Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => General Discussion => Topic started by: Cees Klumper on January 10, 2012, 23:07:05
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This is a very popular topic on other car sites - so I thought I would 'import' it over here and see where it goes.
In my case, today my new front brake pads came in the mail and I will install them probably tomorrow night. The old ones are not worn but the front brakes ran hot due to restricted brake hoses a couple of years ago. I replaced the hoses but ever since the left front brake regularly squeels and after replacing the wheel bearings did not help I thought of the pads - also following a tip from Dr Benz I believe it was. So I did not really do anything to the Pagoda today! But I did drive it to the gym and back, hopefully that counts ...
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I got up early to put out the garbage and since everyone was asleep I snuck into my garage, turned on the air compressor, put on my radio earmuffs, put a wire brush in my air grinder and went at some last little areas of rust under the trunk floor. After 30 minutes I blew the dust off the work areas, opened my garage door and blew the rust dust out into the lane all over my neighbours recently washed truck, closed the door and then coated the bare areas on the car with Por-15 rust paint. Then I snuck back into the house, had a bath, breakfast, sang happy birthday to my kid and still got her off to Jazz band for her 7:30am practice.
Ian in North Vancouver
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Great topic! Today I took the cover off my hardtop and cleaned all the bright work that is impossible to get to once the top is on the car. Took the screws out that hold the wood trim around the rear window and buffed them up bright and shiny. Polished the wood trim and gave the glass a good cleaning. Top goes back on in a few days, reluctantly.
John
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We had -- yet another -- pleasant winter day here. After a quick wipe with the California Duster, I took the 230SL for a short spin to the local corner coffee joint, where I read a bit and sipped a Dark Roast. I have had the soft-top up the last few days. A nice change of pace from the long summer top-down season.
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Hi cees,
is it OK if I talk about Pagodas rather than just my own? I have some work to do on my car if I have time later in the winter.
Replaced all of the rear brake hoses and lines on one of the cars we have in ( 280SL). Also rebuilt the fuel pump and will replace the rear brake pads tomorrow along with all of the fuel hoses.
Once we get the pump back for the 230 I'll start test driving it again if the weather stays nice. Very warm here for mid Jan. at + 8 degrees C today.
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oh we finally got some rain here in Kuwait (which is a very welcomed thing),
but the canvas top (which I did not need at all since Nov.) is to be replaced. I had already received my new canvas top from German Auto Tops and look forward to having it installed within the next couple of days by a professional.
over the last couple of weeks I replaced brake pads, oil rubber seals (engine & transmission), gaskets, fiddled with the fuel pump and changed the oil twice so far.
gave my Pagoda a complete wash, wax and polish treatment.
But what i enjoyed the most was taking an early morning drive on the beach road Friday morning with my wife (where it was very peaceful and quite since Friday is the weekend here), and had many thumps up.
I also was approached by one of the local TV channels for an episode on Pagodas and use my car as a show piece. :-\ I am still thinking about it.
the family and I are to leave on a trip to beautiful Malaysia by the end of Jan. so I am thinking what works needed on the car while I am gone.
Sorry all for the long email
Best wishes to all
Basem
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Well I had planned to change my subframe mounts but the more that I looked at what was involved
the more I decided against doing it myself. I had the parts so contacted Colin (stickandrudderman)
who quoted 1 hour labour. Can't beat experience I suppose, but I had planned a weekend at least :-\
Am I glad I went to Colin as one side needed a blow torch to persuade the old mount to come out!
Great job. Next I will be replacing the rubber tube things that take the wires through to the headlamp
bowls as the old ones are perished.
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Hmmm ... this is depressing ... all these great images of members enjoying their Pagodas on beach drives, special coffees, shining up the chrome, even the lucky ones who manage to get their hands dirty before the day even begins! This is making me jealous. Oh well, can't complain as I started this and please do keep it coming, I really do find it very enjoyable!
Yes Dan, I think it's actually quite interesting to hear what the pros do to the average Pagoda that wanders into the shop, so please do post that here as well.
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After sucking all the oil out of my FIP yesterday, as discussed in another thread, tonight I will just sit and enjoy Michael's book Pagoda Style to quell my nerves. I have already changed the colour of my window crank, ash tray top and door pull to match the interior colour, which I am told is correct, and tomorrow will struggle with removing the 4th screw from the thermostat housing. I don't know what they were thinking when they put a screw under all those fuel lines. Anyway, that is tomorrow, tonight is the book.
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While I don't have a Pagoda, the city is repaving our alley that I use for garage access for the 111. I am using this 2-3 month time to rebuild the rear axle and recoat/paint the underside from the trans back.
As a late Christmas present which will assist me with the project, I just received a two post lift. It is semi-portable and is made to be removed once the job is complete. http://maxjaxusa.com/ This is perfect for my smaller garage since I don't have the manuvering room to have a permanent lift. We will see how it works in a couple of weeks.
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Got my fuel injection pump back from H&R today. Hans said it was a total wreck. Wrong springs, wrong seals, and leaking like crazy. I guess the previous owner wasn't as good at FIP work as he thought.....
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(Literally today) I replaced the crosspin on the right side rear hard top latch. One side had broken off and drifting out what was left was very difficult. But, perseverance pays off.
Gus
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Here's what I plan to do Tomorrow:
Drive the 230SL to the Woodside Bakery and buy a top hoist and cradle for $75...Craigslist ad.
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I'll be getting a beach chair, an iced drink, a floppy hat, and set up next to the car (in the commercial garage), pop the hood and admire the beautiful new Firewall Pad I just installed (with thanks to the efforts of Alfred and others.)
I'll ignore the outside temperature soon expected to drop to near 15 degrees Fahrenheit...and I'll muse about the beautiful April days just around the corner (I wish).
Richard M, NYC
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Took our trusty SL out for another wonderful topdown outing today in mid 60 f degree weather racking up another 50 miles on the odometer. But the time had come to put the HT back on so when we got home we attached the hoist, raised the HT up, pulled the car underneath and lowered it back down. I am happy to say it all went well without a hitch. Since we have gone nearly 2 months without any rain, I told my wife maybe we were the cause:-) Weatherman just said on the news that rain is expected next week.
John
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Road have been salted so going nowhere :(
Edit: looked at it as my rowing machine is in the garage and I just did a 5km piece
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Finally got new rear springs, pads, and bushings installed on my 230SL. The parts came from Dave Gallon, and the work was done as a birthday present to me from my son, who's a far better mechanic than I'll ever be. Surprisingly, the original pads and bushings were actually not too bad, but the springs were tired. Then took the car out for a test drive on the freeway, up to 90mph. (Nice warm day here in soCal). Now the rear height is what it should be, and the car handles much better and runs in a dead straight line, not wandering a bit as it used to.
Chris
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My car or rather the shell of my car is nestled in my friends shop in Northern Minnesota getting some needed corrosion repairs while I am stuck working on a yacht in St Lucia. We are at anchor about 150 feet(45 meters) from the Pitons so it doesn't suck too badly. I did however email my friend and ask about progress so that's something.
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Hmmm...Winter in Minnesota or St. Lucia? I think you made the right choice!
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Well on Friday Jan 13 (A lucky day in my book) drove my trusted Pagoda all day/night in New York City with flawless performance, without any issues, heater performed to expectations, started numerous time without any hesitations etc.......
Enjoying the Pagoda in the middle of January in NY........................PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
just checked the forecast for Today's temperatures between 16 & 23 F (-9 & -5 C) sunny skies and no salt on the roads, should I push my luck?????
Regards,
Dean
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Dean
I would say GO FOR IT and have a great time,
all the best wishes from sunny Kuwait on the other side of the world ;D
Basem
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Hi Basem,
I went for a drive in town!!!!
It feels good to drive the Pagoda in the frigid January winter. A first for me since I had my car for the last 3 years.
Without snow/salt on the roads will keep driving it every chance I get.
Warm Regards,
From sunny frigid NJ.
Dean
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Yesterday I fitted some 15x7 wheels on my W111 Coupe : http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=14796.0
as a result I fitted the alloy 123 Diesel 14x6 wheels that were on the Coupe on my Pagoda. I couldn't drive it to see the difference because they had salted the roads, but i guess it will be quite an improvement.
I had to start the car and move it arround in the garage to access the front right wheel. Despite the freezing cold the car started right up and idled smoothly immediately. Very nice engine.
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This is more like the last week, but on my project car:
- made one good set of Kangols out of three sets
- found a set of hanger covers for a good price on eBay
- installed covering, wind lace and caps on the pillars
- re-sealed power steering box
- installed pump seal and front seal in transmission
Can't believe how much work I still have to do!
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Today drove the car into work to be picked up by an importing agent, so he can have it titled in Switzerland. I sure hope the technical inspection will go smoothly, the Swiss are known to be pretty thorough; should hear back early next week. At least the brakes work pretty good (see other thread on that)!
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Installed a new passenger side mirror. ;D Problem is now it makes my drivers side mirror look all ratty and old. >:(
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Hi Guys,
It's almost 80F today, so I opened the garage door and polished the chrome on Carling. I made a cardboard replica of the clock that He Who Must Be Obeyed has on his desk while he calibrates it and placed it in the hole in the dash. He bought me a new chrome bezel for the day it finally keeps perfect time. On Sunday we have a huge classic car show, and all the Pagodas from this area are meeting!
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Big smile on my face today!, 1st February, just above freezing point, but a crisp bright day with not a cloud in sight so, on goes the hardtop, a quick dust off, remove the battery trickle conditioner and had an enjoyable hour or so and 40 miles of Pagoda fun. Didn't miss a beat after a couple of months standing and it felt like the start of Spring!... Snow forcasted for tomorrow.
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Removed manifold and throttle body, used paint remover to find the VIN that was painted over.
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Friday: had a full Tune up done
Saturday: Car wash
Sunday: drove it to Church and now driving to a Superbowl party.
it has been a perfect weekend so far, just need the Giants to win today!!!!!!!!!!
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Between yesterday and today I got my heater lever assembly out of the car ... finally. ;D
It would have been a lot harder without this Forum. Thanks !!!
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Filled my new front crossmember with waxoyl and then installed 20mm grommets in the access holes at the rear of it. Not much really !
Yesterday (Sat) I had my first drive in a manual 113, an early LHD 250SL with a four speed, took a bit of getting used to as I have never driven a LHD car with a manual transmission before (I always end up with an automatic when I rent in the USA). I really enjoyed it and once you accept the facts that the engine will be revving higher at any given speed than a modern car and that the car seems to like it, it really is a nice and modern feeling drive. I was able to explore the handling limits more easily with a manual on some nice greasy roads here in the UK and I have to say that I was very impressed and able to feel the cars sporting pedigree - Very flat and not too tail happy even on greasy roads although it was perfectly possible to provoke a twitchy and sliding rear if the mood takes you !
I was very impressed with the cornering and handling, more so given the skinny tyres on the vehicle ! Body roll was minimal and outstanding for a car approaching 50 ! Went through a 30m tunnel in second at 5000 RPM and the sound really was intoxicating and although I understand that this may vary with the type of exhaust fitted, this example had a Ferrari V8 esqe howl at the higher end.
Marvelous fun and I cannot wait to get my own 230SL auto on the roads in a few weeks time - Spring, not long!!
It certainly felt and sounded like a sports car to me, irrespective of its lack of pace compared to say a BMW M3 or F355 or an E-Type for that matter !
S.
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Today I drove my Pagoda with the aluminum W123 Diesel wheels. The car picks speed faster but is also much harsher as I could feel all the roads imperfections much more than with the original wheels.
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I would venture a guess that a harsher ride cannot be caused by the new wheels, but is likely due to a higher tire pressure. Try lowering the pressure by a few notches and see if that brings the ride back to what you had before.
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I've done NOTHING to my Pagoda today - except thinking about it and longing for spring :-(
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I would venture a guess that a harsher ride cannot be caused by the new wheels, but is likely due to a higher tire pressure. Try lowering the pressure by a few notches and see if that brings the ride back to what you had before.
Indeed ! Now that you talk about it I forgot to check the tire pressure before driving the car. I fitted the wheels that were in the back of the Coupe in the front of the Pagoda with 35 psi in them and the ones which were in the front of the Coupe in the back of the Pagoda with 30 psi. So it's indeed all wrong. I need to check what pressure is required for the Pagoda.
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Sent it out this weekend for tach rebuild couldnt stand the screeching sound-
while its out its getting a wet sand and proper prep for spring shows!
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The screeching sound from the tach could be coming from the cable rather than the tach itself ... :-\
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Sent it out this weekend for tach rebuild couldnt stand the screeching sound-
Back in the late 70's when I will still driving my SL occasionally, my tach made the same screeching noise so I took the cable out and put it in the trunk . That was where it sat until I got the car back on the road in 2011. My mechanic lubed the cable, hooked it back up to the tach and not a peep since. Might be worth a try before you send it out.
John
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Hi all,
In my case, it's not "what I did to", but "what I did for" my Pagoda today. I'm happy to say that I purchased my 3.27/4.5 rear end today.
I'm going to love doing 75 - - and not be yelled at by my engine !! :)
Cheers, Hank
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Like Wallace Wheeler I do not have a Pagoda but today I cleaned the "red berries" under the side chrome moldings while listening to Pandora Internet radio of the Beatles, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Queen, Fleetwood Mac, among other groups from the 70's.
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-o95lVjYEbVA/Tz7BChPrD6I/AAAAAAAABC0/rJH3vwoXB8k/s800/DSCN0427.jpg)
It's really great to be retired and be able to putz around in the garage and do some "fun work" where there is no deadline.
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--sKw9MUYoq0/Tx1cVKfywxI/AAAAAAAABA0/J0udXrXfEjg/s800/DSCN0312.jpg)
Regards,
280SE Guy
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Oh no!!
Norm
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The rest of the story.... ;D ;D ;D
Almost done. Should be finished next week.
Norm
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Norm,
Not putting in the lower ratio axle! Nice repair.
Garry
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I put the right pressure in the tires and went for a drive. The car now drives at it should. I then had a look under it and I was so pleased to see how sound, original and rust free it is after having seen a bad rust bucket earlier this moning.
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Not personally - but I had the sub frame mounts and the two nylon bushes in the steering column join replaced. The driver's side (RH) mount was almost broken through and the other very badly cracked. The steering had about 3cm play! This was done last week.
I then had to take the car about 300k's this last weekend and the drive was fantastic. I could now stay straight on the road without playing with the steering the whole time and going over railway lines etc was without 'klunk - klunk'!
I think it has to be the easiest and cheapest way to make the biggest difference!
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I think it has to be the easiest and cheapest way to make the biggest difference!
You may connsider all rubber bushing in general and the ones at both ends of the two rear trail arms in particular. Also check the play in the kingpins.
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I agree - all the rubbers are due to be replaced over the next couple of years as they are now almost 50 years old. I wasn't as flexible at 50 as I once was ;D ;D
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Fitted 4 new Vredesteins today. Wow, new tyre rush. No longer feels like she is cornering on wooden stilts
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Today I drove my 250 SL. She's running great and glad to be out and about. She's rooming with her 40 year younger brother.
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tach being replaced- while its out dash lights tuned up- the underside is getting addressed with attention to leaks, the body is getting a wetsand. Otherwise Im just waiting to get it back almost 70 here!
