1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SL Pagoda

The SL you see here is an example of the rarer 2.5-litre 250SL. Only available for one year, they account for just 10% of W113 SL production with just 1,761 cars like this one made for the US market.

We believe that this left-hand-drive car was first registered in May 1967 to a Mr and Mrs Eaves of Santa Fe in New Mexico and was still in that State in nearby Albuquerque eleven years later owned by a Mr and Mrs Romero.

Fast forward nearly four decades and the car was purchased from California-based Beverly Hills Car Club in April 2015 and imported to the UK. On arrival, the Pagoda underwent an extensive re-commissioning programme. Most of the £22k+ spent was to ensure the engine ran extremely well and the car drove beautifully. The soft-top was replaced and all the chrome work polished. The bodywork and interior were in a pretty good state already and were left as they were when imported.

The current owner - the car’s second in the UK - bought the car for his collection two years ago from a growing classic car auction website called The Market - you may have heard of them.

Since then, he’s barely covered 200 miles but has spent around £5k on various updates and repairs, including a new exhaust system.

The main benefit of buying a dry-state US car is of course the lack of corrosion in the bodywork that a European contemporary would have long-since succumbed to.

The 171 Papyrus White paintwork appears in very good condition and the body seems free of any significant dings, scrapes or chips. The panel fit and alignment looks good and a glance down each side shows them to be free of ripples. This SL presents very well and even shows solid and clean door shuts, sills, and gutters.

The soft-top is pretty much in as-new condition and folds neatly away under the tonneau panel. It is in a contrasting blue fabric which is well matched to the interior. Most of the time we expect that the car will be driven with the soft-top down but for extra all-weather protection the hard-top is also included in the sale and is in good condition.

The chrome work around the car appears to be nice and bright with no pitting or discoloration of any significance.

The SL sits on its original 14-inch steel wheels trimmed with one-piece wheel covers (introduced later in 1967 with the 280SL), which are in reasonably good condition. All four corners are shod with Optimo M724 whitewall tyres, which are still in good order and add to the overall period look.

There is a pleasing patina to the upholstery; the blue MB-Tex seat covers are lightly creased, but they are still nicely bolstered and the door cards are very good. MB-Tex is one of the best looking and hardest wearing of the vinyl-based faux leathers and has been used extensively by Mercedes since the early ‘60s.

The instrument panel is a combination of unmarked body coloured metal and chrome/aluminium trims, with no apparent damage to the surrounding vinyl. The instruments look to be matching and are in good order, and centrally mounted is a period-correct Blaupunkt Frankfurt triple-band radio.

What looks like the original large diameter two-spoke steering wheel with padded central boss and horn bar seems in reasonable condition, although the plastic rim is lightly cracked in a number of places around the rim. There are also a few wooden fittings like a tray between the seats and wood veneered trim on the dash top.

The tough weave carpet linings on the transmission tunnel, inner sills and behind the seats look in decent condition, just a little worn on the driver side sill. The rubberised liners in the footwells are also worn but largely intact with a small split by the driver’s right heel. The headlining on the hardtop is good overall, but as expected with an example this age there are areas of discoloration where it meets the windows.

The engine bay has had a considerable amount of attention since the car came to the UK and appears very clean and in fine order, with a large number of recently renewed components and consumables. The only rust we could see was surface rust on some of the fixings like hose clips.

The undersides of the car appear solid and relatively clean, with an older coating of underseal but no obvious corrosion, and only surface rust starting to bloom on some of the structures. There are signs of more recent renewal and replacement, not least the exhaust.

Large rubberised mats line the boot floor and are in reasonable condition with a small split to one side. Under the mats, the floor is a bit patchy with small areas of surface rust and the original acoustic lining coming away from the metal in places. Inside the boot are a jack, tool roll and full size spare wheel in a fitted vinyl cover.

Also in the boot are some fabric floor mats, previously fitted inside the car but a little shabby and worth replacing, a warning triangle, AA pack and a set of jump leads. The boot loading lip and boot lid underside are a little scuffed but there is nothing we could see by way of rust around the opening.

The Pagoda’s last MoT expired in May 2019 and, although exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have it tested at the earliest opportunity. The cost of an MoT is a small investment when offset against the purchase and upkeep of any classic car, and it gives an independent, third-party assessment of the car’s condition, which not only provides reassurance to the owner and any subsequent purchasers but is also invaluable in the event of a bump when negotiating with the police and any interested insurance companies.

The car comes with a plastic ziplock wallet containing an old Michelin tire (sic) warranty, period Mercedes USA dealer directory, original 250SL owner’s manual, old US registrations and various other old documents relating to the car. There is also a Bosch directory, 250SL parts catalog (sic) and a reproduction owner’s manual. Curiously there is a stamped metal plate too, which we believe relates to the car’s original ownership in Santa Fe.

The previous owner who imported the SL used Classic & Iconic Cars of Leeds to carry out the recommissioning work and there are two large invoices for this included in the history (please see photo gallery).

The first of these was for the main body of work carried out between June 2015 and February 2016. This was for a grand total of £15,077.20 and included:

● complete suspension system strip-down and rebuild

● rebuild of the power steering system

● renewing of the cooling system

● checking and renewing (where necessary) the braking system

● full rebuild of the fuel system (including new fuel tank, fuel pump, sender, pipes and cleaning of all injectors)

The second invoice was for another series of major work carried out in 2018 (at a cost of £6999.65), which included the fitting of a new soft-top and some bodywork rectification in the passenger foot well among a raft of smaller works.

The above is just a brief summary of the key elements carried out, it’s worth reading through the well-described invoices in detail to see exactly what was done.

A recent invoice from Autoclass Garage of Milton Keynes, shows £2.6k+ of work commissioned by the current owner to renew various components and mountings on the car.

A second invoice dated April 2021 - from Automerc Service of Wood Green, North London - details another £2.2k+ of work done on tuning the engine, ignition renewal, refitting the soft-top lining and fitting a complete exhaust system.

The 250SL also comes with several keys.

On a sunny day, there can’t be much that comes close to cruising along in a Pagoda SL with the top down and your significant other humming along to the contemporary sounds of “Somethin’ Stupid” by Frank Sinatra and his daughter Nancy.

The Pagoda SL is an immensely desirable car and like all SLs, prices vary wildly depending on the condition and specification. We’ve seen average asking prices that were previously holding steady, start to rise over the last couple of years.

This isn’t a concours car but it is an extremely presentable and recently fettled example of the rarest variant of Pagoda SL. It appears very solid and drives sweetly and we think it will sell for between £46,000-£56,000.

Anywhere in that range would likely be the cheapest way into a usable W113 SL and whilst there’s still room for improvement to add value, nothing requires immediate attention so it can be enjoyed at the next owner’s leisure.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.