1968 Mercedes Benz 280SL Convertible. Long ownership history, Restored, Stunning

1968 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class 280SL Pagoda Convertible Description

The Mercedes Benz W113 model was introduced in 1963 at the Geneva Auto Show. This car was meant to replace the legendary 300SL and the 190SL with its distinctive design by Paul Bracq. The concave roof almost instantly earned the nickname of “Pagoda.” The car was ahead of its time in many ways. It set new standards in safety engineering through the industry changing efforts of Bela Barenyi. It was not only the first SL available with an automatic, but also the engine hood, trunk lid, door skins and tonneau cover were all made of aluminum to reduce weight. The Mercedes 280SL introduced in 1967 was outwardly similar to the 230SL and 250SL, but overall a much better car.

MotorCarTrader.com is very excited to offer this beautiful 1968 Mercedes Benz 280SL Pagoda Convertible. Our journey with this car began in August of 2014 when we purchased this early 280SL from the gentleman in Oregon who has owned this car since 1978. It was a good original car and needed some help to bring it back. This car was originally delivered to Italy when it was new, but spent most of time during the previous owner’s time in the Pacific Northwest USA. In addition to regular maintenance the previous owner had the engine rebuilt, upholstery redone and had the car painted. When we purchased the car it was rarely driven over the past 10 years. Our goal was to bring this car back its former glory to make it a wonderful driver. This Mercedes 280SL has the rare 4-speed transmission and was a European delivery car, so has a bit more power than others. The 4-speed totally changes the personality of this car and with a great engine, makes this car a blast to drive. We sold this car in early 2015 to a very nice client who loved the car and did a few other upgrades. For health or more specifically knees issues, he was unable to keep the car, so we purchased the car back from him in early late July 2016. We sold the car in early 2015 with 46,163 km on the odometer and it now has 48,329 km. This may go up, as we take our cars to shows and Cars and Coffee events. Here are more details and more information on overall condition and some of the work which was completed from 2014 to 2016. We do have receipts of this work as seen in the pictures.

