Here are the before pictures:
http://s284.photobucket.com/albums/ll4/pwogaman/1980%20Mercedes%20280SL/
All I have to do is replace the rusted frame and body. Seriously though it does need new front fenders, the first of which I just bought off eBay for $125. If I slammed on the brakes with the existing fenders I figure the headlights would come flying out - one of them is held on with 1 screw. Just the same, the prior owner gave me the euro headlights.
It looks as if the rust is pretty much limited to the fenders and quarter panels. Since I have my own mig welder changing that out should not be too difficult. The rest of the body looks sound and straight: no rust in the pans or the structurals. I figure the massive fender rust came from prior owner filling rust holes with fiberglass and bondo - without cutting out or sealing the existing rust.
I got the 280 because it is a Euro, and I figured I start my first MB gaser with a smaller engine that is easier to work on with room in the engine bay, much like my 300SD with the 5 cylinder 617.95. The engine sounds good and strong (and loud with an exhaust leak. The prior owner's records reflect about 150 compression.
While the mileage reads 217K, I know that is off significantly. The car lived its first 50-60K kilometers in Germany as indicated in the service stamp books. It then came to the U.S. and a used replacement speedo-cluster was put in (even has the U.S. O2 sensor light). Looking back through the records the lowest mile mileage I could find is 192K. So, best case the lowest mileage would be about 25K on the replacement speedo and 50-60K kilometers on the original for a total of approximately 75K miles. In any event, it probably is not above 100K.
This will be an extensive restoration. I already took 98 pictures in the as received condition and will post them once I size them down to shop forum limitations. I will also take many as I go.
Picking up the car was a bit of an adventure. Powerpig gave me a ride to get it and drive it home. Unfortunately the alternator was not charging and the battery was totally dead (unlike the one that was in it when I bought it). Piggy and I decided to leave the car and I would come back later with a tow dolly, but before we left a caravan of about 40 exotic cars came racing down this little curvy road: Porsches (loads of them), BMWs, Lotus', Ferraris, a couple of Mercedes, etc . . .
U-haul didn't have any tow dollys, so they gave me a full trailer for the same price. I brought another battery and jumpers and returned to the car. Wouldn't you know it! My other battery was dead too. And because I was in the mini-van for the tow I didn't have tools to take its battery out for the load. Being at least an hour from home I really didn't feel like driving the full trailer back to get more tools or another battery. What I ended up doing, however, was putting the mini-van with the trailer at the bottom of a slight hill and set up the trailer ramps. I nexted pushed the 280 back, about 4 inches at a time, until itl was lined up with the trailer. I then pushed down the hill and up on the trailer. I had one shot and I got it about 90% of the way loaded: the rear wheels were just barely hanging on the ramps. I used the minivan jack to raise the rear wheels and slipped flat fence posts underneath and then leveraging up the rest of the way. What a way to spend an hour!
Once I got home I used another battery, which I knew worked, to get it off the trailer and into the driveway. The damn thing didn't work again! After about two minutes I figured we had the terminal leads mixed up.