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My wife bought me a new chrome locking fuel cap for my birthday. I put it on and wow what a difference over the Mercedes non-chrome twist on. Yes I coached her a bit on the gift this year ;)
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Well just had the converter rebuilt, new 82 liter fuel tank installed, new plugs and final tuning done with the 123 distributor. Not a bad week's work!
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I gave my mechanic a list of work to be done on my car in December and just got the car back last week.
He changed the oil and installed new plugs but that wasn't what took so long.
He removed the the speedometer and tachometer and sent them to Palo Alto Speedometer for repair.
When he got them back he installed them but while the tach was fine the speedometer was erratic.
I looked in the Technical Manual and found the write up on 'erratic speedo'.
I gave it to my mechanic and he said yes that may be the problem. But he didn't have the special spanner
socket needed so he borrowed 2 from other mechanics but they were the wrong size so he made one similar
to the one pictured in the Technical Manual. He tightened everything and took it for test drive and the
speedometer worked perfectly.
Thanks to Joe A. for the writeup in the Technical Manual.
I also removed my clock and sent it out for repair. I got it back and reinstalled it and it works fine.
So now I have working speedometer, tachometer and clock and I'm ready for some top down driving. ::)
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I took my GAHH floor mats in to a local auto upholster shop to have the missing "snaps" put in and the missing notch cut into the passenger side mat. Good excuse for another ride too:-)
John
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I am still grounded as I wait (semi) patiently for my parts to arrive. So to kill time, I went and bought a new Interstate MT 24F battery today. My old battery is a Diehard from Sears -- about 5 years old. It works but may be loosing some of its punch. The new one has a more accurate set-up, with the posts on the correct side, although I am not crazy about the bright green top. Clashes with my white & blue car...
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Picked up my mats today and they are now snapped in securely :) and then out for a drive. Weather has been nice so this is the third day in row we have had our friend out for a drive. Also filled up the tank, a little under 11 gallons @$4.349 =$47.80. Small price to pay for so much fun.
James. Hope you get your drivers seat back in soon and before I put in my "World" battery, which is correct in size and pole locations, I went through many K-Mart batteries (had a lifetime warranties on those and K-Mart lost money on that sale for sure :)
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I didn't do it but I wrote the check when I picked up Scarlett today.
Valve adjustment, new starter, new shock absorbers- front and rear, new steering damper, new rotors- all around, new brake pads - all around and new motor mounts.
Only the starter was pre-existing problematic but I wanted a baseline since I didn't know the condition of the above components. Turns out, the steering damper was shot, everything else except the starter was serviceable and the rotors surprisingly good. They had a nice smooth finish. The starter has been a problem since it was installed when I first bought the car six years ago. Based on information here, I told the mechanic I wanted a starter rebuilt by Bosch. "Sure, sure, no problem". When I picked the car up he gave me the old starter in a generic, not Bosch box. When I asked, I got the story " I've been using these starters for 30 years, never a problem" Well mine was a problem from the get go, so I have a new mechanic.
I'm happy that I now know exactly what was done and when.
Gus
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Well, after waiting 8 weeks to get my windshield chrome back (A pillar etc) and reinstalling it last weekend I finally today had a new windshield installed. It has been a long wait, especially reading everyones tales of going out for a spring drive. I tried the windshield install myself but after spending an hour wrestling with the rubber seal I gave up and decided to let the experts do it. I am happy to report that Speedy did the installation. They assured me they had done many older cars and were quite familiar with the rope "trick" and had not long ago put in a windshield on a 111 Cabriolet. So I dropped off the car this morning and they called me two hours later to tell it was all done. I should also mention that they were able to install it without removing the dash wood. So this afternoon I went for a drive and did it feel good. ;D ;D ;D That's on more thing off my to do list.
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Nice Jordan! That is a biggie. I'd love to say that was my Pagoda deed for the day. Instead, I just went out and said hi. Wash and wax and some other detailing on the horizon though..
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Got my SL back from a 2 day stay down at Ernies. Not much to do this year (valve adjustment, rubber donuts for the exhaust system, Lube, oil change and few other cosmetic items). Going down to the tire store tomorrow and get a matching spare. Summer has arrived early so the Hard Top will soon be stowed away until winter. Looking forward to those sunset drives:-)
Ernie also had a 250SL (That has had bumper over riders and side reflectors added) in for service and a 280SL that was on it's way to it's new owner in Germany.
Here are a couple of pictures. The first shows my car (on the right) next to 250SL. The second is of the 280SL destined for Germany
John
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Hey John, good to see your car passed its annual check-up with flying colors. Figured it would. Where is Ernie's shop exactly?
I finally got my seat back in today. The new cover is a close match to the old one but not exactly. It will have to do. Anyway, took me a while but I got it all together. I added a nice baby blue pool noodle, though, which I have to say, definitely firmed up the seat. Worth every penny (229 of them)....
Rewarded myself with a nice drive around town, it felt good. Then a little detail to finish off the day.
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Just got a new car cover from California Car Cover Co for my 280SL. Their top of the line Superweave, custom #13636 in blue with one mirror pocket, fits like a glove, 99% UV protected and 100% waterproof. (material is light weight, like umbrella material). Highly recommend this cover. Just put it on today.
Bob
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Not done all today but over the last couple of weeks I have cleaned all of the carpets of my W108, Anthracite. I thought it was interesting that the under layment of the 108 is different than the 113 as it is not like the fire wall material the has been recently discussed. Here are a couple of pictures of the drivers foot well area, carpet removed, probably the most wear prone area of the interior.
It's interesting to see the grease pencil marks on the cover for the fuse box written by some one at the factory and a close up of one of the original paper labels and additional grease pencil mark by an inspector or assembler also installed at the factory
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-wgT5fetUt-s/UMXDeFqSS0I/AAAAAAAABWI/4ASBP7-lqMM/s800/DSCN0451.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OuOwKsJloy0/T6qhRX_rQUI/AAAAAAAABDw/CAv_OmlY15U/s800/DSCN0452.jpg)
Today I did replace the drivers original carpet
Here are a couple of shots of an original driver carpet of a 1971 Mercedes 108:
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GbQMtcsd_wU/T6_u0qKproI/AAAAAAAABEM/Xni1QUA_6Vg/s800/DSCN0453.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k9rX2w0UHYU/T6_u1WXGt6I/AAAAAAAABEU/ciLv6ppneSc/s800/DSCN0456.jpg)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-U4FCFnsNEi8/T6_u1xqCFuI/AAAAAAAABEc/HkI7PcX33ek/s800/DSCN0456close.jpg)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-HlROcgd9ntY/T6_u2WglmzI/AAAAAAAABEk/9Xea6oM1aWs/s800/DSCN0457.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ysMgNgOBSiE/T6_u3GVHiWI/AAAAAAAABEs/h__WJs8vzLo/s800/DSCN0457close.jpg)
Sorry for the similar images but I thought the originality was worth the effort for you.
Hope you enjoy,
280SE Guy
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Beautiful car and photos to match 280SE Guy. Those original carpets look like they just came out of the box. Beautiful
John
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Hey John, good to see your car passed its annual check-up with flying colors. Figured it would. Where is Ernie's shop exactly?
Hi James, Ernies shop (Bremen Motor works) is down on main street in Orangeville. He is a wizard with these cars and I highly recommend him. He loves the Pagodas and I always have to pry my keys away from him when I come down to pick up my car :)
Glad to hear you finally got your seat cover and now you don't need the Milk Crate anymore. Hope your "problem" with vendor got resolved too.
We have had our car out for drives 4 days in row now. Weather has been perfect but we still have the HT on. We had to delay or trip up to Seattle for a couple of weeks but when we get back, it will be "Topless" for the rest of the summer.
Take care,
John
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Thanks John. Well, Orangevale might be a bit far for me but thanks for the lead. Yes, seat feels much better than the crate.
Oh by the way, I was on the lookout for your Pagoda Friday -- but didn't see ya! I drove through Cool and the Coloma area and was pretty close to your stomping grounds. I was on a 4th grade field trip called the 49er trip. (no I am not in 4th grade, it's my daughter's class) :D ... An all day thing with stops in Auburn, Coloma (Marshall State Park), Placerville, The Miwok Grinding Stone, the Black Chasm Caverns (these are really neat), and Folsom. Yikes, lots of history and 60 screaming kids! It was wine-thirty by about 3 o'clock. But fun. Next time I'll be in my nice quiet Pagoda!
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Hey James, we did drive through Coloma Thursday and yesterday ( it is a nice loop drive from our place) but not Friday:-(. Did you guys find any meteorites? That was the biggest thing (litterally) to hit these parts since the Gold Rush!
We took a short (40 mile) drive up through PVille , Pleasent Valley, and Diamond Springs today. Great roads for these cars:-)
John
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Got my Pagoda back from those good people at Roger Edwards motors. Passed its annual MOT inspection but the puff of exhaust smoke I was seeing on acceleration turned out to be the valve guide on no. 5 cylinder that has worked it's way loose in the head. Got to send it back in in July for the head to come off and new guides fitted all round. Wallet feeling slimed already :(
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Gave the car a polish today while listening to the Indy 500. This has has been the custom for as long as I can remember going back to the old days helping my dad Simoniz his '48 Buick Roadmaster. Sure a lot easier doing the SL for sure:-) Took it out for a short spin afterwards then home to watch the Monaco F1 race. Here are a couple of photos of the car after it's "spa" treatment.
John
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Woke her up on saturday, checked all fluids and tire pressures. First time since late October. Took her for a 5 mile run, including a bit of 5k acceleration. All is well in prep for the 155 mile top down ride home today. Too much highway construction will keep me on 2-lane roads. Should be a pleasant ride, I hope!
Update...it was a delightful ride, about 170 miles on 2-lane roads. The nab system did make one mistake and took me on an unpaved road for about 5 miles, but was not too bad. Other than that a 4-hour journey through rural Michigan past farms and fields.
The "new" firm driver's seat was fabulous!
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Good Morning from Texas.
Many THANKS to ALL the veterans here and in every land, Thank You !!!
This morning I went out into the garage, to look at my ZF S 5-20 sitting in a plastic box. Albeit in one piece.
Stupid Question: Has ANYONE heard, received, gotten any, Transmissions/parts/ e-mail's, or anything from the ZF company in Germany???????
This is very depressing.
Any support, or kind words would be appreciated.
Best Regards
David Lewandos
Corpus Christi,Texas
AKA:rocketman1
64 230SL euro
64 220SEb fintail
82 500SL euro
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I have several letters from them on updates to my order for the new gearbox but that is all. As you will see from other postings on the Forum, they do not tend to reply to anything although someone here recently got some parts from the new production run.
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Well, not today, but this weekend. Saturday: wash and general cleanup. Sunday, polished all the chrome and aluminum. All is in pretty good shape except for the door mirrors that are pitted... probably because they are sticking out in the full frontal wind. Treated the car to a 120km drive with my wife and the dog (underneath the windscreen behind the seats), caught some raindrops. Monday, polished all the metal. Spotted too much rust for my liking. Main danger areas: around the headlamps and on the fenders (the rim around the rear-right hand arch). This won't be fixed before the European Event. I may get (someone) to tackle this in the winter.
Monday afternoon, drove to Essen to meet with Achim and the board of the German Pagoda SL Club. As soon as I reached Germany I left the motorway and drove along the Rhine and through old Roman city Xanten, the old industrial center of Duisburg, crossing the river Ruhr and through to Essen. Back around 10:30 at night, on the motorway. Drove 450km's in all, all open top, and, certainly on the motorway at a cruising speed of around 120km/hour. The engine ran beautifully, and the only time I got worried was when I sat in stop-and-go traffic in Xanten for 30 minutes in direct sun and at 30 degrees C, but even then the engine temperature got only a little over horizontal.
Peter
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Saturday afternoon, drove to Essen to meet with...
(Wisenheimer modus on)
Pentecost Monday ...
Yesterday (28 May 2012) :o :o
(Wisenheimer modus off)
Achim
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Fixed...
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Few days back now, but I dropped my daughter off in my Pagoda early Sunday morning for her school trip. Nobody noticed the Range Rovers, BMW's and other 4x 4's but plenty of admiring glances and comments for the Pagoda. My daughter felt special, worth a million.......!
Peter
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I had almost the same experience today, except my daughter told me she was feeling somewhat uncomfortable because the car was drawing too much attention...you know how teens can be sometimes! ;D
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Pentecost Monday ...
Pentecost Monday? I tell you, you Europeans find any excuse for a holiday... :D
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Found the clamp and large wing nut for the vertical spare wheel in a box of "leftovers", cleaned it up and installed it. Small thing but one of those many little jobs to do after a full restoration.
Even though the engine had a full rebuild there was a tiny leak from the front crankshaft seal, the boys at the shop replaced the seal, spacer and splash ring. The radiator has to go back in and then the car will be ready for Bromley next weekend. Unfortunately somebody flatted through the paint on the boot lid whilst mopping it and so I am having that re-painted. Again, I hope it will be done in time for the show...
Steve.
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a quick spin including 80mph in third, which was fun... but a bit smelly which worries me a bit of a burny/oily smell which may just be the "italian tune-up" in action...
...and finally I put my Nardi on. I've been having hub issues. First hub was not deep enough so no room for the stalk and the second rubbed on the steering column. After much tought I took it to my local shop who shaved a couple of mm off it. And then another 1.5mm and now it fits without rubbing. Hown works and it looks good
I have to go for a drive tomorrow too. ;D
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Yesterday I changed my points to the pertronix system.
I hope they last as long as they say.
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nothing exciting really, started pottering around in the garage and one thing lead to another!, next thing the drivers seat was out and a good cleaning and lubrication session was applied to the seat runners and moving parts.. then the carpets looked a bit loose so the underlay was trimmed back and re glued and it looks good now.
Then I skinned my knuckles getting the front seat bolt back in, yes you know the one - it's been mentioned before!, i've decided not to look too hard at the passenger side (it's very rare I sit that side) until my fingers stop bleeding at least!
Roll on summer
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It is Father's Day here today in the US and what better thing to do then take our "baby" out for a ride. Very hot here in the California foothills (upper 90sF - 37c) so the HT remained on and the windows down. We had been away from home for a few weeks so this was the first drive in our SL for about 4 weeks and she started up on the 1st crank. Temp rose about a needle width above 180 on some grades but ran cool otherwise. I have had a few aches and pains lately (old age creeping up :'() but every time I get behind the wheel I am 26 again (unless I see myself in the rear view mirror). My wife of course has not changed a lick in all those years ;). What great fun it is to drive this car!
Had to clean a few bugs off the windscreen and grill when we got home then put the car cover back on till next weekend's ride, with the HT off!!
John
PS Also got to share the day today with our daughter and an early Father's day with our son up in Seattle last week. Life is good :)
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My Bundt wheel experience lasted all of one month because I missed the "classic" look. So this weekend I purchased a set of 14" X 6" pressed aluminum wheels from Scoot, and had them mounted on Ingrid. Also, with the hot weather having arrived, my top is now at Fernando's for new rubber seals and then a new paint job (top, not car).
What fun !!!
Cheers & Happy Father's Day,
Hank
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Take out the heater core and go under the hood and retorque the head! Thanks Dan Caron, for reminding me to do that!
