I finally took my 230SL out of the city limits. The wife and I drove it from Colorado Springs to Santa Fe, New Mexico late last week. The car ran well, and we had no breakdowns. I think we were lucky, considering the extent of the work I've put into it.
The trip was 1787 km, including city driving, and I tried both 86 octane regular and 91 octane super (highest available). Almost all of the trip was at 6000 feet or more above sea level, but I did make one short trip to Albuquerque, which is only 5000' ASL. At one point, we got to about 10,500'.
With premium gas, the overall mileage was 16.1 MPG, and with regular, it was 17.0. I could tell no difference in performance with either grade. Normal highway speed was 60 - 65 mph.
On the (business) trip to Albuquerque, taken while the wife was still asleep in the hotel, I took the car up to 170 kph, about 105 mph. It was very steady and I felt totally in control. I couldn't stop thinking about all the things that could go wrong, however, and throttled back to 75. This was with the soft top up.
This is not a road car, by any means. It is noisy as all heck, and the seats are very uncomfortable. We stopped soon after the trip started to buy bath towels to sit on, both for cushioning and to absorb the sweat the vinyl seatcovers caused. The wife was a good sport about it, thankfully, but we were both relieved to get home. Technology in seat comfort has improved considerably in the last 39 years.
The car used about a pint of coolant and 3/4 of a quart of oil. I guess that is average for these cars.
It was hot as blazes, and we kept the top up for comfort. We did take it down a couple of times, when the weather cooled off. It was very nice to have the panoramic views available with the soft top down, particularly as we were tooling around Georgia O'Keeffe's ranch.
No other 113s were spotted on the trip. I took a couple of scenic pictures with the car and the landscapes, and will post them soon.
I really appreciate all the good advice I've received here, and also the recalibration of the fuel injection pump performed by Dan's buddy.
Joe2
1965 Euro, 4-speed, no a/c