Project UPS has begun
 

Bought the car sight unseen, except for a couple of pics. Got it home, and finally had a chance to do something to it. After replacing the passenger side glass, it was time to tackle the fender issue. Don't know what he hit, but the fender was wrinkled, headlight assembly was broken, bumper was broken, etc... Good thing I still have Butterball around, he's repaired about 4 cars with his parts so far. I think I'm going ot end up painting the whole car, but not like I want. Just going to tape everything off, vice removing everything. I know, it's not very professional, but it will work. Heck, it's an 83 with 329k miles on it, I can't make it too nice. My other ones will get jealous. Some other thread has a pic of the car when I brought it home, but I don't remember where it is. With a little metal massaging, I got it to fit correctly.

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...Sbumperoff.jpg

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...enderwork1.jpg

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...enderwork2.jpg

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...enderwork4.jpg

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...enderwork5.jpg

hows the body in terms of rust?

hows the motor in terms of blow by?

hows the interior?

I would just paint the fender the orginal color, color code 424, and put it back on the car,

Actually that color code is 480 - Manganese Brown. Same color as my car.

If you were going to part it out, I'd be interested in the straight body parts (like a left fender :wink:) for my car so I don't have to paint them.

Motor and trans are fine. I drove it down the road, and it drives fine too. Interior is not too bad, and I have thought of putting my very nice Palomino interior into it. But, there is a small bit of rust on the rear quarters. So, I don't want to put too much into it. Figured I'd use the nice interior for a rust free car, and then keep that one. I am fixing the accident damage, and the few minor things that are wrong (cut out the tach amp, needs air cleaner bracket, etc) and then it's off to a happy buyer. I was only going to paint the fender (480, manganese brown, correct on Deliveryvalve), but I think I can paint some of the faded paint and make it look ten times better.

interesting I have the precursor to that color made for only 3 years, code 424.

Got the fender painted since it was so nice. Put it on, and boy does the rest of the car need it. Car looks like it's got a smirk on the front, with the bumper misaligned. Something else I'm not going to bother with. Spliced in another tach amp, and the one he had in there originally worked. wonder why he cut the old one out? Here's a pic of it when I first saw it, and the rest are assembly with the painted fender.. BTW, Manganese Brown sucks to paint. It's sort of like a candy, more layers depending on how dark you want it.

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a.../brownside.jpg

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...S/Fenderon.jpg

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a.../fenderon2.jpg

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...brownrfnew.jpg

did you paint it? If you did I think you should paint the rest of the car.

Agreed 79...

I did paint it, but I'm torn about painting the rest of it. If I do, will it be worth the extra money when I sell it? If I don't, will some one buy it like it is? I have thought about giving it a quick respray, but the Benz lover in my wouldn't agree to it. And, I don't have the time to do it properly. Questions.....

I say paint the rest of it too, its VERY obvious.....

My brother's 300D is that exact same color. :D Everyone calls it the "poop car"....not helped by the way he keeps the interior! :o

I say spray the rest of it, too. it's beyond obvious, and doesn't even look like the same colour. Someone out there would love the car with a fresh shiny coat. Document the work with a few photos, and you can even alleviate the fear that some buyers have of fresh paint covering up shoddy body work.

I had to laugh at the "poop car" reference. When my wife and I picked up our Milanbraun 300D, she referred to it as C. diff Brown, in reference to the diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile. Nurses tend to have a twisted sense of humour.

nice choice of name "UPS" since "the turd" was already taken by the previous one ;)

HEY NOW... I work for Big Brown and actually LIKE that color!

The turd...?!? How rude!:mad:

Dude, if you painted that fender yourself and got that good of a result, by all means, finish the job! Take a good set of pictures showing it as is, do the minor body work and prep work and spray away! You can do a decent - read DECENT - not PERFECT - job of it without taking off every piece of trim, etc. It will be worth it. Having the whole car look as good as that one fender would definitely help on the resale - assuming that is what you have in mind for it. Should be able to get an extra $500 or $1000 for it to compensate you for the effort...

You guys are doing a good job of convincing me to paint the whole thing. there is a small amount of sanding to do, mainly on the blistering paint on the hood. I'll have to document the work, of course. Right here in this thread.. Stand by for trim removal and other things to get it prepped.

Good. I was about to break out the frying pan and hit you on the head with it. :D

Removing the trim is a good thing. I've seen paintwork done with trim left in place and masked, and it always seems doomed to fail by peeling at the masking line. Besides, those little red berry trim anchors are cheap as dirt.

That reminds me that I need to order more of those little anchors. My friend caught the fender trim with a seam on his pants a while ago and ripped the fender trim 3/4 of the way off of my car. It's just sort of flapping around now. :rolleyes: