ah the rust, the rust

[kalpol]

What's the worst rust anyone has dared to repair? I love my 280SE and it's perfect in nearly every way but the rust is getting pretty bad in the rockers and lower fenders. It's not into the floor pans yet, but it's not far away. It's localized, the trunk and everything above the rockers is fine. I suppose it can be fixed, and I'm willing to spend to get it repaired and painted. Is it even going to be possible to repair? The outer rockers have mostly disintegrated, and the inner panel isn't perforated but looks pretty bad. The jack points are of course gone (well the tubes are still there but no outer support) and I hear that's the death knell for a 116. any opinions? I suppose pics will help, I might try to take some later if anyone wants to offer a semi-professional opinion.

I'm willing to spend a fair amount here, I figure any other 116 I get for anything under $5k will have just about the same problems and not so many new parts.

[Gurunutkins]

It is in my 1961 Austin mini, not a mercedes but if you want the car you can repair anything! I am replacing the whole floor and the passenger sills, maybe the centre tunnel as well. It will cost $1000 in parts but I want the car and I'm happy to tinker with it. People will tell you to spend the money on something in good condition, I like tinkering, for me this is fun if its what you want then go for it
good luck
Barri

[Jengasan]

Originally Posted by Gurunutkins

It is in my 1961 Austin mini, not a mercedes but if you want the car you can repair anything! I am replacing the whole floor and the passenger sills, maybe the centre tunnel as well. It will cost $1000 in parts but I want the car and I'm happy to tinker with it. People will tell you to spend the money on something in good condition, I like tinkering, for me this is fun if its what you want then go for it
good luck
Barri

Worth every penny ! I've had three since I was 17 including a '64 Cooper 'S' (a real one) - bet you love the corners and driving it through town How do you find getting parts in the US though ? (we have a whole aftermarket sceen over here and bits are plentyfull)

J

[deanyel]

That's just the epitomy of an ill-advised project. Let it go. If you must have a 116 there are plenty of rust free examples in the SW and west - transplant your drivetrain if you must have a 2.8. But rust repair on a 116 just makes no sense.

[Gurunutkins]

got to agree with you J well worth it. I get a lot of the parts from the Uk and there is a big supplier in California as well. I paid most of my way through university in the early 70's rebuilding morris and austin engines for people over the weekends so over 4 years probably rebuilt at least 100 of them. The body work is more finicky but as you say J well worth it for the final result

I know with many of these projects they are probably financially ill advised but if kalpol really wants the car and knows its good and has everything working where it should be then its worth it for him.So long as you can do the work yourself (can weld and one eye is not significantly above the other) the rest is easy. Sills are not hugely expensive and neither are floor pans. Just make sure you paint them well and use a good BASF or 3M rubber spray on compound on the floor when you complete the job.

If you have to have someone else do the work then it does get expensive fast and you probably need to weigh the benefits up a little more but sometimes it is a matter of worth over cost
cheers
Barri

[alabbasi]

Originally Posted by Gurunutkins

It is in my 1961 Austin mini, not a mercedes but if you want the car you can repair anything! I am replacing the whole floor and the passenger sills, maybe the centre tunnel as well. It will cost $1000 in parts but I want the car and I'm happy to tinker with it. People will tell you to spend the money on something in good condition, I like tinkering, for me this is fun if its what you want then go for it
good luck
Barri

That's the kind of thing that I expect to see in Practical Classics Magazine. I grew up reading that Magazine and watching people take a 50 pound pile of dust and put thousands of pounds, and years of welding into it so that they can have a shiny 500 pound car

If it wasn't for seeing that that over and again, I don't think I would have restored my 6.9.

[Wodnek]

You can buy rockers and fenders reproduction for the 116. Both are cheap. When you cut the old rockers off, you can POR 15 the insides and the inner rockers to keep rust at bay for another 10 years. As for the jack points, I would never use them again, just jack the car up with a proper floor jack.

[sjefke]

There is repair and then there is restoration. The latter will take you long and cost more than the car is worth. Repair is bringing back to functional condition - not necessarily pristine aesthetically. A lot depends on your skills. Putting in new rockers (or sills as the Brits call them) typically requires removal of front fender and cut out lower part of rear in many monobody cars. A lot of work, especially if the inner is also bad and for your 280SE car, it may not be worth it. My coupe had very bad rust in rear rockers with non-existing jack point supports that I repaired piece by piece using thick metal and with my MIG welder on good high settings so it would really melt, flow, and bond well. It now still has the original jack tubes in original position, but the supports are twice as thick and I can jack up the car on them. Floors are also patched, but new floor panels are in basement for when restoration really starts.

