• Desirable automatic transmission model • Ex-Louisiana car with lots of history
• Full recent mechanical recommissioning
• Delightful to behold inside and out
• Complete with soft-top and hard-top
The Background
It only takes one glance to appreciate why the ‘Pagoda’ SL has enjoyed such enduring popularity over the generations. Conceived as a two-seater roadster, it’s the removable hardtop which gives the W113 its ‘Pagoda’ nickname, the slightly concave nature of it calling to mind the distinctive curves of ancient Chinese architecture.
Naturally, there was nothing ancient about the engineering – the underpinnings of this car were cutting-edge for the early 1960s, with the range of straight-six engines featuring multi-port fuel injection, along with boasting double-wishbone front suspension, dual-circuit brakes with discs up front, and optional power steering.
The door skins, bonnet, bootlid and tonneau cover were made from aluminium to keep weight down, and the car was designed with a rigid passenger cell and crumple zones – the first sports car to be conceived specifically with occupant safety in mind.
All of this adds up to an alluring formula today: it’s got all the charm and character that a classic SL should have, along with more advanced mechanicals than its peers, and an unparalleled drive. But most of all, there’s the way it looks. A bona fide design classic.
This left-hand-drive 230 SL is an American-market car, having arrived in the UK in late 2021. We can see from the history that it spent much of its life in Louisiana, with paperwork in the history file showing receipts for parts and maintenance in the State through the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s.
Now UK-registered, it’s recently had a full mechanical recommissioning by the marque specialist Steve Redfearn, and is ready to enjoy.
There’s an impressively substantial file of paperwork with this car. In addition to the newly issued V5, we find the original service books and manuals as well as a large quantity of receipts and invoices for work carried out on the car for several decades in its life in Louisiana.
We can see, for example, that the transmission was rebuilt in 1989, the engine was fully rebuilt at considerable expense in 1992, a new set of door cards were sourced in 1994, a new set of floor pans was ordered in 1989, and much more besides. It’s a real treasure trove of information, and something you’re often unlikely to find with imported examples.
Most recently, there’s a receipt from Steve Redfearn Motor Co Ltd for £3,612, showing a full mechanical recommissioning in November 2021. This included refurbishing the fuel tank and flushing the system through, fitting new engine mounts, repairing the injection pump, rebuilding the distributor, and plenty more – plus a full service and electronic engine tune.
The cabin of this Pagoda is an extremely pleasant place to be. It’s all in the factory-original spec, aside from the addition of an aftermarket Alpine radio-cassette head unit a long time in the past (the manuals are all included). The seats are trimmed in soft and supple blue leather, which is in lovely condition throughout.
The cabin benefits from renewed door cards (complete with US-market-spec door pockets), and the carpets and wood trim are all in clean and complete condition – everything looks fresh and correct. The dials are working as they should. Inside the boot it’s all very tidy, with solid top-mounts, a good carpet, and the correct spare wheel.
This 230 SL is beautifully presented, with the bright white paintwork uniformly tidy throughout, and the body panels free from dents, dings, scuffs or surface corrosion. All of the light lenses and window glass are in good condition, and the car doesn’t wear the US-market side markers.
The chrome on the bumpers, mirrors, badges, handles and window surrounds all presents well, and there appear to be no trim pieces missing aside from a chrome strip on the rear between the boot lock and light cluster. The matching hard-top comes with the car, and this is in serviceable condition and secures correctly.
The tasteful blue soft-top also correctly affixes at both ends as it should, and is in good and complete condition. The wheels all have correct Pagoda-spec hubcaps (three are in white to match the paintwork, one is painted beige); the tyres are mismatched brands but all have decent tread. Overall, an impressively solid and complete SL, and a real head-turner.
Having been fully rebuilt in the past and recently comprehensively overhauled, the engine is a sweet and willing unit; today it fires on the first turn of the key, idles happily and pulls strongly.
The characteristically smooth gearbox is a perfect companion to the torquey motor, shifting effortlessly as it should. The brakes and suspension are in fine fettle, with the car riding comfortably and pulling itself up straight. All the factory-fit oily bits are functioning as they should, and this Pagoda is a real joy to drive.
The reaction this car received when we took it out for its photoshoot speaks for itself: everybody loves a Pagoda, and every passerby stopped to chat about it, many of them saying either they’d always dreamed of owning one, or that they’d found a new dream car here.
It’s not hard to see why. It’s a beautiful machine, isn’t it? And that beauty isn’t skin-deep – these are magnificently engineered cars (some may say over-engineered), designed to be as robust and usable as they are delightful to behold, and with the proper care lavished upon this Louisiana sweetheart, it’s a car that ticks a lot of boxes.
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1963 Mercedes-Benz 230 SL ‘Pagoda’ (LHD)
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