I finally, after numerous close calls, bought a fintail - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

meltedpanda · #16 07-14-2006, 02:25 PM

wow I love it, I am looking forward to hear of your adventures. I got a set of w114/5 hubs if they will help
very classy and looks to be in pretty good shape, i would suspect more rust than advertised but heck that's what bondo is for

do the stuff dog mentioned and check out my saga on my 1971 220,
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=134622
many of the things I went through you will go through as well, you can bet on it

have fun

WANT '71 280SEL · #17 07-14-2006, 05:27 PM

I have been following your thread, I am glad to see things are going well for you and the car. I do expect a long project filled with trials and tribulations. I spoke with the seller for the first time and it appears that the car was in Wyoming until about 6y years ago so hopefully there is not much more rust. There is none in the trunk, so I would think that if those are solid then the rest of the car should be pretty good to go. He said before it was parked the car was blowing blue smoke and the tranny leaked. He thought it was coming from the pan so they bought a tranny filter kit but never got around to installing it. I plan on pulling the plugs and putting ATF in all the cylinders then turning it over by hand a couple hours later. It seems as if the head will probably have to come off so I can do guides and seals. I wonder if I would be able to get away with just seals? The thing is, you don't know until you are doing the seals whether or not the guides are worn.

What about valve clearances? I will probably have to pull the valve cover and adjust the valves. Will I need special wrenches for that and what should the clearances be?

Thanks
David

WANT '71 280SEL · #18 07-14-2006, 07:11 PM

One more thing, in the pictures of this car the rims are black. So, if it just has those center caps, it looks like the rims are usually grey, or they have a chrome ring around the outside of the rim with the cap in the middle. So, would I want to paint the rims grey and get the center caps?

Thanks
David

peter811 · #19 07-14-2006, 07:58 PM

I recommend that you tow the car a** first so you don't damage the transmission.
If you don't believe me read the manual.

WANT '71 280SEL · #20 07-14-2006, 08:34 PM

The car is being towed on a flat-bed trailer with the whole car off the ground. This was mentioned earlier in the thread.

Thanks
David

300SDog · #21 07-14-2006, 08:37 PM

Center cap rims have steel nipples around the center that hold the hubcaps, an upgrade from pontoon models that an arrangement of metal springs. 14" rims will bolt right on and so will bundt-cakes. Surf the Nederlands hecklfosse site and you'll see the variations at their amazing photo gallery. GregBrembo's Cabriolet is there. For the valves you need a 14mm crow's foot socket, hazet makes a good one. Most of the nuts'n bolts will be 14, 11 and 9mm instead of 13 and 10mm on later 123 models. If fact I doubt there's a 13mm nut on the fintail.

WANT '71 280SEL · #22 07-14-2006, 09:25 PM

There is no sort of chrome ring that goes around the wheel like shown in this ebay auction from **************?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCEDES-FACTORY-CHROME-BEAUTY-RING-13-INCH-WHEEL_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6755QQihZ007QQitemZ170007197441QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Thanks
David

WANT '71 280SEL · #23 07-14-2006, 09:50 PM

I did some more research and there is in fact a chrome ring that goes around the rim. There is then a center cap which is about 9.25" in diameter. So there are two different pieces that attach to the rim on a 111 sedan. On the 111 sedans the rims are painted the color of the car and have just the center cap.

Thanks
David

300SDog · #24 07-14-2006, 10:17 PM

David those outer chrome rings are scarce as hen's teeth, inner hubcaps aint real common either. Path of least resistance is probly a set of 14" wheels from 123.

WANT '71 280SEL · #25 07-14-2006, 10:54 PM

Dog, should I start out by ripping straight into the valve seals? I know it will need head work and I would rather not remove the head unnecessarily. When I do the seals I will check the guides, and pull the head if and of them warrant replacing, but I bet that seals would fix most of and blue smoking problem.

Is there a way I can prepare the carbs while they are still on the car? To be honest, I know little about carbs. All work I do on cars is mostly newer cars or Mercedes which are either diesel or FI. Will spraying the passages out with carb cleaner usually be enough? I have heard something about paint thinner?

I was thinking to go ahead and wait until the after the valve seal project before even changing the oil so any carb cleaner or anything that enters the oil can be taken out with the old oil. That will also take the ATF out that I put into the cylinders to ensure that the rings are good to go.

Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Thanks
David

300SDog · #26 07-14-2006, 11:52 PM

If it was me I'd start with just getting the engine running. Head work can wait until after you've familiarized yourself with the car fully operative for a few hundred miles at least to chase out the cobwebs and get a handle on engine performance, oil consumption, leaks, etc. For example in Panda's saga he got the car running first and then attacked one small project after another and been driving the car regularly all along and ever since.

bgkast · #27 07-15-2006, 12:46 AM

Carbs that have been sitting awhile are usually full of varnish left by evaporating gas. You will probably have to take apart the carbs and soak the metal parts in carb cleaner to remove all of the crud, then rebuild them. On all of the adjustment screws be sure to count the number of revolutions it takes to remove them so you can get them back in the ball park when you put the carb back together. Before you tear them apart you could try some spray carb cleaner, but I have never had much luck with the stuff.

300SDog · #28 07-15-2006, 01:25 AM

Bad advice. If you'd ever worked on Zenith carbs you wouldnt advize anybody to tear em apart. Better to leave them intact, the ultimate can of worms. Never heard of anybody successfully "rebuild" em.

bgkast · #29 07-15-2006, 02:17 AM

You're right, I never have worked on a Zenith carb. A carb that can't be rebuilt sounds like a paper weight to me though.

cth350 · #30 07-15-2006, 08:39 AM

there are plenty of threads on carb rebuilds here. Each carb has about 120 parts, mostly nuts and bolts and bits of brass. ou will be rebuilding them, but after the 1st week.

First thing to do is drain the gas tank and remove it and get it cleaned. Replace the gas filter and any flexible gas lines. Note that the line that runs around the front of the motor and connects to the front carb is solid metal wrapped in rubber. Leave that one alone.

Second, Replace the battery and spark plugs and the oil. This will be a test of the iginition system. A shot of ether in the intake along with a decent ignition system should produce some sort of effect for about 2 seconds.

Now, you're ready use a small gas can as a temporary gas tank and armed with ether, try and start the car. Make sure you've run the fuel return line back into the gas tank. You're going to use this temporary setup until the ignition is to spec (setting the timing) and the car will engage all gears and not stall while moving it a few feet forward or backwards.

If the carbs are all gummed up, you're going to be rebuilding them before it goes anyplace. If they're only slightly screwy, you'll be rebuilding them after it runs but before it goes anyplace w/o stalling.

There are a bunch of special things on the carbs. Don't touch anything yet, especially the linkages. They're all adjustable and are presumably all ready at their correct lengths so they interact with each other. You should make sure the linkages move smoothly. That may mean a few shots of WD40, use it liberally on the moving parts.

-CTH