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Took it to a car show!
As mentioned earlier, today is Father's Day in the U.S. The Potomac Region of the Model "A" Ford Club of America puts on a wonderful judged show that at which one can find almost everything from military vehicles, American iron from almost any decade, and even imports and motorcycles. Mike Egan, Ray Schlicht and I all brought our Pagodas to the show. My wife also brought her MGB-GT that I gave her for her birthday 31 years ago last month. First place in our Import class and Best of Show for the entire show was a lovely bright red Jaguar XK-140 drop-head coupe, My Havana Brown 230SL was second in class and Ray Schlicht's 250SL California Couper (sans hardtop, it was a gloriously fine day) took third. The hit of the show, however was a stunning 1911 Stanley Steamer!
There were two other Pagodas on the field, one silver 280SL 4sp whose lady owner I wasn't able to meet and a red very late 250SL 4sp whose owner I met as he was leaving and to whom I was able to pass on some Pagoda SL Group contact info. I hope he joins, his amost completely original 250SL only has 40-odd K on the clock and looks and sounds great!
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Finally got the the Hard Top safely hoisted off the car today and stowed away till November. Always a bit of trepidation when the top is first pulled off the car and then hanging above it before the car is backed out from under it. Went for a short ride but after a few weeks of very warm weather today was a little too cool for my navigator. Tomorrow looks like a perfect day though and are looking forward to a ride in the country stopping for a coffee along the way. I hope many of you get to enjoy your Pagodas this weekend as well.
John
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Since today is the first of July and records show our car was built sometime in July 1968 we celebrated it's 44th "birthday" by getting a full tank of gas and taking her on a 100 mile jaunt. As usuall, the car ran like a million bucks and had three different people yell "beautiful car" along the way. Weather was perfect too for a top down drive. The "navigator" was very comfortable today ;)
John
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Last night when it "cooled off" to the mid 80s, I clay-barred the car. This morning, I put a coat of Zymol Carbon wax on it.
She's looking mighty fine. It's on a local website today: http://www.clickondetroit.com/money/automotive/-/2318858/15571916/-/ppcxtw/-/index.html
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Within the last week.
Fuel pump
fuel lines
7x15" wheels and hubcaps
Michelin Primacy 205/65/15 w/ Diamondback 3/4" ww applied
lube oil filter
fuel filter
alignment
was, vac and zymol
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Today I received the newly painted body and hardtop of my 1967 230SL 4-Spd Italian version back from the body restorer and carefully winched it onto my hoist in preparation for removing and rebuilding the freshly sandblasted and repainted suspension, followed by a leisurely reassembly with mostly new and restored parts. My first action was to install a new hood badge on the fresh DB332 Dark Blue painted hood.
Does anyone else have hood badge holes offset toward the driver`s side by about 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch. Mine is. Mine had no badge but the original holes were there and plugged with bondo under an old paint job. Maybe the off-center holes are why the badge was removed. It's only noticeable from close up and standing directly in front of the grill star, so I'm going to live with mine. I did find a photo of a restoration by a reputable restorer with the same problem.
Tom Kizer
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Wow - car looks fabulous already.
Has to be an exciting time for you.
Haven't seen the badge situation before but I am not familiar with 230s.
Could there be a badge with offset connectors for them?
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Thanks. The off-set badge appearance may in fact be an optical illusion due to parallax. The badge center, the grill star center, the center of the curved front edge of the hood, and the slight point on the grill upper edge should all be in the same vertical plane, but if the camera or eye is not in that same plane, something is going to look offset. Maybe I`m imagining it all and need to get a life. Maybe I spent too much effort, time and money making sure that the body guy got the headlight notches formed correctly. At some time during its first seventeen years, all in Italy, they got eliminated. My body guy even put spot welds back where they belong on the inner edge of the fender in the engine compartment. Talk about being anal.
Tom Kizer
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I like the off road suspension your car is demonstrating currently- could make it one of those Dakkar rallye cars
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I just finished restoring my relays. I needed to do this project for awhile now and finally got to it. They are CAD plated and I used my reproduction dry transfer decals. I polished the brass eyelets and clear coated everything with a "dry" finish so it will last for years.
Can't wait to install them!
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Today, Occam's razor and this site once again prove they are king. I got my heater (yes I know it is summer) working for the first time since I got the car almost 3 years ago. All this time I thought my heater core was plugged. Even though I could move the heater levers from open to closed (looking at the heater valve on the firewall) it turns out just the top of the lever was moving, not the valve itself. I had purchased one of Jesse's heater cores (in the for sale section) as I figured it might come in handy once I took apart my dash to pull my heater core for repair or replacement. Today I picked it up and I got a really good look at its set up and workings. Decided to have another look at my valve set up and after some experimentation determined it was actually siezed. So using the info from this site I got it unsiezed, took it all apart, lubed it up, and put it back together. Went for a drive, got the temp up and turned on the heater. Wow, heat blowing like never before, literally. You should have seen the smile on my face. I took IR readings on the inlet and outlet hoses and instead of a 30C difference between the two (as posted on another thread) they were the same temp at around 55C. As many have said before, this site has once again proven invaluable and saved me untold hours of work that would have been otherwise wasted. As I learn more about these cars I hope I can add my experiences such as this one and save someone else some time.
Marcus
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wwheeler,
I don't want it to be left unsaid, your relays are works or art. ;D
Jordan,
I think 3 years is the average time to enjoy the car without the heater working. I'm average too. Just fixed it over winter (winter in the northern hemisphere ;) )
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Picked up my car today after a repair, new tank and resolving a gearchange problem, now it drives terrific.
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Today, cleaned her up a little, checked the fluids, then took her for a 155 mile ride. Tomorrow, about 130 miles to the Concours of Livingston, a charity fundraiser. Back to central Michigan tomorrow night, then 155 miles back home on Sunday. More daily driving than this car has seen in decades....
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Giving it a good run is the best thing you can do for it. And you get to enjoy giving the car its tonic medicine
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I agree with Gary nothing better than taking these cars out regularly for a good run. I gave mine a good run today up the pacific coast highway and enjoyed many beautiful vistas as I made my way between Del Mar And Carlsbad California. It was good for car and driver alike. ;D
Chris
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Well, did 3 of those 150 mile legs...ran like a top. A few bursts near 90 MPH getting around things, but most cruising at about 70-75. Sadly hit a little rain last 20 miles last night...time for an undercarriage cleaning. >:( Weather looks nice for top down today for the last leg. I have plans on meeting member FinnBrian here in Michigan, this week.
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today, I faced the task I most feared for ages!, removed bonnet (hood), off with the rocker cover and replaced the timing chain. With thanks to the information in the tech manual and forum members it went seamlessly and quicker than expected!, I then adjusted the tappets and replaced the antifreeze and all appears good. I am also going to fit a new cooling fan viscous coupling tomorrow when my fan comes back from sandblasting and spraying. Soon be ready for the Euro Event next month.
Neil
Fan's back and fitted, looks better than the surrounding area!
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I finally managed to get all keys and locks to work properly. An old guy just took everything and fixed not only to turn and lock as it should be, but he also managed to arrange that all locks work with the same key, which was not the case when I bought it from the so called expert renovation seller.
Next step: engine and gearbox check
Stan
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I have Parrotted my Pagoda....
I have a Parrot MKi9100 in my other cars, so I have now added one to the Pagoda
Hopefully not with a Norwegian Blue (for Monty Python Fans !)
The kit is a Voice activated Bluetooth Hands free Phone system, and also enables the playing of Music using an Ipod / USB stick / or Smart phone.
My car has an original Blaupunkt Mono Frankfurt Radio with two Front speakers without a central speaker, this installation enables these to remain un molested, and used normally.
I use the Phone and USB functions, these play through the original car speakers, and automatically mute the radio when in use.I can thus have all my own music on the USB stick, without the expense and disfiguration of a modern sound system.
See electrical section for more details
Paul
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Replaced modified amber taillights with correct repro all-red lenses, detailed the luggage compartment with my two youngest in preparation for the car show tomorrow. Hopeful for "best import". Pictures taken, one is really funny with my youngest lying in the spare tyre well (early 230sl)
other pictures of them re-installing the taillight assemblies (if I could only get my s*** together and find the cable to make my camera talk to the computer).
Will report on the show
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Removed the control box for the electronic ignition that I ran before installing a 123 distributor, touroughly vacumed the interior, soldered some speaker wires that had been crimped before (but since one came off, I thought it would be better to solder all of them) and installed one of those battery disconnect switches that go right on the negative pole of the battery, then connect (or not, that's the functional part) to the negeative cable. Finally no more slowly draining battery due to, I have to assume, my aftermarket ignition disabling/alarm system. Oh and topped up the brake fluid and put fall air into the tires ;).
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Ummmmmm........ let's see. Added a liter of oil.
I keep filling my fuel tank but it keeps going empty, anyone have some suggestions about that problem?
Oh, and I increased the timming a bit up to about 38 degrees.
Now that's the ticket ( hopefully not a speeding one ) and it pulls really well now. Not that it didn't before, it's even better now.
Working on three Pagodas right now:
1) early 230SL in for some mechanical repairs. We did the car about 10 years ago with an engine rebuild and all new body panels. The IP had some problems like a siezed air valve and I had to adjust the BC but I think I have it now. I went through the distributor and fixed a couple of things. Fixed some hard top problems and replaced some seals. Replaced the wood on the dash and fixed a couple of things around the gages while we were in there.
Car is out for new carpet and seat leather. New sill trim and it should look and run great.
2) Engine rebuild and complete restoration on a 1968 280SL. Nice clean rust free car. I have the engine just about done. Plan on removing the interior next week. Might have it done for next spring.
3) longer term project. I rebuilt the engine on this ' 67 230SL a couple of years ago and it's been a conversation topic ever since while sitting in a corner of the shop. We now have the engine installed in this really nice effort. Customer had the car painted and all of the fun stuff done. Brakes, dash and running gear were done before it came to me a couple of weeks ago.
Still have to install the manifolds and exhaust. Nice project because everything is already cleaned or painted and my job is to put it back together. This will be a really nice car once done. Everything, and I mean everything has been restored or replaced with new parts.
Off topic cars:
190SL is just about done. Long story of how people played with things they don't understand. Came with a '' rebuilt '' engine. After I did it gain it will now run. The rebuilder had the main bearings in upside down which blocked all of the oil galleys.....
600 is now painted and will need to be reassembled. This car will be stunning.
220Sb is finally sorted out. Really bad carb problems held us up but we have them sorted out now.
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Ummmmmm.....
I keep filling my fuel tank but it keeps going empty, anyone have some suggestions about that problem?
I seem to be having the same problem? Perhaps it is because I am driving it too much :) Another sunny day today and we just couldn't resist a short (40 miles) drive. What great fun it is!
John
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Benz Dr - I've been getting my 280 ready for the Euro Event and following changing the timing chain recently I checked the ignition timing, found it about 4 degrees too advanced and backed it to 30 degrees. Since then under light load it appears a bit 'burbly' through the exhaust. It still goes like a rocket, tickover is smooth hot and cold and the temperature is normal. All my plugs are new, my copper leads are 0 resistance and all plug caps around 1,000 ohms. Should I advance the timing as per your post or put it down to me listening for trouble thats probably not there?
Keep up the posts, very informative for UK members I'm sure.
Neil
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Back in post#173 of this thread, I discussed the "offset" of my hood badge. I ground off the screw and alignment post on the back of my hood badge and installed it perfectly on center with 3M badge tape, thinking my hood hole mislocation was an anomoly. NOT SO! Take a look at the attached photo of a Motoring Investments $137,000 car, a total restoration, and try to convince me that the hood badge is not about 1/4 inch off center to the driver's side. Every one I've seen so far is that way.
Your job, should you choose to accept it,(like mission impossible) is to take a look at your hood badge and see if it is really on center. Don't bother if you haven't used the hood holes and screw to attach it, or if you don't care whether it's on center or not.
I can't believe Mercedes would let that happen, even by a "replacement hood" vendor.
Tom Kizer
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Hi Tom,
I chose to accept your mission and I went out and took a look at my hood/badge. It looks pretty well darn near centered.
John
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Hi Tom,
Also did the same and satisfied it is original and centre.
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I agree that both of yours look centered. Mine had to be shifted 1/4 inch toward the passenger side to center it. I actually installed it using the screw and guide pin on the back but it was so offset that I couldn't tolerate it. I had to move it.
Maybe because the hood has no obvious gauge points or surfaces, fixturing the hood to drill or punch the holes accurately was a problem, causing variability from one hood to another. My philosophy from now on is, "If it looks right, it's right."
Thanks for checking your hoods and thanks for the effort of taking and posting the photos.
Tom Kizer
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Tom,
They would have had a perfect jig to ensure correct placement and installation of the hood emblem and no errors after all they were doing tens of thousands of them.
The only explanation is that the bonnet/hood of the car has been changed some time in its life and the emblem incorrectly put on.
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centered
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I gatecrashed a Porsche event in mine yesterday (Classics at the Castle - including a gathering of 40 RS Carrera's) http://www.ddk-online.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=40237
A very handy 100 mile drive on country roads that gave me far more pleasure than the old Porkers which is a good place to be!
Running well (touch wood) although I think the heat shield on the exhaust is slightly loose - I can hear a tinny rattle under/slightly behind me at about 2500 revs (fine above that and below). Cashflow permitting it's a new soft top and the repro firewall pad in the winter
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Today I embarked on a main service. Started with setting the valve clearances (three inlet valves had just a bit too much play); changing the oil (drained also the oil cooler); replaced the spark plugs and set the ignition timing. Car runs very nice. This weekend perhaps I will take the time to hit all the grease points and replace the brake fluid and coolant. I also have the complete set of cooling system hoses ready to go in. Set the idle CO level. I think I'll do the linkage tour also (have actually never done it yet). And I need to replace my timing chain, dreading that job a bit!
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Cees the timing chain is not as scary as it sounds if you follow the instructions on the forum. A couple of things I would suggest (I did mine a few weeks ago) is check the ignition timing before you change the chain and when you feed the chain around the engine 3 people are useful, one to slowly turn the crank (spark plugs out) one to keep the chain tight in the teeth of the cam sprocket and one to hold the new chain in the air while feeding it towards the engine.
One other thing, I cable tied both sides of the chain (either side of the link to be ground off) to the cam sprocket to keep things tight and do make sure you keep all holes covered, it's so easy to drop those small links and e clips
Neil
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Benz Dr - I've been getting my 280 ready for the Euro Event and following changing the timing chain recently I checked the ignition timing, found it about 4 degrees too advanced and backed it to 30 degrees. Since then under light load it appears a bit 'burbly' through the exhaust. It still goes like a rocket, tickover is smooth hot and cold and the temperature is normal. All my plugs are new, my copper leads are 0 resistance and all plug caps around 1,000 ohms. Should I advance the timing as per your post or put it down to me listening for trouble thats probably not there?
Keep up the posts, very informative for UK members I'm sure.
Neil
Depending on which distributor you have, you should still have about 30 degrees of advance ( or more ) This is not the total advance and you need to add the base setting to that. I'm finding that 36 - 38 degrees total is just about right. These engins like all the timing you can throw at them. Ther more the better until or you hear some pinging and then back it off about 2 or 3 dregrees. You won't be able to hear faint pinging which can still be damaging and is why you need that margine of safety.
