Sad ... I think Chase is beyond salvation - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

BodhiBenz1987 · #1 08-06-2009, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickofoxford

She has hope man, don't give up because you think you can't fix it. If you know you want to do it, then you know you can learn it. You'll really appreciate a car that you put a lot of work into. Body work is not hard in any way, doing body work right is what you need to worry about.

I do want to do it, and I probably can learn it, I guess it's just the intimidation of not knowing where to start, you know? I've browsed through this forum and other things online and seem some pretty amazing restorations, and I do think it would be really cool to do something like that. I like the idea of being able to take pride in having turned something grotesque into something pretty (even if it's not worth anything), instead of just buying something pretty. But, I just look at the holes and the mess and don't know where to begin. Maybe my first step should be trying to make space for it in my parents' garage, so I can not worry about it being out in the elements while I decide. Guess it can't hurt to take a welding class, either. Admittedly, I'm afraid to weld. If I get over that hurdle I can reassess.

As long as I can do better than this guy:

BodhiBenz1987 · #2 08-07-2009, 12:55 PM

Ugh ... the floorpans are shot, too. At least in the back. I can't even get the sound barrier off in the front. I am never going to be able to fix this, I can't even figure out how to take things apart.

TimFreeh · #3 08-07-2009, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BodhiBenz1987

Guess it can't hurt to take a welding class, either.

Even if you end up deciding not to fix your 240D I think you would enjoy a welding class.

I admire your ambition, the problem with this sort of repair is that you don't really know what you are getting into until you get it all apart and grind away all the undercoating to take a good look. I don't want to further depress you but its been my experience that there will ultimately be about twice as much rust present as you can see on an initial inspection.

It is very satisfying to do this sort of rust repair but it is very time consuming. As others have said you almost have to have a dedicated garage space since the car will be laid up for at least a couple of weeks - and most likely more like a couple of months... or years!

Simpler=Better · #4 08-07-2009, 05:50 PM

Mine's worse

NoSparkNeeded · #5 08-07-2009, 07:34 PM

I have to say I HATE body work, but have won some awards at restoration.I'm pretty good at it. I'm a natural pessimist, so read into this what you will.I have the welding skills, the body work skills and the paint skills to fix yourrust. Unless you are doing it as a practice and learning exercise, don't do it.I agree with the folks that say just use up this car. If you think you might usethe skills you learn on a regular basis, then go for it. You'll need a good littlemig welder like a Lincoln. I use a brand of bondo called "all- metal". Aluminumpowder in a polyester matrix. POR-15 coats all these repairs inside and out.Works very well. Use rubber gloves. The stuff gets on your skin and has to wear off. IMHO I would not do it. Buy a Ferrari that needs resto. Same amount of work and value added,hehe. You are looking at a LOT of hard work.I'd find another body and transplant. Look at what I did on my TD. That wasminor rust, and worth the work. Yours is too far gone in my opinion.Hey does Bhodi refer to the bhodi tree? Zen?

BodhiBenz1987 · #6 08-07-2009, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoSparkNeeded

I have to say I HATE body work, but have won some awards at restoration.I'm pretty good at it. I'm a natural pessimist, so read into this what you will.I have the welding skills, the body work skills and the paint skills to fix yourrust. Unless you are doing it as a practice and learning exercise, don't do it.I agree with the folks that say just use up this car. If you think you might usethe skills you learn on a regular basis, then go for it. You'll need a good littlemig welder like a Lincoln. I use a brand of bondo called "all- metal". Aluminumpowder in a polyester matrix. POR-15 coats all these repairs inside and out.Works very well. Use rubber gloves. The stuff gets on your skin and has to wear off. IMHO I would not do it. Buy a Ferrari that needs resto. Same amount of work and value added,hehe. You are looking at a LOT of hard work.I'd find another body and transplant. Look at what I did on my TD. That wasminor rust, and worth the work. Yours is too far gone in my opinion.Hey does Bhodi refer to the bhodi tree? Zen?

I think in this case it would be a learning exercise ... if it works out, I could go out and buy a fixer-upper classic and apply what I learned. I think I'd rather learn on something that's not worth anything. I know it'll be hard work ... but if I can't stand it, I'll quit and start selling parts.

Bodhi actually is named after a baseball player named Bodhi Hart, who use to play for the Cardinals. The baseball players, though, was named after the Buddhist (I think) usage of the word though, "awakened" or "enlightened." I thought it was a neat name and I liked the zen feel, so I hijacked it for my car. My other three are also name after baseball players.

Simpler=Better · #7 08-07-2009, 09:19 PM

I thought I was the only one who used expanding foam as body filler

TylerH860 · #8 08-07-2009, 11:39 PM

It may not seem like it, but I do get very attached to my cars. Norm, the Excelsior and the 6.9 were all great cars. You'd be suprised how quickly sellers remorse is alleviated when you replace it with something nice. I don't like project sitting around haunting me, so I either go after them full force or move on.

There are others that do things slowly over a decade or more, and come out with beautiful cars. Those are my favorite stories at the concourse shows.

