Working on the 1967 Mercedes 250SL Pagoda

Recently, we welcomed a new addition to our Suffolk HQ with this stunning 1967 Mercedes 250SL Pagoda which was recently picked up by our transport coordinator, Tony.

Once safely back at our workshops, the team took their time to take a look through the classic German GT car as part of the cars appraisal, where every inch of the care was carefully inspected and evaluated by the team.

The Pagoda, is truly one of the most beautiful classic Mercedes in the eyes of our team and its always a pleasure to have them on the ramps.

Our technician Jon has been working alongside our new technician Pete to carry out the appraisal of the Pagoda. They worked together to get the car started (as it came in as a non-runner) and into the workshop for the pair to get to work on the car.

The team have checked over the car thoroughly both in and out of the car to get a better idea of its condition and areas which will require attention.

Jon has made extensive notes on the car which are as follows:

”Front number plate damaged, drivers door trim and window channel loose, washers not working (pump runs noisy), engine oil black but level OK, Coolant level low and brown and low antifreeze content, Fuel pipes to inline pump starting to perish, intake pipe unsecured, gear position cable on bulkhead insecure and held on with wire, nearside front brake binding, front anti roll bar link rod bushes starting to perish, handbrake cables slack underneath, slight play in both front king pins, all tyres aged and perishing, spare tyre pre-dates others and flat, front pads 20% worn, discs OK, nearside shows some signs of heat but appear OK, Rear pads 10% worn discs OK, fuel pipes from tank to pump aged and deteriorated, fuel pump at rear leaking and requires repair kit and rebuild, torque up wheel nuts, attend to some items so car can be safely moved out, grease all points on car, play in kingpins now gone, adjust handbrake shoes, top up coolant with water, top up screenwash and inflate spare tyre to correct pressure.”

Jon could then move on to checking a few issues with the classic Mercedes such as the heating in the car but to begin with he needed to sort out some of the trims on the car which had come loose or were fitted incorrectly. He removed the chrome weather strips to adjust the clips and have them fit correctly to the car before refitting back into the doors. With the loose window channel, Jon found correct hardware in our stock to get refitted onto the car and then refit the rubber seal back into place.

He then could move under the bonnet of the car to check the coolant and heater system. Firstly, checking the coolant levels and then running the car up to temperature checking for correct operation but at that point noticed that the heater direction lever was broken. Once the car was up to around 80’c Jon noted that the heater began to warm up in the car somewhat. On road test, Jon also noted that the brakes didn’t feel quite right so the car came back into the workshop for some adjustment – his recommendation for the heater system is a full system flush and replacement thermostat as found with the low level, discoloured coolant with very little antifreeze in the mixture.