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Thanks Benz Dr, I've got rid of the hesitation/misfire by adjusting the FIP rod, my timing is at 30deg at 3000RPM but will advance a few degrees over the weekend and try
Neil
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Did a fluid top off; have been noticing some evidence of coolant overflow inside and cleaned it up.
Horror of horrors, discovered some rust bubbles beginning to form on the vertical part of the fender lip. This is where the spot welds would be had my fenders not been replaced during restoration. That will wait until next spring for attention.
Cleaned up the engine bay a bit and realize it is a lot of work to keep it pristine.
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Got my car together and took it to its first car show yesterday. An all mercedes event in beautiful North Vancouver Canada. I guess I have been too close to the trees to see the forest when it came to the condition of my car because it fit in just fine at the show. Next year it will be even better.....
In attendance there was the following:
2 USA 230SL
1 Euro 250SL
2 USA 280Sl
1 Euro 280SL
Based on my limited experience yesterday I would say that 10% or less of the Pagoda Owners out there even know about this site much less take advantage of the expertise available.
Thanks again to all those on this site that have helped me along with my car.
I attached a picture this time.
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Replaced the complete exhaust system with MB complete system, a 8 hour job w/welding. When it was time to tighten the header connecting bolts (8mmx50mm), well, I cracked the header at the lip (#4,5,&6 cal.), so I found a used one on the internet. Hold lot more cheaper then a new one at Classic Center's price $1200.. at the lip. Anyway job is done. Underside of SL looks great with new pipes.
Bob
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Installed Pertronix 1864 LA with white dot on magnet, retained original resistor and Bosch red coil. Car works really nicely. Retimed it (learned to use a strobe by the same occasion) exactly as it was 35 degrees at 3000rpm and 8 ATDC at idle, running on 94 AKI fuel all the time, works great but now my idle is 200RPM faster than when I still has the points in. Mystery. It feels about the same, perhaps a little bit more torquey under 2500 RPM, but it could be psychological. What I like the most about it: it was the perfect Bday gift from my brother, a bit of brotherly bonding time, and I learned how to use the strobe. AND the car's appearance is unchanged, unless you realise there is one more wire there...unnoticeable unless you are looking for it...great!
I'lll try working the mixture a bit and give it another couple degrees, see what happens...fun times...
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Did a 760 mile roof down Weekend trip from Basingstoke to Whitburn in Sunderland returning via Huddersfield. The 230 never missed a beat but drank an awful lot of premium unleaded !
I visited Mark Turnbull a friend of mine (he of the Getrag manual 5 speed conversions). I drove his 280 engined manual 230 and I have to say it is both very quick and very beautiful.
It was great to do such a long trip and I am now perfectly confident in the car and would take it anywhere, Northern Ireland next season I think !
We fitted a gas strut to the bonnet and although this may offend the purists, I never liked the crude device MB fitted which can open up the bonnet seams. The strut uses the relay bracket at the bottom end. Mark also fitted new domed nuts to the rear of the horn ring and now this is tight rather than floppy !
Finally we changed the oil and greased some nipples.
Bit of an epic trip, plenty of fresh air, great company and a superb final shakedown for my vehicle.
Still have those hot starting problems though...
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Was welding a tray under the luggage shelf and a rag I had that was full of thinner ignited from a welding spark and got a large flame (ball of fire 1 foot cubed), tried to put it out with the wet welding cloth and the flames just got larger so I grabbed the rag and threw it as hard as I could away from my car and watched it burn while I ran to unlock and then open the garage door and throw it out even further away from my car - got it in the lane and watched it burn and the black smoke head upwards. What an idiot I am... Just a little carpet singe, lost the hair on my arm above my gloves to the elbow but didn't have to use the fire extinguisher I had in the front seat. Thats for a real fire...
Feeling a bit humbled today.
The welding looks great though.
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Welding, thinners - bad combination! Lucky escape I think
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Removed the incorrect stalk from my washer bottle cap, installed a grommet (black, but I think it needs to be white or clear from what I can see on pictures) for the hoses. Fiddled a bit with timing and FI to improve idle (too high). Went to cruise night.
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...ignited from a welding spark and got a large flame (ball of fire 1 foot cubed)
Not the first time. Read about [Dr.] Andy Wolff's experience in Pagoda Style... :)
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Now that the metal under the parcel shelf is all back inplace I decided to carpet the holes and fill them up with emergency repair items. The carpetting will keep thigs from banging away and the items will give me peace of mind. So far I have the following items wrapped up in little metal makup cases. Wire, cutters, zap straps, screwdriver, duct tape, crescent wrench, vice grip, hose clamps - couple sizes, rags, container to collect water, papertowel, small container of car wax, 10' chunk of electrical wire, fuses, high vis vest, gloves - nitrile and leather, oil, garbage bag, and some change and a small first aid kit. Hopefully I never need any of that stuff but peace of mind is worth the effort.
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I'm happy to report I changed the engine oil and filter (and associated seals). I used Brad Penn 20W-50.
I changed the fuel filter and associated seals. This was not fun because I cut the large o-ring during installation and leaked quite a bit of fuel on my floor. I more carefully re-used the old seal and now all is good. This is the 3rd time I changed the filter in 3 years, and I'm thrilled to tell you there was minimal sediment (compared to previous changes), so I'll be waiting a while before I do this not-so-fun job again.
I replaced my blue rubber fuel cap gasket (from non-Classic Center vendor) with a cork one from the Classic Center.
Continued to work on two grease zerks that don't accept grease (actually the zerk is not the problem, it is all dried up under it). I have new zerks too.
I'm getting ready for two big fall drives I have coming up.
Oh yea, Bonnyboy, sorry to hear about your fire. I'm glad no one was hurt. I probably took some extra caution today due to your experience ... but I didn't do such a good job since fuel was pouring out all over. No fire though. I was sure happy once the fuel system was all sealed up again.
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I had a very productive weekend, installing and otherwise taking care of a variety of long standing items on the never ending “to do” list.
Years ago, the former owner of thelews car, one Vince Canepa, remarked to me that he hated car shows and Concours d’Elegance, and other Pagoda owners looking at his car. You see, he could not stand people nit-picking little details, and perhaps took it all too personally. So personally, I guess, that he sold the car! Anyway—I’m the opposite. I listen and learn from experts, car show judges, etc. and when I can make the changes, I do…it just takes time! Here are just the latest revisions, all from critical commentary from my friends...
1) Added the missing bracket that holds the air-line to the intake manifold (along with the auto transmission dip stick tube). This missing bracket—two pieces—was pointed out to me in 2011. Sourcing it was another problem entirely. Joe Alexander had two of them, the week before, but they had gone out to members here who needed the air line it was attached to. We scoured Joe’s bone yard, and alas—nothing. I could have stolen the set from Alfred Esser’s car, :o whose engine bay parts at Joe’s had just come back from the plater, but I stayed honest—besides, it would have been way too obvious. Early this year, Gernold Nisius of SL Tech came through with the parts, freshly plated.
2) Added my new replacement VIN plate to the doorjamb. This has been missing forever, and it took several false starts and incorrect manufactures over more than a year before I finally got it right. It is a nearly perfect reproduction of what was once original to the car. Unlike many that are screwed on after a restoration, I used the more original rivets. Thanks “you know who” for your help with the data plate.
3) Installed the bracket that holds the top of the radiator fan shroud to the radiator itself. This piece is often missing on cars that have been apart, and is NLA. I tried getting one last year to no luck, but when I least expected it, once again, Gernold came through.
4) Replaced the window winders. At PUB 2009, Dave Gallon pointed out to me that my window winders were not quite correct for my car. Of course, the proper ones are NLA, and hard to find unless you like pitted chrome. The problem is I had bought replacements back in 2002 from MB, and they had changed the plastic knob. I believe I only had one original, and it was pitted as was most of the original chrome on the car when I got it. Earlier this year, Scott Allen (scoot) came through with a nice set of reasonably original ones, a bit more appropriate for the car. They fit over nylon washers that Joe Alexander’s friend Paul Hackman told me I was missing, and of course supplied. Now, the knobs on the winders match more closely the rest of the knobs in the car, like the ones on the radio, the cigar lighter, etc.
5) Installed the wholly non-original but perfectly functional cup holders. If you followed the thread on this site, you’ll see some other posts. I ordered two, and they could not have been easier to install. Looks like they were custom made for the tray in a Pagoda. Now at least, I can have a bottle of water or something without fear of it falling out of reach. I elected to screw right through the carpet, and tested the obvious: you can remove the cup holders and not see any holes. I used the same mounting holes for the box.
6) Pulled the distributor cap, added some lubrication. Thanks Naj, for the gentle reminder.
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Congratulations for having so much fun. Now you need to find and replace those Norma hose clamps with the original Gemi clamps like these:
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-xiPHZo3v27Q/TA4gr3LGoXI/AAAAAAAAAow/rL60Ls4t4SA/s800/DSCN1385.jpg)
Keep going.
Regards,
208SE Guy
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Now you need to find and replace those Norma hose clamps with the original Gemi clamps like these:
Talk is cheap, and easier said then done. Tell me where...
One mechanic replaced all of the "Fat-A** American clamps" he found shortly after the restoration...these are what they stocked.
PS. Chinese copies would not be welcome in my car. Those I've found.
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Very nice Michael,
Glad to see you found that shroud bracket you had been hunting for. I am afraid I also opted for "garden variety" hose clamps when Ernie brought my car back to life a couple of years ago. He has nagged me be a bit since, so I might switch back to the original "style" some day. Then again, the car drives fine and I have zero leaks. Might be a project for my son/daughter in the very (I hope) distant future :)
John
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Michael wrote ... "... the radiator fan shroud ..."
I'm going to have to check and see whether I even have a fan shroud ?
Thanks Michael, your car is getting better and better ...
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Today, I have accompanied my Pagoda to a maintenance workshop for check and annual review. While this is not the end of driving season, a leak from "down-ther" convinced me that this should not wait. I will take this opportunity to install 3-point seat belts and European style headlights. While I though that it would be - as somebody here said - plug and play experience, it is not the case. After removing the US headlights, I discovered that there was some strange-looking connections made between various cables, so I leave it up to professionals.
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Well I finally got my overhauled pump back from Gus @ Pacific Fuel Injection. What a maestro that man is with mechanical injection pumps !!!
Anyways, have started putting the pump back in together with the replaced injector lines, brackets, etc
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I discovered that there was some strange-looking connections made between various cables, so I leave it up to professionals.
Stan, this might suggest that the US headlights were updated to the latest version, with connections needed for side markers? Or, something similar with the driving light connection/fog light connections...
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Michael,
You are absolutely right as if you were here :)
My Pagoda is among the 80 last ones produced in February/March 1971 (VIN 113044 12 023798). It also has the optional Hella fog lamps that are switched on together with high beam lights. So it is a full mounty car.
Stan
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Shifter bushings, dust boot and covers, shifter boot and finally turned the shift lever in the right direction. Very smooth shifting now.
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Went to the painters to see how the work was getting on....i hope they dont finish it too soon because i have lots to do in the garage before the shell turns back up...i need the space to sort all the million other parts out.
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2) Added my new replacement VIN plate to the doorjamb. This has been missing forever, and it took several false starts and incorrect manufactures over more than a year before I finally got it right. It is a nearly perfect reproduction of what was once original to the car. Unlike many that are screwed on after a restoration, I used the more original rivets. Thanks “you know who” for your help with the data plate.
Mike, I have a 1970 280SL and would like to replace the 2 VIN plates and emission plate. Can you (or any one else with this knowledge) give me some direction please?
Jack
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I went to the restoration shop today to get some fresh news about my 1971 280SL that is undergoing "body lifting".
First, they removed the carpet and showed me some nasty rust eating the floor panels. In fact, they touched the acceleration pedal and it freely went off the floor… just as that… It seems that one of these days, while driving, I could be left in the middle of the road without accelerator… that would be funny.
Anyhow, here just two of the pictures that I have taken and will keep taking during the renovation
enjoy….
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I don't yet have a Pagoda but that is not from a lack of effort. However, today, a 1966 230 SL is going to a recommended shop in the Bay area for inspection. Hopefully the search is at an end.
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Replaced the worn out rubber gasket in my fuel filler cap with a new cork one. Easy & cheap - I wish everything was!
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Drove it!
I know...one likes a smart a$$. Just had to say it! It was a beautiful Autumn day here in New England and closing in on the last drives of the season. As soon as the snow flies, then the salt goes down and no driving until Spring.
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A correct new carpet set complete arrived today from KHM Germany and some new Headlight Glass as well for the 230SL, woohoo Hopefully a couple of more months and it will be back on the road for some of summer, if I can resolve the engine rebuild issues I am having with parts.
Garry
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Took my car to a classis Mercedes specialist for a look over and to come up with a plan. Good news is that it’s not too bad. The report was generally complimentary. A few issues here and there but no real surprises (except maybe some body filler in the rear valance). Some minor fettling of the linkages was carried out on the spot! It’s always a nerve wracking experience when an expert starts looking around your prized possession with a flash light. Garry, I saw your car there looking glorious with a new paint job that I’m told me will look even better when final buffing is completed. I’d be keen to hear how you are sourcing your soft top in terms of materials and fitting etc.
Cheers
Gary
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Put the hard top on ready for winter tonight. Hadn't driven the Pagoda for about a month due to a combo of heavy work travel commitment and bad weather. So, went for a 20 minute drive. My goodness, after a month of driving 'moderns', it makes you appreciate just how nice to drive the Pagoda is. Such well balanced controls and a feeling of oneness with the car
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As my Pagoda is (and still will be for a while at renovation shop), I can only mention what is the current stage. Yesterday I got hold of a beefy box containing all seals for the body and engine compartment as well as the diamond shaped firewall pad. All bought from one of Members (see who sells diamond shaped firewalls ;). Now, I was told by my mechanician that they are proceeding with remanufacturing of the engine and gear box as well as with galvanization of all parts that it is suitable for.
I hope to see the car on Saturday.
By the way, there is just an incredible wood restorer that I can recommend, based on what I have experienced. The guy is able to turn scrap stuff into shiny and joyful part that would adorn one's car again.
I must say that looking at pics on his website is a pure pleasure, but seeing it in real is a must. Too bad he is located in North Poland, quite away from everywhere :). The website is in English and German. If you click at the pic showing a Mercedes, it will open showing many models, including our lovely-one.
http://www.autodrewno.com/en/index.php
hope you enjoy it :)
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Nice work, a craftsman :) :)
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Just added new badge to front grill, AACA Senior Award. Also working on the wiring of rear fog lamp. It's ready for winter.
Bob
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toady I drove it with the top down in new York city IN DECEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PRICELESS!
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Well I was having a total engine rebuild and whilst the engine was out decided to overhaul the front end so that was out as well. With that out I was able to have a through inspection of all the metal around the bay and to my horror have found some rust in my rust free car around under the drain tubes on the firewall as well as some rust in the bottom of the front cross member at one end as the drains were blocked. All can be fixed but it means that everything around the engine bay will need to be removed, again, as we were in the process of putting everything back together. Well at least I wanted to paint the engine bay whilst everything is out, along with painting the rest of the car whilst all the chrome is off, may as well put in new carpet whilst at it, oh and remove the ugly air conditioner and whilst everything is off and the engine apart, can do all the cad plating, overhaul all the ancillary equipment in the engine bay, paint all the black bits etc etc etc. Getting to sound like a 3/4 restoration. All I wanted to do was an engine overhaul. Did I say chrome off, well may as well re-chrome some of the pieces, well actually quite a few items. Cheaper to replace the bumpers whilst we are at it as well.
