Weekend wrenching

[alabbasi]

This weekend was pretty light, I got the drivers window on the 280SEL 4.5 working. There was a wiring issue with the rear passenger window that caused the fuses to blow. I used the wiring from the 80 6.9 as a guide and got the windows working.

There is still a problem however as it seems that the drivers side window is too small for the door. I'm not sure what the deal is as the rail is already adjusted all the way.Any ideas? I may need new channeling which I think I have some of.

Then I gave the 280 a good wash as the guy next door agreed to take care of the stone chips. He has a mobile operation and normally does stone chip repairs for dealers.

The new 6.9 also had a bath , but it still looks like dog doo. It's so powerful compared to the other 6.9's that I may keep it looking that way This week I bought a set of perfect black W116 seats from a guy on who lives in Florida. I'm not sure if they are tex or leather but they look like they are in excellent shape and will replace the destroyed front seats in the 6.9. Oddly enough the rear seat on this 6.9 is almost perfect as is the wood and the carpet. Looking at the title, the PO owner had the car since 1992 and the owner prior appears to be the same lady with her unmarried name.

I also plan to replace my fuel tank this week as the filler pipe got bent forward when it was rear ended and scour the junk yard in search for a good fuel distributor for the blue 6.9.

[alabbasi]

I had a fairly productive weekend this week. On Saturday I stopped by David Poole’s shop and he was kind enough to give me the W116 chassis manual to borrow so that I could figure out my raised suspension problem. I gave it the once over and got underneath the car.

The control arm that attaches to the lever on the left leveling valve was missing and the lever was pointing in the up position. I adjusted it to a low position (while the car was supported on jack stands). It’s accessible from the right wheel well.

Then I put everything back and cranked the engine. The rear dropped on it’s butt faster then I could say squat!

I then slowly started to adjust the valve up until the suspension rose to the correct level and now it sits beautifully. I contacted a Mercedes parts seller in Atlanta who I used a lot when I lived there and who also sells used parts. He had a spare self leveling control arm and is sending it to me.

I took the car for a quick spin and it drove beautifully, although after a little while, the car appeared to be leaking water (no coolant in the system) from the water pump.

Today I ran the engine again for a while to see what the deal is with the water pump and discovered that the problem wasn’t the water pump and it wasn’t leaking coolant but instead hydraulic fluid and a lot of it!

In checking the hex bolts, they all appeared to be fairly loose. So I went to tighten them to the torque specs in the manual (9.5ft/lbs). I went through tightening them and to my horror, one of them snapped. This could have been pretty bad, however, I unscrewed the bolt and both parts of the bolt came out.

I’ve already ordered a new suspension pump gasket, hydraulic fluid and filter which should arrive by the weekend (********AZ seems to be super slow to ship). I’m going to order a full set of bolts, as these should not break.

I also learnt that this car has been converted to R134 and seems to be cooling well.

After cleaning up the mess on the hydraulic fluid, I decided that I would paint the air cleaner gloss black and give the engine bay a good wash.

I also vacuumed the interior and cleaned all the grime of the car. It seems like someone had lived in this car for a while, there was a pile of clothes in the trunk (old clothes) and I also found a 260kph Euro spec speedometer for a W116.

The interior came out pretty well but the front seats are obviously nasty. I picked up a set of black MB Tex seats in perfect condition on eBay for around $100. The stars seemed to align this week as a friend was heading to Florida with a 24ft box truck to deliver gym equipment and happened to drive right past where these seats are located. So he picked them up and will be bringing them home. This saved me around $200 in shipping which is good.

Aside from this, the guy who rents the shop next to me runs a paint touch up business and touched up my 280SEL, E420 and the hood on my MGB which I dropped and chipped the paint in three areas. He saved me a bunch of money.

I’m really happy about this 450SEL, I was planning not to paint it and leave it looking the way it does now with cruddy paint, but it seems like such a sweet car, I may just pull the trigger and give it a Maaco makeover. We have a really good Maaco here and I’ve built up a rapport with the owner.

Finally, I gave the car the seafoam treatment and smoked out the neighborhood.

Next week, I’ll change the oil and the filter and see if I can sort out the suspension pump.

Here are some pictures.

[alabbasi]

More pictures

[Mike D]

Al,
The gloss black paint is okay but Krylon has a "semi-flat" black (part number RTA 9203) which I think you will like better. The gloss will always show every single wrinkle and fingerprint.

[JackG]

Originally Posted by alabbasi

This week I bought a set of perfect black W116 seats from a guy on who lives in Florida. I'm not sure if they are tex or leather but they look like they are in excellent shape and will replace the destroyed front seats in the 6.9.

