecutively faster drivers further to the left... nobody moved over (to right) when you came upon them on the freeway, and obviously slower cars (car model) didn't move over a bit on the highways to let faster version cars pass them more easily. Amazing I didn't get a ticket driving in the US 'til ~ 10 years later (85 mph on a 65 mph freeway... I was shocked beyond belief that I got that ticket for only going 20 mph over the posted limit --- and it was a clear, sunny, dry, no traffic freeway condition besides).
Anyway, I went to a high school reunion for the 1st time after over 40 years since graduating and it was clear that everybody I knew remembered me and that red Volvo, especially the girl's I'd dated, and most were amazed I'd survived it. A couple of them even told me I was the reason their parents didn't let them get driver's licences while in Germany... since the word got around the parents that I drove like a maniac ... besides the issue of no speed limits on highways and freeways.
My parents were a different breed I guess... survival of the fittest I think... I'd either live, die, or learn one way or another (the hard way is best teacher). I was a daredevil, as probably most males at that age are (why else would they volunteer to go to war?), and even drove back from Italy to central Germany over the Brenner Pass when I'd lost my brakes (master cylinder shot)... thank god for my Volvo's 4 speed and a hand operated emergency brake which kept me slow enough to barely negotiate the pass on the way down... didn't hit anything though. Even drove the German Autobahn at speed all the way back (stayed behind trucks since I figured they wouldn't be able to slow down as fast as cars did in traffic, so I'd at least have a chance to ditch the car to the shoulder or off the road if I couldn't down shift fast enough.
FWIW, I've had 3 accidents.... 2 fender-benders and a total. My first fender-bender occurred in US in '72 on my way to see my wife after our 1st child was born... following too close I hit a guy's rear at ~5mph. My second fender-bender occurred in '76 when I misjudged a turn onto free-way and braked, sliding slowly into a guardrail... again at about 5 mph. I drove 3 years again in Europe when I was employed over there (bought a new '82 528e in Europe) with no accidents. In '90 on way back from Europe after a long flight and no sleep for 24 hrs I drove home from SF Airport on the Freeway (101) at 5pm... rush-hour. My responses were too slow to keep from rear-ending a honda... which totaled my BMW, and didn't damage that damned honda... my front end nose-dived and the honda's rear-end had risen up in hard braking... so the bottom side of the Honda's bumper was scratched... and my front was caved in, engine pushed back into fire-wall... totaled. Nobody hurt, no ticket though, so no moving violation (cops came and said "not my fault"... some car 5 or 6 cars ahead had virtually stopped in the middle of the freeway for no apparent reason in bumper - bumper traffic going 65 - 70 in rush hour).. but I was the only one to rear-end anybody. That's the last time I drove home from a trip over-seas after 24 or more hours of no sleep.
I've had 2 moving violations --- speeding tickets --- the one mentioned above, and another (I was ticketed for 79 mph (actually was clocked at 90 and that's what I told the cop I thought I was doing) in a 55 on a highway.. no traffic in either direction for miles, clear daylight)... CHP having to do their "job" I guess and save me from myself once again. Had I been given a ticket for 85 I'd have been charged with reckless driving... a big no-no in CA.... so the officer was actually being nice to me if you consider that he didn't actually have to pull me over in the 1st place)... i think it was because I was racing a Camero at the time.... now that I think about it. But the Camero got away.
Loved that Volvo though.
Longtooth
67 250SL US #113-043-10-002163
'02 SL500 Sport
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1972 Fiat 124 Sport coupe BC "The poor man's Ferrari". I got her new with 11,000 on the clock. I enjoyed her thoroughly, very forgiving car to learn how to drive. I made some dum modfications like lowering her 1/2 inch and putting a PBS engineering rear swaybars and widening the steel wheels to 6 inches tucked inside the fender wells with BF Gooodrich TA 50s.
Raced her on Mulholland Drive (Los Angeles) at night and ended up meeting some of the future magazine writers as we bench raced to Tiny Nailers off Laurel Caynon with cibie and aircraft landing lights courtesy of one of the faimed Mulholland Racing Association members.
