Update on my 280sel project.
 

First I need to say the Sears and my wife love 108's. Sears because, when I started this project, I found that I was woefully lacking in "TOOLS". So I hit Sears for a timing light, dwell/tach meter, remote started, compression tester, and about 300 pcs of tools. Of course then I needed a "project center" for roll-a-round "tool" access and mobile workbench, and of course a new tool box......about $500.00 worth of STUFF. My wife because I had to clean out the garage to make room for the "project", "tools" and "stuff.

Finally got the points set to my satisfaction (dwell is still screwy), new platinum plugs, new rear brake pads, and got the timing set properly. Found that I could set the timing to -5 with vacuum on and checked it at +7 with vacuum off by turning on the A/C. Perfect. My idle was very high but I searched the forum and found the "dime size" screw and got it set to 800. It took 1.5 turns to get it there but it worked.

My brakes were pulsing real bad but psfred mentioned the possiblity of rust on a rotor.....and I did have that. Took it out for a short spin and several hard stops later the brakes are definitely better. I must note that these cars are suprisingly fast from a dead stop. Both rear tires will squack if the pedal is pushed to the metal.

I also have to note that the body is dead quite, possibly even more so then my 420 sel. Absolutely amazing for 31 years old.

Many thanks to all on this forum for putting up with my barrage of questions as your help made all this possible. Now to fix what I think is a bad injector.....still has a miss, then I can get the smog done and get it registared.

Do you think I should get classic car plates?

LItton:

The W108 was described as the quietest Benz to date in 1965 or 66 when it was introduced. Should be almost dead quiet so long as the door and windshield gaskets are in good shape (as mine are not -- tons of wind noise on top of the howling PS pump and exhaust noise). Very nice.

And they do have tons of power! 0-60 is a bit slower than you might expect (9.5 sec is factory spec), but it gets better as you go faster. Top end is 125 mph with the rev limiter rotor, faster if you are 1) foolish, 2) brave enough to take a 31 year old engine over the rev limit and 3) have someplace to go that fast.

Good brakes, too, although they are not anti-dive -- expect considerable "submarining" as the nose heads for the road on heavy stops. Last Benz not to have anti-dive geometry up front.

Peter

I got classic plates for my 280C because in Virginia -

- one-time fee of $25, no renewals

- exempt from emissions

- you can put any plate you want on the front, like one with the year of the car.

I can vouch for the good brakes part - there are STILL skid-marks on the Morgan Highway from me slamming on the brakes to avoid some woman who utterly ran a stop-sign coming out of Allied (apparently she has/had a death wish). Had the car's brakes been any less powerful, WHAM!

My interior is kinda noisy at 80MPH+. I need new door and vent window seals. But the PS pump howling is bad, Peter. Mine used to do that too and I just put up with it and kept adding fluid. But, I just removed all the hoses, drained the old fluid out, bled the lines with new tranny fluid, re-attatched them (VERY tightly!) and refilled the resivior with tranny fluid - no more howls OR leaks!

All Benzes have good brakes, thankfully. I had a fun experience that made me glad yesterday -- I was driving past Vincennes, IN on highway 41 when some dip in a big Mercury Marqui (the older one with square corners) came drifting DOWN the exit ramp! I laid into the brakes and headed for the median, what there was of it (I seem to remember a bridge or something -- guardrail anyway) as I waited for the idiot to decide just where in the h... it was going! I didn't see anyone hit them before I was out of sight. Makes me wish I had a cell phone, there was a state cop not 2 miles back pulling someone over. Idiot KEPT DRIVING the wrong way -- I guess the steady stream of car coming (and the traffic going the other way on the other side!!) didn't penetrate the alcoholic haze.

Scary!

Peter