1966 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class

2.3 L I6

Clear

1966 230SL Thoroughly restored of 15 years of ownership. 268H Green with tan interior, hard and soft tops. I have owned this 1966 230 SL since 1998. I am the third owner, and I bought the car with about 93,000 miles on it. It was owned by a family that lived in Arizona that were snow birds from Minnesota. I have done pretty much everything but rebuilt the transmission and the front king pins, both of which are in good shape, and I have all of the books and most of the history on the car. I will try not to make this read like a story, but if you are serious about owning a 113 SL you are going to want to know the history anyway. I fell in love with these cars during the several years I worked for MB in Arizona in the early 1980s. In my opinion they are best classic car on the market. It has an amazing feel to it, great disk brakes, excellent sound, solid, reliable to a fault and easy to work on. I have owned the car now for about 15 years and put 25, 000 miles on it. Over the last few years, the annual use has dropped into the “hundred mile per year” range. I rarely have a chance to drive it unless I am headed out alone since my wife and daughters can’t bear to have their hair messed up. And on the rare occasion they do decide to endure a convertible, I have an old GTO that seats everyone. And still, complaints about hair. In any event, I can’t let the car sit in my garage for 100 miles a year of use. These cars are a joy to work on, and the support community is excellent. Parts are readily available. Here’s a link to a hundred-plus high resolution photos. Photo of the vin plate is among them: I have photos of the vehicle prior to restoration, and you can clearly see that it had one thin paint job over the factory paint. The car had some light surface rust in the usual places but as you can see in the original photos it was a very clean car prior to restoration. http://s105.photobucket.com/user/frechetteallen/library/?sort=3&page=1 The car went through a few stages during its “continuous” restoration. I will walk through the items front to back. As I mentioned, everything but the transmission and the king pins and a few parts in the front suspension have been done. The transmissions in these cars are pretty much indestructible, and the front end is tight. I have invoices for pretty much every single thing I have replaced. So, here’s a list of what was done and when (approximately dated) and be sure to look at the photos on photobucket, as I am pretty sure I captured everything of importance: About 1998 Flexible brake lines Calipers/pads Brake Booster Fuel pump About 2000 Front sub frame bushings kit Bilstiens all around Recored radiator Stainless exhaust New trans cooler lines New top All new top gaskets and seals New Mercedes windshield Windshield seal Complete rear axle overhaul & replacement Hatch & Sons Sudbury Mass (pretty much all parts) About 2004 Tie rods (in/out) Headlight upgrade Complete disassembly and refinish using BC/CC urethanes New door seals Window felts New seat upholstery and new horse hair buns New retractible seat belts New square weave carpets Refinished wood New MB Tex where required Professionaly serviced radio Al Rettig MD (works fine but I like more sound) Window tracks and regulators all serviced New glove box trim pieces as needed New side view mirror glass, seal Emergency brake handle boot All exterior body gaskets and trim inserts new New Michelins (now have about 35% remaining) Steering wheel restored/correct color shift knob new Shift gate insert new Shift linkage bushings (2 new) Heater core serviced (pressure checked) Heater core grommets Lights in heater controls replaced Visors modified to use 190E visors (original visors are fair but usable) All parts to return to original visors included Excellent (and concealed) pancake sub and amp along with several speakers (factory stereo can be installed and remote hidden stereo put back under rear deck cover, this is how I had it set up prior but now with iphone it’s a lot easier…all the wires are there for it) Rear hatch seal Deck lid seal Fuel tank to floor seal Filler neck grommet Filler cap seal Brake pedal pad Accelerator pad (not installed) Manual Antenna Door check strap wear parts Battery Frame Battery hardware Battery cables Battery tray Correct flex fuel lines in engine bay (all) Engine bay refinished Firewall insulation Firewall grommet kits Engine overhaul including New cylinder sleeves, rings Valve/head service/seals Engine mounts Gaskets, seals, etc. Assembled and set up by Lakeside Motors Tigard (original owner) New Cold start valve A variety of expensive rubber items here and there Warm up regulator / rack adjustment (Lakeside) All new proper MB hoses, belts where appropriate Water pump Misc injection parts Timing chain Power steering seal kit (not installed yet..not