5 speed, sat four people, four wheel disk brakes, twin cam 1592 cc engine. Owned her for eight years and miss having her around. This time she would be stock.The last time I had her she rested ion perelli radials and factory Comeadord alloy wheels with the factory center chrome caps, Amber European tailights and clear front turn signals lenses. All front lights cibie hig and low.
And I put back the famous wood steering wheel .
Gee I miss that car.
Bob Geco
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Great story, Longtooth. Those unspoken unwritten rules are long gone in Europe. People crawl in the left lane, and the two right lanes are clogged with lorries from Eastern Europe. However, He Who Must Be Obeyed still follows those old rules, and it's a blast to ride shotgun with him! It sometimes gets him in trouble, though...he'll not be driving in Switzerland for a while...good thing he wasn't in the GT40 at the time!
Trice
1968 280SL US, signal red/bl leather, auto, kinder seat
Sarasota FL; Alsace France; Switzerland
Think of your Pagoda as a woman with a past...stable now including a 92 911 Carrera 2 Tiptronic
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First car was a navy blue FIAT (which as everyone knows stands for fix-it-again-tony) 128. Lovely red interior. Other than the windshield leaking and the engine dropping out of the car, it was fun to drive :)
suzy
1967 250SL auto beige/green
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Back to the early seventies, my first car was one of my father's "service" vehicle: a basic Renault 16, with autotrans .Not precisely a chick magnet, but clearly one of those ugly little ducks that Renault's designers(!!!) would specially like to produce ...
A very safe and reliable beast of burden, if not very exciting...
My dad was a long time MB-addict.When I got my license in 1972, he owned a 300SEL 6.3.It was metallic blue with blue velours seats.
I was lucky enough to drive it as often as I liked, cruising across Europe for holidays, (and as someone said previously, speed limits were not yet a concern...), through Spain, Italy...
Boy, this car was -to my teenager's eyes at least- a dream come true.
Not many sports cars could compare to it at the time in terms of acceleration, top speed, torque!!!!
Two things I remember: first was racing a Ferrari (was it a 400 ?)on a french motorway somewhere near Lyon.Of course, the Ferrari was faster but it just couldn't beat the 300's amazing torque from 80 to 180 km/h.
The other one was in Spain, racing a brand new Kawasaki 900 Z1 (another myth from the seventies!)near Malaga.Performance was very close too!
Sadly, my dad decided to sell his (should I say my?) beloved car...
"It's the rear axle, it just can't hold the engine's power...".
I guess this is where it all started for me...!
Philippe from Paris
'71 280SL manual 4sp
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Trice,
Those were great times, but I know the situation is no longer like it was... the laws on drunk driving in Germany had changed when I lived there in '81-'84... big fines, car confiscated, etc... as a minimum. In 60's there may have been drunk driving laws, but if so they weren't enforced... even in the 80's though when I lived there I was stopped after parties or winefests or beirfests in one village when returning to my village 5-10 km away... drunk as a skunk, and the local Polizei would simply escort me home, and shake their finger at me as I drove into my driveway --- (I had German plates on the car, not the military ones as when I was a teen, nor the oval ones).
In terms of speed and traffic, though, things hadn't changed too much in early '80's when I lived there for a few years, and it was still reasonable in France and Italy when I spent ~6 months there for work in '92.
But in late '90's I was there and it was awful... like you said, lorries occupied every inch of the right lanes and cars crept in the left lanes. I'd rented a 330i or 340i in anticipation of some fine high speed driving on arriving at the airport (Frankfurt) ... I could have done as well for a lot less cash outlay with a 2cv. .. or for that matter a moped would have worked almost as well.... but it rains in Germany, so I wanted to keep my head dry.
