Hey guys! Looks like I'll be around a bit more; I guess that's expected when you replace a '95 E320 with a '74 450 SEL.

I've had rough running problems when the thing is cold, so I replaced the rotor, cap, plugs, and 7 of the wires, which brings me to my first question:

1) There's an integral collar with an additional wire on the spark plug wire for cylinder #1. What is it, and how do I replace that spark plug wire and keep it intact?

Having replaced all this stuff, the rough running when cold seems to be getting worse, if anything.

Question 2) I'm guessing the next thing to check is the EFI points. Does this sound right to you?

Thanks in advance for the help. I'm looking forward to getting this thing dialed in because it's a beautiful car, and a blast to drive.

Ethan

1) This is an induction coil which connects to a diagnostic socket, unless you are going to use the original mercedes tool you can cut the spark plug cable and just tuck this wire away somewhere. Mine is put behind the power steering pump.
2) If you do a search you'll find loads of info on cleaning the EFI trigger points, just pull the dist. out remove them from the bottom and clean with a business card. 10 minute job with only three screws to remove. Mark the dist. position before removing and then reset the timing afterwards.

I'd next check the cold mixture right, things like no vacuum leaks, CSV is working, temp sensors are good, cold idle is set correctly, ECU idle mixture is correctly set, all injectors are firing. Following that (or before) do a compression test when cold.

Thanks for the info! I'll just clip the plug wire and slip that away somewhere. I was fiddling around with stuff this morning and I don't think the vacuum hose for the ignition advance on the distributor was on particularly well. It seemed to smooth out once I tightened it up, so we'll see how she starts in the morning. On a brighter note, I got a new rheostat today, so at least I can see my gauges at night now. There are still a bunch of burned out dash bulbs, but they should be easy enough to replace...
E.

Just in case anyone was wondering, it was the ignition vacuum advance. I'm cruising in style again now!