Silchester Garage

General information

We are proud to be referred as one of the best on our field, and top specialists in restoring Mercedes Pagoda and Mercedes SL, with hundreds of units already restored. Our staffs are craftsman dedicated to providing the finest quality work possible, like our master upholsterer, who has played this role has now gone 25 years, and was apprenticed to the famous trimmers Milman & White of Winchester. However, throw the years we have been employing and training young technicians to keep these skills alive.

Since the year 2000 we have dedicated ourselves to a “Pagoda passion”. Mercedes are incredible well engineered what makes a great pleasure to work on, but not always the easiest to repair

After almost 10 years of running the garage as Garage Manager, Paulo Custódio acquires the company in 2001 and he is the sole owner and director of Silchester Garage LTD.
Starting his early days working in his family bodyshop in Portugal, where he spent the early years of his life and using the bodyshop as his playground. Paulo got a great knowledge about bodywork and spray, and he believes that understands very well the reaction of metal and oxygen in the presence of water or air moisture, what everyone calls Rust.Because of the salt that we are used to find in UK roads, cars metal tends to rust more quickly as a result of electro-chemical reactions. But with our experience we can repair and rust proof these great motor cars better than anybody else.

Paulo and some of major staff have almost 30 years of experience working in motor trade as Sprayer, Panel Beater and Mechanics. Paulo himself, during the 70’s and the 80’s, he restored some Ponton’s or Fintail’s, and repaired some Mercedes Série w111, and as well the famous taxi W114, or the w123 that came later on. All those cars share a great amount of parts and technologies with the w113 or the w107, so he was in is environment when he started this venture of “Pagoda passion” late on 2001.Throw the last few years Paulo has been a hands-on Manager, done himself several amount of restorations, re-panelling or spraying complete body shells, stripping and re-fitting all the mechanical components diagnosing faults or electric problems, or even fitting interior components. More than a job, it’s a passion. Having a knowledge encyclopaedia about Pagoda’s, Paulo is the key for all his technicians at Silchester Garage.