Good job on the bumper ~ eventually you'll find a better center section .

Looks great now .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Steering wheel and hub swapped. I now have two so will be restoring the worse one, the other one has more cracks but has a very nice horn pad. Like this wheel much more than the padded one.

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Getting the wheel proper restored is easy, I highly recommend white or off white because it's cooler in Summer and lasts far longer .

I have a steering wheel like this in a bit better shape , I paid $75 for it .

I'd be happy to sell it on.....

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Thanks I may be interested, I am going to restore one of them the other is actually nicer but I might can use a third one.
I also was thinking about painting it body color since I will be buying a quart for blending.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays.

Semi Restored one of the wheels to a body color, which is Light Ivory any way so like the contrast in the interior.

Also the car made it's first trip to get fuel on it's own in 15 years this week. Seems to be running well, going through broken vacuum lines and electrical issues now.

Have really been thinking hard about adding a W123 Wagon now though to be able to haul the dogs and everyone in.

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Sounds good, how far did you drive it and how fast ? .

X-Mass is past, New Years to come, we're managing well so far .

It rained heavily in Los Angeles last night, flooded and closed several freeways, snowed on both major passes into So. Cal. causing them to close down too .

Your car is looking nice .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

I took it up to about 75. Not too far, 10 miles maybe, it still is not registered.

We had rain until Tuesday, been really nice

That sounds like a good test drive to me .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Hope everyone had a great new years.

I finally re padded the passenger seat, my German Shepherd approves.

Also took all the door panels out, greased the window tracks and found a broken vacuum line in the drivers door so orders placed for that to hopefully tackle vacuum next. While the panels were out cleaned them and polished all the chrome.

Cleaned out the trunk and put some treatment on it and hit it with some black paint.

Next will be new motor mounts and Transmission mounts. After that I think it will be ready for daily use.

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If Fido likes it you're good to go .

FWIW, the Mercedes Classic Center now has new rubber trunk mats for this car....

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

I advise against rubber trunk mats. They tend to trap moisture between them and the sheet metal. They can promote rusting of the boot floor. The foam padded carpet pieces are a better choice.

__________________
“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

Thanks,
I have actually been pondering a hardwood floor type set up in it. It is pretty dry in the trunk so either that or some sort of mat.

Yes, rubber mats anywhere in any vehicle tend to promote rust .

I learned this the hard way in the 1970's .

Nevertheless, a Mercedes shouldn't have ingress of water to the trunk....

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Still plugging away. Replaced the engine mounts, I think they were due. It solved the at idle and coming to a stop vibrations but still have one at speed so guessing either driveshaft or transmission mount which I have and will replace tomorrow. I am stunned the car was not more of a rattle trap with how the drivers side mount was. Came out in 4 parts.
Passenger side mount was easy but the drivers side sucked, broke the vacuum T feeding the inside of the car so will have to deal with that now.
Replaced the accelerator bushing at the transmission, seems to shift a little higher than without a bushing but I suspect that it is getting an accurate read now.

Lots of small things have been replaced or restored now and it has been running great since the tank was boiled.

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Yup, the LH side mounts are usually deteriorated due to diesel fuel and power steering fluid leaks. Seems to be a fact of life with the design. I've tried to forestall the problem by installing a heat shield such as is on the RH side of the engine but it didn't make any difference to longevity.

Keeping the rubber clean and dry seems to be the only solution.

__________________
“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now