My New 560

[schicksal]

I'm relatively new to the scene - I bought an '87 560SL a bit under three weeks ago from a poster called NGARover who posts here and on another large Benz forum. Apparently he acquired it from someone here named Hogweed who purchased it from someone here named Huy. Interestingly enough, the for sale ad is here:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-cars-sale/299586-1986-mercedes-560sl-convertible-w107-philadelphia-pa-only-%243200.html

It was mislabeled as a 1986 in the ad, but looks pretty much like the one in the pictures from a few years ago. The Carfax came back clean - nothing unusual at all. The middle brake light was in the wrong position because it was missing two nuts, and the bumper was off from a very minor collision (since repaired). I inspected this thing like I go over aircraft. No rust anywhere.

The good: Very good daily driver condition, overall. Get in and go anywhere. I like the color combo better than any colors that were available. Completely unchanged from new except for the rims. I'd like some AMG replicas with the center painted body color someday.

The bad: Someone in the chain of owners had a cat that liked to hang out on the car. It has a lot of scratches that should come out with the Zaino that came in the mail today. Lots of typical stuff, like a bad top. One of the owners after Huy repaired the seat bottoms with gorilla tape. They were cracked; there's a reason why you can't see them in the ad. A/C is also still not functional, as it's apparently been for a while now. A new compressor, drier, and expansion valve are on order. In the meantime I plan on playing around with the vacuum pods. I restored power to the pod system a couple of days ago but still get nothing from the center vent. It's not behaving like the heater box is cracked at least.

Anyway I've been reading a mountain of information from this board and decided to register and chime in some. Expect an epic a/c and "while you're in there" thread sometime soon.

My one question is - does anyone know who sells the gasket that goes around the door handles? One of mine has some overspray on it.

[rowdie]

MB sells the gasket (pad) under $10.00. 126 766 01 05

[schicksal]

Cool, gives me an excuse to go to the dealer now. How about the antenna gasket? I know this site sells it, but it may be more cost effective to buy it there too.

[jammer]

I have a new one that I don't need. Send me your address and I'll mail it to you.

[schicksal]

PM sent. Thanks!

[ngarover]

Interesting link to the ad before hogweed, I had never seen that.

The heater box is cracked. I checked it. I also re-glued the wooden tabs correctly on the inside of the center dash trim as they where broken off. Fortunately, they where laying in there.

The Blower was shot when I got the car, so I replaced it with a new one. One thing I didn't like was the spacers used on the front wheels. (there should really be some spacers on the rear also to move the wheels out a tad) The current spacers are the cheap ones. You need a good set of hub centric from Eibach Federn. I had a complete set that went with the CD I trade to Hogweed for this car, so if you ask nice maybe he would sell them to you. The cheap ones are almost impossible to get completely true. I used a 4x4 and rotated them while I glued them on and got really really close. Before that, they where off so much you couldn't drive the car over 65. Yes, those things will shake the crap out of the front of the car if they are off even a little bit.

The radio is also a factory reman. says so on a sticker on the top of it. So thats good news.

All in all, it seemed like a really good car that just needed a little more tender loving than I had time or $$$ to give it. I had a blast driving it around here and the car got attention wherever it went.

I did the gorilla tape... Sorry, but it was better than sitting on the seats as they were. I was just going to get a set of sheep skins for them until I saw the price. Cost almost as much as just getting the correct material and fixing the seats.

I fixed the bumper. Also some of the dash lights and the OVP fuse. When I got it home, I had the transmission fluid changed, a full oil change etc.

The cat was not me....

[schicksal]

At some point I'd really like to pick up a set of AMG replicas and have the center section painted to match the body color (why I would rather get replicas vs. the real thing). For now the wheels that are on there are working out great. Speaking of cosmetics, I'm still thinking about tint + clear corners + smoked, all red tail lenses...

The radio is working great too - it's heading out before long to have a line in added by Becker so I can listen to my ipod. I'm going with the stock look but adding an amp, sub, rear speakers and an equalizer so I can fine tune the sound from there. I also need to find a bit of carpet that closely matches the original since I'd rather not cut it or drill holes in it. I need to make a panel to hide all that stuff and mount the speakers on.

Right now the car is in the garage but it's in far fewer pieces than it was in a few days ago. So far the a/c is the only serious thing that I've needed to do. After we hit too many days over 100/heat index of 125 I had to take care of it. A new compressor, o-rings, and drier are in and I'm waiting on an expansion valve to come in before I can vacuum and fill it. The instrument cluster is out, odometer gears are on order, and new capacitors are going in the clock tomorrow.

Luckily I was able to operate the center vent flap with the mity vac so the crack in the heater box isn't bad enough to affect that yet, and pod 40a still works. What was keeping air from coming through the center vent was pod 38. Both diaphragms are bad along with the floor vent pod, but new diaphragms are on order to fix that. I may try and repair the vent box from the outside sometime later... I have an idea involving a doubler and some sealant + short screws to lock it all in. The dash cap had to come off (for now at least) so I can either make a hole for the temperature sensor, or repair the cracks and leave it off. Looks like it was there for at least 5 years. Maybe the dash will get sent out in a few years to be recovered... who knows.

The tape was a good idea but the Charleston heat was just too much for it. It shrunk but the adhesive stayed behind (result = sticky stripes, but goo gone cleans them). You're right - seat covers cost way too much. I made my own seat bottom covers from some left over fabric and plan on really recovering them sometime this winter.

It's been loads of fun to drive around and you did some great work on it. All stuff I know for sure won't have to go back and be addressed like on other cars I've owned, and for that alone I owe a great deal of thanks. I totally understand how catching up all the small things takes a ton of time - been there / done that with a 944 a while back. This car had an interesting history, probably in the Philadelphia area in the late 2000s from the business cards and receipts I found while disassembling things. I can't wait to get everything back together later this week so it can hit the road again. It does get tons of looks from walkers in the neighborhood - even by some high school kids that hang out across the street.