Actually, I think the German Autobahn system needs to be brought into the 21st century to continue to provide reasonable automobile travel between the major cities, and from the suburbs (cities surrounding the major cities) into the cities. Of course, the alternative transportation available (trains, even now communter airlines) are far more usable than in the US, so maybe Europe should focus more on bypassing an updated freeway system in favor of improvements in the alternative transportation systems.... saves on gas to boot. Considering the major German Freeways were designed in the 1930's and approx. 25% of them built in that pre-war era, they were much advanced compared to US until the 60's, and even then they were at least par with our new ones at that time. It wasn't until the European's had a car for nearly every resident that the freeway sysetem in Germany felt it's design age.... too much traffic for the designs --- widening them to multiple lanes began, but it was a slow process and frought with political issues at every step.... not to mention costs.
Longtooth
67 250SL US #113-043-10-002163
'02 SL500 Sport
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I started with a 1969 230/8 and quickly graduated from bicycle mechanic to automotive technician because I didn't get a PPI. I had to borrow the 2,100$ for the thing. The first shock was the safety inspection.
Here in NY, you get a little white scrap of paper to put on the windshield that the cops call a "10 day forever sticker". It means you have 10 days to get the car inspected. I waited about 45. That's when I learned that I needed a four wheel brake job and it was going to be about 200$ since I needed roters and such. The HC count was in the thousands range. The carb repair was an open ended bill. The guy also told me that a new set or rocker panels would be 1,000$ if I wanted to deal with the rust. What rust? Why all the holes in the floor once you remove the carpets.
My hero was a guy named Craig (of Wolfgang & Craig's in Huntington) who looked at the carbs for me. I had asked him to just diagnose the problem and I was prepared to pay for a few hours of labor (I learned about hourly rates by this point) When I went to pay the bill, he charged me 65$. I was stunned and asked him what he did. He said that he just pulled off the top of the carb, straightened out a jet and it was fine from there. He was so matter of fact about it.
I was told to change the oil, since it had lots of gasoline in it from the rich carb. This I decided to do myself (with a chevy guru friend looking on for advice). I didn't get the oil canister screwed back on tightly enough. When I started the car (with a lump in my throat), I let out a scream when I saw oil spraying down from the engine compartment. The rust hole in the floor was good for something.
I never did fix the rust, but I did put about 2,000 miles on it before I got my license. Not very bright, but at 25 it was fun.
I discovered the range FM radio in that car. Prior to that I was always stuck on one of two classical music stations.
Eventually I picked up a few other cars and the 230/8 was ready to be scrapped. I transferred the motor into a much nicer 250/8 body and right afterwards discovered why there was always this chocolate milkish gunk in the oil cap. I saved a bunch of other parts. I've always been careful to give away parts from this car rather than sell them. Kind of a trade of the spirit rather than the cash. The carbs went to an old friend who needed cores. A bumper went to a nice gent who gave me a micky mouse pocket watch in exchange. I still have a fender and the nose skirt here someplace. They'll be used if ever I bother to restore a W114 car, just because I can.
The guy that sold me that car was a crafty old lawyer that suckered me big time. He knew I was gullable and I took it in hook, line and sinker. I hope he got what he deserved in the end. I vowed never to spend more on any car after that. I've only broken that promise thrice in 22 years. The first time was when I put down 9,000$ for a 600. That was a forgivable breach I think.
I've had over 100 mercedes at this point. Mostly scrap or beaters at the prices I pay. Some I've driven, many I've just parted out and shared the wealth on. Heck, I paid 150$ for a W126 280sel this week and will pull the motor/trans and scrap the rest and have more cash in my pocket than when I started (scrap cars are 7 cents a pound right now). But that engine & transmission will power a friend's ailing 280E.
My 230SL, purchased with a ton of spares was another case where I broke that rule. That car got 250 hours of rust repair and paint (those spare parts included all the body panels; some assembly required; battery not included). If I ever get off my duff and start reassembling it, it will be the first car I ever restored to anything like it's supposed to be.
I'll do the same to the 600, at least one 111 or 112 coupe, maybe a 108/109 car too. Definitely the W114 & W126 coupes. In the mean time, I'll get my hands dirty on the weekends and enjoy being an armchair mechanic on this board and a few others. My 9 year old wants to earn extra cash to buy toys, so he's learning which end of the screwdriver is more useful (and deadly). Perhaps his first car will be a ...
