I'll be posting some pics on my clubphoto page soon.
I got the car a few months ago. I've known the car and it's original owner since it was new.
It is a signal red, 70k mile car with a perfect interior, nice body (a few chips here & there and the rear quarters are turning a little pink-fading).
I hope to be able to buff the car,,,,but may have to respray the rear quarters.
Now for the bad news:
#1, not too big a deal, but the original chrome wheels are flakey and in bad shape. I can have them restored by a wheel shop for $200 a piece, ,,,,,,or I can try and hunt down another set of them.
#2, the original AMG 6.0 hammer engine is long gone, and some butcher replaced it with an engine/trans from a 92 500sl.
This was done back when the original owner had his own "private mechanic" (who is a complete moron).
Apparantly the car had some overheating problems.
I know the "butcher" had the heads off the car once then I believe the car ended up with coolant in a cylinder & destroying itself.
Well, all I know is that the original engine is nowhere to be found and he then dropped in a low mile 500sl powerplant.
The only problem is that the 119 engine doesn't fit well without proper mounting, etc,,,,so the guy couldn't even get it to run.
The original owner got fed up and had the car shipped back to Westmont Ill (AMG USA) in order to fix it. The car was there for over a year and the owner had to threaten a lawsuit to finally get the car back. They did manage to get the car running, but it was a complete hack job.
The engine didn't even sit level in the car, the ex manifold were wrong, nothing lined up or fit properly.
Finally the steering box couldn't take it anymore. The driver side ex manifold was literally sitting against it & beating on it.
A few motnhs ago the car showed up at my place to fix the "steering leak".
I told the owner that if I was going to fix this car, it would be done right,,,,,,which meant removal of the engine/trans, totally gutting the engine compartment,,and doing the install right. (along with replaceing the cooked steering box)
HE is now in his early 80s and didn't want to fool with the car anymore,,,,he asked me what I thought it was worth, and voila, it is now in my little collection.
I have already removed the engine and trans, and gutted the entire engine compartment. Next, I need to drill out all of the factory spot welds & replace the crossmember, so I can install one for a 400/500e. This will allow for the correct engine mounts and brackets, so the engine will fit in the right place.
I also need to get some proper ex manifolds for it along with some other bits/pieces.
The 500sl engine now has right at 50k on it and is fine, so I'll just do a nice detail on it before reinstalling.
I am also planning a complete "true" dual exhaust system with an X pipe, using oval shaped tubing for better ground clearance.
It is a project, but the car is definately worth putting back together.
It is a low mile rustfree car and all of the other AMG equip is still in tact.
I dunno,,,,I've been getting kind of burnt out lately on all this stuff. ...been thinking of selling something and just buying a rice,,uh mitsu evo 8 to just go out and drive the wheels off of.