• Paint/Chrome: The original color on this car was white with black MB Tex interior according to the original Mercedes data card. The paint on this car was nice but needed be brought back as it has been mostly sitting for a long time in a dry climate. As we were told the car was painted within the last 10 years, so we knew we could bring it back. The entire car was carefully wet sanded, buffed and polished. The paint is excellent and really came out great. It has a mirror like finish and looks like new paint. The body is excellent on this car as you can place a filler detector or paint meter (more advanced than a magnet) all over this car and the readings are excellent. This is most often not the case with a car almost 50 years old. All the chrome and stainless was polished and all came out beautiful. A new and correct (not cheap reproduction) windshield was installed with all new seals. The body panels all fit well and shut nicely with that classic Mercedes solid feel. New headlamp doors were installed (originals were cracked).
• Interior: We redid the entire interior and in red leather in early 2015 with a kit from Bud’s Benz. This is a leather kit and not MB Tex and looks incredibly stunning. The kits included leather seat covers, door panel skins, hatch lid material, leather to complete, door panel boards, hard pockets, carpet set in red. The original interior color of this car was black and a black interior was in the car when we purchased it. We also re did the wood on the dash and the center box. The steering wheel was recently restored as it had some cracks and the paint was faded. In addition, we installed a correct and working Becker Europa radio. The speedometer is in km.
• Top: In August 2014, the soft top that was on the car was vinyl. We purchased a brand new Black German Canvas top to be installed. We removed the old top, cleaned the original top frame and installed the new Canvas soft top. We had the exterior of the original hardtop wet sanded, polished and buffed. We cleaned and treated the wood trim in the interior of the top. Also cleaned and detailed the headliner and interior of the hardtop. The headliner is in excellent condition with no tears, fading or sagging. This is the original hardtop with the suffix of the body number “2282” stamped into the hardtop. Also, this number is also stamped into the convertible top boot. Pictures below show both of these numbers.
• Engine/Transmission/Shifter: We were told by the previous owner (who had the car since 1978) that the engine was previously rebuilt, but had to make sure it was in excellent was working order. This car was sitting, so we had to drain gas and change all fluids. The engine is very strong and responsive. The oil pressure is excellent and the hot compression test was completed on 8/10/16 and the results were excellent of 170 to 180 psi on all 6 cylinders. A new drive belt was installed. A new shifter lever was installed with a new major shift linkage kit. New tie rod assemblies were installed. All spark plus were replaced, as well as oil and filter. A new battery was installed. We drove the car to shake it down and make sure everything was working and running properly. Overall, this car runs and drives excellent. It is very tight to the road and is a pleasure to drive. It has great acceleration and shifts easily with no noises in any of the gears. The clutch feels great and easy to work. The car stops straight and does not pull in either direction. This is a great driver car and very easy to drive. The power is there when you need it, but very comfortable and pleasant to drive.
• Engine Detail: In 2014, The engine was dirty and looked to be never really detailed. We wanted to make the engine look excellent and clean, but not overly done. The top and bottom of the engine were completely degreased and cleaned. The valve cover was removed and polished. Also, the intake, exhaust manifolds, throttle body and fuels lines were all cleaned, refinished or polished. The header tank and air filter were powder coated. Under the hood/bonnet was also cleaned and polished. The correct body number suffix is stamped into the upper portion of the bonnet (hood) on the driver side (left side). This can be seen in the pictures below. Also, the original chassis number is stamped into the front frame rail on the passenger side near the front of the car. The outside of the engine compartments still retains the original spot welds which a lot of these cars do not. Also, the original tags are still in the engine compartment as pictured below.
• Clutch/Brakes: A new clutch master cylinder was installed as well as a new clutch slave cylinder. The clutch feels great, engages nicely and as mentioned earlier is very easy to operate/work. The brake pads were replaced and the car stops very well.
• Wheels/Hubcaps: The car had some older Mercedes replacements wheels when we initially purchased the car in 2014. These needed to go and go quickly! We purchased five of the original (14 inch) and proper steel wheels. These were then degreased, cleaned and stripped. They were then powder coated black. In addition we purchased hub caps for this car, which we refurbished, polished and painted the matching color as the exterior of this great car. A newer set of 195/60/R14 tires were installed on the newly restored wheels. The wheels were balanced and an alignment was completed.
• Underside/Exhaust: When we first purchased this car in 2014, the underside, original floors and wheel wells were very dirty when we first received the car basically from a long time of fair weather driving and road grime. The original floors, rockers, rails, entire underside was all solid and there was original undercoating on the car. We degreased the wheels wells and underside. The exhaust was older, but had a nice sound. We pulled off the older exhaust and shot the underneath and wheel wells with 3M Body Schutz coating. This is a great product that is not heavy (not sloppy, greasy, sticky undercoat) and goes on evenly. We purchased and installed a brand new complete stainless steel exhaust system with the correct chrome tips.
• Trunk: The trunk was solid, but also dirty. We cleaned the trunk area and a new trunk mat was installed. In addition, we purchased a new spare tire cover for the spare wheel and new spare tire. The car also comes with the original jack, ratchet and wheel chalk. It also comes with an original Mercedes tool kit/roll.

This is a great Mercedes 280SL that can be driven anywhere or taken Mercedes club events/shows. This car has not been abused, and been very well cared for throughout its life. It also come with invoices for work and parts invested of over $33,000 from 2014 to 2016. It is solid as it came from an excellent climate with a careful owner. The Mercedes 280SL (230SL and 250SL as well) Pagoda has been rapidly appreciating in value, as the earlier 300SL and 190SLs have and nice ones are often hard to find. It is no surprise that these cars have become great investments as they are one of the best built Mercedes classic sports cars, one of the most popular cars Mercedes ever made and arguably the most enjoyable to drive, especially with the manual transmission. The next owner will be able to enjoy this wonderful car for a very long time.

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