permissible engine aluminum finishes?

[Shvegel]

Hi,
I am going to start getting my engine ready to re-install in my body when it comes back from the paint shop.  I know the valve cover etc was delivered from the factory  with a raw aluminum finish but I am wondering if any other finishes do not cause a deduct in concours judging?  I have seen a number of really well done cars with either painted or powdercoated aluminum and I am wondering if this is OK? When I rebuilt my engine I acid etched the aluminum and it looked like a new aluminum cover but in the time since it has returned to it's normal crusty look.

[Jonny B]

For the MB Club of America judging, we would look for the original matte kind of finish. The only exception would be for a car (like the one that the late Frank Mallory had) where it was ordered with the "Show" option - black valve cover, chrome injection lines, polished aluminum bits - AND where you have the documentation.

[dseretakis]

You might consider coating the valve covers with a clear matte lacquer to protect the aluminum. Eastwood company sells such a product.

[wwheeler]

I have found that when clear coating bare aluminum (especially cast), it can "bloom" underneath causing a mottled look over time. Same if you clear powder coat. There are high temp engine paints that look close to cast aluminum. If you get two slightly different shades of aluminum color, you can overcoat one to give a more natural cast look. You can get a matte finish by spraying your last coat "dry". Dry is holding the can further away and with a light coat.

[Jkalplus1]

I polish mine before every show I enter the car. It sucks, but you develop tricks to do it faster every time. Two hours for me with Mother's aluminum polish and microfiber rags. Careful around the Cadmium plated bolts, it does not take much to remove it. 
It is the only way I have found that keeps the engine looking new but plausible. Judges spot the coatings immediately. They also know clean bare aluminum requires work, thus an attention to detail that -I believe- will reflect favorably on your competitive entry.  I recently won over a really nice 190sl that had all sorts of protective coatings in the engine bay. Our upholstery work was comparable, but his paint and chrome were slightly better than mine, for what it's worth. If concours are your thing, surely you know all the preparation pays off.
When I saw this car pulling in next to me I was convinced I was dead, I assume I pulled through because of a lesser number of incorrect things all compiled together that eventually gave my car enough of an a edge.
I say keep it natural if you plan on competing with it. The engine in the picture was restored eight years ago, so keeping it nice is very doable, but requires time investment.

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

The engine in the picture was restored eight years ago, so keeping it nice is very doable, but requires time investment.

Hello Otto,

Was your engine restored in the US or Canada?

[Jkalplus1]

Hi Rolf-Dieter,
My name is Jérôme. Otto is a nickname my wife found for my car. A bit of a play on words: Otto is a German name (for a German car), and it sounds exactly like the word we use for "car" in french around here.
The engine was disassembled, restored and rebuilt in Québec city, like the rest of the car. It now has oversize pistons. Not sure if it changes the displacement in a way that has any significance. It purrrs and pulls really well.  No oil consumption in between (synthetic) changes. Could not be more satisfied.
J

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Thanks Jérôme,

Nice to meet another fellow Canadian! I lived 21 years in Montreal, after that it took me west to make money after Bill 101 (transferred by the firm I worked for).

Great looking engine bay. I like to get mine in ship shape as well. The rest of my car is in ship shape, well except for the radiator. Taking the radiator out tomorrow for re-core it has a bad leak. A week ago I had her towed and I think the radiator got damaged during the handling onto or removing her from a flatbed.

I know all about the name Otto One of my friends in Germany is called Otto. I call my Pagoda "The Blue Tornado" Feels like it when I make 110 KM/Hr with the top down

[rmmchl]

Rolf, I know this sounds crazy, but years ago I bottomed out while going up a driveway. The radiator is lower than anything else on our w113's, so it hit first, causing a leak. I had my radiator guy re-core it with a 2 inch shorter radiator. I have never had any overheating problems by doing this

[Shvegel]

Thanks for all the replies. jkalplus1 that is a beautiful job.

[m300cab]

I did mine all original Except
I had the intake manifold highly polished and won may first place Mercedes Benz club shows as well as AACA

[RobSirg]

Had my Aluminium bits hydroblasted by a specialist guy who does that for engine components -  which is unfinished but holds up remarkably well. it started a little too bling for my liking (as in this photo) but has dulled off a touch and looks very original now. can even see the original weld lines which he was exited about (the guy that did it). Was not expensive and is uncoated.

Rob

[Dave H]

Just finishing off my engine rebuild..
My paint guy high temp coated the cover without me knowing.
Realising this is not strictly correct I was planning to re do in a more correct finish.
That was ,until I put it on and it looks , well, pretty fantastic..!
I have a spare cover which ( when all other jobs are out of the way ) I will put a correct finish too but for now ,a quick wipe
Over with a micro-fibre cloth is all it takes..
For day to day use I intend this cover to stay ,I'll  swap over should I feel the need to compete at a show...
My taste may change with time but ,for the sake of the 20 minutes it takes to swap over, it looks and performs beautifully.

[Jkalplus1]

M300cab, Rob and Dave, your engines are absolutely stunning!  Whomever did the rebuild, wow...

