Mercedes-Benz SL Pagoda (1963 – 1971) Review

Mercedes-Benz SL Pagoda (1963 – 1971) At A Glance

Stylish, handsome and slightly unsporting default choice roadster

Full restorations are not for the faint hearted, financially

Ask Honest John

Should I use a petrol additive in my classic Mercedes-Benz?

"I have a 1966 Mercedes 230SL, which I use lead substitute whenever I fill it. Should I add a fuel system cleaner every so often and will the lead and fuel cleaner additives cause issues between them, or would it be ok to use both? The car does not cover many miles each year."

Is the car misbehaving? If you're concerned there's gunk in the system, there are few steps you can take. First fit an inline fuel filter (because whatever rubbish you're about to dislodge you don't want to make its way into the carbs and the engine). Second, use a premium fuel as these often have cleaners in. Third, you could go down the additive/cleaner route. Fourth, you could take the tank off and try and clean it yourself. Finally, you could send the tank away to a company that will clean it for you. Whatever you do, chances are you're going to upset an awful lot of sediment. Personally, I'd start by fitting a inline fuel filter and not letting the tank go below 1/4. If it's misbehaving, then check the operation of the carbs, make sure that the air filter isn't blocked, clean and gap the plug and inspect the rotar arm and distributor cap. You could also make sure the throttle cable can move smoothly.

Answered by Keith Moody

What do you think is the best classic car to buy for £100K?

"What do you think is the best classic car to buy for £100K? Which would be fun and not too expensive to keep and might increase in value?"

Whatever classic you buy, you'll need to budget for maintenance and running costs, but really the best classic depends on what you want to do with it. Fancy something for solely for investment purposes? Ferraris and Porsches are often solid bets - think Testarossa or 911 Turbo. A high days and holidays car to enjoy with your significant other might be a W113 era Mercedes SL or a Jaguar E-type. If on-track action is your thing, you may be able to get a race car with FIA Papers - there are a few race-specific auctions to keep an eye on. Alternatively, an iconic piece of American muscle car action is well within your budget (think 1969 Shelby GT350 Mustang). Prefer your classics older? Then a Lagonda 2-Litre could be a smart buy. Stately and smart? 1950s Bentley S1 Continental. Modern high-performance? Ford Sierra RS500. Just make sure that whatever you buy you do your homework... and enjoy it.

Answered by Keith Moody

What's the best way to sell a modern classic?

"I'm trying to get rid of my 20 year old Mercedes-Benz SL280 with 141,000 miles on the clock. It has over six months MoT left, but I've struggled to get a valuation due to the car's age. Where would be the best and easiest place to dispose of the car?"

If you're absolutely desperate to offload it, then you could put it into an auction. There are several classic specialists while modern car auctions also do modern classic sales. It just depends on where you're based. If you go down the auction route then be aware of all the fees involved and any possible penalties for withdrawing your car from the sale (if you change your mind).

Answered by Keith Moody

Is it wise to sell a classic car at an auction with no reserve price?

"We have inherited two Mercedes-Benz Pagoda. One is a white manual 230SL made in 1964 with with previous owners and 75,000 miles. The second is a 1970 280SL Coupe Auto, 71,000 miles with one previous owner. Both have hard and soft tops. Both cars have been in a dry garage for the past 45 years. One has a personalised plate worth possibly £5,000. Neither car has an MoT or been run in that time. A leading auction house has suggested selling these without reserve and anticipate they could fetch £15,000 - 20,000 for the 230SL and £17,000 - £22,000 for the 280SL. They also suggest leaving the personalised plate on as it would be too expensive for me to get an MoT to enable me to transfer it. I know little about classic cars but I feel very uneasy about the advice I have received and do not believe they should ever be sold without a reserve."

