1966 Mercedes-Benz 250SL Pagoda

Seller Ian purchased the car from California-based Beverley Hills Car Club in April 2015, and had it imported to the UK. His friend Chris flew out to inspect the car for him. ‘He’s very experienced in all things classic cars and did me a favour by doing so. His opinion was that it was a very pure and original example, and that it drove very tightly – so we bought it.’

On arrival in the UK, the Pagoda underwent a serious re-commissioning program. ‘We wanted a very nice example and an outstanding car, so undertook everything necessary to ensure it’s a nice and reliable runner. The bodywork and interior are as they were when it was imported. If you look at the pictures of the underside you can see what a solid, and dry car it is.’

Most of the twenty odd grand spent has been on ensuring the engine runs extremely well and the car drives beautifully. The soft-top was replaced and while off, all the chrome work polished. ‘It’s had a lot of care and attention, and drives beautifully’ he says. ‘A lot of work has been done to give the driver pleasure, and I’ve enjoyed a bit of that over the last summer.’

Ian bought the Pagoda for personal use, specifically abroad in Portugal, however for family reasons that’s no longer viable. ‘It’s a shame, climbing into it is like putting on a favourite old suit’ he states. ‘But circumstances change. There’s no point in having your dream car if you’re unable to drive it.’

The odometer currently reads 70,989, which is believed, but not warranted, to be correct and the V5 confirms no former owners in the UK since its 01/08/2018 first registration in this country.

The main benefit of buying a Californian car is clear, for long after a European contemporary would have succumbed to corrosion the body of a West Coast US car should remain dry and without rust or rot.

This Pagoda presents very well indeed. Just popping doors, boot and bonnet reveals solid and clean door shuts, sills, and gutters. On the outside panel fit appears very nice; a glance down each of the car’s long flanks reveals them to be lovely and ripple-free. 

The timeless elegance of the Pagoda’s lines suits the white colour scheme very well and the paint itself remains in very good condition, while the rest of the body is remarkably free of any dings, scrapes or chips, apart from some imperfections on both front and rear valances, which the new owner may wish to rectify.

There’s no pitting or discoloration of chrome work and each of the three-pointed star endowed hubcaps remains in tiptop condition. Each wheel is fitted with Optimo M724 whitewall tyres, which are still in good condition and add to the overall presentation.

The soft-top is still in as-new condition and the colour, a lovely contrast to the exterior and well matched to the blue leather interior. Of course you’ll spend most time driving it with the hood down, but should you so wish for a bit of extra all-weather protection then there’s an extremely smart hard-top also included in the sale. 

You'll also note that this example is not blighted with the US-spec headlights most imported examples seem to wear.

This car’s cabin has a lovely and pleasing patina. Up front the body coloured dashboard is relatively without mark and there’s no tears in the surrounding material. The instruments are all good and matching.

The blue leather is lightly creased, but the seats are still nicely bolstered. Door cards are very good, and the tough weave carpet on the centre tunnel and inner sills still in decent condition. Both mats are showing signs of age, with the driver’s particularly frayed – the new owner may wish to replace these with newer items, but we quite like their shabby chic.

As befits the recently new soft-top, the headlining remains perfect. That of the hardtop is good overall, but as expected with an example this age there are a few small water stains where it meets the windows.

In the short time we have spent with the car, we have identified that the driver's door lock works with the key, but doesn't seem to lock. Oh, and the indicators and the period radio are seemingly non-functioning. These are surely relatively simple and inexpensive issues to fix (the vendor is sure the indicators were working beforehand)? The clock and the delightful courtesy lights work well.

The engine bay has had considerable TLC and is in fine condition. As well as a large number of new parts (see work carried out summary in the History Highlights section, below), there are all new cooling and fuel pipes, as well as rubbers. You’d be proud to pull up, pop the bonnet and show off this car’s wares. It is worth noting that the bonnet stay could do with some fine-tuning to ensure it remains in its intended location when closing the bonnet.

The most significant benefits of this car are gleaned when you look underneath; it’s solid, clean and with very few discernible areas of any surface corrosion. Overall, as with the rest of the body it’s a very positive picture.

It’s not perfect though, lift the rubber mats in the boot and there’s a touch of light surface rust in a couple of isolated areas as well as some light marks (use?) on the loading lip. It’d be worth the new owner having this tidied up (which shouldn’t be too demanding), before it’s allowed to get a grip.

On the road, this SL cruises sweetly. The suspension, cooling and fuel injection system work that’s been carried really benefits the driving experience. It’s poised, with no untoward suspension behaviours or noise, and the 2.5-litre thrums you along smoothly and in relative silence – just as a good example of this should. The brakes & gearbox do their thing, and the rebuilt power steering system is in perfect working order. We think the overall package and the experience of owning and driving this beauty will get better still following further bedding in over its next 100 miles or so.

Ian used Classic & Iconic Cars of Leeds to carry out the work on his Pagoda and as such there are two large invoices for this included in the history file (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. 

Oh what a thoroughly beguiling automobile. As a summer day’s, top-down cruiser there can’t be much that comes close to a Pagoda SL. Imagine yourself behind the wheel, Andy Williams on the radio and the missus wearing a light headscarf in the passenger seat and you’re on your way to soft top nirvana.

This isn’t a concours example by any means – you’d pay much more for one of those – but it is a nicely re-commissioned and extremely presentable example, and one that appears solid and drives in a lovely manner. The thorough touch to its re-commissioning should be enough to reassure you that this is one to be bought and enjoyed.

There’s room for further improvement here and there, but nothing that’s in need of immediate attention so it could be a gradual process to be enjoyed at the next owner’s leisure. We believe that this example will sell for between £46,000-£54,000, and anywhere within that range will represent a very good price for lovely example.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here at The Market HQ in 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’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

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