Showcasing the Mercedes Benz 230 SL. Includes Bond style action shots, view of driver from rear view mirror, views of car on racing circuit, interiors, exteriors and How tos.
That's a fast little car, and the suspension is excellient. It's really good looking, very good ad, i enjoy watching these older car showcases, they don't make them like they used to
I own a 1969 Pagoda 280 SL and love it, first car I ever purchased that will actually increase in value. Great toy to have in ones garage :) Great comercial (made in the 60s) as Jeremy C. of TopGear said in Season 3 Episode 8, that is when Mercedes still build nice cars.
i own a very rare model of this, 1965 230 sl 3 seat automatic in bright red non the less... not US spec either it was imported from germany unfortunatly my dad is always rapped up with work it just sits in the garage. were getting it fixed this week (new oil pan, 2 tires, a headlight, and battery)
The mechanical fuel injection took a number of turns of the engine to start. The battery had to be in top condition otherwise it would not start. The higher compression did not help in starting. The only plus it had over the Jag XKE was the fuel injection - which was also complicated. Removing the contact breaker points and replacing them with a breaker-less electronic ignition unit is a must. The engine idles well then and the response is far greater.
What a beautiful car. The Germans were always the great innovators and still are. It was a German who invented the diesel engine. Sadly MB don't have the same build quality they did till about the early 90's.
I is poor to drive in the manual & non-power steered versions. The running gear was taken from a 220 sedan donor car. It was basically a modified chassis and a new body with aluminum doors hood and truck lids. Compared to the Jagr XKE it was lame and never stood a chance. The XKE looked like a racing car, while this looked like an old man's car. Although the looks were fine and quite special for the time. The body was made to look slim by using chrome strips under the doors - clever.
I very much doubt you know know what I mean when I say build quality as you probably be able to tell the difference between the two. fyi I have an S420 W140 shape.
This car was over-engineered. Yes it was well made but it was astonishingly expensive, very heavy for a small sports car and rather under-powered for exotica. It was an icon but cost much more than the e-type, heavier and with much poorer performance. I am surprised that it sold at all.
They should have paid more attention to detail and put in a proper engine not a sedan engine played about with. The ball steering was not precise. I would not attempt to throw it around corners at all. It was not good at cornering. In the manual the gear ratios were atrocious. I had the impression it was rushed out to compete with the Jag XKE.
Tobad Mercedes has such quality issues today,the cars are nice but reliability is quite low, GM,Ford ,Honda all do better, just google Mercedes problems and you'll see what I mean, The cars are over priced for what one gets.