Let's start with the numberplate - the auction house is correct - you will need an MoT (and tax) if you want to retain the numberplates. I've no idea what condition the car is in so it's impossible to say whether getting an MoT would be prohibitively expensive or not. There's a chance having an MoT will increase its value. Selling a car at auction is fairly hassle-free - you won't have to deal with endless inquires from buyers, but the price you get will often be slightly lower than it would have been if you'd sold the car privately. Costs to watch out for include a 'listing fee' and a 'commission fee' (often a percentage of the sale price, plus VAT). Ask the auction company to provide exact details of their pricing structure. Whether or not you choose to sell your car without a reserve or not is up to you. If you don't want to, then don't. If you're happy with the guide prices they've offered, pick a reserve that is in the middle of the high and low estimates. If you're not certain about the guide values, do some market research to find out what similar models have sold for. You could also contact a few different auction houses in the same way you'd contact a few different builders for quotes for work on your house. The cars you have for sale are very desirable so make sure you get the best possible price you can.

Answered by Keith Moody

More Questions

Driving Mercedes-Benz SL Pagoda (1963 – 1971)

Perhaps the most iconic and best-loved of all 'affordable' Mercedes-Benz SLs, the W113 Pagoda has emerged from the long shadow cast by the 1954 Gullwing, and has a huge following in the classic car scene.

We put a Mercedes-Benz 280SL to the test to see if it lives up to the hype today.

Classic road test: Mercedes-Benz 280SL

Although the Pagoda first appeared in 1963, the story of the Mercedes-Benz Sport Leicht really begins with the 300SL Gullwing of 1954. The homologation special may have possessed styling to die for, but it was an uncompromising mistress that was horrendous to drive in the wet, appallingly overpriced and easily outrun by its Italian counterparts – but with a competition record to die, beguiling styling, and those doors, the flawed gem cemented the reputation of Mercedes-Benz as a truly top flight force in motor sport.

The tin-topped, gullwing gave way to the 300SL roadster in 1957 (which looked similar to the 1955 190SL) – and with it, the beginning of a line of ultra-expensive two-seater convertible Benzes. Although shorn of its look-at-me up-and-over doors and a fair degree of engineering purity, the roadster sold well – considering its list price was double that of a Jaguar XK140 – and laid the perfect foundation for its new-age successor, the W113 SL, or Pagoda to everyone who loves these cars.

About the Mercedes-Benz SL

Despite being similarly badged to the fire-breathing 300SL, the 1963 Pagoda was more closely aligned to the 190SL in terms of price. Based on the existing 220 floorpan, but with a shortened wheelbase, and packed with utterly conventional Benz engineering, the 230SL featured double wishbone suspension at the front and more driver-friendly swing axles at the rear. The sculptor and painter, Paul Bracq, lifted the Pagoda from mediocrity, though, by penning its iconic clothing.

Originally available in six-pot 2.3-litre form, the range expanded to include the 250 (1966-1968) and then the 280SL from 1968 – finally giving the tourer just enough go to match the show. Unlike the original 300SL, which was a preserve of the super-rich and famous, the Pagoda was far more accessible, and became a huge commercial success for its maker. During its eight-year production run, 48,902 were built – and thanks to a cult following and solid build quality, the survival rate remains thankfully high.

On the road

The Pagoda's styling is lovely, and that's what initially grabs your attention. There’s a purity of purpose and a delicacy of line that still stands up today. The wafer thin rear lamp clusters, the deftly sprinkled chrome, and lightly framed and undersized windscreen leave you in no doubt that vulgarity hasn’t always been the name of the game at Stuttgart.

Hook four fingers around the door handle, and pop the lock with your thumb, and it opens with a finely tuned click – even climbing in is a superior experience in the Pagoda. If you have the hood up or the hardtop in place, it’ll be about now that you’ll get your first good look at the interior, and once again, you’ll be impressed by just how tasteful an effort the dashboard and seats are. In comparison, the next generation R107 SL (or Lucy Ewing’s steed for all you Dallas fans) has all the charm and charisma of a leather trimmed attaché case.

