The seller of this Mercedes-Benz W113 “Pagoda” has experienced some challenges lately that are forcing the sale of this partially restored example, which is notable for being a rare 5-speed manual example. An unfortunate barn fire has shifted priorities a bit, so this pretty roadster is being sold with more work to be done. The seller notes he undertook a paint job and bodywork repairs before the fire, so the next owner will have some finish work to do. It is on eBay with a reserve, which is unmet at the moment. What do you think this Paul Bracq-designed example is worth as a bit of a rolling project?
The W113 is one of my favorite Mercedes roadsters, and despite a bump in price over the last few years, I still think it’s a bit of a bargain among the drop-top vintage landscape. The 190SL, in my opinion, will be on a downward slope for the foreseeable future, as it will never be able to shake the perception of being a cheaper and less powerful version of the iconic 300SL. The W113, however, has no such baggage to relieve itself of; it will always be a classic in its own right, the grandfather to a lineup of roadster-bodied Mercedes models that include the modern-era R107 cars. In addition to the manual gearbox, this Pagoda comes with the optional hardtop as well.
The seller shared the listing details from when he bought the 280SL, and it seems that the car had quite a few cosmetic needs at the time that still need sorting. The big ones are the body and the floors, which were presumably replaced as part of the “bodywork” that the seller references. He has addressed the paintwork, obviously, as he received the car in primer. The interior needed full restoration then and it still needs it now, so the next owner will have to address the carpeting, upholstery, dash, and the worn-out soft top (though the bows are apparently still in good working condition.) One thing about a restoration like this: it may be straightforward, but it will never be cheap.
The fact that the engine and transmission were working well when it went under the knife all those years ago should hardly come as a surprise considering how overbuilt Mercedes from this era were; however, they are known for hardened valve seals (blue smoke at startup) and occasional headgasket issues when left standing for long periods of time. The ZF 5-speed in this 280SL, combined with the extra torque over the 230SL, will make this an absolutely wonderful driver when complete, and the transmission alone adds a good deal of value. It’s hard to say how much more should be budgeted for completion, but the 280SL currently sits at $23,750 here on eBay with the reserve unmet.
Didn’t these usually come with a four speed manual transmission ?
The 230 SL came. The 280 SL were the auto I had two of this 1964 SL standar and 69 280SL auto !!!! Very nice cars both I enjoyed very much sorry I sold them.
I had one of these, it was nick-named “Abe Pagoda”
I will never understand someone who has a car painted before they’ve even started to tackle the interior issues. Far too many potential issues that will result in repairs that end up requiring a new paint job, and this car looks like it could be one of those.
Second to last picture in the EBay listing shows the right door sill with the door open. Is that rusted through or some sort of crazy optical illusion?
The engine bay is in a sad state for a 280SL. Why not pull everything out and do the body properly prior to a complete repaint? These cars are big money when done right.
I love these cars; the shape is just about perfection. But if that is rust through in the right door sill, then I’d be very skeptical that whatever “body work” was done involved much more than Bondo. I’d want to go over this car with a thickness tester everywhere. Unless she came up amazingly solid, I’d say it’s already approaching it’s actual value at $23K.
I restored my British Ford Zephyr convertible by doing ALL of the mechanicals and upholstery first before driving it to the paint shop as I knew what would happen if I had done the body after the interior and hood! I sold it ten years later without a mark on it apart from a speck of rust coming through over the left rear wheel arch.
Yes resto out of sequence a bit! But these are solid cars. $30k is about right to me !
But is THIS ONE a solid car?
I’m cynical by nature, and I can’t shake the suspicion that the out of sequence paint job was done to hide the true state of the body. How many SLs have rusted out their floors but remained solid elsewhere?
I do not believe the W113 280SL’s ever were offered with a 5-speed. Only the 67′ 250SL had this option.
They were available with a 5 speed ZF transmission. Mostly found on Euro spec cars and only specially ordered US versions had this great option.
5-speed on a W113 is always a custom job, never offered by factory.
Incorrect. They were rare but they were available from the factory. Look it up..
That is not correct. ZF transmission, although rare, was an option. This car should sell for more dollars just because of the ZF 5speed.
Count a few $10.000 in parts and minimum 3000 hours of work to fully restore it. In my workshop that would be around $150-160.000.
@Just Paul. Back in the early Noughties I had a classic car dealership and a fellow brought in a Porsche 356b for me to sell on consignment. He wanted a fair bit of money for it and by the time I had put my mark up on top it was a top money car. I was o.k. with it and figured it would sell if I took a bit off the top to a serious buyer as the car was, from all intents and purposes, a very clean car. All of my cars were offered with a Govt. Certificate of Roadworthiness so when a serious buyer put down a deposit I took the car for a test. The road test passed with flying colours as did the body/engine part of the test. The examiner went down into the pit and within 30 seconds called me down to have a look at the undercarriage. Well! It was so badly rusted that he failed it immediately and wouldn’t allow me to even drive it back to my showroom as he figured it was too dangerous to be on a public highway, it was that bad, so I had to have it loaded onto a flat bed and delivered straight to the sellers business premises! I spoke to the Chairman of the local Porsche Club and he told me that if a 356 even looked like the floor had been worked on for any reason then the value dropped by at least 50%. Of course a lot of them needed new floors to be welded in, or holes patched etc. but there must be NO evidence of that work having been done, either from underneath the car or underneath the floor mats inside the car. From that day on EVERY Porsche that came in for sale was sent for the roadworthy test before being put on the showroom floor for sale. Of course I had to repay the intended buyers deposit and the poor owner sued the person that he had bought the car from and eventually received most of his outlay back. Lucky man dodged a bullet with that car.