Merc 280 SL Pagoda (1973) a ‘museum piece’
Dieter and Karl Böck show off their family heirloom, the beautiful Mercedes-Benz 280 SL Pagoda.
In the Krugersdorp News’ sixth edition of Wheels of the West Rand series, Dieter and Karl Böck introduced the automotive heirloom in their family, the iconic 1973 Mercedes-Benz 280 SL Pagoda.
Karl said his grandfather paid R40 000 back in the day to acquire this museum piece. A couple of years ago, when his grandfather passed, his father honoured his grandfather by restoring the car to an almost 100% original condition.
“We redid the interior and disassembled the entire engine to do some preventative maintenance, like checking for rust in it, and replacing all the rubber and plastic parts, as with age, they get brittle and break. Almost everything is original, except the radio and little things like a little plastic part on the gear leaver, where we had to improvise and 3D print it,” Karl said.
Dieter said his favourite characteristic of the car is that it is an attention grabber and that people always love it.
He continued they could not ruin the aesthetics of the interior with a modern radio, but wanted the perks of a modern one, where they installed a retro-style one.
The News took the car for a spin, and there is one thing that stood out … the flamboyance and elegance it has.
The car has a straight six engine, with an automatic transition, and when it was new, the car had 125 kW of power and had a top speed of 200km per hour.
“The acceleration for today’s standards is a bit lacking in performance by its straight-six engine but is made up by the fact that you know you’re in one of the most beautiful cars ever produced, and no level of performance can top that.
“The car has a removable hard top and soft top, where it is a necessity to have it down to ‘have the Pagoda experience’,” journalist Heinrich Greyling said.
“The steering wheel is a tell that the car is from the glory days of automotive design, where it is as thin as a highlighter but as sturdy as a bull. The headlights of the car are iconic and paired with the candy red of the car, almost anyone would agree, that this car is a timeless classic.”
Karl concluded that this legendary 280 SL Pagoda meant a lot to his grandfather, and now, it means a lot to his father and himself.
If any petrolhead wants to show off their classic, unique, exotic, or rare cars, send an email to heinrich@caxton.co.za.