Unlike many roadsters of its era, you don’t sit low in the Pagoda – and that means the view through the windcreen and down that gently humped bonnet is just about perfect. The pedals are nicely laid-out, and the minimalist ball-topped ball-selector is a mere palm rest away. Thin rimmed steering wheel is pleasant to caress – and its slightly oversized diameter promises a light and undemanding drive; shirt buttons are for the unwashed, you know.

Although the soothing engine and gearbox combination are well suited for cruising, the 280SL will play fast and loose in modern traffic conditions if need be

Finally, the body coloured dashboard somehow looks right, and the simply calibrated rev counter and speedometer flank the auxiliary gauges in the centre. It’s a command centre that means business. Consider it Teutonic, but with a warm and soothing twist.

Turn the dash-mounted ignition key, and the straight-six overhead cam engine upfront lumbers into life softly and settles down to a quiet, if slightly flat sounding idle. It’s smooth, though, and even before the off, you know it’s in keeping with the touring car pretensions your local Benz dealer has seduced you with.

The 280SL eases forward with all the grace and serenity of a small-bore limousine. It’s easy to understand just why so many Benzes are sold with automatic transmissions – its upchanges are pleasantly slurred, and throttle response is crisp and efficient. At no point are you left feeling frustrated by the transmission. Although the soothing engine and gearbox combination are well suited for cruising, the 280SL will play fast and loose in modern traffic conditions if need be. Floor the throttle, and the noses rises almost gracefully, and the acceleration takes on a more determined edge. With a 0-60mph time of 10 seconds, it’s never going to rip-up tarmac, but that’s more than enough pace for the typical owners of these cars.

With a ride quality best described as firm, you’d expect the SL to lack long distance comfort, but well-controlled damping and supportive seats would put a 500-mile day well within your reach if you felt that way inclined. Given that the natural stamping ground for this car and its well-heeled owner would be the French Riviera, it’s comforting to know that Cannes is a mere overnighter away.

It’s no wonder that the boot is so commodious, then. Many a saloon car would be embarrassed by the sheer amount that an SL will pack in. Golfers note – a bit of jiggling will see your bag installed without too much fuss…

In the UK, though, the touring car romance is harder to find – our pothole-riddled surfaces mean the SL is never fully settled. Corners, though, are more of a delight than you’d imagine – and although the light steering is well-geared and pleasantly weighted, it somehow lacks the feel that gives the driver the confidence to press on in style. However, on modern tyres, the limits are more than acceptable.

Spending time with the 250SL is a killer though – because its unassuming brand of magic will slowly reel you in. It’s incredibly easy to live with – hood up or down, it’s a cinch to see out of, and it goes well enough to see off you average modern family runabout. With your elbow resting on the door-top, fingertips caressing the wheel, and straight-six purring away, all seems right with the world – and one can imagine that piloting an SL in Harold Wilson’s England of 1968 would have a memorable experience in how to lord it up over the masses…

The HJClassics verdict

Could you live with a Mercedes-Benz 250SL today? It’s not really a question that needs much in the way of examination, because the answer’s obvious: of course you can. The way it goes, stops and steers mean that you’re not going to end up floundering at the first sign of a fast moving dual carriageway. Slaking its 20mpg thirst isn’t for the faint hearted though, so living with a Pagoda is not without its sacrifices. Entering into the debate as to whether any German car has true classic heart and soul is also irrelevant, because whether or not the Pagoda possesses that fine dose of recalcitrance that marks out a British or Italian thoroughbred, it’s a genuine feel-good car.

The reason that the normal rules of engagement don’t really hold true are because it’s a car that clearly has style and panache as well as tedious Teutonic reliability. Even more so than the mighty Gullwing that preceded it, the W113 generation of Mercedes-Benz SL is a car for all reasons. Also, everything about the way it looks is designed to stimulate those little pleasure receptors that leave you opening your chequebook regardless of the financial implications. It worked in 1968, and by goodness it works now.

Pictures: Bonhams

Mercedes-Benz 230SL

Mercedes-Benz 280SL