-CTH
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Looks like I started out with the smallest car compared to most of you - a Isetta 250, a beamer ;) .
Similar to the one shown below but in Bavarian colors, white & blue. It only lasted 3 weeks, when the brakes failed and the car in front of me stopped my progress. That car had a high bumper and nothing happened to it but the Isetta's front door went from convex to concave. That was fortunate for me because I didn't have to report the mishap to my insurance company (or the police) and only had to find another door. Which turned out to be red and from then on I had a "red white and blue" car. After one year when the engine blew I traded up to a Isetta 300 and 2 years later higher again to a NSU Prinz - still smaller than Cees' DAF or Andrew's 2CV - but a lot faster. And it became even faster when a friend souped it up (with a TT engine) and we drove it together for about four years in ralleys and similar events. Fun times :D
(http://www.sl113.org/forums/uploaded/66andBlue/200831405431_Isetta.jpg)
Alfred
1966 blue 230SL automatic
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Ran across a couple of old photographs that cause me to resurrect this ancient thread. I’m not sure it qualifies as my first car however because it was never registered.
When the spring semester of 1960 came to a close I and a friend needed to get our “stuff” from the University of Illinois to our homes in Chicago about 125 miles to the north. The usual procedure was to go home on the train with a few items and come back with the family car for the rest of our belongings and then return home. Being very bright students we deemed this wasteful and thought it would be better to buy a car in Champaign, Illinois, get home and then sell it to recover our investment. Being on a very tight budget (understatement) our options evolved to buying a running wreck from the local junk yard. Preparatory to doing so, I went to the law library and looked up the statutes applying to operating an automobile in the State. They were rather few and simple. And, most important, a buyer had 24 hours to license a newly purchased car.
Armed with this knowledge we returned to the junkyard and told the owner we needed a good running, but cheap car, looks not important. The owner of the junkyard, one Gomer Wilke, the first and only Gomer I have run into in my years on this planet got into the spirit of what we wanted to do and told us he had just what we needed. An early 50’s Nash that had been used as a platform for a parade float. It had been torched off at the belt line with the hood and trunk lid discarded, but according to Gomer, the car ran like a Swiss watch. We negotiated with Gomer on the condition that we could use some of his tools and bought the car for $25.
One of the legal requirements was a windscreen, which our car didn’t have but a panel truck lying on its side in the mud provided one. I welded this to the cowl and made a pair of struts out of steel rod welded to the top of the windscreen and to the front edges of the fenders.
My shaving kit provided the required rear view mirror which we taped to the inside surface of the front glass.
Since the required brake and tail lights were part of the discarded trunk lid, we secured a brake/tail/license light from the same panel truck and tacked it to the rear quarter. Two lengths of wire were run from the battery terminals (easily accessible) to the tail light and back to the passenger’s seat. The plan was, when braking the driver would say “now” and the passenger would touch the wires together. Turn signals would be by hand signal. There were some other modifications that escape my memory, but at last we were ready to go. As we were about to drive off Gomer threw a mounted tire into the rear seat area of the car with the explanation that it put us one step closer to home.
Finally collecting our gear and departing for home, we hit the next sizeable town, Kankakee, IL at rush hour. As luck would have it there was a cop directing traffic right in front of us. His jaw dropped open and he motioned us to pull over to the curb which I did. He came over and asked what this was all about which we explained. I even referred to the statutes we complied with by number. He told us to stay put and went back to his car to radio something in. I had the sinking feeling we were going to spend the night in the Kankakee jail. A second police car arrived with an officer and a camera. The officers took turns posing for pictures while “checking out” our credentials. I have the feeling this pictures are still somewhere in the archives of the Kankakee police department. Much to our relief, after the picture taking, we were allowed to proceed.
We got home without further ado and the next day scrapped the car for $20. While moving Gomer’s spare around I noted is was flat, void of air. So much for “one step closer to home”.