Now what have I done to my Pagoda today. I will be at it for another couple of months at this rate.
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Pretty nice day here today -- so I took a nice top-down spin. Felt good to get some December exercise. Then decided to do my annual oil and filter change. Felt good to get my hands a little dirty too. And yes, took my ceremonial peek to make sure the oil "garden hose" seal was present!
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Pretty nice day here today -- so I took a nice top-down spin. Felt good to get some December exercise. Then decided to do my annual oil and filter change. Felt good to get my hands a little dirty too. And yes, took my ceremonial peek to make sure the oil "garden hose" seal was present!
Hi James,
Glad to hear you and your SL had a chance to enjoy the nice weather we had last Sunday. We were out and about (in our "ordinary" car) and thought about taking a drive ourselves but by the time we got home things had turned a bit too chilly for the navigator. I am torn between leaving the soft top up this winter or putting the hard top back on. Since I have it on it's stand it is just sort of outta sight, outta mind. Also I always get a wee bit nervous when that HT is over the car and lowered down into place. Besides you just never know when another nice (as in warm) day might come along ;)
Big countdown has started here for Christmas. Could somebody tell me where the year went??
John
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Finished the installation of a Getrag five speed (Overdrive 5th) and did a few miles road test - most satisfactory. The four speed ratios seem to be better spaced than in the standard four speed box, and 5th should prove a nice improvement for freeway driving. Overalll I consider it a worthwhile excercise.
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I have been using the Pagoda as everyday transport while staying for a couple of weeks down on the Gippsland Lakes (400k's from home) doing some boat maintenance.
Just before I left I did a through service and as I have now been using the car regularly for a couple of years now it has really 'shaken down'.
However - the one thing I had never done was a decent night time drive. I had driven back from functions within the city - but always with street lights. It happened that I couldn't leave until after 9.00pm one night. I had the hard top on - it was a cool but not cold night and I was alone. I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed a driving as much as I did that night. ;D ;D
As there wasn't much traffic I sat towards the middle of the road (after dark we need to be careful of kangaroos and wombats that can do a LOT of damage). The car was AWESOME - great engine note and lighting - sitting on 110kph the whole way. The one thing you notice is how dark the rest of the car is - on a 230 no lit gear selector (auto) or any other ambient lighting.
If you have never taken your car on a cross country drive well after dark - do it - the darkness enhances the senses - the engine note becomes sweeter and the car really comes into it's own!
Richard
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Hello Richard,
Sounds like you had a great ride. We often take "Sunset" top down drives in the summer here and usually by the time we pull into our driveway it is completely dark with no street lights for miles. Nothing beats those drives with stars over head and that unique sound our cars exhaust makes. And I know what you mean about the instrument lighting. It is certainly subdued by today's standards but colorful all the same. Our car is US spec so the sealed beams don't light up the road like the Euro versions but we can normally drive with the high beams as we have these country roads to our selves. We have to keep an eye out for deer (no roos in these parts:-) and other critters.
Hope you have many more enjoyable days ahead in your Pagoda
John
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Hi John
It was magical - unfortunately no one was with me to also enjoy it. :-\
I have not upgraded the lighting, just cleaned the lenses and reflectors as they were really filthy. The Euro lights really are great, just no necessity to upgrade the lamps to halogen or any other mods.
Richard
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Hi James,
... I am torn between leaving the soft top up this winter or putting the hard top back on. Since I have it on it's stand it is just sort of outta sight, outta mind. Also I always get a wee bit nervous when that HT is over the car and lowered down into place. Besides you just never know when another nice (as in warm) day might come along ;) ...
John
Hey 49er. Well, I face that "to Hard-top or Not-to-Hard-top" dilemma every year. The car sure does look snappy with it on -- really changes the driving experience too. But then again, here in Northern Ca we will get such great stretches of sunshine that having the top down and at the ready is sure nice... Then there is the trusty soft-top up look -- a mere 60 seconds or so from tucked away??? Hmmmm. More often than not, I seem to vote for Hard-top staying against the wall. But you never know. I thought I had it all figured out when I got a hoist -- but we know how that turned out ::).
Present state: HT OFF -- ST DOWN
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Hi John
It was magical - unfortunately no one was with me to also enjoy it. :-\
I have not upgraded the lighting, just cleaned the lenses and reflectors as they were really filthy. The Euro lights really are great, just no necessity to upgrade the lamps to halogen or any other mods.
Richard
A man and his Pagoda -- what more is there? :)
I agree that everyone needs to take a night drive once in a while to get that sensation. It always sends me back to when I was 16 -- and once or twice snuck the car out for a drive when my parents were not home. Shame shame. I know but I couldn't help it! Anyway, it was cool seeing the dimly lit gauges and the colorful control panels. Just the right amount of reds, blues, and greens to feel really European and sporty.
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Ah...the hardtop dilema. I have a teenage daughter who is 4'11" and 90 lbs...my wife is 5'1" and 105 lbs. I tried just once to solicit their help to put the hardtop on. We were successful but, it was nerve wracking. The two of them on one side, me on the other...I'm sure you can picture it! Not having a hoist, I now ask my neighbor's teenage son to help but not very often. Hardtop has been off for 14 months. It sits in its padded rack with a nice cover. Probably stay that way for another 14 months. The new soft top needs to be stretched anyway!
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Central locking and Security system:
Driving the Pagoda as often as I do, I've had it with fidgeting with my keys to lock and unlock the doors.
Almost everything is available in kit form. Installation is not all that complicated and is easily adapted to the Pagoda because, as it turns out, our door looking mechanisms appear to be the same as those used on the sedans. In other words, there is a tab with a hole in it that is used for those cars that have vertical push-down/pop-up buttons to lock the doors. These tabs can be used to hook to the actuators which can be mounted directly below. It is a direct shot, no bending or drilling needed, except for some small screws to mount the actuators. An original MB "rod locking ring" can be used to hold the actuator's rod in the hole in the tab.
Running the wires (5 for each actuator) is painstaking in order to do neatly. 1/2" holes needed to be drilled in each door, and pre-existing holes in each door post had to be enlarged to run the wires into the cabin through rubber accordion loom tubing. From there, the wires hide behind the kick panels and run to a 2" square control box hidden at the front of the driver's kick panel. Refusing to stop there, I hooked the control box to a security system "brain", mounted a small fusebox on the kick panel, and wired in the parking lights, siren, and several sensors.
Final result: When I lock the car with the remote keyfob, the siren chirps once, the parking lights flash once, the doors lock, and the alarm is set. A "dual field" sensor will emit warning chirps when anyone gets close enough to touch the windows, and sets off the alarm and lights if the cabin is entered. A sound sensor is mounted in the trunk near the lock to deter tampering there. A tilt sensor is placed under the parcel shelf to deter jacking, and a backup battery is placed there as well in case the alarm is disabled by heavy duty wire cutters on the battery cable.
Unlocking the car with the remote also turns off the security system, turning the ignition key automatically locks or unlocks the doors. and manually locking one door will automatically lock the other door.
Enough for now.
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Wow. Andy, do you have photographs showing the entire process? This might be something to add to the wiki for others that want to do it. How long did it take you and what were the sources for the materials you needed. ???
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I forgot to take pictures, but I don't think it's crucial. I'll put the materials, wiring diagram, and instructions in the wiki, under accessories.
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Dropped the rad out of the bottom of the car (much easier removing the front grill and the battery for getting at the bolts either side) to get it recored. Went for three cores instead of the existing two. While the rad was out replaced the water pump and both belts and cleaned up the front end of the engine. Probably scraped and washed a kilogram of crap off the front end. Cleaned the plastic fan back to its glorious yellow. Replaced the pump and fan bolts with new stainless. Repainted the rad when I got it back, ordered new rubber spacers for the rad and reinstalled. Did my final test today running the engine up to temp and no leaks (knock on wood). Won't know if it will run cooler until next summer. Almost certainly would not have attempted this myself without the help of this site and special thanks to Dan and Joe for their assistance. ;D ;D
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Finally started to get the engine back together.
Here is the new head with all new parts. and new pistons in block.
Woohooo
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Looking good Garry 8)
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Gave Carling her pre-Christmas Italian tuneup in the warm sun! Happy Christmas, all.
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3rd Brakelight: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
As a frequent passenger, my wife has been after me to install a third brakelight for safety sake. Never found one I liked, until now.
The product is called Brakelighter, http://www.jandlenterprise.com/ No vested interest or ulterior motives.
Easy to install, instructions are straight forward. The light wedges securely against the back glass without fasteners or adhesives in our cars.
Wire is easily hidden between the softop cover and the back shelf of the hardtop. I installed a male-female power connector at the parcel shelf (can be hidden under the parcel shelf) for easy removal.
Wires can be run from the brakelights, into the softop compartment via the softop hinge opening and then down to the parcel shelf, and completely hidden.
No holes were drilled. Removing the chrome soft top hinge cover reveals existing holes that allow passage of the wires from the softop compartment down to the parcel shelf.
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Just got hold of about 10 boxed of parts that arrived over the Holiday period, including one from SLS with a list of 20 parts. Now I will get it to mechanics tomorrow so that they would start the final part of the renovation my Pagoda is enjoying… as much as I am BTW :)
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Given it a bit more room in the garage !
as My 1936 Alvis Firebird has now been sold, I have had it
since 2002, and I made a 128% return on its original investment !
All the more to spend on the Pagoda....
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Beautiful car and congratulations! I am so glad your Firebird doesn't have the big Firebird decal on the hood! :D
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Paul, I cannot help my financial background deviation…. for the 128% return on investment, are you speaking of gross or net result (i.e. after expenses, fees, etc? :))
regardless of the above, it looks like you had fun with this amazing beauty… hope it found a good new nest :)
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Hi Stan,
Funny that Alvis made the Firebird in 1935, about 30 years before the Pontiac model.
The Alvis ran ok when I bought it, but not to the standards I require, so the Brakes, exhaust, tyres, springs, steering, engine all needed work in first 2 years
My very basic calculation here..
(Purchase cost to me in 2002 + costs to make it useable and reliable over the first 2 years) = " Investment"
(Sale price achieved - commission of 10%) = "Return" in 2013
(Return - Investment) = "Profit"
("Profit" / Investment ) x 100 = worked out as 128 %
It is only a hobby to keep me busy in the garage ! I had a great decade with the Alvis, - we did many trips and made many new friends.
I did not include "running" costs as any car you use needs maintenance and fuels ect.
I fully expect the Pagoda will give me even more enjoyment, certainly my partner Dolly prefeers it, she does not get wet and cold now !
I am improving the Pagoda, and it has had over the winter new front springs, wipers, carpets, refurbished seats, and a Tonneau cover.
roll, on the spring..
Keep well
Paul
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Cees Klumper
Great Thread ! ... I started one on the M3Post.com site for my ///M3 it gets great responses / posts ... Thanks for starting it here!
Cheers,
Rolf-Dieter
As to what I did on my Pagoda today "I tightened the screw on the driver side sun-visor it kept slipping down yesterday when I took my daughter for a drive :)
Few steps I took in the past 2 weeks since I have the car ....
1) Removed the hardtop and tried to suspend it from the ceiling. Gave that up and ordered a stand and cover instead. Expect delivery by FedEx on Monday next.
2) Got all the papers in order to satisfy the ownership.
3) Ordered a personalized licence plate.
4) Admiring my new found friend every day.
5) Last Wednesday took a spin and got cut in the rain (few drops) had to put the soft-top up :)
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Beige280SL ... I will have the same problem (never ever will use my wife or daughter for this task). Glad to have a helping neighbour for this task, only I fear the hard top will remain in the stand and under cover for ever :) My soft top like yours seam to be new, I do have problems engaging the two front locks when the rear lock is engaged, same problem with the rear lock when the front locks are engaged. Is there a trick to it that I don't know? I hate to use force to close the three locks.
BTW, ordered my stand and cover for the top last friday, FedEx will deliver on Monday :) Right now the hard top is resting on the ground on a carpet of course :)
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awolff280sl
Wow ... nice job, how long did this project take you and did you shoot some photos? if you did that would be great!
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Hi Andy, I did not see this (before responding to your previous post). Can you post the link to the "wiki" Thanks in advance!
Cheers,
Rolf-Dieter
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Hi Tom,
I accepted your challenge also and checked my 1969 280 SL Hood using a tape measure (soft one from wife's sowing basket ~grin~). I'm happy to report mine is right on the money. I take cantering very seriously, way back I always told my draftsmen "First God created the centreline" :) It turned out pretty good draftsmen and eventually good engineers.
Cheers,
Rolf-Dieter
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mdsalemi, Quite typical in Europe :) Did you know that on May 25th they declared a Holiday in Germany when München played Dortmund in London UK ~grin~ so I was told anyway since 75% of the German population watched the game :)
Cheers,
Rolf-Dieter
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Hi Jordan,
How and where did you order your passenger side mirror? My dealership here told me they are not available for my 1969 280 SL. sounds like they did not check hard enough now. Your feedback will be appreciated ... kind of miss the right hand side mirror. I know it will deviate adding the mirror from stock, still safety is more important in that case.
Cheers,
Rolf-Dieter
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Rolf, your 280SL will have a different mirror than my 230SL. I have the goose neck mirror and they occasionally come up on e-bay. That is where I would keep watch. Alos, if talking to MB tell them you need a drivers side mirror for a RHD car. Don't forget to come out to Mosport on June 15th. In addition to the MB, Porsche and BMW car shows they are running historic car races all weekend. Hopefully you and family can make it and I'll get the chance to lay eyes on your gorgeous car.
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Hi Jordan, I understand ... Perhaps I just leave it stock and not add a mirror. Looking at the Top Gear video again I have the option of ordering a Euro RHS mirror like the one that Jerremey C of Top Gear is driving here :)
Clip to Top Gear Season 3 of 2003 Episode 8 ---> http://www.streetfire.net/video/top-gear-season-3-episode-8-all-rightsbbc-uk_part-1_2196804.htm
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Today was the annual "white knuckle" job of hoisting off the HT and stowing it away for the year. We really do have it down to a science but always scary when the the top is dangling high over the car. Alway a glad to back the car out from under it and lower it down on to the cart and it is safely tucked away. Out tomorrow for a drive.
Here is a picture I posted a few years back. The block and tackle does not have the "twist" anymore :)
John
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I refilled the air conditioner of my 1969 280SL with R134a refrigerant. That project when well and is spelled out in “Do it Yourself A/C recharging”.
