16th June 2025
From the perspective of a designer’s mind and eyes.
Always a Mercedes
I remember the first time I sat in a fully restored classic Mercedes and then also the time I sat in a near-perfect one that was never restored but beautifully preserved. In both moments, I felt like I was stepping into a time machine and transported back in time, but these two cars carried very different emotive qualities.
I’m not a professional restorer. My background is in design, not mechanics or engineering, but I write this from the perspective of someone who has lived and breathed classic cars since childhood. My father was a car enthusiast and his influence has resulted in car projects being a constant in my life over the last three decades. This obsession and my passion has always centred on Mercedes-Benz.
Restoration can take many forms. It might mean bringing a rust-ridden wreck back from the dead to become a concours winner, or it could simply mean detailing a clean, low-mileage survivor to preserve its charm. I’ve experienced both ends of this spectrum and the common thread throughout has been my unwavering appreciation for originality. That said, my version of originality doesn’t necessarily align with the conventional idea of “how it left the factory.” I’m a designer, after all and I allow myself certain artistic licenses that others are free to disagree with.
Restoring a classic Mercedes is an adventure that is exhilarating and rewarding, yet often daunting and expensive. It’s easy to fall into costly traps or ruin a good car through misguided intentions, so why do it at all?
For some, it’s about reliving memories like restoring a family car that was left to decay. For others, it’s a chance to make a profit by reviving a sought-after model. Then there are those who finally find their dream car in rough condition and see restoration as the only path, and of course, some of us just love the journey. Whatever the reason, one must start by understanding the car’s potential value.
While the decision to buy and restore a car is often a bit impromptu and based on emotions, the ideal scenario is finding a model that is on the cusp of appreciating and being sought after. Then not only will you get a better price and pick of the litter, but you’ll also be able to stock up on the parts you need before they too go up in value and become scarce. If the car is generally in good order, it’s also a good idea to drive it regularly prior to sending it off for restoration. Such time is not only valuable bonding but will give you a better understanding of your car, what needs to be done and in that time you may even find many things you first thought to fix are acceptable or charming by being imperfect.
There’s little point restoring an undesirable or unsaleable model unless sentiment outweighs logic. The math is simple: the value of the finished product must ideally exceed the sum of the purchase price and restoration costs. That’s why ultra-rare models like the 300SL Gullwing or W111 Cabriolets make excellent candidates for full ground-up restorations since these vehicles continue to appreciate significantly. Rarity, desirability and provenance all factor in heavily.
Models like the W113 Pagoda also justify significant investment, as demand for clean examples remains high. By contrast, the R107 SL is far more common and unless it’s a unique or historically significant example, a full restoration might not be financially viable. Instead, the wiser path is to find a well-preserved car that needs only minor cosmetic and mechanical tweaks.
Originality Over Perfection
This leads to a growing trend in the classic car world: originality is often valued more highly than perfection. A 90% original, untouched survivor may hold more value to collectors than a fully restored example. There’s something irreplaceable about factory finishes, materials and assembly, the kind of details you just can’t replicate.
Classic cars, especially Mercedes-Benz, aren’t about speed or modern comforts. They’re about emotion, nostalgia and that intangible “feeling.” That’s why a worn but original leather seat, gently faded wood veneer, or the slight yellowing of a headliners corners can be worth preserving. These natural signs of age, what we call patina, are beautiful to me. Once you restore or replace them, you often lose that character.
One key example is chrome work. Modern chrome plating is done differently and lacks the distinctive blueish hue of original Mercedes chrome, instead appearing more yellow. For me, I can tolerate some minor pitting or dings if it means keeping that authentic tone. Similarly, an engine bay doesn’t need to be sparkling with cadmium-plated gold bling. I prefer a cleaner, subtler look with duller tones and signs of use that tell the story of regular servicing, but still clean enough to eat off.
A nice original engine without all bling from a fresh restoration but still enough cadmium plating to look fresh and clean.
Original factory bright-work with a blue undertone.
My Philosophy
I want my cars to reflect the choices I would have made as their first owner. As an obsessively meticulous person, I treat all my belongings with care. If I had owned one of these cars from day one, it would have remained immaculate without being over-restored, however, some aging is inevitable and that’s part of the story I like.
Finding the Right Car
Much advice is given about how to find the right project: look for matching numbers, avoid rust or leaks and stick to locally delivered cars. While these are valid considerations, I believe they’re not absolute.
