New member introductions

[Jonny B]

George,

Welcome to the Pagoda! There are quite a number of Pagoda-ists in the Southern California environs. With all the events cancelled or on hold, we have not been able to get together. But rest assured, there will be meet-ups. These are usually posted on the forum.

Good luck with your car.

[FastWgn]

Hello, I'm George, just recently have decided to take the plunge into the world of the lovely Pagoda (is plural Pagodae?).

I've been a long-time admirer of these cars, as a close friend had a fully restored 230SL back in the late 80's. I fondly recall roaring up the Pacific Coast Hwy to the 101 and ultimately to Santa Barbara, with the beautiful drone of the engine keeping a smile on my face. Even then, that car received many admiring looks and visible displays of appreciation.

Fast forward too many years later, and between suddenly confronting a future where driving 40 miles/day minimum in LA traffic won't likely be happening for the rest of my career, and getting tired of swapping cars every 34 months at the end of a lease into something all too similar, but ultimately not so exciting... I am ready to take the plunge into long-term automotive commitment.

I was so amazed when I stumbled upon this site, with its world of knowledge and devotion to these lovely cars.

Looking forward to tapping into your collective expertise, as I navigate this new terrain towards (hopefully) a great next auto for me, with the intention to keep long-term.

George,

Having just completed my search, feel free to reach out, I may be able to make some connections for you.

[goda77]

Hi all,
My name is Al from Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.  I've recently finished a 10 month resto on a 1968 280SL.  Looking forward to perusing this site and its community of knowledgeable members 

[Jordan]

Welcome to the site Al, you'll find great people here and lots of very useful information. 

You car looks great from your tag.  Love the colour combination.  Please post some pictures, we all love pictures.

[Jonny B]

Al, glad to have you on board. I will join in with Jordan, please post some other pictures - there is a separate forum for picture links. We indeed do love to see the photos.

[neelyrc]

Welcome to the forum Al, striking picture! We would also like to hear about your restoration.

[goda77]

Thanks guys, I'll try post some pics in the Photo Gallery when I get a chance.

[Tomnistuff]

Hi Al,  I love your color combination and you selection of wide whitewalls to go with it.  I really look forward to seeing and hearing the details of your restoration.
Tom Kizer (from the other end of the country)

[JJ65SL]

Hello Members, my name is John and I joined a few weeks ago but I’m a long time owner. I’ve resided in MI the past 25 yrs and the prior 12 yrs in Germany. I’ve worked for two German companies the past 33 years. Thanks to all who have compiled information and have passed on their experiences and knowledge through the years to the club, all of which have helped keep these wonderful vehicles on the road. I am able to carry out a decent number of maintenance items myself and enjoy doing as much as possible. Right now I’m replacing the fuel tank along with some other overdue jobs.  I look forward to posting a picture or two down the road and hopefully meeting up with some members at a future event. Lastly, I was wondering if the Pagoda Badge is still available for purchase.

Servus! 

[Garry]

Hi Servus,


Firstly welcome to the Pagoda Group. Now as a Full Member you will have access to all areas of the group and that includes the Technical Manual.


On the Badge, unfortunately, that was a one off run organised by one of our Members, now a Board Members, Michael S. and there are no longer any left over from that project. 


Again Welcome


Garry

[HJ Neals]

Hello Pagoda SL Group,
I'm HJ the second family member to own our 113 280sl, the car has been in the family for as long as I can remember. My father purchased it in the early 70's as I was just a kid, this is the third of seven Mercedes in the family. I have owned some pretty amazing cars including a 93 E500. None of them have compared to the last 20 years with my 280sl, the response from everyone inside and outside tells me everything I need to know. I don't drive it nearly enough and it has very few miles. I am looking to get out more now that the world has come to a stop and find more local mechanics in Northern New Jersey, so any suggestions would be great. Keep up the great work and one day I will become a full member.
Cheers HJ

[Jonny B]

HJ - welcome to the group! Very cool to see continued family ownership. You should see some posts about the mechanic options.

I would urge you to consider being a full member, you would be surprised at what you will be able to learn about the car, and what you will be able to do yourself.

Or if you don't fancy getting your greasy fingerprints on the car, the knowledge will help you when you seek out a mechanic to do a job or too.

Best wishes.

[Bracqtobasics]

Hello all members,

I’m a seventeen year old classic car aficionado, with a particular penchant for classic Mercedes-Benz models designed by the legendary Paul Bracq including the W111 pillar-less coupe and of course the W113. While I’m a long way from being the custodian of one of these beautiful cars, I’m in the process of helping my father look for either a 230SL or 250SL here in the UK and I’m looking forward to being able to accumulate more knowledge on the history of the W113 and the necessary characteristics to look out for when in the market such as the presence of original fender notches and many of the other unique details that went into these masterpieces of German engineering.

