Just bought a $400 '72 280SE 4.5 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

TWHansen · #1 11-06-2008, 08:06 PM

Advertised as running and driving on Craigslist for $475. Really couldn't pass it up at the price, just for the amusement (it's bound to be worth double that in parts at a minimum). Got it home (barely), it runs pig rich, won't start unless your foot is on the gas and even then it sounds like it's popping back into the air cleaner before it decides to fire on all cylinders. Doesn't like to idle, when it does it sort of "surges". Before we drove it home we found a pair of gloves wedged under the air cleaner. Hopefully they weren't there to keep vacuum pressure up!

Cursory research has suggested it's likely a trigger point / vacuum issue, and that points generally can be cleaned. I'm 100% green to Mercedes-Benzes but I'm keen to try to nurse this one to driveability.

The other main reason I bought it is for this road rally they do every June, the Big Apple to Big Easy, which is five days of mostly twisty mountain driving from New York to New Orleans in a car you must purchase for under $500: http://www.baberally.com I do the t-shirts for the event, it's not a contest of speed but rather a sort of mechanical endurance challenge; generally folks try to find the most fascinating derelict beater they can get their hands on and try to keep it running. There have been a handful of diesel Benzes on it already.

Bodywise it's straight but a bit rusty. It spent most of its life in Naples, FL, and while not as rotted as the usual junk here in Wisconsin, there's minor perforation in almost every panel. My plan is to get it driveable as cheaply as possible and keep it around as a stylish in-town beater until something ridiculously expensive breaks. If it survives until next June, we'll see if it can take a 4500 mile drive in the space of a week.

Anyhow, what do you think? What things should I take a look at to sort out the fuel problem?

More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/72995406@N00/sets/72157608696709967/

cth350 · #2 11-06-2008, 08:41 PM

new plugs, fresh fuel, valve clearance adjustment, fresh coolant and oil and try her again.

If it still stumbles, read up on how to clean the trigger points (don't replace them) and how to check the wiring for the brain box.

Set the timing right and then the %CO.

There are some recent threads here from Chuck Taylor about getting his 350sl up to par. You should explore the same things once you get to the point of setting %CO.

Once it runs well, have the brake fluid flushed too.

Note that you are going to be drinking lots and lots and lots of gasoline on that ralley. But it's hard to imagine a more luxurious car to make the trip in.

-CTH

mbgingerbread · #3 11-06-2008, 09:39 PM

Mercedesotto;
The drive from New York to New Orleans sounds like a great trip in a car purchased for under 500. Question is, can you spend 5k before the rally?
My only suggestion for your basic troubleshooting is to first check that you have clean, free fuel lines and a gas tank filter which is clean. Quite a few of the posts contain references to the fuel lines and the filters in the tank, at the fuel pump and B-4 the FI pump.
One other thing to look for is wiring from the starter and or alternator in good (unburnt) condition. Best of luck.

MBG

TWHansen · #4 11-06-2008, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbgingerbread

Mercedesotto;
The drive from New York to New Orleans sounds like a great trip in a car purchased for under 500. Question is, can you spend 5k before the rally?
My only suggestion for your basic troubleshooting is to first check that you have clean, free fuel lines and a gas tank filter which is clean. Quite a few of the posts contain references to the fuel lines and the filters in the tank, at the fuel pump and B-4 the FI pump.
One other thing to look for is wiring from the starter and or alternator in good (unburnt) condition. Best of luck.

MBG

Technically speaking, you're allowed to spend whatever is necessary for "safety", but that didn't preclude some dudes from Massachusetts dragging a $250 1955 Plymouth Belvedere out of a field and spending $1500 rebuilding the automatic transmission. That's sort of a special case. Heck, $500 is double the price limit from the last few years.

Me spending $5k is simply not a possibility, especially since the car realistically would only be worth about $2k even with all the mechanical stuff buttoned up. I'm an inveterate cheapskate. (yes, I realize this does not bode well for Benz ownership. My other baby is a '77 MGB, which is actually shockingly cheap to run)

I'm holding out on setting a budget for the Benz until I go through all the cheap-as-free troubleshooting. It did have new shocks and new brakes within the last year, and the brakes work very well...better than anything else on the car! Who knows, if this thing winds up running OK after a weekend or two of tinkering, I may polish it up and see if it'll fetch $1200.

I'll check out the fuel filters. The fuel pump seems to be quite noisy; is this normal?

pj67coll · #5 11-06-2008, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWHansen

The other main reason I bought it is for this road rally they do every June, the Big Apple to Big Easy, which is five days of mostly twisty mountain driving

Make sure you check for rust on the box section to which the power steering gear box mounts. And check the torque of the three mounting bolts to factory spec. Otherwise nasty things can happen, like your steering column snapping etc.

Otherwise an incredible deal. That's the same color as my first Mercedes. A 71 108 280S. One of the best looking S-Classes ever. Fantastic if you can get it running decently.

- Peter.

ramonajim · #6 11-06-2008, 11:08 PM

Amazingly small world! Darling wife and I followed Barb & Louis (the crazy red head and her suave hubby in the ThunderFox, painted by said Darling Wife and Barb) down to the launching point for Babe Rally 2008.

Not that they were, you know, worried about making it from CT to NY in the ThunderFox. It wasn't like the ThunderFox was untested after it's crazy paint job and bubble gum and baling wire rear shock mount "repair" or anything.

