New member introductions

[ah53]

Charlie

    The thing about Healeys is - you do them your way- never any onus from real Healey people.  One of the really unique things about the BN1 was the odd 3 speed.  Did you keep it or go with the later BN2  box.  post a picture I would love to see it.  BTW. I hope you have it in the 100 Registry. drive it like you stole it and have fun.  It is my first choice from my collection when I just want to drive and have fun.

Joe

[OK 3]

Hello,

I've been lurking here off and on for a couple of years.  My brothers and I grew up in the backseat of, and then eventually driving, a '71 250C.  Mercedes is in my blood.  My DD is a '76 Euro 450SLC and I'm currently restoring a '71 350SL imported from France.  I do all my own work so it can be slow as life occupies my time.  It was originally a Papyrus White car with black interior but some PO painted it teal and the interior tan.  Yes, painted the interior.  I've sanded most of it to metal and got a couple of coats of color on it.  It's just a touch thin so a couple of more coats.  I'm rambling.....

Anyway, I love the Pagoda's.  I first drove a 280SL straight out of high school in 1987 when I was a lot boy for a summer job.  I remember that ride to this day.  She was dark green with tan leather.  Only 20,000 miles and perfect.  Just purred.  It was expensive for 1987 dollars but didn't stay on the lot very long.

So my intention is to find a project once the 350SL is done, or whenever the right car comes along.  I like the older clean look of the 230's, but that's a minor detail.

Here's a couple of pictures of the current project.  I have a large garage so I can set up a temporary paint booth inside when the needs arises.

[ah53]

Charlie the restoration shot looks great.  It's always good to see another 100 reentering the motoring world.  Continued good luck.

Joe

[Jmich]

Hello Everybody,

As a new member my first post is to introduce myself, and my pagoda, of course !!

I am 48 years old, live in Belgium and I have inherit the 280SL 1969 of my dead father.
I know the car fairly well because I repaired the body 25 years ago ! (It was rusty and I was interested to discover these odd job!).
Now the car is still in very good condition and I decided, as new owner, to refresh the engine bay and reduce the play in the acc linkage !

So I am sure that I will need your help ! Thanks in advance.

Regards,

[neelyrc]

Welcome to the group Jmich.  Looking forward to seeing you on the site.  Please post more pics of your car when you have time.

[sl.leto]

Perfect first thread to post into!
Hi everyone!

I have recently purchased a 250SL Pagoda California Coupe spec car.
The car was sold new in Malta, so is very solid and is an original RHD car.
I am currently getting the car Registered but I could do with a bit of help.
I'm curious to know anyone knows of an historic database which would enable someone to write me a headed papered letter stating the car is authentic? And if I am able to get anything I could add to the cars history file.
Any response is greatly appreciated.
Aaron

[neelyrc]

Hello Aaron, welcome to the Forum.  Congratulations on your purchase. We look forward to seeing some pictures of your car. 

You will find information on the forum regarding every aspect of your car.  Try the search function (forth button from the left above) to look for information about a specific item.  The Technical Manual is also a very important source of information.

I am afraid I can't help with the question you have posed.  I don't think such a database exists.  If you don't have it already, you can obtain the data card for your car indicating details of the manufacture.  Look at the section of the Technical manual on Data Cards.

In the USA, if your car is sufficiently original, you can obtain a "Preservation Certificate" from the Mercedes Benz Club of America.  I don't know if there is an equivalent group in the U.K. offering this certification to members.  Please see details here:
 
https://www.mbca.org/silver-star-preservation-class

You might want to check this out in the U. K.

Again welcome to the group.

[Infanterene]

Hello. I wanted to say hello from South Florida. My father and I have just purchased 2 1964 230Sl projects.

I am keeping the black one and my father is keeping the maroon one. My car is more complete but we need a few things for my fathers car. We hope to get these girls back on the road soon.

Thanks
Rene

[kampala]

Rene,

Welcome.   Nice to see photos.   Would be great to read your story of how and why you ended up with a pair of "father and son" pagodas.  Might be a first on this site, but others will correct me if I'm wrong. 

[Infanterene]

Well it's kind of an interesting story. My father and I are like best friends. He is my best friend. We also work together and we live next door to each other.

When I was growing up my father was cool. He used to have a motorcycle, he restored a Maserati 3500gt Sebring and my mom drove an Alfa spyder. Success has not come easy and along the way the cars were put aside.

i used to be in to muscle cars but then gravitated to the cars I lusted after in high school. Those  were mostly Bmw and Porsches. I have been lucky enough to enjoy a many of my dream cars such as e30m3, m coupes and e36m3, 996tt, 997tt.

A few months ago my father and I decided to buy a car together. We thought it would be nice to talk about something besides work. We found a 1973 2002tii and bought it together. It has been wonderful. He taught me how to drive in a very similar car.

I was looking for 2002 parts. I called an add on Craigslist and spoke to a gentleman who sent me to another gentleman who had my parts. While talking to him about the bmw parts we exchanged pictures of our cars.

He fell in love with my 1963 corvette and I fell in love with the black 230 sl. In later conversations the maroon car was mentioned. I drove 500 miles to see the cars and we worked out a deal to trade my corvette plus cash for both roadsters.

