My Custom 1980 W116 300SD Project - Page 5 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

-=DeanstuD=- · #61 11-20-2010, 06:08 PM

It is looking great! I noticed your washington plates, and I wanted to let you know you can get collector car plates for that car, and never have to renew your reg again! I just learned about it myself and will swap over to collector once mine expire./..

Squiggle Dog · #62 11-20-2010, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieselman

Here is a short video of my interior conversion....I am glad I like it!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_82Wua2m57I

Oh my, that is AMAZING!

That is one of the coolest interiors I have ever seen! I am going to two-tone my interior that same way, only I'll be using tan and brown MB-Tex. Good, good job on that interior. I really like it. You've even got the proper switchless console wood!

You need to post that video here: http://forum.w116.org/interiors-and-exteriors/

Squiggle Dog · #63 11-20-2010, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -=DeanstuD=-

It is looking great! I noticed your washington plates, and I wanted to let you know you can get collector car plates for that car, and never have to renew your reg again! I just learned about it myself and will swap over to collector once mine expire./..

I would like to go the collector plate route but I guess you're not supposed to use collector plates on a car that is your main transportation, though I do currently have two cars.

Squiggle Dog · #64 12-11-2010, 09:07 PM

I bought some brown interior parts from bgiovan so I can two-tone my interior. I had thought about having new two-tone seat skins made by GAHH or World Upholstery, but it would have been pricey and that's not including any extra labor costs to make two-tone skins. Then I would still need seat nets and door panels.

The foam in the brown front door panel inserts have broken down but they aren't wrinkled and still look pretty decent, so for now I will use them as-is. I picked out the 4 best tan door panels, cleaned them up, and installed the brown inserts. I really, really like the look.

I converted my car to manual windows so I needed to add some holes for the regulators. There is no need to put holes in the rear door panels, as they already have rectangular holes where the window switches used to attach. To make the holes I started with the centermost perforation behind the hole in the pressboard. I did a test fit on the door to make sure that it was in the right place. Then I took a razor and cut one perforation out, toward the center perforation, making a "+", NOT an "x". This way you get a larger opening and the opening will be undetectable should you decide to go back to power windows.

Here you can see the opening I made. When I remove my finger the opening closes and can not be noticed. If you were to go back to power windows you would no longer be able to see the opening, especially if you applied some adhesive to the foam behind the vinyl to keep it in place.

Here is the door panel in place with the window regulator shaft pushed through. Then I tucked the edges back in and out of the way. The location of the opening I cut was perfect.

I didn't get a chance today to finish installing the door panel as it started to get dark at 4 PM and was raining hard. Also, as I was on my way to the shed in the back yard, as I was dodging puddles and stepping across high spots, I stumbled and after trying to keep myself from falling into the water, I jumped sideways and my foot landed on a piece of wood that had a long nail in it. The nail went into my shoe, into my foot, and stopped when it hit the bone. It was difficult to pull the nail out of my foot as the nail was curved. So tomorrow I will continue.

TheDon · #65 12-11-2010, 09:17 PM

Very cool.

I really like the 200D

Squiggle Dog · #66 12-11-2010, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDon

Very cool.

I really like the 200D

Thanks! It's really nice having two cars, both of which are reliable. But I always keep thinking of what I could do with the 300SD if I got money from selling the 200D (maybe I could start saving for a paint job, ha). But I haven't been able to get a fair price out of the 200D yet, so I'm hanging onto it until I find someone who really wants it.

Both cars are fun to drive. I alternate between the two cars but usually take the 200D for long trips because it's great on fuel and loves the freeway. Also, the 200D has a lot more trunk space than the 300SD.

Squiggle Dog · #67 12-12-2010, 09:03 PM

Today I installed the front door panels. I can't believe how much better my car looks with them. I also installed the passenger side window glass with the Blaupunkt sticker to match the driver side. And I attached a passenger side rear view mirror, so the 300SD looks much more symmetrical. We got about 2.5 inches of rain today but I still got it done. At least all of the rain tends to keep the temperature above freezing.

Zacharias · #68 12-12-2010, 10:54 PM

Very nice touch. Hey is this the car that you had on eBay a while back?

Or maybe I have you confused with someone else

suginami · #69 12-12-2010, 11:05 PM

Man, you're right. Those two-tone panels look great! Even better than new.

ashedd · #70 12-12-2010, 11:19 PM

wait a min wait a min wait a min

You stepped on a nail and a bone stopped it?!?!?!