The amount of rust on your car sounds typical to the stuff that we find on British cars, but the sheet metal is cheap and people don't mind spending years restoring them. I could have probably bought a better body MGB than welding floors, firewall, doorskins, outer fenders, inner fenders, outer rockers, inner rocker, lower rockers and trunk of my 1963 (even a British heritage body shell would have been an option) but there is an emotional attachment element that kicks in which is (almost) priceless.

As Al said, reading those Practical Classics is addictive. It's amazing what they bring back from rust hell with a grinder, sheet metal and welder

Good luck,

Bert

[kalpol]

Originally Posted by Wodnek

You can buy rockers and fenders reproduction for the 116. Both are cheap. When you cut the old rockers off, you can POR 15 the insides and the inner rockers to keep rust at bay for another 10 years. As for the jack points, I would never use them again, just jack the car up with a proper floor jack.

What's a good source for the sheet metal?

[Wodnek]

Originally Posted by kalpol

What's a good source for the sheet metal?

http://store.shermanparts.com/cgi-bin/sherman/product_list.html?img_num=3522

good quality and fit. I see they dont have the fenders anymore. You could try certifit for those, or ebay. I bought the wheel arch repair panels.

Qty SKU In Stock Price Description
352201-1 0 43.99 LH ROCKER PNL 4 DR MERCEDES-BENZ 116 (EXC 450 SEL) 73-80
352201-2 0 43.99 RH ROCKER PNL 4 DR MERCEDES-BENZ 116 (EXC 450 SEL) 73-80
352258-1 1 32.99 LH RR WHEEL ARCH 4 DR MERCEDES-BENZ 116 73-80
352258-2 0 32.99 RH RR WHEEL ARCH 4 DR MERCEDES-BENZ 116 73-80

[Lexxani]

im about to buy a plasma cutter and mig welder (redencks need christmas money, so shyt is cheap) and try my hand at body work on my suburban.

Try it on your benz, worst comes to worst go to the yard and cut the rockers off a W123 sitting in the yard and tack weld them into place. Cheap and easy body work.

[pj67coll]

Originally Posted by kalpol

What's the worst rust anyone has dared to repair? I love my 280SE and it's perfect in nearly every way but the rust is getting pretty bad in the rockers and lower fenders. It's not into the floor pans yet, but it's not far away. It's localized, the trunk and everything above the rockers is fine. I suppose it can be fixed, and I'm willing to spend to get it repaired and painted. Is it even going to be possible to repair? The outer rockers have mostly disintegrated, and the inner panel isn't perforated but looks pretty bad. The jack points are of course gone (well the tubes are still there but no outer support) and I hear that's the death knell for a 116. any opinions? I suppose pics will help, I might try to take some later if anyone wants to offer a semi-professional opinion.

I'm willing to spend a fair amount here, I figure any other 116 I get for anything under $5k will have just about the same problems and not so many new parts.

Wether or not you can repair this depends largely on the exent of the rust. If it's really just the rockers it's doable. And I would. I used to have a 79 280S. My rust was probably way worse than yours. Still one of my favourite cars.

- Peter.

[thorsen]

http://www.pokrefke.net/250c/BeforeAfter.htm

If the car has sentimental value, or you are bored, or if you want to learn how to do bodywork, go for it. Otherwise, from a strictly financial standpoint, it makes more sense to buy one that is already in decent shape. My 1972 250C has only been to a shop once - for tires and an alignment. All the other work I did myself, from replacing the rockers and the trunk, upgrading the AC system, and all the bodywork. It was a lot of fun (and hard work), but I put more money into it than the car is worth. I had fun - and there are worse ways to spend money.

[alabbasi]

Originally Posted by thorsen

http://www.pokrefke.net/250c/BeforeAfter.htm
I did myself, from replacing the rockers and the trunk

Did you cut the rear quarters out to replace the rocker? If so, did you put the old section back or buy a new one? I have rust in that exact area on my UK 250CE but could never find repair sections.

[thorsen]

I got lucky - the rear quarters were fine in front of the rear wheels - it was just the area behind the rear wheels that were damaged.