w108 fender removal
 

I am going to strip my 72 280 sel down to bare metal to paint it and was hoping for some tips on removing all the chrome trim and the front fenders. Are there any special tools needed or that would help? Are the fenders glued on also? ect.

thanks, Aaron

Any body shop can point out the simple tools to remove the chrome trim. Basically, a flat blade.

As for the fenders, there are no major tricks, once you know where the fasteners are.

- A bunch of 10mm bolts across the top at the seam with the hood. There is also a philips screw hiding in the rubber bumper.
- A philips screw hiding behind the front bumper towards the center of the nose (remove the bumper).
- 2 philips screws at the bottom rear near the door. They are hiding behind the chrome strip. If you don't see them, somebody burried them with bondo most likely.
- A sneaky 10mm bolt halfway up that seam along the door that you must reach from behind the fender (remove the metal plate that covers the cavity).
- A 10mm bolt at the top of the fender inside the door space.
- The electric radio antenna, if so equipped.

The seam with all the bolts is glued down pretty well. Grab the bottom of the fender by the door and rock it a bit back and forth. Then just lift up from the front. Before doing so, be sure to disconnect t he headlight and horn wiring harness.

-CTH