Are you ok?

The two tone brown/tan interior reminds me of a crown vic I use to have, '96 I think.

Squiggle Dog · #71 12-12-2010, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zacharias

Very nice touch. Hey is this the car that you had on eBay a while back?

Or maybe I have you confused with someone else

I had a 1979 300SD on eBay. I put a lot of time into it but ended up only getting about $700 after eBay and PayPal fees.

I sold it because I was going to buy a rust-free fintail with a bad engine to put a turbo diesel engine in it but the deal fell through and I was left with no car and little money, which I why I bought my 1968 200D to be a temporary driver until I got another 300SD. I have really enjoyed the 200D, however.

In the long run I am glad I have my current 300SD. It has less rust than the 1979 and is an original Walnut Brown car, which is my favorite color (and rare). It was repainted to black but I want to have it repainted back to the original brown, with added beige two-tone paint.

Squiggle Dog · #72 12-12-2010, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashedd

wait a min wait a min wait a min

You stepped on a nail and a bone stopped it?!?!?!

Are you ok?

The two tone brown/tan interior reminds me of a crown vic I use to have, '96 I think.

It hurt. More now than it did before, but it's not swollen and hardly bled. I treated it with ointment right after it happened. It sure did go in far and it wouldn't come out at first because it was in at a bit of an angle like it was caught in something. Ouch.

ashedd · #73 12-12-2010, 11:42 PM

Do you have a current tetanus shot? I don't know how important it is, I have a current one thanks to the US govt.

Hope it gets to feeling better. Maybe a saline foot bath would help.

Squiggle Dog · #74 12-19-2010, 08:06 PM

I didn't die of tetanus, so this weekend I installed the rear door panels. They seem a bit harder to install than the fronts and I am always afraid I am going to break off the plastic tabs. I didn't have to cut any holes for the regulator shafts since there are already the rectangular holes where the window switches used to be. Those holes are a bit large, though, and the window crank grommets don't completely cover them (though having larger holes does help during installation). While I was replacing the rear door panels I had to replace the left rear door mechanism because that door wouldn't open from the outside, but it does now.

Squiggle Dog · #75 12-19-2010, 08:27 PM

I have a complete manual sunroof from a W123 chassis and I am hoping all of the parts will fit my W116 (to convert from power to manual). I know some of the parts like the roof panel and tracks interchange, but I wonder about the frame itself. W116 chassis manual sunroofs either don't exist or are very rare--I'm still not decided. I even have the correct color headliner panel with the hole for the handle.

I also replaced the antenna so now I get better radio reception. The same car that the antenna came from had a very hard-to-find item; a battery case. It was in good condition and complete except that it was missing one piece of weatherstripping. It looked very familiar and I remembered that the air intake horn for the battery tray (by the louvers under the right headlight) uses this same weatherstripping. The 300SDs have a battery-cooling system where cold air enters from the louvers under the headlight, up through a horn, through a hole in the bottom of the battery tray, around the battery, then out through a vent in the case. This keeps the battery from overheating and it also insulates it from extreme cold.

I put in some original and correct size rear speakers and the proper covers.

I have to admit that I'm a bit overwhelmed with all of the work the car needs, but at least it's getting better. Almost everything mechanical on this vehicle is worn out if I haven't already replaced it. I had steering wheel shake and got an alignment at a shop that was recommended by my local independent Mercedes repair shop. They said that all of the front end parts are in great shape and the wheels are balanced, but that my steering box is worn out. That explains the slop, but I'm not sure about the rocking motion my steering wheel makes when I'm putting slight pressure on the steering wheel to make a turn.

The transmission is still getting me around, but it slips a lot more in this cold weather. The turbocharger is dead and I noticed that the oil cooler is starting to leak. Then today I noticed that my wiper arms felt like they were going to come off, so I'll have to replace the wiper assembly soon. I guess that's to be expected on a car with about 400,000 miles, but most of the worn out parts were advertised as "just replaced" by the previous owner, when in fact they were in need of immediate replacement. I wish I could get my 1968 200D sold for a decent price so I could put a bunch of money into the car. The paint is horrible and large sections of clear coat peels off daily. I wouldn't mind because then I could buff the paint underneath, but the colored paint is fish-eyed.