Then I when for an hour long drive and that when trouble started. It was about 85F outside. First I noticed that the 280SL was losing power when going up a shallow grade at 50 MPH. Then the car was sputtering and I was afraid it will stall. I then filled the tank with about 9 gal of fuel (the fuel gauge is not working and I thought I was low on fuel). That got me back home when I went shopping for some fuel cleaner. That took about an hour and the car cooled down. I made it back and added the bottle of cleaner to the tank and ran the car again. And again I felt I was losing power so I returned home and the car stalled out just climbing up my drive way. Then I could not crank the engine. This 280SL has the automatic transmission and the ignition was acting like the car was in gear (Drive). I cycled from Park to 2 and back again and I was able to start the car. Then the car would not go into drive. I looked under the car and saw the shifter linkage has separated from the transmission. I was able to reach under and reconnect the shift rod to the transmission. But it looks like the bolt holding the two together snapped off with the nut. I was able get it into drive and put the car in my garage but the linkage separated when I put it into park. I decided to have my 280Sl towed to the MB dealer to fix the linkage and trouble shoot the sputtering problem. I got the linkage back together in neutral so I can push the car into the street and wait for the tow truck.
The sad news was I was going to take the car to its first car show on Father’s Day.
Oh well Happy Father's Day.
Lou F
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I took my new addition (a 1969 MB 280 SL) to the legend of the Autobahn. My round trip was 640 KM (398 Miles). It was my first long trip since finding and purchasing this fine automobile last month. I meet many people from the MB club and otherwise.It was a fun day, thanks for organizing such a fine event.
(http://alterpeter.smugmug.com/Cars/280SL-Photo-Shoot/i-mTS2cF5/0/M/IMG_3902-M.jpg)
Members of the Toronto MB Club Section organized this event.
(http://alterpeter.smugmug.com/Cars/280SL-Photo-Shoot/i-32QL8RG/0/M/IMG_3907-M.jpg)
Five (5) Pagoda MB showed up for the event it was a fine sunny day.
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Rolf, glad to see you are enjoying your SL and looks like there was a good turnout of Pagodas. Any belong to members of our Forum?
John
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I took mine to a car show at Harewood House near Harrogate, UK. Its an annual affair, which takes place every Fathers Day. The car looked well and it was one of the first times I could show off my new engine bay after having it restored over the winter. Mine was one of only two Pagodas there, but there were about six R107 and around a dozen or so later SLs.
I am proud to say mine won the 'best two door' contest.
Mark.
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Hi John,
Peter (PJ) and Marcus was there with there Pagoda and a few others I guess all are from this forum here (sorry cannot recall all the names). One fellow was from Qubec Canada, his green Pagoda was for sale, I think most of the organizers are also members of this club here. Doug Dees was there with one of his fine cars ... see photo below. It was a fun time all around.
(http://alterpeter.smugmug.com/Other/Autobahn-2013/i-JQF6HG8/0/M/IMG_3836-M.jpg)
(http://alterpeter.smugmug.com/Other/Autobahn-2013/i-93WGgJ5/0/M/IMG_3837-M.jpg)
(http://alterpeter.smugmug.com/Other/Autobahn-2013/i-JQF6HG8/0/M/IMG_3836-M.jpg)
(http://alterpeter.smugmug.com/Other/Autobahn-2013/i-gqFWDTh/0/M/IMG_3865-M.jpg)
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Took my dash pads/under-cards off to try and get to my immobiliser. Which on checking appears to be broken in the "on" position - ie is immobilising the car entirely. I managed to get it home with help from two strategically positioned (eeerrrr, warm) wires (immobiliser doesn't stop the fuel pump!) but the joy of modern sealed unit electronic security stopped me actually using the car...
So in one respect it works, but in another...
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Hi James,
I know what a "bonnet" is, and a "roundabout" and a "trunk call," but please tell me what is an immobiliser??
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Good question. The only English immobiliser that I know of is a Lucas electrical system. -- Sorry! I couldn't resist.
Tom Kizer
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;D ;D
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It's an electronic doojamiwotsit... a doomahickey, if you will
It is a level of security on the ignition system to stop the car being hotwired from inside or, even if the thief has a key, may delay the engine start until they find the way past the immobiliser
In my case, it simply stops the ignition (from the key) getting through the firewall and to the starter motor or coil.
Seeing as no-one here pays a blind bit of notice to a car alarm, this will, hopefully, stop my car being driven away... trailered away, yes, broken into yes, but it'll go nowhere under it's own steam. The tracker system I have in the car will help me find it if it does go for a ride on a flat bed truck..
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Last Sunday took her to Mannheim, ON, (up here in Canada), it was the annual meet shine and show Mercedes Picnic. Had a few rain drops along the way and put up the soft top. Meet Benz Dr and a few other familiar faces. It was great fun.
Today I took her to the local Thursday Steve Plunkett Estate in London car show ... about 50 Corvettes rolled in this evening. Three SL cars were there too including my 280, the other 2 were both 380 SL.
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Today I had Vredestein Sprint Classic 185HR14's mounted and a full alignment done. The Michelin MXVP'S were old and worn unevenly due to an alignment issue. The tires look great in the original size and with the curb rib. The car tracked smoothly on the drive home and the steering was quite nice. It always feels great to take another item off the to do list. ;D
Chris
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Just received the speed o back from Plato Speed O meter - new calibration for the 3.29 rear end and the new 205/70x14 tires.
Took a little while, but they did nice work.javascript:void(0);
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This week it's time for the major tune-up. Today I started with setting the valve clearances (they all required some adjustment! Strange because I did not do it that long ago. The car since then has barely been driven. Hmmm.). I also retorqued the head bolts and replaced the spark plugs with NGK BP 7 ES ( had 6'es). Decided to gap them at .04 inches (approx 1 mm) with the 123 distributor. Also took the resistor out of the ignition circuit. Then added an oval shim to the FI pump cold start 'tower'. Car started well and ran quieter than before. Spark plug gap increase not noticeable. After a test run noticed that my brakes stick again; the result of sitting too much. Will exercise the pistons in the calipers to remedy that, while also replacing the brake fluid (with DOT 4). All brake hoses are relatively new.
Then later this week oil change, coolant change, replacing hoses and belts (those have all been on for 14 years now at least), lubricating the chassis etc, checking the bearings for play (replaced those all in the last two years, just want to make sure they're snug). I still need to swap out my timing chain and may go for installing the hotter cam I got at Niemoller some 10 years ago, finally, at the same time.
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Wow Cees, you've been busy! most impressive. I've just finished fitting my new retractor seat belts prior to the trip to Germany, probably took me longer than all your jobs put together.
Neil
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Thanks Neil. The bad news is that the rear brakes are at the end of their 'useful life'; on the right one, I could not get one of the pistons back into the bore even one mm, it's just stuck. The dust seals are also torn and it seems that the pistons somehow rotated a couple of degrees in the caliper housing, judging from the seals. So ... decided to bite the bullet and ordered 4 new ATE calipers through Van Dijk. I've owned the car for 14 years now and have not replaced them yet, and there's no telling when a PO might have done them (who knows, maybe they are still the original ones). I'd been battling persistent squeeks and sticking conditions for years and so it's piece of mind to know that with the new calipers I will have an all new brake system, except for the lines and the proportioning valve which I understand is NLA.
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Are they exchange?
If not can I have your old ones?
Stick.
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Are they exchange?
If not can I have your old ones?
Stick.
Hi Colin - they're not exchange. You can have the old ones for a small charge plus shipping. Are you also interested in other cores (alternators, starters)? Please send PM.
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What have you done to your Pagoda today...painted it!
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What have you done to your Pagoda today...painted it!
A bit extreme, don't you think! Very nice :)
john
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Nice paint booth, pint booth envy!
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Gary,
Its actually a stretch...if the question is literally 'What have YOU done..."? I would have to opt out. More like what have you HAD done!
Kevin
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Temperature was somewhat lower today allowing some work to be done in the garage. So I spend a few hours polishing the chrome on my car, removing the hubcaps brought back old memories from the 60s and 70s cars I once had :)
It's amazing what a little chrome cleaner will do ...
(http://alterpeter.smugmug.com/Cars/280SL-Photo-Shoot/i-jgsdcCQ/0/M/Clean%201-M.jpg)
(http://alterpeter.smugmug.com/Cars/280SL-Photo-Shoot/i-HJ7GTF8/0/M/Clean%202-M.jpg)
(http://alterpeter.smugmug.com/Cars/280SL-Photo-Shoot/i-JTq9cPC/0/M/Clean%203-M.jpg)
(http://alterpeter.smugmug.com/Cars/280SL-Photo-Shoot/i-8qMn374/0/M/Clean%204-M.jpg)
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Rolf,
What happened to "Alter Peter?"
Your chrome looks amazing ... do you know if it's original to the car? If so, the previous owner must have stored your car in optimum environments. Very glad to read that you are really liking the Pagoda experience. Your enthusiasm comes through on your post.
Keep enjoying!
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Oz, When I first signed on I used "Alter Peter" it is the name I have on my SmugMug web site :) I took on that nick name when I visited Germany last. I was in München and climed all the way to the top of the St Peter's Church (also named Alter Peter). One has a spectacular view of the city once you reach the top of Alter Peter.
A few days ago I decided to use my real name Rolf-Dieter on this web site since I meet quite a few members at the last two car show gatherings in order to avoid confusion :) Besides there are a few Peter's on this site.
Yes I do enjoy this car very much.
Based on the direction the picture below (from the web) of Alter Peter is taken from Rathaus (München City Hall) it is opposite from the St Peter's Church.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alter-peter_vom-rathaus.jpg
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When Dieter joined and used the handle "Alter Peter" I had a little giggle. I didn't know about the church in Munich, but it was one of the first stories Dieter told me when we met. Turns out Dieter is a few years my senior and that was okay because "Alter" means "old" in German (affectionately, of course,) and I started imagining myself as "Junger Peter."
Still, I'm happy to see Dieter using his real name on the forum. The rest of you need to meet him. He's almost as good a story-teller as Dan :-)
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Just got started on replacing the screws under the side moldings, the ones that have the rubber strip in them. As you look down the side of the car, you can see the bumps in the rubber where each screw is located. I pulled out the rubber and most of the screw heads came with it! Just rusted to bits. So now I have the task of drilling out the offending screws and replacing them with new stainless screws. Slow and steady. Sort of a task you can do bits at a time if that is all the time that is available. I was surprised to see the screws were in that bad of condition.
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Well my little blue tornado has been idle for over a week so this morning I made a trip here in the city to check on a few things ....
First ... stopped at my favourite auto body shop (they are certified by both BMW and Mercedes) and yes you guessed it I had work done there on both my BMW and Mercedes (my former C350 4MATIV ~ now sold). I have a few blemishes mainly around the hardtop anchoring openings where my car needs a bit touch up paint. Discussed possibilities to get that touched up.
Second ... stopped at the friendly Mufflerman here in town to check if anything is wrong with my muffler hanging low at the rear end (3 3/8" clearance to the ground). Well the friendly Mufflerman put her up on a special lift to check it out (first time I saw my car being driven by someone else ~ I should have snapped a picture it looked darn good :)).
Third .... stopped Performance Unlimited to pick up Water Wetter for my radiator. On the phone they said yes we have 2 bottles in stock, when I got there the computer still insisted there are 2 in stock when there were none. Oh well I picked up a similar product.
Last Stop ... I stopped at a friends place (he rebuilds engines and is quite knowledgeable ~ not that I let him work on my engine on Siri) to discuss the high temperature I always get on my car. We popped the hood and while I operated the throttle he checked the airflow from the fan in neutral and with the automatic transmission engaged. He feels that my Clutch Fan is properly the culprit for the high water temperature, he hardly felt sufficient air movement, however the main fan moved okay
Speaking of high water temperature by now with about 30 miles of city driving in stop and go traffic my temperature gauge shows around 200 degree F (I assume it is the 200 degree F mark on red). Driving from the third to the last stop I noticed it helped when I shifted into neutral at red lights. Then driving with air rushing thru the radiator the temperature needle moved slightly lower.
I think this is a job for the Benz Dr. Dan mentioned to me last time I saw him perhaps installing a larger fan may also help.
I think I still go to the 50th Celebration of the Pagoda, 600 Class at 2013 Concours of America, St. Johns MI it is not as far as my fathers day round trip when I put 400 miles on the odometer. I may have to stop a few times and let her cool down, no matter I'm in no rush I'm retired LOL ... it"s all my time now :)
(http://alterpeter.smugmug.com/Cars/Mercedes-280-SL/i-TNTZbFr/0/S/Mufflerman-S.jpg)
Muffler Man had a good peek under my car and declared "It's all as it should be under your car no muffler issues"
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Big day in my household (but maybe not for anyone else). After 1 year on the road, this morning was the first time I actually washed my car with a garden hose and a bucket of water and car wash brush. I have just been wiping it down with a dusting brush and an aerosol cleaner/polish for the past year, but after a few short trips on wet roads it was time. I also put away the grinding wheels, wire brushes and sanding disks. I'm hoping that I'm past that phase in this the 1st year of the 2nd life of my car, for the time being anyways.
Question: are there any specific products that people are using to coat the rockers. Satin clearcoat? I just have paintable rocker guard coating but its a pain to keep clean and a high pressure hose just won't do it - I need a brush and soap and lots of water
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Otto,
Where does one send the clock for repair?
Thanks,
Lin
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I sent my clock to:
David Lindquist
12427 E. Penn St.
Whittier, CA 90602
Phone 602 698 4445
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Gave her a nice wash today in preparation of a car show being held in our area ... is anyone else from Ontario Canada or the US border areas going?
http://www.oldautos.ca/CarShow.aspx
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Otto
Thanks for the clock repair information!
Lin
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Took mine to the SL Barn (yesterday) Dan (Benz Dr.) and his men gave her a good work over. Changed the oil and filter, replaced filter seals, installed new fan (visco) clutch, new steering damper, checked exhaust system, check brakes, bleed and replace brake fluids, grease all required points, check and top up all fluids, installed new thermostat, remove and reinstalled radiator then charged with new antifreeze and bleed off all air. Busy hands in the SL Barn checked many more points on this 44 year old babe :) ... some more work to be done the next go around. Water temperature stayed steady at 180 F all the way home for the nearly 100 mile drive, the ambient temperature was favourable, the true test will be when it gets warmer again hopefully summer is not over yet :)
Thanks Dan for a job well done (http://www.m3post.com/forums/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif)
PS. Dan and his men are working on a nice engine rebuild of a American Pagoda looks like a new engine all spanking new.
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I have had the elusive european spec heater hose (engine block to heater) on my bench for 2 weeks now and this morning the last day of holidays just before I head to the gym, I decided to change the hose. Simple - should take less than 5 minutes and I shouldn't get dirty.
Undid the clamps and pulled the end off the heater and then the end off the engine - antifreeze starts spewing out so I immedietly drop the hose under the car and under the car hoist - nope can't reach it but I'm sure getting wet - antifreeze still spewing so I grab towel and the new hose which I left all the way over on the bench, installed new hose and got the antifreeze stopped and tried to clean my arm a bit but there is a pool oozing out from under the hoist area, I push the car back almost but not far enough because the truck is there so I try to clean up the antifreeze as much as possible with newspapers but realize that I'll need to hose it off but I needed a shower because I was covered in antifreeze. ...5 minute job my butt - back to the garage with a garden hose and keys to move the truck......
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Just think of that as your workout! ;)
Good reminder to drain the system first. I want to replace my timing chain soon, and for that I believe I have to remove the thermostat housing, so ...
