This Vintage 1971 Mercedes 280 SL Roadster has been sold and will be living in the Hamptons on New York's Long Island.

   

Some general information about the car:

1971 Mercedes Benz 280 SL, the well known Pagoda roadster.

Tobacco Brown exterior, Cognac MB Tex interior, Tan Soft Top; 4 speed Manual (rare for a late 280 SL), 6 cylinder Fuel Injected engine.

Unusual option: Rear Kinder seat; also has beautiful Nardi steering wheel. Original 85,000 miles; Original Air Conditioner, Becker Europa radio. VIN 113 044 10 021775

Engine number matches original Data card (sale includes all three original Data Cards); has original interior, hard top, window glass. The car has never been restored.

Some rarely found (and valuable) items with the car: original tool kit and cover; spare tire cover, owner's manual, radio wiring diagram, service manual with original embossed service ID tag; antenna key, AC manual, soft top manual; parts to re-install the original rear seat if the Kinder seat is removed.

Keeping the car healthy for the 21st Century:

Some of the items that have been changed or replaced include: the battery, some hoses (although many hoses and hose clamps are original); shift lever bushings, clutch slave cylinder, has new Bosch Starter; speedometer and tachometer cables replaced; clock and speedometer rebuilt, new Soft Top about 2 years ago.

Heater levers replaced (about 10 hours of work), new upper and lower king pins, new upper control arms, new stabilizer bar, new tie rods, new steering shock bar; new sub frame mounts, new front shocks, new motor mounts; engine tune up; the rear bumper and all rear metal was re-chromed, has MB locking gas cap. Only MB or Bosch parts were used.

Compression tested an excellent 160 pounds in all cylinders.

History

Manufactured at the Mercedes Sindelfingen plant near Stuttgart, Germany in October 1970. Sold by Busch Benz in New Jersey April 1971 to a Dentist living in Northern NJ. The original owner had several other cars and did not drive the SL very much as can be seen from the very low original mileage. The original owner has been consulted about the history of the car.

The car has been garaged its entire life

A few photos (click a photo for LARGER view):

At Sands Point NY

At Sands Point NY

At West Point NY

At Sun Set

Dash Area

MB Dash

Soft Top

MB Soft Top

Jump_Seat

MB Jump Seat

Under_The_Spare

Under The Spare

A few more details about this Roadster

Exterior is Tobacco Brown (like medium dark Chocolate), the soft top is tan, the removable hardtop is the same brown as the body. An optional sideways "Jump" seat is located behind the two front bucket seats to allow an additional passenger (or the family pet) to sit facing the side of the car.

The interior of the car is "Cognac", a nice contrast to the darker brown exterior especially when the soft top is down. The hardtop interior roof liner and the sunvisors are Bamboo color.

This car turns heads whether it has the hardtop on, soft top up, or soft top down as an open touring car.

Included with this car:

  • Four Wheel Disk Brakes with Power Booster
  • Tachometer
  • Wood Console Box between the two front bucket seats
  • Wood Trim on top of dash
  • Soft Map Pocket on each door
  • Seat Belts
  • Electric Clock

The windows are manual, no cup holders, no cruise control, no CD player.

Options in this car:

  • Air Conditioning
  • Power Steering
  • Radio: original Becker Europa AM/FM radio.)
  • Head Rest for each bucket seat
  • "Jump" Seat behind bucket seats
  • Two Chrome strips on the Hardtop roof ("Garnish Mouldings")
  • Heated Hardtop Rear Window
  • Bumper Guards, Front and Rear
  • Whitewall Tires

Parts for this car are readily available from Mercedes Benz and from many vintage car parts dealers. Mercedes has a Classic Car Center with a US toll free number that answers questions about these type cars. A soon to open MB Classic center in California can advise on a restoration, and if you've got the money, will do a complete factory restoration.

280 SL Performance

The car is designed for touring, an on-the-road car. It is content to cruise at 100 mph (if permitted) for hours at a time in relative comfort. If the car is used for very short trips, started and stopped for grocery runs, it can get a little harder to start and perhaps not purr as smoothly. The solution is the so called "Italian Tune-Up". Take the car out for a 15 minute run at 50 or 60 miles an hour. It will clean itself up and again be ready for action.

With the manual 4 speed transmission, in 4th gear the speed is double the RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) in hundreds. At 3,000 RPM, the speed is 60 MPH. Since the tachometer is red-lined at 6,500 RPM, the indicated top speed is about 130 MPH (210 KPH). The speedometer dial goes to 140 mph (225 kph). The engine makes about 180 hp (SAE), 170 (DIN). The original road tests showed these cars go from 0 to 60 mph in about 9.5 seconds.

This car is not at the Concours level. ("Concourse" without the final "e" means "a perfect car" to collectors.) The car is mostly original and cared for (that's why the manuals and tools have been preserved.) A car of this type restored for competition at the national Concours level typically sells for $40,000 and up. Owners might spend $25,000, $50,000, or more to bring a car to the national Concourse level of perfection.

1971 Mercedes 280 SL

© Richard Madison 2005

Copyright is claimed for images of the Brown Mercedes.

Edited April 22, 2005