1965 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class

Convertible

in-line 6

Manual

11304210007253

Clear

Gasoline

1965 CLASSIC 230 SL 4-SPEED TRANSMISSION This is a 47 year old car and it is unrestored. This is a car to drive and enjoy and it is what I have done these past 8 years. I bought this car in 2004 to drive, I did not want a "trailer queen." This car is quick and drives really well. I just had it serviced and the brakes checked. My mechanic stated that it has a "real strong engine". I don't know a lot of history about this car. The previous owner had it for about 10 years and like me, he enjoyed driving the car along the California coast. I don't know if the car has always been a CA car. About one month after purchasing this car, the brakes failed me completely. I drove the car home using the emergency brake and transmission. I started a project to convert the rear drum brakes to disc brakes like the front of the car and what came later in the 250-280 SL's. That was completed so this car has 4-wheel disc brakes and relatively new master cylinder. What has gone out now is the Servo/Brake Booster. My Mechanic advised me that a new Booster or having the existing Booster rebuilt would cost about $650. plus his fees to install. The second option, since I use the car as a driver, is to buy a rebuilt after-market booster for less than $150 plus installation. I decided to let the eBay buyer of this car make that decision. A purist will rebuild the existing Booster. I am not aware of anything else that is not working other than the clock. This car has always been garaged since I have owned it. However, that is not the case with the previous owner. It set outside a lot before I bought this car. This is California and it does rain here and we also have damp mornings from fog along the coast. There is rust in this 47 year old heavy metal car. I do not find significant rust in/on the frame. The trunk has minor rust on the metal floor. However, there are three areas on the right trunk drip rail that has rusted through. There are some areas where the paint has some bubbles. This car has not been restored and I want a buyer to know that after 47 years, this car is not perfect. Probably never was! This car looks great from a distance but the paint job is not that great. There are chips in the paint and the hood lid and trunk lid are dull. No amount of polish really helps. I thought I would change the paint color to silver when I first bought the car. I purchased the original wheel covers and had them painted MBZ silver. I did not like the old Alloy-Style wheels that were on the car when purchased. After owning for a couple of years, I decided I liked the white and black color combination. The previous owner rarely took-off the hardtop. That is the first thing I removed from the car and it was never put back on the car until today. It is only there for the photos here. That hard-top has more rust issues than the rest of the car! The wood around the rear glass is great. However, both rear corners of the hardtop have significant rust. The wood along the front dash has looked the way it appears in the photos since I bought the car. Apparently the front windshield seal needs to be replaced. I have not seen it leak but something caused the wood and dash to deteriorate. I have driven this car less than 3,000 miles in 8 years. It is used only in good weather and only on short drives around town. I bought a 1991 500 SL shortly after buying the 230 SL and it became my primary convertible to drive. The 230 is more fun though! The chrome on most of the car is in pretty great condition. However, the left front part of the front bumper has either had battery acid or something spilled on it. There are several spots that are really rusted and the chrome has flaked off. That one piece needs to be re-chromed. Everything else looks pretty good. Not brand new but it is not bad for its age. This car is being sold as is. Anyone is welcome to come and look at the car and drive it. Please send an auto appraiser if you are from out of state. The car is being offered for sale locally. If an offer is accepted, this listing will be canceled. I will help a buyer with getting the car to a shipping truck if the truck will come to this general area. International shipping will have to be arranged by the buyer. If you have any questions please ask. i will be happy to supply whatever I can that will help a buyer make a decision. As stated, this car is an unrestored classic. It is not perfect but, it is fun. On Jul-19-12 at 20:49:52 PDT, seller added the following information: I have been asked through emails to add more photos. I am at the max allowed by eBay. I have added photos to Flickr. Please follow the link below to more photos. http://www.flickr.com/photos/robhartman65/