I replaced all coolant hoses two weeks ago and that took me at least half a day. There are something like 16 hoses, large and small, in total. That was more than I had expected.
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Took her to the Bothwell, Ontario car show today. It was a nice sunny day, not to hot not to cold, perfect top down driving weather. Over 1,000 cars at the show. Some lucky fellow won the 50/50 price it was over $17,000- as I said lucky fellow.
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Rolf,
What chrome cleaner/ polish did you use?
Lin
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Lin, I use Zaino Show Car Products ----> http://www.carpolish.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=145:snow-white-a-blonde-towels&catid=34:products&Itemid=56
My chrome is fairly new looking (car was well looked after since partial restoration in 1992 and always stored in a heated and air conditioned environment). For chrome cleaning I use "Mothers Chrome Polish"
Hope this helps.
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Had a welding shop locally recreate the anchors for the soft top springs. Guy did a great job. PM me if you are in NJ and need similar work. Does anyone know if I really need the smaller springs too? Is it worth the extra $70 or will it work fine as is?
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Just bought a set of new chrome pieces: door and door step rails for both sides. I am now waiting for adequate screws from SLS to have them installed and shine.
Moreover, I have also received fixing pieces for side windows, so I hope that soon there will be less noise while passing on bumpers :)
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Went to "Paint and Collision Supplies" here in little London town today Gord the owner mixes me a little bottle of touch up paint with tender loving care to match my original colour code 903 H The procedure took over 2 hours in the end it turned out a perfect match.
I learned the best way to apply the paint touch up is with a soft match, from a match book (don't use a brush it would leave streaks). For vertical touch up points cut a 45 degree angle with an sharp knife at the end and for horizontal touch up points use the end of the match as it is. If you like to make a brush from the match end just rub it in the palm of your hand and it becomes a soft brush leaving no streaks.
My car needs touch up on the removable hard top anchor / lock points (previous owner was not too careful installing the hardtop and scratched the paint).
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Moreover, I have also received fixing pieces for side windows, so I hope that soon there will be less noise while passing on bumpers :)
Drank some Polish buffalo grass vodka supplied by Flyair and felt happy...
Peter
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Oops... This is about what you did to your car today, not about what you did to you today. Well, thanks anyway Flyair... I enjoyed it very much...
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Put the Pagoda into my mechanic to get the rear oil seal fixed, still leaking after several tries to fix. Whilst there I have noticed a bit of rust on the front cross member so having that looked at and cut out as needed.
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Oil seal - I have same issue. What is he charging you
Chuck
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Had both the rear shock observers changed ... feels like a new car now ... ready to take the trip to Williamsburg, Virginia :)
Need the front shocks now (not that urgent) also the control arm bushings .... guess after 44 years the rubber bushings have done there deed.
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Oops... This is about what you did to your car today, not about what you did to you today. Well, thanks anyway Flyair... I enjoyed it very much...
Peter,
take it as if you performed the internal cleaning and preservation servicing of your Pagoda main driver ;D ;D ;D
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Washed her today along with my daily driver ... both look super now :) The little blue tornado (name I gave her) takes less time to clean :) then my Bimmer.
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Peter,
take it as if you performed the internal cleaning and preservation servicing of your Pagoda main driver ;D ;D ;D
Yup, I've been doing that regularly over the last two weeks or so. Now running low on buffalo grass cleaning agent... :-[
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Yup, I've been doing that regularly over the last two weeks or so. Now running low on buffalo grass cleaning agent... :-[
Peter
make sure you add some ZDDP additive ;D
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Custom fitted my TomTom today. Made a special rear bracket for it and it fits nicely into the ashtray opening. Interchanging from TomTom with bracket back to the ashtray takes no more then a minute. Now my TomTom has a spot were it no longer can wander all over the place :)
Disassembled my old odometer today removed the 2 light bulbs ... next project will be changing the main bulb on the odometer in the car (Tech Manual has a nice write up to guide me wit this project).
Prepared my Becker Euro Stereo Radio for installation ... next project will be to install it and remove the Sony Tape Deck radio.
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Rolf-Dieter,
Where did you find your radio? eBay?
Lin
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Did the front crank seal and brake booster replacement on George's car. Once we get the new master cylinder it's back to the upholstery shop for some final touches.
Started on the car that came in from Winnipeg. Long haul to get it here - maybe 1,500 miles. So far I haven't found too much wrong with it and all of the usual stuff looks OK or has already been done. For this reason I expect something unusual to fix. ::)
Have a number of things to look at on my own car before we head south for P-50. Oil change, grease, clean car, top up fluids, set valves and check everything out. Car has been bullet proof for years and sure wouldn't want to have problems so far away from home. After 20 years it's returning back to the area where it once lived. :)
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Lin,
My car came with the Becker Euro Stereo Radio in a box, the previous owner had it removed and installed a Sony tape deck radio ... I made sure I have all the bids and pieces, so next project is to install it before heading south to P-50 in Williamsburg, VA.
Don,
Make sure you pack some Metric Tools .... just in case and keep your eye on the rear view mirror so you won't leave me behind :) knowing you drive much faster then I do.
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Installed the Becker Europa original Stock Radio today ... the Sony Tape Type tat was in the car went into the Garbage :)
Getting her ready for the trip down to Virginia USA.
EDIT ---> Purchased a set of Scepter Pro Ramps to gain easy access below my car in my garage. Used them to install a missing bracket to alow safe distance of a water hose from a rotating pulley. Gave me some grief however in the end I wan the battle. The Scepter Pro Ramps were on sale for $39- and are good to support weight up to 12,000 lbs / 5.500 kg per pair. Made from plastic and easy to store in the garage. Just what I needed. :)
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I opened up the rear-view mirror again. First did this on 2011-08-29, so at least I knew what to expect. But I still don't have the nerve to "snap" the mirror stem out of its holder under the inside top of the windshield.
Cleaned the 2 interior glass surfaces, then got ambitious and hit the chrome surround piece with polish. Considerable improvement, but still not perfect. I noticed that there is a gasket around the glass, and my gasket is major cracked even though it's not disintegrated. Is this gasket NLA, or can it be replaced?
Putting it back together went well, taking great care to get the little wire holder in properly at the bottom where the black plastic tab swings the mirror for night use.
It being a beautiful day in southern Ontario, then went for a drive. First went past Rolf-Dieter's house to see if we could catch him flat on his back under the Blue Tornado, but there was no sign of him. So we drove down to Port Stanley, which is a quaint little inland harbour and tourist spot, and visited a friend -- who admired our Pagoda, just as we hoped. A fine day.
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You past my house too late Peter ... I was in the shower ... should have stopped I would have joined you of the drive with our Golden Retriever as my navigator. Richard to;d me this evening as as we enjoyed a glass of red that a white Pagoda passed along our street, I had a hunch it might have been you.
:) Next time stop by for a cup of tea!
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done a lot last 2 days :)
Check it out here :
http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=19177.0
Pascal
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I've got the dash apart, all the instruments out, wood out, windshield in. I need to repace the M-tex. Its a 250SL. How do I go about this? I've got raw material. I just don't know where to begin to find the screws and safely strip off the old ... and then what?
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I drained the tranny and rear differential with the help of Jon and Barry (from this forum) then replaced with fresh. The "lubricant" that came out was pretty worn and dark brown so it was well over due!
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On Friday last a good friend of mine and I stopped all of my oil and coolant water leaks (new gaskets some seals and replaced 2 broken bolts). Feels great to have no more water/oil puddles in the garage.
Next project is to clean up the engine bay. A nice winter project.
Put the hardtop back on (weatherman calls for rain and more seasonal temperatures) ave her a nice wash.
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Soft top cleaned and put away to rest for a few months.
Hard Top on ;)
Please stop raining !!
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Hi Kemal,
Looks good with the hardtop on does it not :) Kind of suiting for this time of year.
It's also raining in little London town across the ocean :)
BTW. Why not take out a membership and enjoy the fine fellowship and Technical Manual of this site it will save you plenty of sterlings to pay the low membership fee for this great site.
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Found the final screw hole for my drivers side under dash panel, after removing the panel, and got it fitted so it doesn't keep hitting my feet. Thanks to those who replied to my other post on this matter. While the panel was off I checked the drain tube and it fell apart in my fingers, still had the original clamps. Found a piece of coolant hose that fit perfectly and reinstalled, after checking to make sure the up and down sections were clear and gave them a few shots of rust inhibitor. Now I definitely don't have to worry about wet feet. ;D ;D Next up is getting the hard top back on in time for an MB drive planned for the 27th. Personally I think our cars look best with the hard top in place.
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Hi Kemal,
Looks good with the hardtop on does it not :) Kind of suiting for this time of year.
It's also raining in little London town across the ocean :)
BTW. Why not take out a membership and enjoy the fine fellowship and Technical Manual of this site it will save you plenty of sterlings to pay the low membership fee for this great site.
Hi Rolf,
She's a true Pagoda with her hat on! The 360d views looking out of all the windows is great also. ( Stereo sounds better at had high speed too. ;D )
I'd be proud to have full membership here but unfortunately I wouldn't benefit as Im really not technically minded at all and as for the magazine we have post issues here! ( Go missing! )
Still Raining here :-\
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I took my 280SL to a local car show. It was the only Mercedes at the event. It was a nice time with cool weather. I did not get presented a trophy (there were only 4 prizes). On the dive back home I saw the Brake condition light flickering along with my interior light. When I put the car in the garage I noticed a fluid stain by the right rear tire. It was not water and did not smell like gasoline. So I think I have a break line leak. I hope it will be OK for me to drive it to the shop?
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Congratulations Lou, I also won an award last month at Williamsburg, VA (second place ~ peoples choice form the cars on the show field). Last week a Second Place Pagoda Price arrived in the mail. I was quite surprised.
Hope you get your brake issue resolved.
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Better check your brake fluid level before driving your car to get it repaired. Our cars have a dual braking circuit but you will loose a lot of effect even with the rear brakes out of action. Loss of front brakes will make your car unsafe to drive and a tow truck is in order.
At the Williamsburg event I spent most of my time poking round in engine bays. some of what I found was kind of alarming. I concentrated on two main areas - brake pedal free play adjustment and throttle linkage adjustments. Brake pedal free play is very easy to adjust by looking at the eccentric bolt that's right in front of the firewall padding. This is what pushes on the push pin that moves the diaphram inside of the booster. There is a small notch on the head of this eccentric bolt and it should face towards the firewall in a horizontal position. Of the dozen or so cars I looked at only two were corrrect. I saw some that were turned 180 degrees forward which will produce mximum brake pedal free travel. If you have to pump your brake pedal or it seems like there's a lot of pedal movement before you feel solid brakes, check this adjustment. It's quick and easy to do.
Throttle linkage adjustments are covered in the linkage tour so I won't repeat how it's done here. Most I looked at were right or close to right. Some were off so far it's a wonder the engine would even run. I did have doubts that I could fix one on Sunday with the limited wrenches I brought with me. It did fix OK as far as I know. One car had throttle linkage that was ready to fall off the mounting braket above the spark plugs. Being somewhat forgetfull when I'm working away at something, and it was noticed when I first got to the show, I told the owner to come and find me before he left for the day. Good thing he did because it slipped my mind and it could of been very bad for the owner.
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Any pictures of this brake adjustment would be appreciated.
Cheers
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Yesterday afternoon a used fuel sending unit arrived in the mail from a fellow W113 member, so this morning before the neighbourhood was awake I pulled out my spare tire and re and re'd the sending unit. Turned my key and Voila - I have 1/2 tank of gas. It will be nice to know what is in my tank. I was getting forgetful and heading to fill up and getting like $6.00 in the tank or thinking I needed a $10 top up and having the pump stop at $100.
The best part was burning the fuel soaked paper I used to absorb the fuel when I pulled out the old unit. Nice quick fire in misty blackness of the wet coast of BC.
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Any pictures of this brake adjustment would be appreciated.
Cheers
I agree. Could someone help us out with this?
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... Nice quick fire in misty blackness of the wet coast of BC.
One of the most prosaic contributions on these here forums yet!
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Hi Larry,
Refer to the 2 photos below, just above your master cylinder (near the firewall) for the brake is a connection (see photo 1) Benz Dr. found this connection revered (see photo 2 close up of the connection) on many cars at the Williamsburg P-50. When the connection is reversed it will results in a very soft brake paddle. Perhaps Dan (Benz Dr) can elaborate on this if I described it wrongly.
If your brake paddle is firm when you depress it (not mushy like ~ soft you know what I mean) then all is okay :)
Hope this helps.
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Found out why 230 1964 is hard to start, when the engine is cold. No power on the cold start valve.
I searched our Forum and found out how current flows. Opened the relais 0 332 008 001 and there I found what caused the trouble.
Lots of rust and a broken connection.
It's that easy, when one is a full member who has acces to all Technical Manuals ;)
Have a nice day !!
Paul.
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I wondered why there was no music from the radio. Found out that the loudspeaker was gone ;D
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Well, over the weekend, we had a little celebration. My beloved Pagoda officially turned 50!
No cake -- but I did decide to give it a detail and a little check-up before a nice drive. As I noted somewhere else, I have been commuting with it fairly often lately -- and figured it was time to check the points since I was already under the hood. Interestingly, even though the car was running fine, the dwell was 44. A little too high for my liking so glad I checked. I popped the cap and rotor and did a quick gap adjustment. Started her up -- had a solid 37. Now, ideally 38 is my target but last time I had a 37 and got greedy. Took me about 2 hours to get back to 38... so I am sticking with 37.
Now this was interesting too. As I was hand cranking the engine, I noticed the wire to the CSV was fully severed. It had a piece of electrical tape on it so it must have been frayed or cracked in the past? Anyway, no idea when that happened. Car has started wonderfully for long time. So I replaced connector and hooked it back up.
Took the car for a spin -- started in a flash and seemed even more peppy than usual. Not bad for 50! Wish I could say the same... :D
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Happy Birthday to your sweet little car James. Hope the two of you have many more miles together (but not on I80:-)
John
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Happy Birthday James to your treasure :)
As to what I did … gave her a good cleanup and wash before covering her up for the winter. We had our first snow fall this past week, however, 10C yesterday good day for a quick wash.
EDIT .. corrected small typo … bet no one knows what "cleanup" meant LOL
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Another beautiful fall day here today so we took what might be the last top down ride of the year. Out for nearly three hours but only put about 70 miles on the odometer having to stop for coffee and apple pie along the way and lots of meandering roads. Got a might chilly when we got up to the 3000 foot level of the hills to the east of us so the heater was put to good use. Had a few "beautiful car" shouts along the way as well which are always nice to hear. Car back in our garage for now but the soft top is still stowed so who knows, maybe I might be able to talk the navigator into one or two more TD rides this year, weather permitting :)
John
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Today I put a Stainless Steel complete exhaust system under 230 SL.
The worst part is to take the old pipes from the header. I just had to grind a sleeve in the header to cut the pipe .
After removing, I welded the headers and ground them into shape. Just enough room .
It looks fantastic under the car :P
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I returned to the area where my car has been garaged. Earlier today I started my SL after sitting in the garage for 14 months. Pleased to say that it started right up. I did nothing other than start the car. The battery held a charge the whole time. Engine ran very rich until the CSV warmed. Car ran perfectly. Very pleased!