Years ago we tried to buy a 280sl from my mothers coworker but it didn't work out. These were meant to be.

[neelyrc]

What good fortune finding these two and what a great story!  Keep us posted as you work through getting them sorted.

[Jonny B]

Yes, welcome to the group Infanterene!

Lots of help available.

Please post some photos when you get a chance. We all just love to see the pictures!

[Infanterene]

It's official!!

[JB89]

Hey Everyone,

My wife and I have had this W113 for around 10 years but it has lived sheltered in her parents heated garage in Germany for the last 8 or so years, we decided last week that enough was enough and to pay for another parking space where we live in London and drive the car regularly, having such a nice car and no time in the seat felt like a shame.

Its a 1970 280 Auto with Sand gold exterior and red interior

[Jonny B]

Welcome to the group!
Please post a shot of the interior. That would seem to be a rather rare combination.

[Infanterene]

Yes I want to see pics of the color combo too. Very interesting

[clunker]

Hi all - I rejoined after a few years of being unable to commit hands-on time to my Pagoda, that I have owned for nearly 8 years. I am now refocused on getting my '69 113.044 280SL 4-speed US spec cleaned up and running smoothly. The catalyst for realizing I need to devote more time to doing this myself, was when my 'classic car' maintenance mechanic said that a spell of rough running indicated that 'it needs a new engine': er, no, it did not need a new engine - I just needed to replace the ignition leads and it ran just fine. So as of now (start of NJ no-driving season) I have a box of nitrix gloves to hand, the hood is off, car on my lift, shocks /dampers replaced, all AC remnants out, and most of the front end accessories off - I am aiming to resolve some old oil leaks, clean up belt routing, new hoses, etc. and give it a good clean. Thanks to the support on the forums I think I am slowly winning.
--Charles

[neelyrc]

Welcome back Charles.  From your post it appears you are off to a good start getting your car back into top shape.  Keep us posted over the winter as you progress with your work.  We would love to see some pictures of your progress.

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Welcome back again Charles,

I've posted to you last week a re-welcoming package with our latest Pagoda World Magazine and 2 of our new Windshield stickers. It should arrive in a day or so. Best of luck with your car and as Ralph pointed out, do. start a new thread and let us know the progress over the winter. Ask questions if need be, as you know we have many Members that are eager to help.

Once again Welcome back!

Best Dieter

[bracurrie]

My name is Brad Currie and I am a second generation Mercedes fan.  However, neither I nor my father owned any SLs. Through the ownership of near 70 Mercedes dating back to 1959 we held the view that the sedans rode better and could be shared, not to mention the utility of a car larger than an SL. My father and I shared the experience of many Mercedes models that included many W108/9s all with the 4.5 and 6.3 liter V8s but never owned a Mercedes with the M130 that is featured in the 280 SL.  This last year I bought a 1971 280 SE base model W108.018 with the M130 MFI engine. While I cannot add to or get anything from the body, trim and suspension sections of this site the information available here on the M130 has proven invaluable to my efforts to revitalize my car as a daily driver.  If presented with an opportunity to acquire an interesting SL at an interesting price in the future, knowing this site is here would make that decision easier and I am sure much more enjoyable.
Brad

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Welcome Brad to our site nice to have you in the Group. You have come to the right site our Technical Manual as well as our Members will be of great help should you seek help.

Best,

Dieter

[Jacob66BVM]

Hello, New member here from Minnesota. I have been lurking for some time. Registered today to post my new journey. Hoping to someday acquire a Pagoda and currently tracking one from 26 years ago that resided in a church parsonage's garage. It was a '66 silver car when I saw it in 1992. My wife and I were married in the adjacent church that year. Today I had lunch with my life long friend, the Padre that performed our wedding ceremony, and I asked him about the car.  Stored there for the owner as he was overseas, in later years the car was moved to a barn where mice had taken up residence. When the owner returned to the states the car was in fact sold in 2004 and was not in the best of shape. Word has it that the car continued to be stored in the afore mentioned barn even after the sale.  Padre is making some calls this evening to get the latest.

My collection of cars, while small all have a history and a story. To me the heritage and the journey of a car is just as important as the car itself.

While I am happy to see the market has seemingly more than tripled on the SL Pagodas since 1992, there seems to be, as of a late, a cooling-off, at least from what I have been reading.

Thankful for this site and the publications associated with it. I'll post an update on the Parsonage Pagoda as they are available.

Warm Regards,
Jacob

12/18/17- Update- The update is nothing to update. After having left a couple of voice mails for the previous owner no calls have been returned. If anyone has a Silver '66 Pagoda that resided in Minnesota in the 80's and 90's please send me a note.

[Garry]

Welcome Jacob to the Group,


The chase is sometimes as much fun as the restoration or ownership.


Garry
Membership Administrator

[neelyrc]

Welcome to the group Jacob.  I wish you luck in bringing the “Parsonage Pagoda” into your collection?,

[Jonny B]

Jacob,

Let me add my welcome to the group. You have discovered a great community of people at the ready to help with your car and quest.