1966 MERCEDESBENZ 230SL
Mike nearly sold his SL when he discovered major rust but decided to fix it instead
‘I wasn’t looking for an SL – I was looking for a new everyday car – but I stumbled upon the advert. I remembered my uncle having one when they were new and it had always been my late mum’s favourite car, so I went to go and have a look at it as a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing and really liked it. In hindsight I should have got someone to check it out for me first but my heart ruled my head. I hadn’t had a Mercedes-Benz before this – a few interesting cars like a Matra- Simca Bagheera, but this was my first proper classic.
‘I found out that it wasn’t in fantastic condition not long after I bought it. It wouldn’t even go over 60mph when we first got it so it had quite a bit done at the start, including the brakes too. That was nearly 20 years ago.
‘It looked good on the outside, but I knew that there were some rust issues, so I took it to the SL Shop in November 2018 so they could tell me how much it would cost to put right. The inspection was scheduled to last four hours so I went off to the nearby British Motor Museum for a bit. Then they called me within the hour and said: “You really ought to come and see this…”
‘They had put the car up on a ramp and managed to put a ballpoint pen through one of the chassis rails while poking around. They told me in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t to drive the car home whether they did the work or not, because one touch from behind and it would apparently just fold up.
‘The price they quoted to do all the work was far more than the cost of buying a car that had already been restored, so I was in turmoil whether to sell it and buy another, or get it fixed. The more I thought about it, the more
I wanted to keep my car, and the SL Shop suggested sending it to Poland – it would be much cheaper and more in line with what a restored car would cost. It was still a lot more than I initially imagined I’d be paying, but it made the decision easier.
‘The initial estimate was 14 months, but it took nearly two years in the end as COVID slowed everything down. I eventually got it back last September. I only got in a couple of summer drives before winter and this year’s London to Brighton Classic Car Run was the first event I did with it since its restoration. The car looks stunning and seemed to draw crowds. It is back in its original colour – I didn’t know metallic paint even existed in the 1960s, but this car had it.
‘Unfortunately, the new oil rings failed on that journey and it started smoking so the SL Shop collected it and is working on it
now. That scrapped the rest of our event plans, however.
‘ We’re hoping for a few sunny days at the end of this year so we can drive it a bit more, of course. I’ve never been tempted to sell it – I have had a few offers, but have always wanted to keep it. My dream was to sort it once and for all, and when I finally had the means to do that, I made sure it happened. I’m not getting any younger and it’s nice to have it to look forward to when I retire.