Here’s a running, driving project Pagoda fitted with Mercedes’ 2.8-liter inline six, placing it at the top of the W113 lineage. These cars were all roadsters, available with both removable hard and soft tops. The styling was by Paul Bracq and safety innovator Béla Barényi, who invented the hard top with its slightly concave profile, inspiring the nickname “Pagoda”. Very fine examples of the 280SL have broken into the six-figure price realm, but this well-documented ’69 is listed here on eBay in a no-reserve auction with bidding at $35,600. Drive it home from West Bloomfield, Michigan.
It’s an irony that the doggedly underpowered 190SL will sell for tens of thousands of dollars more than a quality-comparable 280SL, and for twice what a 230 might bring: after all, it was the sluggishness of the 190 that prompted Mercedes to build the W113 in the first place. But there’s no question that both sets of cars have appreciated during the last few years. This one, with 170 hp on tap, is a far sight more spritely than the 105 hp of the 190. Zero to sixty is four seconds faster; top speed is 6 mph higher. Notably, this car is equipped with a four-speed manual – only about 25% of all 280SLs were made with manuals, and even fewer of these were delivered to the US. A tune-up was recently performed, and the radiator is new. The seller notes that the car’s underside is heavily undercoated.
Aside from a better power profile, the Pagoda cars were designed for comfort. The deeply cushioned seats upholstered in MB-Tex, improved cabin ergonomics, rounded edges and corners, and better climate controls hiked the owner experience significantly. The seller notes that most of this car’s electrical features and gauges work, but wear is present on most surfaces. The soft top needs to be replaced. On the other hand, the original tool kit and jack are still with the car.
An older repaint in the original Tobacco Brown has lost its shine; the chrome is said to be scratched and dented; a bit of rust is showing up here and there; the tires are dated 2009; other mostly minor issues are itemized in the eBay listing. Most of these are tolerable flaws, though I’d want to check this car in person for rust, given the aftermarket undercoating. As noted, these graceful cars have appreciated over the last decade, but this one is a worthy prospect with plenty of headroom for improvements.
Regardless of vehicle, I am a person who loves documentation in my possible vehicle purchases. This one has it in spades. Nice car, even though it still needs work.
Found a beauty here, Michelle. Interesting perspective regarding the comparisons and food for thought with those of us that appreciate the classic Benz roadsters.
I met a guy who had one for sale for 5K$ (That alone tells you how long ago it was)
He handed me the keys to test drive it, and I couldn’t get into it. Even sitting in it with my legs out the door my head was tilted against the roof.
Man, I loved that thing, but it was smaller inside than my TR3
Not all had both tops. There was a “California” named version, with just a removible hard top, but no soft top.
the cars grip my heart when I see them. I drove one in 71 when I was 17 to DC for some family friends from palm beach. I was hooked, the 2 yr old 280SL got me emotionally. so I bought 2 later in life, both cost me so much F**king money to keep running that I was motivated to write this. for example, the moldings on the side below, the two rows, IF you can find them cost into the thousands. back 30 yrs ago the star in the grill was nearly a grand. the parts are stupidly money, and the cars at this age are not something with you want to tackle a restoration project unless you are leon black or donald trump, with tons of ill gotten gains. smile when you see one like i do, then go back to driving you reliable japanese subaru or toyota and thank jesus that car that just passed you is not yours. the thrill is not worth the price.
If OEM parts are that expensive, perhaps turn it into a copy of the little green roadster in the HIG commercials.
This is very desirable especially with the four speed. The driving feels like light and heavy at the same time.
I would have this over any other Benz for it’s size , feel, and jewel like build.
This also lacks the Mercedes stigma.
I worked for mercedes benz as well as having owned over a dozen, curious what you mean by the “mercedes stigma”. when this car was produced the stigma was exceptional quality. no more. curious what you meant.
“It’s an irony that the doggedly underpowered 190SL will sell for tens of thousands of dollars more than a quality-comparable 280SL.” An astute observation well said. The 190SL had a puny heart and got by only on its looks, riding the coattails of the truly great 300SL.
The 230SL brought a fresh, original style and a far better powerplant. Mercedes-Benz has always been renowned for its inline sixes, and the condition of this one is a serious factor in the value of this car. Ask for a compression test but know that it probably needs a valve job (guides). If the injection pump must be rebuilt, doing it right (Pacific Fuel Injection) will run you over $1,000 a cylinder. SL restoration can be intensely expensive, but the army of good, experienced practitioners is encouraging, and the resulting car should be fun to drive as well as an appreciating asset.
