1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SL W113 Fuel Injected Roadster - By Owner

Here up for bids on eBay is a 1970 Mercedes Benz 280SL 113 chassis, six cylinder 2.8L fuel injected automobile. Owned since 1994 by a long time Mercedes Benz Club of America member. The car is a Euro model originally sold in Stuttgart, Germany and brought to the United States in 1983 by a Tennessee collector. In 1993 the car was sold to a North Carolina collector who passed away unexpectedly in 1994, at which point I purchased it. The car comes with the original registration booklet (the Kraftfahrzeugbrief) that accompanied the car through its life in Germany, and traces its owners, purchase dates and other interesting information.The car has covered approximately 15,000 Km (9,000 miles) since I purchased it, and has been garaged and covered when not being driven. Note I did not provide car's mileage in the Item Specifics section, as I’ve not been able to confirm it. Based on the previous owner’s title, the car had 101,421 Km (approx 62,000 miles) when I purchased it. However I suspect the car’s mileage is higher, given the Mercedes odometers from this era turn over back to zero once they reach 99,999.
This 280SL has a number of desirable features, including the higher output Euro engine (195HP versus 180HP for the US model), 3.69 rear axle ratio (lower engine revs on the highway), factory installed fog lights and chromed garnish mouldings on the hardtop (required for mounting a ski rack or other options on the roof).
Paint is a stunning tunis beige metallic #462 complimented by the dark green interior #134. The car appears to have been resprayed once, and the paint is in very good condition with excellent depth and gloss. The front of the car shows signs of earlier bodywork; the “notch” at each of the headlight chrome surround was not reproduced. Also the left front fender has been replaced. The hood is in excellent condition, and the body number stamped into it matches the car’s body number. The aluminum soft top lid has some minor damage at the end where the top’s hinges hit it when a previous owner didn't close it correctly (please see the high resolution Flickr photos).
The interior is original, and is in good overall condition, though the carpet and seats do show signs of wear. The passenger side foot well carpet piece has been replaced, but I’ll provide the original with the car. The car has all the chrome trim pieces, which are in very good overall condition.
The hardtop is in very good condition and the body number stamped into the hardtop matches the car’s body number.. The soft top was replaced and frame was refurbished just last year by SL Tech in Maine.
The car does have some hidden rust, most notably on the right front fender. This is why the chrome wheel surround was installed; to hide some rust through on the lip of the fender. The other fenders do not appear to have this issue. Additionally some paint is bubbling at the left and right rear corners, near the tail lights / rear bumpers (please see the high resolution Flickr photos). The passenger compartment floor and trunk floor, two other areas susceptible to rust on these cars, are sound and do not appear to have rust issues. Overall however, the car looks very nice and these issues are not noticeable unless the car is examined closely.
The drive train, exhaust system, suspension, brakes, lights, electrical system and gauges are in very good condition and all function correctly. The car drives wonderfully and has that solid “Mercedes” feel to it. The engine idles and accelerates well with no smoke or excessive oil consumption, and the automatic transmission shifts precisely. I recently checked engine cylinders compression and all were well within factory specification. Note the engine number stamped into the block matches the car's original factory build card.
All receipts and routine maintenance work have been meticulously documented since I’ve owned the car, and are contained in a binder that will go to the new owner, along with the owner's manual and three sets of keys.
All the fluids have been replaced recently and a new set of Michelin tires were installed this past October. The car is ready to be picked up and driven anywhere!
For the complete set of high resolution photos, please use the following Flickr link and view the slide show.

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