leaking) Power steering hoses Power steering filter 126 hood insulation (just takes the edge of the howl at high RPM’s) Alternator brushes (not installed yet) Hood strap Shift gate nylon insert Shift linkage retaining grommets Transmission gaskets Transmission filter Flex disk Carrier bearing/grommet About 2009 Fuel injection ball socket set and linkage tour New rotors, pads front New shoes rear Battery 2013 Pertronix ignition upgrade Cap, rotor, plugs Rear pinion seal Rear bushing at floor to axle 2014 Muffler hangers Muffler buffer/bumper rear Steering damper Fuel cap seal WW reservoir New rear coil spring pads New rear fuel lines (all) Cleaned and refinished tank Refurbished fuel lines underbody Cleaned and touched up undercarriage (light surface rust here and there) The car always ran well and had plenty of power, but it smoked a bit at start up and it was more of an embarrassment than a oil use issue, so I pulled the head to have it serviced and one thing led to another and I just did the engine “since I already had it torn apart”. One of the cylinders wasn’t perfect so we wound up resleeving it. This was about 2004, and the car has run beautifully ever since with plenty of power. Mechanically, there just isn’t anything to do on this car. I have the functioning original radio, but it has a very nice system in it with a concealed sub that has a 3.5mm and USB connection. The car still looks excellent given that it was refinished nearly 10 years ago. There are a few small blemishes shown in the photos, but nothing that would interfere with enjoyment and only other “car guys” would detect them, and you would have to look for them at that. The interior, engine bay, trunk and undercarriage also look excellent. The car would benefit by a proper detailing at the hands of someone who knows how to polish paint and chrome. I gave the car a good bath and hand polish but there is plenty of material on the car to give it a cut and rub if you felt it needed it. I have all of the original documentation, including its early service history at the local MB dealership. The car apparently had an engine replaced under warranty at one point. It includes the original instruction cards and such. All of the tools, jack and spare are original and in excellent condition. The tire is the original spare, and probably has German air in it. But if you plan to take the car on trips you should probably replace it. I never drove the car more than a few miles from my house so I wasn’t worried about flat tires The car includes the original console insert, the original vinyl floor mats, and a modern set of SL floor mats for routine use. It has its original trunk mats. I saved the original carpet insert for the gas pedal that could be installed on the existing carpet if someone cared to. The chrome on the car is in very good shape as you can see in the photos with the exception of a few pieces. The rear body trim to the right of the license plate has a small delaminated spot. These pieces are still available new, but this one just needs to be replated. There is no pitting. The hatch chrome has some imperfections but not terrible. You can see it in the photos, but this too could be rechromed. The grille has a very slight wave in one small spot. You probably can’t see this in the photos although I have tried to capture it. There is a small blemish on the bottom of the driver’s door. There is a couple small stone chips here and there but probably won’t show up in the photos well. There is a small area on the right door where the paint didn’t adhere well but it’s not a threat and not really noticeable, but I have tried to capture it in the photos. Some of the aluminum trim down at the bottom could use polishing, but you have to be down on your knees to see it. Other than that, the only other thing worth mentioning is that one wheel cover has some abrasions on it but it won’t show up in photos. The right fender was repaired in such a way that they filled the spot welds in the engine bay or they replaced the whole fender. It’s rare when shops did this back in the “old days” as the standard fare was to cut it down the middle. There are no such cuts in this fender, so I assume it was the former. But either way, the weld marks are not there in the upper portion. The hood fits beautifully and I suspect it’s original. These were hand fitted parts so it’s usually obvious when they have been replaced. I have made every effort to reveal the flaws in the car so there are no surprises and no disappointments. I am happy to accommodate inspections. I have a lift at my house and I will consider reasonable requests to facilitate inspections by someone you choose. I can be flexible on pickup and will accommodate reasonable international buyers. $1000.00 deposit due within 2 days of the close of auction, balance due 7 days after auction. Feel free to call with questions. Allen 503 970 9438