I’ve been largely obsessed by classic German cars, predominantly Mercedes-Benz from the post war period to the early ‘90s, and looking forward to being able to learn from the vast community here on all manner of things, which I hope to make use of in my own personal search for a Pagoda and for my own automotive site I have started so that I can share my passion for cars with others, torquedaily.com

I look forward to gaining further insight from the community, cheers

[Jonny B]

A super welcome to you Bracqtobasics! You have landed on the right place for your search for knowledge and a car for your father, and ultimately for you. I think you will find a group ready to help as much as they can.

Acquaint yourself with the search function. There is a LOT of information here to assist your quest.

Good luck.

[Dale71280SL]

I am a new member who is looking for a very nice 280SL, auto with air. I thought I had found one at Auto  Europa in Naples, FL, but I now see the dealership is permanently closed. I will be there later this week and was planning to see it then. Is there any member in southern Florida who knows what may have happened to this dealership?

[250PWC]

I believe Auto Europa merged with Autohaus of Naples recently. Hope this helps.

[Cees Klumper]

Bill moved on over to the new merged entity it seems, he's a youtube legend by now.
Enjoy (posted 2 weeks ago):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXqbSssHxQ4

[Bagspacked]

Hi, Barry here from Ireland. I have been searching around for a nice 280sl from the US and am still on the lookout. Is there a way for the website to alert you whenever someone has one for sale?

Hoping to learn more and get lucky with a good car. Looks like there is a lot more to learn

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Hi Barry,

Give Colin Ferns a call here on his web site you find more info, he might know of someone near you.

---> https://www.colinferns.com

Dieter

[Duncan200]

Hello All,

After purchasing my 113 3 years ago, I’ve finally managed to get space in the garage to start my restoration.

I hope I can lean on you all to help me do justice to this car and restore it to its former glory.

At the moment I consider it good from far, but far from good.

I’m sure to be looking around here to find the info I need, I just hope I have the finances to make it happen😂.

For anyone in Melbourne Australia, feel free to reach out and perhaps we can compare notes over a beer or two once we’re allowed to. 

[Garry]

Duncan,

There are quite a few Pagoda owners in Melbourne and Members here including myself although i have avoided lockdown by staying in Kyneton the past few months..  We occasionally get together for Saturday morning coffee runs, Non Pagoda vehicles used if needed, but with covid-19 lockdown nothing has happened for some time.

Becoming a Full Member will give you access to the Tech Manual that will be the most useful tool to you as you do any restoration or just keeping your car on the road.

Look forward to catching up some time.

Garry

[Duncan200]

Hi Garry,

Thanks mate, definitely considering becoming a full member.

Been out in the garage starting to rip the old girl apart and I’m discovering things that are perhaps going to cost me a lot of money. Pulled one headlight out and the bondo, lead and poor welding of the headlight bucket in is already scaring me. I hope I don’t find too many nasties as I continue to pull her apart. 🤞🏻

[LA 280SL]

I have just become the custodian of a 1969 280SL and recently joined your forum in order to educate myself and receive advise and wisdom regarding renovation and maintenance.  While I have quite a bit of experience restoring 1964-1970 Ford muscle cars, they are quite simplistic by comparison and I am ready to step up my game and am grateful to have the opportunity to learn about this wonderful MB machine. 

A family friend passed away 5 years ago and this car was a family vehicle, first being sold in Honolulu, HI and brought to Los Angeles in 1994.  His widow and daughter are moving out of state and I have the car with the charge to work with her to determine a plan and desired level of renovation.

From the file that came with the car it received an extensive mechanical rebuilding in June 1990 at Theo Davis Euromotors that included a new short block (stamped with original engine number) and transmission.  It also received a complete strip and repaint of all body panels, hood, trunk and hard top in November 1990 at Tapci Auto Paint Center.

By review of the service records of 1987 - 2017, I believe the miles on the odometer, 93,277, to be original.
While I have only driven about 5 miles in the car, it’s seems pretty sound.  The Oct 2017 service record shows a change of all fluids (they look/smell clean) and an alternator and voltage regulator replacement.

I will place the car in the Registry soon. 

 

[LA 280SL]

Additional Photos.

[Jonny B]

Welcome to the group! Good luck on the restoration process.

One item for you quickly - suggest you blank out the entries in lines 16, 17 and 18 on the data card, those are the key codes for the car.

Also note that per the data card, the hard top would have been painted dark red, that is code 542 next to the 180 (silver) on the data card and the data plate you took a photo of.