Rob, can you tell me where you found the battery with the red caps in your car? I have been looking for one just like the one you have, and it seems to hold really well under the top hold down bracket as well...I wonder if it can be had with yellow caps.

Dave: you're right, if I were able to swap valve covers in 20 minutes I would probably do the same thing!  I don't particularly enjoy polishing aluminum.  If I could take it off and back on as quickly as you say, I would probably take it off to polish it more efficiently and thoroughly before I show the car, and it would be less awkward and faster as well!

Cheers guys and thanks for sharing your engine bay pictures!

Jerome

[Bonnyboy]

All this talk about valve covers and these pictures of art ready engine bays, I went and had a look at mine and I found what look to be tiny cracks in the cover that have absorbed dirt and grime.   I'm not too worried about the dirt and grime right now but the cracks have me worried.  Do valve covers normally crack  - or were they made that way?   The cracks don't appear to be all the way through yet but maybe getting close.

Does anyone have a spare valve cover for sale?  Are there any fixes when the cracks go all the way through - aluminium welding after a good steam cleaning?

[garymand]

I think what you are seeing is casting marks, I think called spidering.  It happens with the solidifying of the metal.  I am guessing it can be bead or shell blasted and that hammers the surface smoothing the wrinkles.  That battery though is really an antique battery with exposed intra cell busses, maybe used as recently as the 50's.  I don't think my lady would approve of such old technology under her hood.   

[RobSirg]

Guys, Gary is correct about the casting marks - they should be there. Unless yours is cracked through from overtightened or something. They can weld Aluminium so should not be a huge problem if it is.

Jerome, I have some good and bad news about the battery. Incidentally, Gary is also correct about it looking like a 1950's Vintage battery - because of the lead bars (which I didnt ask for) but they added because they thought it would look good.

Here's the good news:
The battery is available from Auto Antique battery (see contact details below). It fits perfectly under the correct top frame. The cost is around $260, and the shipment to Australia?  - well, that was slightly more than the battery battery cost.....but I had to have it! (was surprised they would even ship it to Aust. be honest)

I have just purchased another one for my project car  - this time without the lead bars and (wait for it) with Yellow caps! So it looks identical to the one in 49er's original engine bay photo (How cool is that!). They are actually a maintenance free battery inside a case - so the caps (which screw off) are there for aesthetics only. This is great because the lead acid eats away everything (even my hood on the project car). Just need to make sure no one tries to top it up with distilled water. (they ship it with multiple removable warnings about that). I must admit  - I don't always remember to remind people working on my car about that.

Here's the bad news:
Installing this battery is what kicked off my engine bay restoration (Sure - Im happy about it now). Because it is effectively a battery inside a classic looking case it is too high for installation in the Pagoda's. So you need to have someone lower the battery frame. This involves removing the radiator, etc. and even cutting away a little of the seam on the chassis roll to get it low enough 0 but didnt touch the chassis frame itself so didnt affect its structural integrity. In doing that, I then got the engine bay resprayed (engine in) and then got all my bits polished and plated, bought correct hose clamps, etc. Gave my original firewall padding a coat with vinyl paint whilst I was at it. Like I said - Im happy about it now.

Given my project car will be totally rebuilt it was a no-brainer so I immediately purchased another battery with yellow caps and no lead bars. I even found a 'Varta' sticker on ebay which I stuck on the side, as they come plain. - here are the supplier details you need:

Antique Auto Battery
602 W.Rayen Avenue
Youngstown, Ohio 44502
1-800-426-7580
330-480-0755
www.antiqueautobattery.com

I found them helpful over the phone and their service was good.

Cheers

Rob

[Jkalplus1]

This is great, Rob! I thought it looked like one of their batteries, but had never seen one with a Varta sticker. This is what I am trying to find (or mimic):

[Jkalplus1]

Right now I am thinking my path of least resistance is to buy a tartopper, figure a way to make the ribbed front face, duplicate the Varta round logo, and cast the lead bar ties by interpolating measurements from the picture with the (known) battery post dimensions.

[RobSirg]

Yes, unfortunately I could not find a round Varta sticker.

There are people around that can build you a battery to look like that if you can find the correct size case - which I couldn't.

I was trying to replicate the battery that was in "49er's" engine when he purchased the car in 1968. (this photo was take a few months after he purchased it I believe)......... it has the same circular Varta sticker but no lead bars.

[Jkalplus1]

Yes, I remember seeing it and it would make sense for a 1968 car. From what I could find out, it seems the yellow caps and dumbbells shaped lead ties are what came in the 1964 cars. I may be wrong.
Yes, I heard about battery makers who can do anything I want, but I have not found one yet. And I can only imagine how much it would cost.
I will put the recreated Varta round logo in here when I am done so others can use it. We'll see how it turns out.
J

[RobSirg]

Great Jarome - would like to see that logo.
Sorry - didn't notice yours was a '64. Must be an old photo of a '64 Benz somewhere? (even if it isn't a W113) - one would assume they used the battery types that were around at the time.

I think the guy I found was rebuilding vintage batteries for around $1,000ea - they looked beautiful, but couldn't help me without the case (10 inch I think).