A superbly cared for W198 from new, this final year of production 300 SL Coupe has been recognized for decades on the concours show field for its correctness and condition. This Mercedes-Benz' story survives in vivid detail through an unusually comprehensive history file, replete with original correspondence, detailed service records, and period photographs. This matching numbers Gullwing presents today in spectacular DB 353 silver blue metallic over blue plaid fabric with date coded Rudge wheels and desirable wood Nardi steering wheel. Fully sorted and ready for show or touring use.
Highlights
- Extensively documented concours winning W198
- Delivered new January 2, 1957, to Tripoli, Libya
- Matching numbers
- Chassis no. 198.040-6500300
- Engine no. 198.980-6500305
- Body no. 198.040-6500296
- Finished in DB 353 silver blue metallic
- Blue plaid fabric blue vinyl upholstery
- Concours restoration by Bob Smith Coachworks
- 36 years of single-family ownership, 1968–2004
- 17 concours show awards incl. four Best of Show
- Date coded Rudge wheels
- Upgraded w/ NSL sport camshaft
- Hundreds of pages of detailed documentation
- Detailed mainenance logs spanning decades
- Detailed restoration invoices
- Period photo slides and photographs
- Copy of factory data cards
- Books, tools and jack
Details Matter
Factory build specifications
According to the Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft factory data cards (Lieferschein No. 20), issued at Stuttgart-Untertürkheim and addressed to a firm in Tripoli, Libya, 300 SL Coupé 198.040-6500300 had commission number 823160, engine number 198.980-6500305, and body number 198.040-6500296. The original exterior finish is listed as Feuerwehrrot, DB 534, and the upholstery as cream leather, recorded as “Leder creme 1060/A.-T.” with the additional notation “creme L 2.” The delivery date for the car is noted as January 2, 1957.
The Gullwing’s principal running-gear is identified as transmission 341, left and right front axle components 313 and 319, with rear axle 326. It was specified new with a set of five Dunlop 6.50–15 tires, annotated “S. Sport,” mounted on 5 K × 15 wheels, together with Bosch headlamps and a Bosch 12-volt battery. Further entries record DB 370 steering, steering lock F 114, door, fuel-tank, and luggage locks keyed AD 33, and windshield wipers entered as “Avog.” The shipping method was given as “Achse K,” and the odometer reading at delivery was 56 kilometers.
The factory special equipment records special upholstery (Sonderpolsterung), instruments with English-language markings (SA 976-198,1009), and a windshield washer system (Scheibenwaschanlage). Supplied loose with the car were an angled oil dipstick and wheel-balancing weights (SA 10108), together with 1 kg of touch-up paint. English-marked instruments are noteworthy for a car delivered new to North Africa.
Decades of devoted ownership, distinguished concours recognition, and exceptional record keeping
300SL Gullwing Coupe chassis 198.040-6500300, delivered new in January 1957 to Tripoli, Libya, distinguishes itself as a top tier example of the W198 Coupe in many ways. Notably, the car comes with an unusually deep and detailed history file containing hundreds of pages of documentation including factory data cards, early ownership correspondence, a handwritten 1968 bill of sale, meticulous maintenance records, restoration invoices and payment records, club membership cards, and an extensive collection of photographic slides/photographs spanning decades. Together, these materials tell the story of a Gullwing that was unusually well-kept, and one that was repeatedly recognized within the Mercedes-Benz and collector-car communities.
The preserved concours show history records class wins and major awards long before its substantial 1994–95 restoration by Bob Smith Coachworks, which itself yielded further Best of Show recognition thereafter. Chassis 6500300 is not only a superbly kept 300SL Gullwing today, it has always been one since the day it was delivered new.
An ownership history preserved in remarkable detail
As stated, Chassis 6500300 began life far from the American roads it would later call home. According to its factory data card, the Gullwing was delivered new on January 2, 1957, to Tripoli, Libya, to a recipient whose name is simply acknowledged as “Development.” Who exactly special ordered the Gullwing and how the car traveled from Libya to Southern California is not yet documented, leaving historical intrigue left to be found, but by 1959 or 1960, the car was in the hands of the Mercedes-Benz dealer in Hollywood, where its first known American owner bought it.
American ownership
The early American history includes Captain Prentice F. Willis, identified in the accompanying historical notes as an American Airlines pilot. In a surviving letter dated July 22, 1977, Willis recalled purchasing the car in “1959—or possibly 1960” from the Mercedes-Benz dealer in Hollywood, which was located on Sunset Boulevard. His hand-written recollections offer an unusually direct account of the car during its early years. Captain Willis continues:
“The car performed like the jewel that it was,” he wrote, recalling extensive driving and several long trips. He reported that no major work had been required during his ownership and added, on the reverse of the letter, “My wife and I have always been rather sad that we sold the car, but we hope that you enjoy it.” Captain Willis’ words are noteworthy as they are not retrospective sales descriptions, but rather the genuine observations of an earlier owner writing privately to the car’s longest tenured owner at a later date.
On December 14, 1968, Richard M. Larsen sold the Gullwing to Larry Pfitzenmaier for $4,150. The original handwritten bill of sale survives, together with Pfitzenmaier’s purchase notes recording 81,300 miles and the classified advertisement that helped initiate the purchase. Even the handwritten directions associated with Pfitzenmaier finding his way to see the car are retained in the history file.
