Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => Body, interior, paint, chrome, and cosmetic items => Topic started by: Shvegel on February 27, 2010, 18:31:57
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Hi,
My friend who is restoring the body on my 113 has just acquired an old Celette unibody bench. We are now trying to borrow, rent or buy the fixtures for the 113.
Does anyone know where we can find any?
REgards,
Pat
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Please explain a bit more more, what the heck is a Celette unibody bench?? Pictures?
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A Celette unibody bench was the premier unibody repair tool back when our cars were young. Basically it is a very heavy steel frame that accepts model specific fixtures that locate the various suspension points etc. The problem with the Celette system is that you had to rent or buy the fixtures for each body style you worked on and pay the attendant shipping etc which is why more common benches use a more universal measuring system.
The beauty of the Celette is that if you have a heavily damaged or rusted car you need to repair you simply bolt the car down where it fits the fixture and bend it around until you can bolt it all down. If you have a rusty car you just bolt it down and cut out the cancer and weld it back in. The downside is there is probably very few sets of the fixtures worldwide and maybe none in the US.
Here is a link to one in action: http://www.911t.org/flat6/cellete_fixture_bench.htm
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Hello,
I know the MB Dealer in Indianapolis (Worldwide Motors) had rack fixtures for the W113 and most other MBs of the era at one time. I do not know what brand rack they had.
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Thanks Joe. I'll give them a call.
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Not sure but perhaps this company may have some of the parts you are looking for:
http://www.autotwirler.com/
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Other than scouring the net and publications like Hemmings you may be able to check directly with Celette. They also rent fixutes.
Customers owing a Celette bench may, from now on, rent us bracket sets homologated by the car manufacturers.
Our stock, including more than 1000 references, our knowledge and experience, will enable us to guide you and satisfy your needs.
Contact our rental dept. 0892.686.689
I've heard of others making there own fixtures by copying the very hard to locate pieces.
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Thanks Rick. We found them at Celette for $60 a day plus shipping but we're still hoping to own a set since there seems to be a few cars that need the rockers changed. My friend Rick In Minnesota is a wildly talented metal man and he figures after my car is done maybe there will be others to work on as well.
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Here is a photo of the fixtures in use on what's left of a pagoda.
http://www.auto-kromm.de/pagode/album/slides/006.html
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HI,
A couple of days ago I posted an inquiry asking if anyone knew of anybody who might have fixtures for putting a 113 on a Celette Unibody bench fixtures. For those of you who didn't read my post this is the best machine you can use to replace side sills etc on our cars.
Here is a picture of a part of a 113 on the bench.
http://www.auto-kromm.de/pagode/album/slides/006.html
As you can see it is basically a copy of what Mercedes would have used when they welded our cars together and since my car pretty much looks like that except it still has a floor, rear frame and soft top well I figure it is the way to go.
I got a reply back from Joe Alexander who and he said that Worldwide Motors in Indianapolis used to have fixtures for all the 70's era cars INCLUDING THE 113! So I figure I will give them a call but then I realize I will end up talking to some head scratching service writer who doesn't want to deal with me. So I was thinking about it last night and I realize my friend Dan is a Snap on dealer in Indianapolis. So I emailed him to see if maybe he might call on the Worldwide Motors body shop? Well, it turns out he does!
So he goes down there today and they have a 300SL Gullwing on the Celette getting a full restoration for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum so He's think they might still have the stuff. He's pretty excited because I have a brand new BMW S38 engine in my garage from a 1988 BMW M5 that he wants and he figures this is pretty good leverage. He asks one of the guys about the fixtures and he says........Yea we had them but we cleaned out our storeroom a couple of years ago and tossed it all in the parking lot and called the scrap man....ARGH.
The hunt continues!
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OMG What a waste of good tools.
I've read on other forums that the Celette fixtures are usable on Blackhawk (Snap-On) equipment when used with adapters. Is it possible that he reverse is true?
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The bench is basically a big flat table so you have an accurate plane to measure from. Most benches use some form of the system popularized by Car-O-Liner which is a series of cones or pointer to tell you where the car should be at. The Celette system on the other hand uses really heavy fixtures that locate the suspension points etc. Basically the car is bolted to the measuring equipment and if it doesn't fit you bend it around until it does. The nice thing is that the car is really held solid in the fixtures and the body is loaded at the suspension points so there are no surprises when t=you put it back on the ground. Besides, most other systems use some type of clam or fixture at the rocker panel to hold the car to the bench. That can really be a pain if you are trying to change the part you are supposed to be clamped to.
So to answer you question the benches are pretty much the same it's the fixtures that count.
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I know that you can purchase these things from reliable automotive equipment and they will help you. You can find their information on their website raeservice.com