Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => Body, interior, paint, chrome, and cosmetic items => Topic started by: Bagspacked on January 01, 2021, 23:55:29
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Hi
Just curious, why would the pagoda have been built with only one mirror and not two, to include one on the front passenger side also?
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I suppose a lot of cars produced those days would not even have the driver's side mirror...
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Well . . . back in those days outside mirrors of any kind were still an option. Many 230SLs, for instance, were produced without even a driver's side outside mirror. There are period photos in these forums of cars owned by Stirling Moss and Tommy Steele with no outside mirrors at all. Many Pagodas were ordered by importers and dealers without easily installed options, such as radios, mirrors and bumper over riders. These were a great added profit center for dealers at delivery. In later years, as safety standards began to phase in, importers and dealers in some markets were obliged to order at least a driver's side mirror and eventually even bumper over riders as "mandatory options."
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=28660.50
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=28546.msg210899#msg210899
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Weirdly enough, my Pagoda was owned by Tommy Steele!
Now has door mirrors but don’t know when or where these were installed.
If anyone has seen a picture of Tommy Steele with the pagoda I’d be interested in seeing that 😁
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No, no mirrors Katie. Cool dog, though...
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-tommy-steele-at-his-home-at-hampton-wick-with-the-new-3700-mercedes-20400789.html
https://www.gettyimages.fi/detail/news-photo/english-entertainer-tommy-steele-pictured-with-his-pet-dog-news-photo/1011978486?adppopup=true
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As long as I remember, I was always annoyed by the lack of a passenger side mirror. I could never understand why manufacturers put an ashtray in a car free of charge but wanted money for adding a passenger side mirror. I added one to my 280SL right after I bought it in 1982.
One of my biggest issues with the 1984 Ferrari Testarossa (one of my "dream cars" back then) was , that it only had a left side mirror. And if you look at that thing, it becomes an eyesore, because there is NOTHING like it on the right side......
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The circle made: today you have to pay for the ashtray and you do not pay for the mirror :).
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No, no mirrors Katie. Cool dog, though...
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-tommy-steele-at-his-home-at-hampton-wick-with-the-new-3700-mercedes-20400789.html
https://www.gettyimages.fi/detail/news-photo/english-entertainer-tommy-steele-pictured-with-his-pet-dog-news-photo/1011978486?adppopup=true
Think mine just as cute
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Tell me they do not know you are taking picture of them...
My parents used to have one like yours in the 60ies. If they took a picture of him in the car, that would be in a Trabant. :)
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Tilly believes it’s her car and I am merely the chauffeur 🤣🤣
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That’s interesting mikesimon that you put a passenger side mirror on. I wonder if that is likely to devalue a car. In practical terms it’s a great addition/idea
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While my car is mostly original, it is far from a 100 point show car. It was repainted at some point, it has Bundt wheels and I like the symmetric look the mirror provides. It is also a nice addition to safety and convenience. 8)
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Plenty of prior discussion here about mirrors.
Two or three things to remember:
They are different between RHD and LHD (but at a pinch you can get away with the wrong one).
There are early and late types.
They are not fitted in the same place on the left and right door. If you do fit them in the same place the passenger mirror will likely be obscured by the windscreen frame.
Lately I've been working on a 230 for a new customer. The car has been owned by Mother/Son since new and has totally out-of-place mirrors that look like they were from an Austin on the front wings (fenders to you foreigners ;)).
When I first saw them I told the customer that they were incorrect mirrors in the wrong location and he said, "No they're not, they were fitted from new"!
So, the dealer obviously fitted whatever was to hand in the location he thought fit.
When I learned this fact I said to the customer that if we were to do a complete resto I would probably leave the mirrors as they are because a) they're now an essential part of the car's story and b) you can actually see much better out of them than the correct mirrors! ;D
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My car is LHD and I bought the right side mirror at a Mercedes Benz dealership in 1982. It was ordered from DB correct for the model/year of the car. I put it as close to the same spot as the L mirror is as I could and I can see fine out of it.
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I am going to add one to mine even though it isn't specified. I find it hard to judge the right side of the car without it.
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I think it helps tremendously in todays traffic, actually. Especially with soft to up, when visibility backwards is really bad...
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My car has both passenger and driver's side mirrors. One annoying thing about the passenger side one is that it is positioned in such a way as to create quite a bit of wind noise at higher speeds. When I drive top down, I often turn it all the way down (but such that I can use it) so that it doesn't howl so much. It is not positioned in the same place, relative to the door/A pillar, as the driver's side one, so it was probably added at some point. It is the same type mirror.
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I am going to add one to mine even though it isn't specified. I find it hard to judge the right side of the car without it.
Just one more thought: if you are adding this, think of convex one, PN A 115 811 01 66 (but double check please). I did both sides, actually, convex. They are blueish a bit.
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Hi Cees
Any advice on where you would locate e passenger mirror exactly if you could?
I’m considering fitting a passenger side mirror. Obviously from a safety perspective it’s better but I would have a concern that the change might potentially harm the value of the car. That being said safety would be my primary concern
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back in the late 70's when my father purchased the 230sl (in Germany) there was a passenger side mirror up on the front fender.
i cant recall if it was over the front tire but it was up front so the driver could see.
this may have been before convex mirrors were available but i don't know.
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Has anyone found a decent solution to adding a passenger mirror, without making permanent holes/fixtures to the bodywork?
I am wondering if there is something that could be attached on a temporary basis either to the interior or exterior of the car, that doesn't look ghastly.
Otherwise I suppose I'll just have to get used to the neck-cercise!
Thanks
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Has anyone found a decent solution to adding a passenger mirror, without making permanent holes/fixtures to the bodywork?
Is there a reason why you don't want an OEM passenger mirror? I added one years ago, updated to convex glass (all from MB) and it's as good as it's going to get. No big deal aside from cost...
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I have one on my car, and as Pawel points out, I’d be lost without it. I’d follow the lead of others and contact the classic center and then have it properly installed.
Btw, Katie...Your license plates are still that ones that Tommy Steele had. They’ve never been changed since 1964!
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Only reason is that I am reluctant to drill holes in the bodywork, and whilst useful, can manage without it necessarily being a permanent fixture.
Obviously there is a safety aspect, but I also enjoy the quirkiness of these cars being delivered without both mirrors. For me it adds to the charm of owning a car from a different era.
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I will caveat my previous response by saying I haven't yet driven my car with the softtop up... The design of the pagoda hardtop for visibility has meant the lack of a mirror hasn't really been a major issue for me so far, just a nice-to-have
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I have one on my car, and as Pawel points out, I’d be lost without it. I’d follow the lead of others and contact the classic center and then have it properly installed.
Btw, Katie...Your license plates are still that ones that Tommy Steele had. They’ve never been changed since 1964!
Plates here generally live with the car, not the owner. You can get them put “on retention” if you want to transfer it to a new car, but for standard format registrations, most wave the plate goodbye with the car. My plate is the original number although was not when I bought it: it had an age appropriate plate on it after someone had taken their “vanity” plate off it. I contacted the Licensing Agency and discovered the original was unassigned (not on another vehicle) so asked for it back.
I’m sure if I had a plate like “280SL” I’d put it on retention on as it’d be worth a few £, but otherwise....
Pretty impressive of Tommy Steele to be holding up an iPhone in that pic... :D