A follow-up letter from Larsen, dated December 21, 1968, accompanied the title paperwork and concluded, “Hope you’re enjoying it as much as I did.” Pfitzenmaier, himself a military man with a penchant for detailed record keeping, would retain the Gullwing until 2004, a period of nearly 36 years during which its maintenance, enjoyment, improvement, and show participation were documented with extraordinary care. His notes record the addition of Rudge wheels in 1989, a Nardi steering wheel, and a sport camshaft yielding a factory option 15 hp boost to the inline-6 cylinder 198 engine.
In 1994–95, after more than a quarter century of Pfitzenmaier ownership, Bob Smith Coachworks of Gainesville, Texas, undertook a substantial restoration. The historical summary records approximately 110,087 miles at the time of restoration by Smith, while paperwork from the restoration file includes itemized invoices, parts and labor charges, and copies of checks paid during the work. An April 11, 1994 invoice identifies both chassis 6500300 and engine 6500305 and itemizes engine-related parts and 74 hours of engine labor. Further supporting records document this chapter of rejuvenation in fine detail, rather than relying solely on a general statement that “the car was restored.”
The later ownership history includes Michael Scot-Smith of Southern California. In 2014, during his ownership, 300 SL marque expert restorer Rudi & Company of British Columbia carried out a bare-metal repaint in the silver blue metallic finish which punctuates the car’s visual appeal today. According to further ownership documents and bill of sale details, the current owner acquired the car from Scot-Smith on September 5, 2017, with a recorded mileage of 116,468 at that time.
Exceptional record keeping, down to the smallest details
The accompanying archive goes far beyond a collection of invoices. It preserves the habits of an owner who recorded not only the major milestones but also the ordinary work and observations that explain how an automobile was maintained through the years.
Typed and handwritten logs record mileage, servicing, adjustments, fluid changes, replacement parts, operating observations, and show appearances. Entries address such details as spark-plug condition, oil pressure, cooling-system attention, ignition work, and the way the car performed on particular outings. This level of detail gives the history depth and continuity that a later summary alone could never convey.
A handwritten component-number inventory records the chassis, engine, body, transmission, differential, and front spindle numbers, along with identifying information for ancillary equipment. Read alongside the factory data cards and the accompanying Mercedes-Benz correspondence, it illustrates the attention given to preserving the car’s identity as well as its service history.
Mercedes-Benz Club of America membership materials extending from the 1980s into the 2000s further document the Pfitzenmaiers’ sustained involvement with the marque. A substantial boxed collection of mounted photographic slides adds a visual dimension to the written record, including period gatherings and a slide bearing an October 1971 processing date and the notation “43 300SL’s.”
Even small, human details remain. A note preserved from the beginning of Pfitzenmaier’s ownership records a courteous warning from Shore Patrol about backing into a parking space on base. Its survival says something about the archive as a whole: this was a car whose owner considered even the incidental moments worth keeping.
Recognized long before its restoration
The preserved car-show history lists 17 awards between 1979 and 1997, with 15 of those awards preceding completion of the Bob Smith Coachworks restoration in 1995. That distinction is important. It establishes a record of appreciation and recognition over many years, rather than a reputation created only after a major refurbishment, which yields a conclusion that chassis 6500300 is best classified as a car that has always been a top tier 300 SL Gullwing.
The car’s show career began in California at the Santa Barbara Concours in 1979 (First in Class), followed by the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, Channel Island Section, Clean Car Show on January 19, 1980 (People’s Choice). By 1982, it had become a regular presence at shows in Virginia and Maryland, including the Gunston Hall Car Show in 1982 (Best of Marque) and the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, Greater Washington Section, show that same year (First Place Sports). It returned to Gunston Hall in 1983 (Best of Marque and First Place Sports).
In 1984, the car appeared at the Sports Car Collectors Society of America show at the Crofton Country Club in Crofton, Maryland, on June 3 (Best in Class) and at the Deutch Marque Concours in Virginia on July 1 (First Place). It returned to Crofton on June 2, 1985 (Best in Class) and that year also appeared at the German Car Fest in Richmond, Virginia (Best of Show). Further recognition followed at Gunston Hall in 1986 (Best of Marque), the German Car Fest in Richmond in 1988 (Best of Show), and the Baltimore Concours d’Elegance on May 13, 1989 (First in Class). In 1991, it appeared at the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, Mid-Atlantic Section, Concours d’Elegance on August 11 (People’s Choice) and at the Gull Wing Group National Convention in Long Branch, New Jersey (Second in Class).
Following the restoration, the car appeared at the Mercedes-Benz Club of America Proud Heritage Show in Detroit, Michigan, in 1996 (Best of Show) and at the Gull Wing Group National Convention in Door County, Wisconsin, in 1997 (Best of Show).
A Gullwing with a history worth preserving
What distinguishes this 300SL is a confluence of desirable qualities, beginning first and foremost with the condition the car remains in today, one ready for show or touring use. The combination of long-term stewardship, sustained enthusiast involvement, repeated concours recognition, and an exceptionally rich documentary record that its history file preserves add incredible depth to the story of chassis 6500300. It is not merely an accounting of what was spent, but also how the car was enjoyed, how its behavior was monitored, and how highly successive owners regarded it.
For the collector who values an automobile’s history as highly as its appearance, chassis 6500300 offers a particularly engaging opportunity. This matching numbers 300 SL Coupe is a long-cherished, repeatedly recognized Gullwing whose story survives in original correspondence, detailed records, and period photographs, allowing the next owner to become the custodian of both the automobile and the remarkable history preserved with it.
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