As best I can recall, we did not have to put gas into the car, but if we did, at 25 cents a gallon it would not have increased our cost very much. I wish all my automotive “investments” worked out as well.
Gus
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My first car was also a German sporty-ish car Volkswagen Scirocco GTX 2nd series ("also a German car" means here…. like Pagoda ;).
I bought it in France in 1986, still being a student, but - as a prudent person ;) - already with a job contract secured in my pocket.
It was a second hand, 2-years old car, in perfect condition. The first meaningful thing I did was to get on a tour de France, so to speak: Paris- Deauville in Normandy, Mount St Michel, Loire river castles, Biarritz, Lourdes, Carcassonne, Saint-Tropez, Marseilles, Lyon, Chamonix - Paris.
Great GT car for two, buy definitely requiring being fit, as there was no assisted steering and the car had a very looooong and heeeeaaavy front :D. This made it very safe during winter time, and I remember my rallies in the Vosges and Maritime Alps mountains on snowy roads.
No surprise that given the general circumstances, most of my young adult stories are somehow linked with this car. Even my wife remembers our night booz-cruises etc etc…
I drove it 6 years without a single problem. The car was in pristine condition, reliable and joyful to drive. As I got a job with a company car as a perk, I gave the car to my brother. He drove it for some more years and eventually sold it in 1998 for a "fistful of bucks".
Today, I regret letting him doing that as it would be a fantastic young-timer, but such is life. Hope it still works and gives joy to some appreciating owner.
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;D
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I guess I'm dating myself but, my first car was a 1976 Volkswagon Scirocco. It was a great car EXCEPT early fuel injected Volkswagons suffered from vapor locks. After the car was warm, I had to do a lot of cranking to get the car running again...really rough on the starter motor! Having said that, a lot of fabulous memories. Traded the car in on my first new car...a 1982 Honda Civic.
(http://www.sl113.org/imagebank/images/71beige280sl/imagesj.jpg)
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I was 23 when I finally had enough money to buy my own car. Had just completed university and got a job in South Africa working at one of the gold mines. Needed transport to get around so I bought a used blue metallic 1981 BMW 518. BMWs and Mercedes were relatively cheap down there at the time so I was pretty proud of my new used car. A lot of expats as well and everyone was driving either German or Italian. The car really had no guts having the smallest engine in a 5 series but I had a lot of fun with that car, driving into Joburg to spend most weekends with my girlfriend. While the pay was atrocious, the perks were second to none (8 weeks of holidays to start) and I sold the BMW 2 years later when I got my first company car.
I came across a blue metallic 1981 BMW 518 for sale in Quebec about a year ago and almost bought it. My wife talked me out of it.
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I am going to show my age by saying that my first car brought in 1965 as a student from another guy at Univesity was a 1930 Ford Model A that I used as a daily driver for several years, including surf boards on top. Great car, traded it in on a Mini Moke!!!!! and regretted it from day two.
Well Garry, I see we have more then our Pagodas in common. My first car was also a 1930 model A. I paid $150 for it in 1960 and it was in pretty rough shape. I was only 15 (not old enough to drive yet) at the time and it took me 3 years to restore into the condition you see in the last of these pictures. I sold it in 1965 to pay for my VW bug that I picked up in Paris. Wish I had both of them today.
John
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And the last 2 pictures.....
John
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Hi,
my first car was an orange VW Kaefer/beetle from 1970 with 40 HP.
...WRe
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I'm glad this thread was resurrected so I could also share.
Mine was a 1961 Ford Starliner. I bought it when I was 17 years old (1967) from the Ford Garage that I worked in for $650. This picture was taken after the motor was removed, bored out, new pistons and rings, a high performance cam, a four barrel intake manifold from a junkyard Lincoln, a new 4 barrel carb, the block was painted a high temp yellow, some parts baked in our oven in the house, exhaust manifolds were painted a high temp white and also baked in the oven, I also added some chrome engine dress up parts..
Here is me with a picture taken from what I think was a proud mother at the time of the completion of the motor installation.
