Hey Guys -

I recently purchased a '79 300SD, 129K miles with no dents and pretty good paint. The original window sticker (!!!) identifies her as 3.0L OHC Turbo and W116120 Chassis. I am pretty new to this forum and have read that these old W116's are great cars, but prone to rust and equipped with a persnickity, ill-fated Chrysler climate control system. Well, believe it or not, my 300SD has very minor rust localized to a front end engine panel... and the AC works! (but i still keep a bible in the gin bin). In fact everything works. Only some some minor switch issues with windows and sunroof that were easily fixed. So far a wonderful road car that runs strong and delivers about 28 mpg. Anyway, since i'm a newby i can sure benefit from your experiences/knowledge in the following areas:

i have a large crack in the main fuse box cover in the engine compartment. anyone know where i can get a replacement part?

I have service records thru 98K miles and the engine starts/runs great, but the engine compartment looks like it was last cleaned in 1979. Any recommendations on how to clean and with what cleaning products?

I recently moved to Cape Canaveral Florida...close to Orlando....can anyone recommend a good mechanic for an old Benz?

I owned a 1977 240D for years and used it as a commuter so i know that these old cars are not for the faint of heart. And that they generally have to be tinkered with frequently....so i'm sure i'll be posting again!

Thanks