BodhiBenz1987 · #9 08-08-2009, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TylerH860

It may not seem like it, but I do get very attached to my cars. Norm, the Excelsior and the 6.9 were all great cars. You'd be suprised how quickly sellers remorse is alleviated when you replace it with something nice. I don't like project sitting around haunting me, so I either go after them full force or move on.

There are others that do things slowly over a decade or more, and come out with beautiful cars. Those are my favorite stories at the concourse shows.

Don't worry, from looking at your pictures (and stories), I can definitely tell you are sentimental over cars.

I guess if I knew Chase was going on to a great home, like your former cars have, I'd feel better, but I don't think anyone would want to take this car on as anything other than a parts car, realistically. Kind of like I'm the only one who could love this car. I know it's just a car, but I'd feel so awful just giving up on it. I'd never get the thought of it going in the crusher out of my mind.

I usually like to jump in on things, and hate to leave them sitting, but this is a really bad time for me to make big decisions. I got run out of my home by my landlady and am still fighting that battle, pushed in with my parents (financially, not the worst deal, I'll admit), job is terrible, other stuff ... when I get past these things I may have a better outlook, and a project car might be a great thing for me. So leaving it the garage a while is probably the best thing to do, I think.

JEBalles · #10 08-08-2009, 08:32 AM

Don't let it go to the crusher. Either someone can take on the project, or you or someone else can part it.

nickofoxford · #11 10-13-2009, 02:59 PM

Hey man, I know it's been a while since you posted this. What's the word on it?

I wound up garaging my 240D after I got a 300CD, Im still going to fix it, but college is taking every last minute of my spare time lately.

BodhiBenz1987 · #12 10-13-2009, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickofoxford

Hey man, I know it's been a while since you posted this. What's the word on it?

I wound up garaging my 240D after I got a 300CD, Im still going to fix it, but college is taking every last minute of my spare time lately.

My dad very kindly cleared out a spot in his garage and the 240D has been nestled in there for the most part ... kind of took the pressure off to make a decision about what to do with it, as at least I know it's not rotting out in the elements.

I've taken it out a few times to work on the fenders, but still haven't gotten those painted yet ... I kinda had to start all over because it kept bubbling back up where I'd done the work. I bought a book on automotive welding and have been glancing through that, but haven't taken the plunge as far as actually buying welding equipment. I would have no idea where to get sheet metal.

Anyhow, looks like for now it's down for the winter. I'd really like to get the fenders painted and put the bumper/headlights back on so I can take it on a couple little drives on the country roads while the weather and scenery are so pretty. Not sure if I'll get a warm enough day to paint (and a day when I actually have time), though. But at least it's staying dry for now.

JEBalles · #13 10-13-2009, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BodhiBenz1987

My dad very kindly cleared out a spot in his garage and the 240D has been nestled in there for the most part ... kind of took the pressure off to make a decision about what to do with it, as at least I know it's not rotting out in the elements.

I've taken it out a few times to work on the fenders, but still haven't gotten those painted yet ... I kinda had to start all over because it kept bubbling back up where I'd done the work. I bought a book on automotive welding and have been glancing through that, but haven't taken the plunge as far as actually buying welding equipment. I would have no idea where to get sheet metal.

Anyhow, looks like for now it's down for the winter. I'd really like to get the fenders painted and put the bumper/headlights back on so I can take it on a couple little drives on the country roads while the weather and scenery are so pretty. Not sure if I'll get a warm enough day to paint (and a day when I actually have time), though. But at least it's staying dry for now.

Junkyard would be the place to go to get appropriate gauge metal, but you should be able to buy 16 gauge (pretty close) at your local hardware store. Just make sure is labeled as weldable steel. As for rust bubbling, unless your cutting out all the rust-affected metal, you'll need to treat it with something or use something like POR-15 that can be applied directly to rusted metal.

BodhiBenz1987 · #14 10-13-2009, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JEBalles

Junkyard would be the place to go to get appropriate gauge metal, but you should be able to buy 16 gauge (pretty close) at your local hardware store. Just make sure is labeled as weldable steel. As for rust bubbling, unless your cutting out all the rust-affected metal, you'll need to treat it with something or use something like POR-15 that can be applied directly to rusted metal.

Thanks, I'll check True Value for sheet metal. I did use POR15 on the rust and in most spots it worked great. In other areas I guess maybe I sanded some of it off inadvertently or something, because it just bubbled through all the filler and paint ... it might have actually been trapped air or moisture or something, but it kept coming up so I just sanded it all off, dug out where the rust was, coated it with more POR15 and am building it up again. Hopefully will have more luck ... most spots did just fine, just a couple areas where tiny little bubbles appeared. If not I'll just live with the bubbles and move on to some more crucial repairs (e.g., the giant hole under the parking brake pedal). I can always replace the fenders with good ones if need be, but they're great to practice on for now.

JimmyL · #15 10-13-2009, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickofoxford

Hey man, I know it's been a while since you posted this. What's the word on it?

Uh, I don't think so......