That “undercoating” probably used up at least three cans of black spray paint, applied liberally, even to the shock absorbers, etc. So take along an icepick.
it also effectively hides rust. buyer beware!
Matthew is right, and it is worth naming where. On a 113 the hardtop and the rubber are what hide it: pull the seals and look at the top of the windshield frame and the rear deck lip, then the floor pans, the sills, and the lower front fenders behind the headlights. Those are the spots that decide whether this is a project or a parts car, and the documentation will not tell you. One more thing worth holding onto: the 280SL is the most-produced of the pagodas, 1968 to 71, so rarity was never the argument here. Condition, and the four-speed, is.
I agree. I used to live in the rust belt and ran automotive repair shops. The worst cars for rust I have ever seen were cars that had been Ziebarted. If you decided to peel off a section of the under coat. Several layers of rust came with it. About 15 years ago a guy from New Jersey come into one of our Reno stores for new tires in a Toyota pickup. One of my employees came into the office with a very strange look on his face. “Please come out to the shop for a minute.” There on the lift with the front wheels 3 feet off the floor and the rear wheels still on the floor. The frame had virtually split in half, due to rust. Only about 1 inch of metal connected the front and rear sections on each side of the frame. We let the truck down very gently but it still had a major “now humped back” attitude. I called the customer to explain that putting new tires on would quadruple the value of his truck. He started laughing and said ” I was wondering when that would happen. ” I’ll pick it up in a little bit”. I mentioned that it would be best that he do that with a tow truck. And declined. So we did not release the truck until he signed the invoice that said the vehicle was not safe to drive. And he did so with alot of laughter. And yes, he drove it away. And It had a Ziebart sticker on the back of the tailgate. I have had 3 VW Sciroccos (MK Is) and a ’78 Honda Civic that I bought new. All I did (since I lived in the rust belt at the time) was in the spring I flushed out every nook and cranny underneath the car. And none of the cars rusted under my watch. And all those cars are famous for rusting out.
Beautiful roadster. Grew up seeing these out there, always enjoyed the view. Though they were rich folks cars.
If it were mine I’d keep it road worthy giving it what it needs and drive it, everywhere. Still a rich folks car, depending on how you define rich.
Wondering what it will finally sell for in just under 2 days?
these are 1 of the best looking Benzes you could own. looks to be survivor. i would get a fresh soft top and just drive it.
For me, the stick makes it desirable; the price, not so much…. These are the best looking SLs and the size is right. I grew up in a time where you could get a good used one for $3500. It’s hard to pay ten times that much for a couple Sunday drives per year……….Nice survivor, though……….
The fact that it is a running project is the key–many do not run and are very expensive to just get running.
Cosmetics are a far less immediate and expensive issue–at least you can drive & enjoy while taking time to spruce it up!
I did something with one of these a long time ago.
Can’t remember anything about it at the moment.
Michelle, thanks for the reminder.
I think one of the filing cabinets in back under the loft stairs has a factory service manual for 280sl. What’s it worth?
I second Wayne’s comment about Ziebart undercoating, from personal experience. In 1968 I bought a three-year-old Porsche and, because I lived in Pennsylvania, had it Ziebarted. As the undercoat dried out more and more, it cracked, and water got between it and the metal floor. By 1985 the floor, front crossmember, and more had to be replaced ($$$$). Scraping off the old Ziebart was not a pleasant job. Still have the car, but now I just wash and rinse the underside thoroughly.
This 1968 W113 280 SL represents a potentially rare opportunity to own this legendary motorcar and address its issues over the next five years while growing its value to Driver Condition #2. There are many excellent repair and where needed W113 shops in the US like SL Restorer in San Diego. I recently went through the 280 SL 4- speed purchase process and value the condition of this well documented car (engine block lacking # is a concern). It takes time, patience and several years of funding to get this car to highly collectible condition. There’s a happy new owner just hours away!
Auction ended at $41,500.
began following these only after seeing here (decade or less). I appreciate the site for that and enuff AMXs as well, to become a fan those, disregarding both ‘in the day’. I am reformend / see the error of my way~
Here is the perfect model for me as I like the i6 equiped 230SL (W113 – R129) through 300SL (1963 – 93). Cant say much more but automatics could be more desriable as DD here. Now, price and room in the fleet are the rule outs of ownership but dont mean I cant admire in the street or here.
8^ )