That would be me. They are not the leather, but do not appear to be the MB tex I have in my w123's either. Was there a fore runner to the mb tex?
Anyway, they are in great shape and sit very nice. good luck

[alabbasi]

Originally Posted by JackG

That would be me. They are not the leather, but do not appear to be the MB tex I have in my w123's either. Was there a fore runner to the mb tex?
Anyway, they are in great shape and sit very nice. good luck

Jack

Thanks for the seats, there was no forerunner to MB Tex it just looked this good when it was new. The seats probably lived a good life (in a garage and with skinny owners) as this is what many 30 year old MB Tex seats look like in Europe.

[alabbasi]

This weekend was not as productive as I would have liked it to be. I made a list of possibly about three items and only hit three.

The MG is still giving me grief. The engine seems to be running rough, but for all I know, it could just be what the 4 cylinder B series engine is like (every other car is a v8).

What I did manage to do is install the seats that I bought for the 6.9. I kept the originals as they had the heated seat element, but the seat itself has lost its form and is probably scrap.

Removing the original seats was not a bad idea because things were growing inside it. It needed a good clean.

The seats really transform the car from this :







To this:







I also installed the self leveling control arm in the rear and the a new fog light lamp lens which improves the looks somewhat.





The rest of the day was spent installing a new manifold on my Chevy Powered Jaguar because the original was damaged in a duke of hazards style jump made by the previous owner when she lost her brakes and then detailing my daily driver. A 1997 Mercedes Benz E420.

Rain marks appear to have been burnt into the paintwork and were not coming out in the wash. So I had to machine buff with Maguire’s machine glaze and the wax to restore the paint.

It looks decent now:





Next week, I’ll install the suspension pump on the 80 6.9 and replace the self leveling valve on my 79 6.9. Hopefully I should also have the MG on the road.

[Wodnek]

Outstanding results for the weekend!

This weekend, I decided we had too many cars sitting around. I spent the weekend stripping my 123 parts car. I took the tobacco interior, center console, radio, speakers, speaker grills, power steering, new radiator, oil cooler, head light assemblies, near perfect grill, hood, trunk lid, rear window, 4 doors, visors, servo (new), exhaust system(also new), air cleaner, and all the chrome. I cracked the windshield when trying to remove. I tried getting the perfect steering column, ignition switch and dash that has only 3 small cracks but ran out of time and patience. The scrapyard comes today and I will take the michelin tires off when it is up on the flat bed. I bought the car 3 years ago and it gave alot of parts for my 85 300D restoration such as the perfect bumpers. It gave a brand new glow plug relay to my 78 300D.
May it crush in piece while some of it lives on.

[Mike D]

I spent the weekend transferring all the windows and window hardware from my donor '71 250C into my '74 280C. Fixed some minor surface rust inside the 280's doors. I can move it out of the covered parking now that I have windows to keep the neighbors' cats out.

My wife will be happy to have her parking spot back.

[alabbasi]

Originally Posted by Wodnek

Outstanding results for the weekend!
May it crush in piece while some of it lives on.

So are you getting back to the 6.9?

[Wodnek]

Originally Posted by alabbasi

So are you getting back to the 6.9?

gee is that all you think about? Yes I will be back on it.

[alabbasi]

Ahem! Well Yeah, read above!

[sjefke]

Originally Posted by alabbasi

The MG is still giving me grief. The engine seems to be running rough, but for all I know, it could just be what the 4 cylinder B series engine is like (every other car is a v8).

Al, assuming you have the ignition set up right (do a static timing - much easier), the problem with rough running B engines is usually leaky carbs (air leaking along the throttle shafts). I have an the original 18G three bearing engine that ran rough in my '63 B until I put brand new SU carbs on it. Purrs like a kitten. Of course you need to balance the carbs too. That can also make a huge difference.

W.r.t. V8s, I must say that the MB 3.5 M116 engine runs way smoother than the Rover 3.5 engine. But that is probably also related to EFI vs double SU carbs. I did get my MG V8 too idle smoothly at 300 rpm steady way back. Took some fiddling with carbs, but I was very proud of it.

Bert

[alabbasi]

Bert

Thanks for the response, the carbs have been rebuilt by a local re builder in Dallas, TX who has offered to take a look at the car. I suspect it's just an adjustment issue.

[Skid Row Joe]

Met Poole today, off Harry Hines.. He said he can work on my fuel leak under hood of my car if I want him to. Mentioned your name alabasi with 6.9. We had a nice visit on the telephone, before I drove over. I may use him. Leaking fuel like a seive. Thank you for the name. I need to wash the E300......it's been months since washed.