It Has Begun (250CE restoration Thread.)

[JiveTurkey]

I'm still just sanding away. I should be done with the 80grit sanding soon, and then I'll hit it with progressively finer sanding bars until I'm ready to have a shop hit it with three coats of heavy build primer so I can even up the finish with yet more sanding. Of course I won't be spraying any primer until I finish up treating that rust...
I'm planning to buy a mig welder so I can pop in patch panels on those rusty quarters. Should I just load up the inside of the quarter panel with POR-15 or some other rust treatment to make sure I don't have to go through this again any time soon? And oh yeah... I have a few mechanical issues to deal with too. I'm trying to find someone local to deal with the following.
-Completely go through AC/Heating system (They're greek to me.)
-I need to install new motor mounts. (seems simple enough, I should be able to handle it.)
-New transmission mounts (I couldn't find any info on how to install them so I'd be greatful for tips. If anyone fairly local wants to have a go at installing them with me help is always welcome)
-Still need to deal with rear suspension height issue. I think I've located what looks to be like some kind of SLS box. Isn't it possible to replace it with a spring? Again, advice welcome.
-Re Core the radiator. Anyone know a shop near Bristol they've had good success with?
-Correct side window fitment. They're not all lined up correctly, and the passenger rear is out of it's channel.
-Service the instrument cluster. Speedo makes the blender noise of death, rheostat for lights must never be touched lest the demons inside it decide to extinguish the .5 volts worth of dash lights that still soldier on bravely. Do you guys think it would be easier to just pop in a new speedometer off ebay for 100 bucks or to send it off to be rebuilt? Some of you guys have suggested shops in one of my other threads and Those would be the ones I'd send my speedo to. Also I'm going to need to revamp the PRNDSL indicator as the cable leading to it is broken. Again, advice here would be terriffic.
-Identify why the sunroof refuses to budge. CTH is sending me a new switch, and theres one relay under the hood that has no fuse in it. I have no idea what kind of fuse it takes, so I'll post a pic of it's location on here and maybe we can figure it out as a team.


Anyway. I plan on finishing my sanding/bodywork and then taking down those last few mechanical issues before priming and evening out the finish. Once my finish is good then I'll have the shop spray base / clear and color sand it for me because I'd destroy a new finish with a power buffer. Once thats done I'll just put her back together and enjoy.

Here's two recent pics from my blackberry. I keep forgetting to bring a camera to the shop.


I know she looks like my sister, but thats actually my mother. She volunteered to help sand down Wilma. And no, I don't drive that death star of a pick-up lurking in the corner.




Heres ma's new C300 4matic named "Heidi." It did magnificently through the 12 degree temperatures and black ice... Unlike my VW Rabbit which is still shod with preformance summer rubber.

I'll be getting up nice and early tomorrow to get back to sanding. Feel free to comment uselessly and randomly in this thread, because I don't have any friends in real life (except for my girlfriend who's living up in Ohio for the next six months until she goes back to VA tech.), and I enjoy the conversations on here.

[JeffreyNMemphis]

You have to get the clock working too... How else will you know when it is time for a beer?

[JeffreyNMemphis]

By the way... I may have a driver's side NOS fender for your car.

[alabbasi]

If you're sanding to 80 grit, make sure you load up with lots of primer in that area. I missed a few spots when I painted a car silver once and they show up as black scratch marks under the clear coat.

It's looking good!

[snookwhaler]

Originally Posted by JeffreyNMemphis

You have to get the clock working too... How else will you know when it is time for a beer?

I was about to say..... Where is the beer in those pics!

Brrrr...... I hope that garage is warm.

[JiveTurkey]

Originally Posted by JeffreyNMemphis

You have to get the clock working too... How else will you know when it is time for a beer?

This actually made me guffaw! It might not sound impressive yet, but after freezing my f*cking (go ahead, guess which vowel I took out) Special Purpose off all day while sanding through the Great Bondo Wasteland that is my rear drivers fender anything that can make me chuckle is apreciated.

Right now I'm listening to my Led Zepplin III LP, and having a vodka tonic, and I'm almost warm again. I had an interesting idea by the way. I think I saw a 300SEL 6.3 with a tiny tachometer in place of the little black clock we all know and love. It sure would be nice to have a tach in the 250CE, but I refuse to add in one that would look out of place. Do any of you know any more about this tach-clock-eter?

I'll let you know if I need the fender Jeff, because I still havent taken off some of the undercoating (aka: rustoflauge) and I might run into a nice big un-MiGable oxidized suprise.

[alabbasi]

Those came as an option on a W114. I remember seeing it on a period autocar (UK mag) review.

[JiveTurkey]

Sweet, thats what I was hoping for. Has anyone seen one online? Admittedly I havent looked yet, but I've been a bit busy.... Haha. Seriously though, anyone have an idea how much one of those would set me back? I bet they're not common enough to find often at pick-n-pulls.

[alabbasi]

You'll probably find another 250ce in a junk yard before you find one of those in the US. Probably an item for www.ebay.de .

You can fit an aftermarket one in that size, Harbor Freight sells one but it's a bit ricey. I'm sure some collectors car catalogues will have one.

I have headlamp wipers on my CE which is another oddball option.

[JiveTurkey]

Yeah, wilma has some STRANGE options. But the original owners choices were pretty sound. I actually have the radio delete panel for my 250CE with the chrome lettering on it because it was ordered with radio wiring installed, but no radio. I wonder if I could find an aftermarket tach and paint the face with a stencil rigged to look like a benz tach... after all, they're the same size. Cutting that detailed of a stencil though would suck.

[alabbasi]

Originally Posted by JiveTurkey

I actually have the radio delete panel for my 250CE with the chrome lettering on it because it was ordered with radio wiring installed, but no radio.

Yep I have that on one of my 4 speed 280CE's. It also has fabric interior and no sunroof, which also translates to very little floor rust.

[JiveTurkey]

Floor rust. You opened a very recent wound there. Recent as in, today when I smacked the big gob of bondo on the passenger footwell it exploded into a plume of oxidized metal. And here I was thinking I might not get enough MiG welding practice. Haha. Your 280 sounds like a very fun car to drive, I'm stuck with the colum shift auto that doesn't like to downshift out of fourth till it's almost stopped.

[alabbasi]

Vacuum modulator issue?

[JiveTurkey]

Eh, we've talked circles around it on here before. I'm probably just going to have someone totally knowledgeable (still accepting peachparts volunteers to walk me through diagnosis idiot style, because I fail hard with automatic transmissions.) tackle the thing and get it up to spec. The only mechanic I ever took Wilma to swore up and down that it's a pressure control rod issue. I still think it might be a vacuum leak. I havent looked very hard, because I'm not as familiar with automatics as I am with standard gearboxes and I'm not really sure what to look for. My auto trans experiance is limited to changing the fluid, and filter, and swearing at the torque converter because I can never get the drain plug to show up in that little cut out without a helper.

[250 Coupe]

I have that little tach. It's labeled for a 8 cylinder car and I've never got it working but if you are interested PM me.

Michael

PS, if you get rid of the clock you'll be missing the coolest sound an old Mercedes can make. Every three or four minutes, the little solenoid goes whack and rewinds the clock. Then it's a few minutes of quiet ticking and another whack.