280SE 3.5 coupe resurrection

[Ara T.]

Looks sweet...beautiful wood in the interior.

[kpb]

very nice! I'm hoping you actually have an air filter housing for it, tho. Also, cosmetic food for thought, when you need to replace tires, whitewalls may add a bit of panache. Some like 'em, some hate 'em. I suspect you are gonna love having this ride.

[j9fd3s]

wow, thats nice. i second everyones opinion here, at minimum you should replace the brake hoses and fuel lines. prolly replace the coolant hoses too.

i just did the water hoses on my 109 3.5, it wasnt as hard as i thought it was going to be (i also did the water pump, intake gaskets and seals, and the injector seals), the car runs much much better, and it was seeping coolant from ALL of the old hoses. that whole job i'd say is about a 4/10, with an oil change being a 1 and a full resto/engine efi hot rodding swap at a 10.

mike

[williamsmith707]

Thanks for all the input / compliments, guys. I am more excited every day.

The air cleaner assembly was removed while working on the car, and just not put back for the picture. I agree, whitewalls will be the ticket.

Am very pleased with the overall condition, and am having the brake and fuel lines replaced as we speak. I may have valve seals done now as well. The calipers / discs / etc will be done here, by me. At least, that's the plan. Other rubber parts like suspension bushings, well, I'll have to figure that out as well. I'm sure I'll be asking a million q's here when I'm elbow deep in this baby.

As a side note, I was suprised at the cost to ship a car cross country. Arizona to eastern Tennessee, what, 16-1800 miles?? for $700. I expected it to be more. Couldn't do it any cheaper if I flew out there and drove it back, considering a couple of days off work especially.

This is hard to explain, but I have a vision of my wife & I driving this car... it's as real as a memory of something I did yesterday. I can just see it, gently motoring through the mountains of North Carolina, down to the coast. It's a beautiful thing.

/sappy mode off/

Thanks again, and I will keep y'all posted on my progress.

-Will

[unkl300d]

WOW, that is a fine car!

[Hugin]

Very nice car!

I have bought this one:

MB280SE Coupe

Got it for 10.6K USD, should be a good price (?).
Any comments?

Its a 6-cyl 280SE rust-free, running good, all working-car.

[fever]

I bought my 71 3.5 last summer/fall. I had the engine pulled, heads remilled, chains, rubber, and some other mild cosmetic work done. I drive this three or four days a week right now and it has been bliss. You're going to freaking love this car.

Here it is next to my father's 61 Jag.

[wbain5280]

280SE 3.5 Coupes and Cabrios were never grey market cars. They were imported by MBUSA into the USA.

Unless this car was specifically brought into the USA from another country and brought up to Federal specs, it's not a grey market car.

[tosbt]

Oh Fever! Why don't you post some more pictures of those great autos!
Since mine stays in the shop (as it is now) I need something to inspire me to continue to spend money.

[JMela]

Someday I too will have a 3.5 low-grille coupe in my oriental rug-ed garage.

That's a real purty car, fever.

[williamsmith707]

That rug is a most excellent touch! My garages are currently doubling as my HVAC shop, and no car will fit therein.

Maybe I should start a new thread for this titled Resurrection: Parts Phase or something...
Here goes.

After the short couple of days I have had with this beauty, I have listed a few things I know need replacement, and would like some advice.

Tires are new as of yesterday. Doorplate said 185-14, but car was wearing 3x 205/70/14 and a single 195/70/14. I went with the 205's and they seem to be ok.

The rear suspension seems weighted, like I have an engine block in the trunk. The rear wheels, especially the right one, are cambered in at the top pretty severely. I am guessing that the compensator on the axle is shot. Is there a way to pump it back up, or is it time to switch to the spring kit? Are replacement coil springs available for the rear corners?

Any advice on shocks? i.e. will the kYB's be OK or will I regret it?

The other suspension pieces I have seen on vendors' sites are the following bushings:
Control arm inner, as well as upper & lower outer
Sub frame
Sway bar
Trailing arm
plus:
Transmission mount
Engine mount (pair?)
I assume I will need all of these. How many of each are on this car? (I haven't had it on a lift myself, just peeked at the tire shop)

Then there's the components I probably need, but really don't know. Suggestions?
Idler arm repair kit
Steering damper
Tie rod – outer
Tie rod – center

The suspension is pretty sloppy right now, and I am sure many of the worn parts will need to be replaced before I try for an alignment. Other than that, the driveline is smooth, with one exception: As I accelerate, there is a vibration in the driveline that goes away when I hold steady speed. any ideas? Didn't notice it at first because the old tires were doing a little vibrating of their own.

That's it in a nutshell. Other than to say, of course, thanks for all of the advice!

-Will


PS I cannot stop looking at this car from every angle. Is that normal?

[fever]

William, I don't mean to hijack your thread. But here's a couple more shots of mine. This is one week before I picked it up last summer.





My father had the very last W111 3.5 made. It was actually made in 1972, came with papers from being run on their track, had specially made wheels that would have made BBS proud, and was commissioned for a famous architect in Germany.

Back in 1986 a couple of hack thieves broke into a warehouse and stole it. The car was found two weeks later with the sunroof and doors open, radio stolen, dash destroyed. It had rained a couple times as well. Insurance settled with him.

I was a teenager then and the loss of that car has plagued me ever since. Well, I finally acted upon that emotion and the car doesn't dissapoint. Just the way the doors shut on these cars is rewarding. We should consider ourselves lucky to own one of these fine automobiles.

[kpb]

william, on your vibration issue, visually inspect the flex disc between the tranny and the propeller shaft. Mine was hanging by the literal thread as I blasted around at 100MPH when I first got my 108!! If you run a search here you'll find a ton of useful info on the flex disc r&r.

[Tony H]

Hi,
My 3.5 coupe didn't have AC and I am in the process of adding it. I found that a condensor from a 300sel 3.5 is the same exact one. A condensor from a 108 will fit but the hoses come out in different locations. (I have one iif you want it cheap) You will need a 3.5 compressor bracket-not the same as a 4.5 bracket. I bought a rebuilt compressor form ******** Az for very resonable. I bought a Fridiking unit from an earlier coupe and installed it. I cut the carpeted panel to fit under it.
I am presently in the process of completely rebuilding the drive train and suspension so it may be awhile before I get it hooked up and working. As far as your car-if its rubber-replace it. Hoses, mounts, bushings, seals-it all old. I am going through my coupe replacing everything. I don't want a blown flex disk trashing my irreplaceable 4speed stick trans. I would also reccomend having your driveshaft rebuilt as the joints are sealed and non-servicable. I had mine rebuilt at Driveline service of Portland-the ultimate Mercedes driveshaft rebuilder. They installed greasable joints in it. Any Q about the AC send me a message. I will email you some pictures of the Fridiking unit in my car if you like.
Tony