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HmM0uJW5DvA/S45E5Z_0mMI/AAAAAAAAAcY/Dbe4ajRVQx0/s583/me_and_the_starliner.jpg)
Regards,
280SE Guy
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280SE Guy,
You had a wonderful Mother to allow you to bake parts in the oven. :) Didn't that smell up the oven and the house?!
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280SE Guy,
You had a wonderful Mother to allow you to bake parts in the oven. :) Didn't that smell up the oven and the house?!
A little bit but it was early summer and the kitchen windows and back door were open so the smell dissipated pretty quickly. My mother lit the oven and brought it up to temperature for me.
Thanks,
280SE Guy
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1967 Chevelle ....Purchased from my brother for $300....three ez payments of $100 for three months. Guess I am a sucker for this color and model year. And top-down driving!
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Sure fun to see all these great old cars and their young owners. Those were the days, right guys?
John
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... cylinder head in the oven
I also had the cylinder head of my old /8-Diesel in the oven of my mother to heat it up and the valve guides in the freezer to cool it. So the assembly was much easier.
....WRe :D
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Oh yeah...a 1967 Triumph Spitfire, got it in the summer of 1994 and put more miles on it during that warm summer that it had done in the ten years before that. Had just gotten my first job and had no summer holiday, but that didn't stop me from having a lot of fun. I even took it out for drives in my lunch break with a sandwich in my hand, it carried surfboards and firewood to the beach, carried a lot of young ladies on dates - I even chauffeured my grandmother around quite a bit, she really enjoyed arriving at social events in a loud little red sportscar. I even slept in it once which cannot be recommended...
Had it for 4,5 years during which it was slowly restored when funds would allow it, new soft top, new carpets, an engine overhaul, re-chromed bumper, a respray in a brighter shade of red...and then it was wrecked by an idiot in a Mercedes behind me who didn't keep his braking distance - SLAM-BAM!!! I suffered "only" a whiplash that I still can feel when it gets cold in the autumn, but my little car was a complete write-off. I kept the crappy stereo and the Nardi steering wheel and put both in the rusty hulk of a Triumph TR6 that I bought for the insurance money to start all over. But although the TR6 ended up as near concourse and perhaps was the best sports car I've ever owned (that will p*** off quite a lot of you I know, but I'll stick to my guns even though I love my 230 SL), it never really gave me the same feeling as my first car - the little red Spitfire called "Betty".
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it never really gave me the same feeling as my first car - the little red Spitfire called "Betty".
Great story. You never forget your first.
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Kevin
the real question is how to make that SHE also never forget her first one ;D
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My first was also an Alfa — a 1978 Alfetta GT. The finnicky 5-spd gearbox taught me how to shift gingerly as well as the value of double-clutching. Very fond memories that I have absolutely no wish to re-live. I'm quite content with German iron!
Douglas Kim
New York
USA
1750s did not get produced till 1969. :) i also had one... great car in its day ;D
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Yes, I remember my first car. And if I ever forget, I just need to go into my garage and take a look because there it sits.
Here are a few pictures taken over the last thirty something years.
This thread prompted me to find and scan some old pictures. I found many I didn't even know I had. Thank you !!
#1 - 1979 in the mountains outside of Boulder, Colorado
#2 - Autocrossing in 1985
#3 - 2005, crossing the Mississippi River (celebrating the install of a rebuilt transmission)
#4 - December, 2012
There are some very cool stories and pictures here from the rest of you. Very nice thread.
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Mark, How cool is that! Great Pictures of you and your "time Machine". You (and your Camaro) haven't changed a bit! Well maybe the driver, just a tad :)
I love this thread
John
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Thanks John, .. I think. ;D
I might not look like that first picture anymore, but, when my left arm is resting on the top of the door and I am in the driver's seat, I sure feel eighteen again.
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My first one was a NSU 1000 cc. Got it from my sister, who got it from my father...
Second a mini 1275 GT man what a nice to drive thing that was. And fast as well.
Third was the Opel Ascona 1600S also pretty fast in those days, but very thirsty
Not as exotic as some other members, but hey, I had wheels