Vehicle Description
West Coast Classics are proud to present an extremely rare barn
find (garage really!) of this all stock and original 1967 Mercedes
230SL 'Pagoda' roadster in its original 'Papyrus White' (Color code
717G) color paint with a 'Dark Blue' all original interior with
very desirable original factory options of the 4 speed manual
transmission, power steering, original 'Becker Europa AM/FM' radio,
factory clock, a new German matching 'Dark Blue' canvas soft top
and original factory 'Papyrus White' hard top! The car also has all
its original tools, handbooks, hard top garage hoist and dealer
Protecto-plate. Recently purchased from its long time recent family
owners who had stored the car in their garage for the last couple
of years and which we recently purchased and had serviced at our
preferred independent Mercedes specialists, the renown 'Malibu
Motors' of Santa Monica, CA. We had the camshaft and bearings and
valves adjusted and re-torqued the cyclinder heads. All fluids were
changed as were all drive belts, fan belts and the power steering
pump return hose and the drag-link hard start and cold start valve
relay were also replaced. The car now runs very well with no issues
and is an absolute pleasure to drive. There are no signs of any
accident damage and no rust.The car also has records until 2014
showing many years of service previously at 'The Bavarian
Autohause' of Exeter, CA showing that at no time was any expense
spared on this particular car's preventive maintenance including
recent work such as shifter bushings, ring bearings and washers
replaced, top end engine rebuild including valve shims, lifters
adjustment, rocker arms replaced, new timing chain amp; tensioners
installed, new thermostat installed, new battery - all at 103,996
miles (less than some 500 miles ago) in February 2014. The car also
had a new clutch slave cylinder at 127,981 miles. There are also
further and extensive service records dating back to 1991. This
means in essence that this car should need very little mechanical
work for many years to come. This particular example presents a
wonderful opportunity for the Mercedes enthusiast to either collect
and enjoy today as a superb example of a very original and stock
Pagoda with desirable options or the perfect candidate to restore -
regardless it is simply one of the finest examples available
anywhere of one very original and great daily driving SL for any
classic car lover - the original factory 'Papyrus White' (Code
717-G) color paint has been repainted in the same color at some
point in the past and the car still sports its matching hubcaps and
has only very minor imperfections or flaws in the paintwork. The
chrome work is all excellent and the original interior is in
exceptional shape for its age, all the gauges and switches and
levers are in very good shape, the original dashboard and wood is
all very good and the original seats and carpets show only very
minor wear. The car also boasts its original 'Becker Europa' radio
and clock! The car boasts a brand newly fitted 'Dark Blue' German
canvas factory soft top and the hard top is as new.By 1963 the
190SL (Super Light) and the 300SL Roadster were neither Super or
Light and the 190SL was simply too heavy to compete with the likes
of even the British MG or Triumph and completely underpowered
compared to the Austin-Healeys or Jaguars. Mercedes had two
choices, either return to the premise of the original 300SL and
build another pure sports car or create a new grand touring sports
car that would continue the reputation of the SL's as touring cars
rather than super racing cars. Mercedes chose the latter with a
compromise between the 190 and 300 with the introduction of the
W113 platform 230SL which was a two-seat roadster/coupe, introduced
at the 1963 Geneva Motor Show and the series was continued through
1971.Like the Gullwing before it, the 230SL had a distinguishing
feature which was its removable hardtop with a distinctive dip in
its center to offer tall windows to create a better balanced side
view and more headroom for passengers getting in and out while
still maintaining a low sporty roofline from the front and rear and
which earned the car the nickname 'Pagoda' roof. It also proved an
efficient way to remove rainwater and channel it away from the car.
Top speed was about 115mph which was better than the 190SL but not
in the same class as the 300SL.All models were equipped with an
inline-six cylinder engine with multi-port fuel injection. The
hood, trunk lid, door skins and tonneau cover were all made of
aluminum to reduce weight. The comparatively short and wide
chassis, combined with an excellent suspension, powerful brakes and
radial tires gave the W113 superb handling for its time. The
styling of the front, with its characteristic upright Bosch
'fishbowl' headlights and simple chrome grille, dominated by the
large three-pointed star in the nose panel, paid tribute to the
then already legendary 300 SL roadster.The 280 SL was introduced in
December 1967 and continued in production through 23 February 1971,
when the W113 was replaced by its successor, the entirely new and
substantially heavier R107 350 SL. Over the years, the W113 evolved
from a sports car into a comfortable grand tourer and US models
were by then usually equipped with the 4-speed automatic
transmission and air conditioning. In Europe, manual transmissions
without air conditioning were still the predominant choice.You will
look long and hard to find a finer all stock example of a Pagoda
anywhere, or indeed one such well sorted mechanically, with recent
full and comprehensive service history and boasting the desirable
and true sports car correct 4 speed manual transmission, all
original records, tools and manuals for the serious collector or
ethusiast.