The project
Pagoda-roof SLs are notorious for rust hidden behind the front floor jacking points and inside the rear wheel arches, and this car was no exception — full media blasting revealed both jacking-point boxes needed complete replacement along with a rear arch repair on the passenger side. The inline-six was rebuilt to factory specification, and both the steel "pagoda" hardtop and the folding soft top were restored and fitted together to confirm correct factory panel-gap alignment between the two, a detail judges specifically check on this model.
Correct factory panel gaps between the hardtop and the windshield frame were confirmed with both roofs on the car before final paint was signed off.