Yesterday my friend's little kids were messing around and they accidentally pulled my hood star off of my 83 300SD. I saw them messing with it, but didn't say anything. I know this is unusual for a benz owner, but I don't usually jealously guard my car; in this case, maybe I should have. They weren't pulling on it really hard, so I think it was on its way out already. Better there in the parking lot of a restaurant then on the highway or in the hands of a vandal.

Anyway, when it fell off, I heard a clank under the car, but when I looked, all I see is a sort of U shaped metal bracket. There must have been some kind of pin holding the whole thing on and maybe some other parts to hold the tension. When I got home, I tried to improvise with a paper clip through the end of the spring and the U shaped bracket, but it doesn't seem I am able to stretch the spring enough to get it on with enough tension for it to stand up or hold tightly in place.

Does anyone have a picture of all of the parts in the hood star assembly so that I can see what I might be missing? I don't really care enough to buy a new one, but the gaping hole in the hood kind of bothers me, so I need to do something.

Thanks

P.S. I searched already but didn't find the info I need, since I don't know if I actually have all the parts or not, and the descriptions people gave were kind of cryptic. If you know of a thread to direct me to, I'd be happy to look at it.

__________________