In Australia, there’s a longstanding preference for Australian-delivered cars. The argument is that imports from places like England or Hong Kong suffer from rust due to harsh climates and salted roads. That may have once been true, but by the 1980s and ’90s, rust prevention had significantly improved. Today, the condition of the car should matter more than its origin. After all, no Mercedes was ever manufactured in Australia, so where it was delivered initially seems increasingly irrelevant.
Take, for example, a right-hand-drive 280SE Cabriolet. Only around 50 were ever made and reportedly just six made it to Australia. If you hold out for a local car with full paperwork and perfect history, you may be waiting a lifetime. Finding such a car is 90% of the journey so if the opportunity arises, don’t let rust or lack of paperwork put you off a rare, real-deal car.
Having the money is one thing, but sometimes finding the right car is a bigger challenge. Landing a silver W111 cabriolet like this one was all about being in the right place at the right time.
R129 SL cars have finally reached classic status with the firsts cars from 1989 now 36 years old, but a full restoration is unheard of at this point in time. Collectors and investors are instead snapping up near mint low mileage cars and stashing them away.
All SL’s seem destined for their day as a desirable classic and the R230 SL is nearing its lowest point with regards to value. If you really want to get ahead of the curve, then this could be one to start thinking about.
What I Look for First
When inspecting a car, the first thing I look at is the interior. Perhaps it’s my background in design or my passion for interior spaces, but the cabin is where the real magic happens. We spend most of our time inside the car, after all. That tactile connection with your hands on the steering wheel, your eyes on the gauges and the scent of the upholstery is what makes the experience special. The exterior is for others to see as you drive by, but you can’t enjoy the way it looks when you’re behind the wheel. When you have others inside the car, they too experience that immersive feeling as if being in a time machine.
To me, a really good original interior ticks a major box. Bodywork can be repaired to a high standard, even at great cost, but interiors are a different story. Even factory parts can vary. I once bought a genuine Mercedes seat cover for my SL, only to find the texture didn’t match the originals. That created a domino effect where I had to consider replacing every seat cover, and in the end I decided to repair rather than replace. I had a similar issue with the woodwork for my C126 which took seven attempts between four specialist to finally get the correct factory look. Such details can be terribly time consuming and costly but in the end make for excellent tales. It’s these tiny details that most people would never care to notice that make good cars great and great cars exceptional.
Dashboards, in particular, must be crack-free. I’ve never seen a vinyl repair that truly meets my expectations, especially in right-hand-drive models where replacements are near impossible to source. Original dashboards are like gold. Even slight sagging in the seats adds to their authenticity whereas re-padded seats often feel too puffy and lose the comfort and appearance of factory work. Unless the seats are totally collapsed, I prefer keeping some of that well-earned shaping.
About Paint and Colour
Paint is another area where opinions diverge. I have no issue repainting a car and believe it doesn’t always need to match the original colour. Staying true to the factory colour is nice if the car still wears its original paint in good condition, as this can add to the car’s value. But if repainting is needed, why not choose the colour you love, especially if it was an original factory option at the time?
I believe a car should reflect the choices I would have made as its first owner. If I would have ordered it in a different colour back then, why shouldn’t I repaint it that way now? As long as the car is taken back to bare metal and painted properly, I’m happy to have it done. Life’s too short to drive a car in a colour you hate, just to satisfy purists.
Besides, cars appreciate over time. If you repaint it now and enjoy it, you’ll likely find that values continue to rise regardless. Let’s be honest, have you ever heard of someone turning down a Gullwing because it wasn’t in factory colours? Waiting for the perfect spec could mean waiting forever and even if a new buyer wants it in another colour, they can always repaint it.
If someone can afford a Gullwing, they can probably afford to repaint it over and over again.
Adding Options and Extras
After paint and colour choices, the next phase many enthusiasts enjoy is hunting down and adding period-correct options and extras. Most Mercedes models had extensive factory option lists and tracking down those rare extras can be a satisfying part of the journey. These additions can breathe even more life into your car to further enhance both the driving experience and the sense of authenticity.
Now, purists may cringe at the idea of adding features not listed on the original data card. But for me, the key is whether they are genuine Mercedes items from the correct period. I can’t stomach the idea of an aftermarket air-conditioner or modern radio in one of my cars, but a better radio from the same era? I’m fine with that.
