I didn't exactly bust my butt over the holidays, but since my last post I've managed to get the engine together and installed. About all that's left is the radiator and some minor wiring hookups. You can see from the pictures below that I still have some of the black spray paint to get rid of.





Last Saturday brought a minor disappointment. I had just finished the valves, installed the valve cover, added oil, and went to turn the engine over on the starter to get the oil circulating. Nothing. Not even a click. I verified that the starter had power from the battery and ignition switch. I pulled the starter and cleaned the solenoid, and got the Bendix to work, but nothing from the motor. So I have a rebuilt on the way. This had silver lining, however. Today I hooked up the exhaust, which was majorly easier with the starter out.

Another thing that I did was to rebuild the shift linkage. After I dropped the engine and trans in, I discovered that you had to move the shifter a good foot to change gears. This was remedied by approximately $70 in parts from Mercedes, available overight. Picture below showing the lower boot, rod bushings, washer, and snap rings. This really takes care of all the wear points in the pre-1972 linkage.



So, some more paint clean-up while I wait for the rebuilt starter ...

__________________
Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe