1965 Mercedes-Benz 230SL 'Pagoda'

The second generation SL began with the 230 of 1963. Designed by Paul Bracq, its wonderfully crisp styling clothed a monocoque chassis equipped with all-round independent suspension, power assisted disc/drum brakes, recirculating ball steering and a 2306cc straight-six engine of 150bhp and 145 lb ft of torque mated to either four-speed manual or automatic transmission. Of the 48,912 W113 Series cars made between 1963 and 1971, 19,831 were 230SLs.

This truly remarkable original UK, right-hand drive Mercedes-Benz 230SL has been subject to a restoration like no other, leaving no piece of metal unturned. Costing approximately £70,000 the restoration took three years for specialists Andrew Flower Associates to complete from 2006 until 2009.

Purchased by our vendor in 2006 the car was in seemingly running and good condition needing just a small amount of TLC here and there. However, on further inspection, the car needed far more work then initially thought. As more areas were investigated more parts of the car was found in desperate need of restoration. Thus the decision came to either to sell on a car mainly made of filler as a project, scrap it, or do a proper job. Thankfully the latter was chosen to and what began was a complete restoration in the true sense of the word.

Words can do little to describe the level of work and effort that have gone into this restoration. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so it's lucky that the car has over 1,100 images documenting its strip down and rebuild other wise this description would be very long indeed! The body was stripped and every ounce of filler and rust was removed and new metal was fabricated in their place. This included almost entirely rebuilding the rear end of the car along with most of the front end, not forgetting of course complete new sills and floor pan in-between.

The car is fitted with a 250SL factory replacement engine this is believed to have been mounted into the car in the mid 1980s the engine number of this engine is the number displayed on the V5C document. Whilst the bodywork was being reconstructed the engine was stripped, checked and rebuilt as was the car's original manual gearbox, which was fitted with new synchromesh rings all done using Mercedes sourced parts, as was the case throughout the restoration.

Upon completion of the body work the car was professionally painted in its original Hell Beige (Bright Beige) with the restored hardtop finished in its original contrasting Old Brown. The car was then reassembled with the suspension and braking system being refurbished where salvageable or if necessary replaced using new parts.

Inside the car was similarly subject to a detailed restoration including a complete retrim and refurbish of the seats and door cards. Along with restoration of the dashboard, dials and the painstaking task of finding an original fitment Becker Mexico radio.

The car is presented with an outstanding history file, which can be traced back to the 1970s, but becomes much more complete from the late 80's onwards, with receipts for all the work done on the car from 1990 onwards. Of course present also are all invoices and documentation relating to its recent restoration including a memory card containing the aforementioned 1,100+ images detailing the project.

Presented today in obviously excellent condition throughout the car is being offered for sale unfortunately due to ill health, meaning the car cannot be enjoyed as intended and deserved. Having covered roughly 1,000 miles since completion of the restoration in 2009, the car has lived its life in an Aeroflow chamber and used regularly when permitted for short journeys to ensure it is in first-rate condition.

With all the hard work done, and the car well preserved with the extensive restoration perfectly settled, the car is ripe to be enjoyed by a new owner