I’ve swapped out original black steering wheels for ivory ones where I felt it complemented the interior better. I’ve even changed soft tops from black to blue for aesthetic reasons. These changes remain true to the spirit of the car while improving the overall look and feel, at least in my eyes.
The only upgrade I slightly regret was adding factory headrests to a Pagoda. While headrests were indeed a period option and mind were a perfect match, I now feel that the car looked sleeker without them. Especially with the top down, the headrests interrupt the elegant profile of the car. Unfortunately, once installed, removing them leaves visible holes at the tops of the seats. Still, headrests are undeniably a safety improvement so it’s a trade-off I accept.
Adding these kinds of options is all part of making the car feel like your own. Just be sure to stay honest to the period and avoid straying too far from the car’s original soul.
It better be a Becker.
Matching Numbers and Lessons Learned
I understand the appeal of matching numbers. They matter, especially to serious collectors and they can protect resale value. But it’s more about knowledge and context. Early in my journey, I made the costly and painful mistake of buying a W113 Pagoda with an engine from a W108. I wasn’t told of this by the seller and being a novice it looked correct to me at the time, but it wasn’t. It also had a W108 automatic transmission, swapped in place of the factory manual.
While it was all Mercedes hardware, the driving experience and the car’s value suffered. If the engine and transmission had come from another Pagoda, I might have felt differently. Mercedes did replace engines under warranty, so mismatched numbers don’t automatically mean something’s wrong. It depends on what those numbers actually point to.
That said, changing from manual to automatic or vice versa changes the car’s soul. It alters the driving experience and often devalues the car. The same goes for left-hand to right-hand-drive conversions. Even though driving a left-hand car in Australia isn’t ideal, such conversions can ruin the integrity and feel of a classic.
The Value of Research and Experience
Doing your homework is critical. You need to know what to look for and when to make exceptions. I once missed the deal of a lifetime on a very cheap Gullwing because I wanted one in right-hand drive, not knowing that Mercedes never made them in RHD. That ignorance cost me dearly. That’s why I now place such value on first-hand experience, speaking with experts and seeing as many examples of a particular model as possible. It’s so important to know what you’re buying and in for, so do your due diligence with things like pre-purchase inspections. Having said that, cars do get purchased within minutes of them being listed for sale, or without ever being physically sighted. If you snooze you will definitely lose when it comes to classics that tick all the right boxes. That is why its important to educate yourself as much as possible on the car you want so that you are be ready to pounce at any moment.
At one time I owned nearly ever book on the planet about Mercedes cars. Bad mistakes from inexperience made me determined to be an expert. Today you will find almost everything you need to know online, but it’s still best to physically inspect as as many cars as possible.
Final Thoughts
Restoring a classic Mercedes is never just a financial decision. It’s a dance between passion and logic. I’ve learned that originality is often more precious than perfection, that some flaws are worth cherishing and that the car’s spirit and the way it makes you feel, can’t be captured in spreadsheets.
Ultimately, how far you go and what you can live with depends on your financial situation. A car that needs everything done can quickly become a money pit. It’s only worth diving into if you have deep pockets and the car is truly rare. That said, restoration doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You can stage the work, source parts resourcefully and if you’re handy, save thousands by doing some of it yourself.
So, when you find the car that speaks to you, don’t let rigid rules or minor imperfections hold you back. Embrace the journey and remember: you’re not just restoring a car; you’re preserving a story and preparing it for new chapters to be written by you.
Ultimately, we don’t truly own these cars forever. Classic cars are never just possessions, they’re pieces of rolling history that pass through our hands for a brief moment in time. We are their guardians, entrusted to preserve, enjoy and enhance them during our chapter of ownership. Having perfected each car to my liking and driven them with joy, the final piece of satisfaction comes on the day I pass them on. Each of my cars will leave my care in better condition than when I received it and I can’t wait to see the smile on the face of whoever gets to write the next chapter in their story.
Disclaimer
The information in this review is intended for informational or educational purposes to provide readers an understanding of how something may be seen from a certain design perspective. In this case it is from the view point of WOLF DESIGNS. As design is subjective this review should only be considered as an independent opinion. Information further to being of an opinion is provided to the best of our knowledge based on our own research at the time of doing the review. We cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or inconsistencies and reserve the right to change or update any content as appropriate.
The final responsibility of the design resides with the original manufacturer.