Description
For more images, video and to see what our expert technicians thought of this SLSHOP Assured car head to our website
PRINCIPLE FACTS
This exceptional 280SL has been an SLSHOP regular for many years. Before we first came to know it, and its lovely owner Tim, the car underwent some pretty substantial restoration work elsewhere.
Since first gracing our premises in 2017, this 280's been put on a course of consistent improvement, elevating it from a well-cared for and properly maintained Pagoda to a show stopper. The time, care and expense to make this happen has been considerable, but surely the results speak for themselves...
OVERVIEW & EQUIPMENT
The cabin of this W113 exhibits the quality and style that are somewhat trademarks of the model. Luxurious carpet and wood vie for your attention amid the large chrome-ringed glamour of the dials. The period Becker Europa stereo fits right in, of course, but this one's hiding secret MP3 functionality.
CONDITION SYNOPSIS
We'll get to the expenditure shortly, but suffice it to say, there's been a lot of cash and care directed at this Pagoda recently. It was painted back in 2017 and still looks exceptional. There's a tiny stone chip to the nearside of the nose panel, but nothing more heinous elsewhere breaks the flawless finish. The wheels look great with a matching set of Vredestein Sport Classic tyres providing ample grip.
Under the bonnet, you're greeted by a gleaming engine with equally impressive looking ancillaries. Plenty of zinc plating has been used to keep things rust-proof and gleaming for years to come. We spotted a later oil filler cap on the rocker cover, but it's at least a Mercedes-Benz item.
HISTORY FILE
There's a deep pile of invoices within this car's history file, going back to the early 1980s. Tens of thousands were spent during this period keeping the car fit and healthy. It was a bit of a dark age for classic cars as so many choose to swap them for new and exciting German performance machinery. Plenty were either neglected or given a cheap blow over, thankfully this Pagoda avoided both. Brian Quirk Motors in Surrey was trusted to maintain the car for decades and seemingly did a fine job.
More recently, Avantgarde Classic Limited carried out a hefty amount of refurbishment work, just before the car came to us in 2017. It stripped the vehicle back to bare metal, replacing the floors, including the boot, plus removing the front wings and repairing the inners. It also added the updated Europa stereo with MP3 connectivity that's still found in the car today.
Its attention was then focussed on the cabin, putting in new carpets, headlining, seatbelts and door cards, along with adding new wood trim throughout. Since then, more than £30k has been spent on improving this pampered Pagoda at SLSHOP. There's far too much to cover here but it's all on file and we're happy to provide photos of the work if required.
SLSHOP SUMMARY
A Pagoda this good really has to be seen in the metal to be fully appreciated. The history is a week's reading alone, which is of course deeply reassuring. The money spent recently, on top of the car's metalwork and paint, really has pushed it into the top tier. It's the ideal car to get in and put some miles on, without worry.
