ALWAYS check your hood!
 

Had a quick late night repair on my recently purchased 500SE euro tonight when I got home from work, did a small tweak to see if I could get it to run better. Whether I dropped the hood down to the safety catch because I thought I would be opening it again or I just didn't shut it hard enough I don't know. Decided to take the car for a short test drive since I couldn't tell for sure if I had made any difference and I didn't want to wake any neighbors... No signs of trouble until almost back to the house from a short spin when BAAM!!! hood flipped all the way back and hit the windshield at about 40 miles per hour! Thank god for several things, the windshield is fine, I pulled over safely into the grass median, and I got the hood closed. So much for a nearly perfect body and I can't tell if it's salvageable yet but at least the hood isn't different on euro models afaik. Bent crosswise in the middle and also bent one of the hinges, paint popped in a few places but it latches securely and is drivable for now. I'll post some pics up tomorrow since its about 1230am here right now:( You can sure as hell bet from now on I'm going to double check a hood is closed after working on a car before driving it from now on!

That's a shame, John. I hate it when I do stuff like that. Hope you can find another hood for it soon.

gotta love those mercedes engineered hinges.

Same thing happened to me while piloting a 190E destined to the scrap yard. The front bumper and core support were trashed so we had to wire the hood closed with some ... speaker wire we found in the carcas. We were like.. oh that will hold for the 5 miles... wrong.. 4 miles down the road at 40 mph the hood pops open.. Just as i got off the phone with eagleco(towing me)... saying maybe the hood will hold.. We would have kept going but the hood was like a giant air brake making the caprice wagon work even harder than it should.

yeah, I can't remember if John's parts SEC still has a hood, that would look kinda cool...

I did that on one of my W126s just days after buying it. I'll never forget it. Put on a new cap and rotor, detailed the engine compartment, and for whatever reason didn't slam the hood all the way. The safety catch was rusty, so it never engaged. My wife was about to get on the highway when it popped on her (I wasn't in the car). I had to replace the hood and both hinges - fortunately the glass and fenders were OK. I believe it was about $450 for everything including paint (got the hood from a junkyard and painted it myself). Lesson learned - now I am paranoid and extra cautious EVERY time I open the hood of ANY vehicle.

ouch.. yea, time for a new hood. I always find good w126's in the junkyards so you will be a-ok

now if it was a w116 SD or an SEC hood... you'd be paying big $$$ for one

would an SEC hood fit besides covering the fog lights? (euro fogs are probably bright enough to shine through anyways) There might be one available

They fit, but need fenders, inner fenders, headlamps, slam panels etc etc. So best stick to a SE or SEL one!

damn, so SEL it is... well theres one at the junk yard that has a hood but I can't remember if it's in good shape

email this seller he may have a hood he's in your town.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/pts/637358196.html

somewhat further south a parts car w126 for $175 body in VGC

http://richmond.craigslist.org/pts/610673510.html

oh dude what the hell... :bangin: :icon_rolleyes: :twak:

yeah, that's pretty much how I felt right after it happened... Wounds could use a little more salt though if you have any.