Well, yeah, ok, maybe it was like that

But anyhow, the ThunderFox made it to the Big Easy and back, and is the likely entry for BabeRally 2009 in which Barb and Louis have promised to kidnap me and Darling Wife. Only you may not recognize it, 'cuz I hear the two crazy red heads (Barb and Darling Wife) are already planning out next year's crazy paint job.

So your new acquisition is our beloved Gustav in a different color scheme. Sweet ride! Start saving up now for gas money dude - even if prices keep falling, yer gonna be filling 'er up one hell of a lot more often than you can imagine and it ain't gonna be a cheap run!

ja17 · #7 11-07-2008, 12:37 AM

Hello,

Yes fresh fuel filter and a fresh set of spark plugs are a must. Next check the spark plug wires with a ohm meter. The resistor ends can go bad on these wire sets. Pull the distributor out and flush the engine oil off the trigger points.

These engines can usually be put into good running mode fairly easily.

meltedpanda · #8 11-07-2008, 09:47 AM

wow , the front end on that is worth twice what you paid! That ol gal will be easy to get running, unless the there is some major issue with the drive train or engine. Do the usual, fluids, plugs points, timing .I will be excited to follow the tale.

Check out my 1971 rebuild saga - just search my user name or 1971 220
Good Luck

hill · #9 11-07-2008, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meltedpanda

wow , the front end on that is worth twice what you paid! That ol gal will be easy to get running, unless the there is some major issue with the drive train or engine. Do the usual, fluids, plugs points, timing .I will be excited to follow the tale.

Check out my 1971 rebuild saga - just search my user name or 1971 220
Good Luck

"OK after a weekend or two of tinkering, I may polish it up and see if it'll fetch $1200."

The rearend is worth $800. to a 113 owner. Do not diasasemble the rearend they want them from hub to hub.

meltedpanda · #10 11-07-2008, 07:09 PM

I got my 220 for nothing , sold it for 1500, shoulda kept it. Considering my time I got .50 an hour ! haha

Tomguy · #11 11-07-2008, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meltedpanda

I got my 220 for nothing , sold it for 1500, shoulda kept it.

Number one complaint of any former vintage MB owner! "I should have kept it!"

DJet Tragic · #12 11-10-2008, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWHansen

Advertised as running and driving on Craigslist for $475. Really couldn't pass it up at the price, just for the amusement (it's bound to be worth double that in parts at a minimum). Got it home (barely), it runs pig rich, won't start unless your foot is on the gas and even then it sounds like it's popping back into the air cleaner before it decides to fire on all cylinders. Doesn't like to idle, when it does it sort of "surges". Before we drove it home we found a pair of gloves wedged under the air cleaner. Hopefully they weren't there to keep vacuum pressure up!

Cursory research has suggested it's likely a trigger point / vacuum issue, and that points generally can be cleaned. I'm 100% green to Mercedes-Benzes but I'm keen to try to nurse this one to driveability.

Anyhow, what do you think? What things should I take a look at to sort out the fuel problem?

One suggestion I have is that you change the engine oil ASAP - in case a lot of that extra fuel has got past the rings and into sump oil and thinned it out.

I have recently gone through the same exercise with rich running and surging; this condition is usually caused by one or two small faults out of a possible dozen??? If you can find somebody close by who has a proper running 450 Djet motor and would agree to swap/test individual components (like the EFI CPU & MAP), you could troubleshoot very cheaply.

Old Water & Air temp sensors fail a lot. Get a new Air temp sensor (screws into the air filter) they are quite cheap ($25??). Whilst troubleshooting just sit the new sensor on the motor & plug it into the wiring loom. Then you can unplug & take away the air-cleaner while you are testing, I found its easier when its out of the way.

Because vacuum is so important on the DJet, buy or borrow a Mityvac and test the MAP. I think this was the main problem with my engine.

For safety, inspect the rubber hoses on the fuel rail and replace if they are old or cracked.
Good luck with your project
Peter in Melbourne

TWHansen · #13 03-27-2009, 02:54 AM

Well, the city flagged my unregistered cars as nuisance vehicles, so, without a lot of options to D-I-Y in the butt-numbing chill of January in Milwaukee, I had it towed to a shop that promised to take their sweet time with it.

Just over a month later it's back and it actually runs quite well, although it's not done by any stretch. We've discovered a tiny leak in the water pump and the spring that is supposed to return the throttle to idle, well...doesn't (found that out the hard way...a car the size of a W108 is a bit hairy to maneuver with the throttle stuck at 3/4 open!

Did a new battery, new plugs, wires, replaced several sensors and the fuel filter, etc., and what I've realized is that this really is too much project for me at this juncture.

I've posted an ad for it in the Cars section of the forum, $1500 or best. Feel free to make an offer. I'm also open to interesting trades. I actually just offered it to a guy in exchange for three Simca 1204's but he said he needs another old European car like a hole in the head, and honestly the same could go for me. I could use a decent truck, though...

More Photos: http://www.economysuperstar.com/1972mercedes/

-Tim Hansen

JeffreyNMemphis · #14 03-27-2009, 04:11 AM

Tim,

Have you given up on the rally?

TWHansen · #15 03-27-2009, 04:20 AM

No, not at all. At this point I think I'll be taking the Volvo 244 Turbo I picked up for $400 the day before Christmas Eve last year. It was supposed to be a stopgap winter beater after my Audi got totaled, but as it turns out, it's got a ton of aftermarket suspension upgrades on it which should make it good fun in the twisties.

We'll see what I feel like if I still have the Benz when it gets warm enough to turn my own wrenches...

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