Best regards,
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Earlier this week to prepare for winter hibernation (even though I still try to drive it at least once per month during the winter), my dog and I took the car out for a little ride. As you all know the car itself gather attention; however, with the dog in his goggles (doggles) in the passenger seat, the attention is just amplified.
Then had the tires rotated and balanced, and ensured the tires had the correct pressure by adding more nitrogen (instead of regular air). Later I washed and waxed car, moved car into my heated garage (ensuring it was a safe distance away from other objects to fully open the doors without hitting anything), and placed cover over car. Maybe I should have added Stabil to the fuel as I did on my other vehicles as it is snowing here now and expected to be cold for at least a week.
1970 280SL silver Euro manual
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15F degrees (-9c) here this morning so put the soft top up for the winter. Weather was still nice (upper 60s) up until a couple days ago so we managed to get in a few more top down drives but it looks like those warm sunny have days turned into an early winter in these parts as this record cold weather is going to continue for a while. Put some stabil in the tank, drove it around the block and covered her up. The car doesn't really hibernate for the winter as we do have nice days once in awhile so we take always try to take advantage of those days with a drive, albeit with the top up ;)
John
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Today was a great day. JA17 and I tore apart my dash, pulled the wood off, sending out my tach and speedo and europa II to be refurbed, pulled off all the chrome ad trim on the car and getting it ready for a full exterior paint job. My hands are still bleeding. Joe has the patience of a saint. I would have snapped parts right an left trying to get them off alone. Also replaced my 2w bulbs with LED's and adjusted the clock. 65 in Columbus today. Also put in a new battery hold down. All in about 5 hours. In addition to paint, replacing the windshield. Hope it's done by April.
Mike Mizesko
Columbus, OH
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In October this year I bought a 1971 280SL Pagoda, this is a car I’ve wanted/lusted after for the past 20 years. It was sold to me as a “fully refurbished” car, something which I didn’t entirely believe from the outset...
I’ve encountered some issues with the car, despite having checked and inspected it- overall body and mechanically all seemed good apart from some "minor issues".
When I bought the car I had already mentally prepared myself for some additional expenses, I guess though that my bank account wasn’t as entirely prepared as I was.
Over the past month I've done some upgrade work on the car:
Replaced the US style headlights with the European headlights.
Replaced both the fuel tank and the Bosch fuel pump with brand new ones, after encountering some intermittent fuel starvation issues on the 2, 000 km drive
from Holland back to France. To be fair, the seller paid for and shipped the new fuel tank to me.
Installed a 123 electronic ignition after the electrical switch gear died.
Disconnected and removed the +20 year alarm/immobiliser, after having had one look at the mess of wiring, fuses and connectors under the passenger seat. This was definitely a nightmare waiting to happen in the near future, when least expected. I’ve now installed a manual battery cut off system instead.
Connected the original Becker Mexico radio cassette to the newly replaced centre dash speaker.
Installed a remote controlled Fusion Marine iPod player under the rear panels, which is connected to the new front kick panel speakers, and which runs independently of the Becker.
The car was taking 6 or 7 turns of the ignition to start in the mornings. After doing some reading and research on this site, I removed the Cold Start Valve from the intake manifold and opened it up, found the injectors and needle valve blocked up with years of muck, and cleaned these out thoroughly. I also found that the solenoid was binding, and managed to free it up after some fiddling around and spraying with WD40; then bench tested it by running 12V through and it worked again. Reassembled everything and connected the CSV back onto the car and for the past 3 mornings since, she’s started on the first turn of the ignition every time!
The exhaust had 2 holes which I’ve now plugged with Holts Gun Gum, while I wait for the new stainless steel exhaust from SLS to be delivered next week.
Next up is stripping out the old carpets and installing “Thermo Tec Heat and Sound Insulation” to the floor panels- http://www.thermotec.com/products/14600-suppressor-acoustical-heat-control-mat.html. On top of that will go “Thermo Tec Cool It Mat” insulated padding- http://www.thermotec.com/products/14100-cool-it-mat.html and then the new carpets on top of that, which I’ve already purchased from Niemoeller in Germany.
All this from someone who’s never worked on cars before. I’m really thankful for all the contributions, input and advice from the members of this Forum!
Best,
Mike
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Hello Mike,
Welcome to the forum and all the best with your new found treasure :)
Happy Holidays!
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Rolf-Dieter,
Thank you very much and all the best for the Holidays and New Year to you too!
Mike
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It was, after almost 50 years of service, about time to renew all the rubber at the rear end. I also put in two new coil springs,
driveshaft bearing and rubber. Oilseal at the differential. It took me about three days, and a lot of muscular pain.
Test drive today was awsome. Most important issue ...... no more vibration between 70 and 80 km/h
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I cleaned the chrome well, and polished the glass! It really makes the old cars look better when you can see the things sparkle!
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Exposed mine to snowflakes on X-Mass Day :)
http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=19778.0
Scroll down to Reply # 2
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Hi Folks,
Just started my full paint restoration yesterday. Joe and I stripped the car of all its chrome at the paint shop. Pulled the windshield, stripped the leather off the soft top boot cover, and pulled the soft top out.
Carted off the pieces parts back to my garage, so hopefully nothing will be misplaced.
Meanwhile, while we had the dash out, sent the tach and speedo and Becker Europa II off for refurb, and am putting LED's in the dash per Alfred, Andy and others.
Keeping my 291H Dark Olive. With Base (solvent) and clear coats. Just masking the hardtop trim and rails. No rust, so no metal work. Yay.
Have to make some decisions about new leather for dash, as long as I am doing the soft top boot lid. Pillar covers and door panels are great, but may not match the new Cognac. Any advice?
Also need to clean up my wood on the dash. That's another topic. I don't want to mess up the grain.
I was going to replace the carpet next year. Hmm.
Mike Mizesko
Columbus, OH
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I have recently had this problem with how far do I go in matching all the various parts of the interior up. I ended up using an upholstery colour to match those that I am not replacing with the parts I am replacing. I have replaced (GAHH via Buds Benz) the leather in the seats, all the door covers with hard pockets covers and arm sleeves and purchased some leather separately to match the piece on the soft top hatch and the small piece of leather on the base of the hard top. All the rest I just recoloured.
There is the slightest variation between them all but unless I told you you would not pick it up.
Garry
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Thanks Garry,
So many decisions and uncertainty. Thanks for settling me down about the matching. I'm going GAHH as well.
Mike Mizesko
Columbus, OH
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Mike did you see an earlier post from andyburns in NZ about ordering through Buds Benz as Buds will give you a discount that is bigger than GAHH (the items are shipped directly from GAHH) and end up being cheaper that way.
Garry
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Garry,
That will be great. I'm already starting to stress about the funds associated with the resto. Good thing the financial markets did well last year over here.
Mike
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Well, I couldn't stand the temptation any longer. Had to break with winter protocol -- and remove the ol' hardtop before Spring. Its been such pleasant weather here -- clear and mid 70s. Sure this is California but we are in the Sierra foothills and usually its a lot cooler in January. So off it went and I took a couple wonderful spins yesterday and today. Sorry to rub it in for those still thawing out...
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James,
Nice to see you took her out! I was in your area over the holidays. Drove the pass over the Sierra Nevadas from Highway 395 to the Bay Area. Was really surprised at the lack of snow and the exceptionally warm weather.
The car looks great amongst those pines.
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New leather interior and soft top turned up today from GAHH via order on Buds Benz.
Next job is to fit or get someone to fit for me.
Then thats it, I am not doing any more, its finished. ;D ;D ;D Yer right :o
Garry
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Garry,
don't forget to post some god shots once it's done...
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Went to the shed to look at the difficulty of fitting new leathers to seats.
It got too hot to work. Outside temp reading mid 40’s or 110 - 115f, and in the shed, 55c or 131 8) 8) Lasted about five minutes.
Hoping for some cooler days on Tuesday when I am taking the Pagoda for a run north with a few others for a couple of days where it was even hotter today.
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A whole new meaning to the word 'dry storage' ... Does that sort of exposure to extreme high temperstures not speed up drying out of rubber, seals, tires etc?
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Cees
I think it does cause the rubber seals to perish much faster. Also puts a lot of pressure on the cooling system and you need to make sure it is absolutely in top condition if you are going to drive in the hotter temps.
I think you would be lucky to get 20 years before possibly needing to change the seals if it was always like that but we will get four or five hot days then it ill cool down to the high twenties and low thirties. for a couple of weeks before going high again over the couple of hot months of summer. In winter it actually gets below 10c daytime sometimes for weeks for a couple of months ;D
Sure helps with the rust control. I always get very suspicious when I hear a car has come from a cold climate and especially where salt is used on the roads in winter.
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The remark about perished rubber versus metal parts is very wise, indeed.
In the case of my Pagoda, when it came to restoration, it appeared that the metal parts of the car, except for two quite limited areas, were sound and needed just some refreshment of the paint. But for seals, conduits, grommets and other rubber parts, they were mostly rotten and needed to be replaced. Fortunately, all of these items are available, although at cost, but that is a trivial observation.
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Lot of things done this weekend:
1) replaced rod end ball sockets and spherical brass bushings (only the one towards the intake, could not replace the other because I could not remove the lever wich actuates the pump)
2) After all plays were removed I was finally able to succesfully complete the linkage tour and correctly set engine idle
3) Cleaned and "zinc sprayed" all the linkage rods and breather tube (poor man's zinc plating)
4) Calibrated the time switch: a prolonged cranking time was required for warm starts before, now the engine starts immediately
5) Replaced the cabin light socket: the old one was falling into pieces
6) Replaced the broken spring of the ashtray lid with a home built one
Then I went out for a brief sunday tour, enjoyng a warm sunny day: almost ready for spring time!
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- HID headlights
pwr strg belt
Nose
job
Had a head light go out and found the Hella H4's and then stumbled accross the HID conversions and one for <$50. Took all day yeasterday to install the wires and modules! Half th etime went into cleaning chrome, correcting painter's rushed installs on my head light mounts, US version. And R&R of the grill, same issue, careless craftsmen. Grill and head lights fit nice now.
The rest of the time went into adding a foot to the harness fot the right side light! I guess the harness length is OK for chinese cars. The harness extended into the area filled by the air breather, no way to get it into the head light can. had to dismanltle the connectors, cut the wires, find suitable extensions, solder them in and reassemble the connectors.
But Shazasm! Bright lights with euro sharp cut off on the lows.
Of-course close inspection found required maintenance: power steering belt throwing rubber, got a spare for that. Front seal is leaking! I'll wait for a three day for that one.
Yet to do:
got new front wheel bearings, softtop re-glueing for a better fit on the passenger side and front lip, get the rear soft top seal to fit right, finish adjusting the FIP.
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Dante, how did you calibrate your time switch? Are you referring to the thermo time switch? Do you depress the gas at all when starting it warm or hot? Thanks.
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3) Cleaned and "zinc sprayed" all the linkage rods and breather tube (poor man's zinc plating)
Bet it looks better then most of ours Dante :) Take a picture then we all can see how much better it looks then ours right now :)
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Jordan, as far as I know the thermo-time switch cannot be calibrated. I mean THIS time switch: http://www.sl113.org/wiki/Engine/TimeSwitch
Unscrewing just a little bit the calibration screw (about 1/8 turn) I reduced the contacts' opening time and the engine now starts immediately, cold or warm, without depressing the gas pedal at all. Searching for the best regulation point I noticed that the more I increased the contacts'opening time (screwing in) the more I had to crank the engine to get it started. It seems as though the engine would not start while the contacts are closed.
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Dante, thanks that is perfect. As soon as it warms up here a wee bit that will be my next attempted adjustment. ;D
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I have just got my Pagoda back from the pre-season check and am very pleased with the result. The engine and auto gearbox were fine-tuned and work better than ever. Gears change smoothly like in a modern gearbox and the engine is much keener to get on revs. I took the car for trial ride on a highway and at one point saw 105miles/h on the clock....
Also, I had have installed the Kangol 3 points retractable belts. They were sourced from the UK old new ex-military stock that have been offered on eBay. Not cheap but work and look great. The pics of black belts on black interior do not show well the final result, but I am very pleased with the change.
Several things remain to fix, but nothing precluding from happy motoring, weather permitting.
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I decide to clean the engine bay. It took over 5 hours and I am still not very happy with the results. I did it the hard way. I removed the battery. I covered the electronics like the distributer, the cold start solenoid and other components. Then went section by section with Simple Green cleaner and brushes. Several brushes like a drinking glass brush, an offset pan brush, a complete Moroso Engine brush kit and of course a tooth brush. I also when through 6 pair of Nitrile gloves but they did save my hands. For the valve cover I used aluminum wheel cleaner. I used Gunk original engine cleaner for the lower half, and Gunk Shine to brighten things up. I think it was a lot of effort for some minor results. The biggest mess was under the batter tray, there was a ½ inch of lose rust probably from the original batter tray. Looks like I have some rust pot marks on the wheel wells that won’t come out. I am posing the before and after photos.
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Lou F
Is that an original firewall pad?
Gus
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To Gus,
Yes it is the original firewall pad. I put a little shine on it by using an Armor All Wipe. I hope it does not damage it.
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I took a three hour drive today, did some shopping amongst other things I found a set of spare fuses. Now I can turn on the headlights again and take a spin after dark ... Oh I also stopped at a nursery and picked up some plants for our garden ... People talked to me on 4 of my 7 stops ... There main comments were ... Lovely color ... Nice car what year is it? .... It's a beauty very nice is it the original paint?
Oh yes it's fun taking her for a spin ... I just love it.
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Took my car down to Ernie for it's annual Spring (almost summer) checkup and Oil Change/Lube. I am happy to say she passed her checkup with flying colors and should be good for another year. It was pretty warm today upper 90's) so I wimped out at the last minute and put the soft top up and didn't get a chance to flatten out the "dog ears". I remember as a kid thinking nothing at all about taking this car to Palm Springs in the dead of summer with top down and not even wearing a hat! Times have sure changed:-)
John
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Nice day here but going to really warm up into the 100s starting tomorrow so we took off the car cover, lowered the ST, started her up (on the 1st crank) and we were off. Didn't go anyplace in particular but was an enjoyable ride in the country none the less. Before returning we stopped to top off the tank then back home, up the driveway and into the garage, safely tucked away again. As I said, nothing special, just a wonderful couple of hours of driving pleasure in this amazing car:-)
John
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Drove it today!!!!!!!
isn't it the reason why we own these beautiful cars??? To enjoy them once in a while specifically when the weather is almost perfect.
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Drove it to my son's lesson. A little tingling with every good gear shift, with every corner tackled well in the beautiful sunny Gatineau Hills. Had an hour to kill, so I brought some Nevr Dull and detailed the dash chrome -and it took the full hour! I'm trying to get a little bit done every time I have a minute to prepare the car for 3 regional shows in August.
Next, dash paint, rubber and plastic.
J
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Refurbished the horns and added a battery top frame...
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I sent my car to a spa in the north east US. :-X
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The spa's proprietor's name starts with a 'G' Fernando? Inquiring minds want to know!
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My car is at Gernold's. My Pagoda was picked up by Intercity Lines the first week of May. The first month was the absolute worst. It's gotten easier not seeing it in the garage but I do look at pics of it every now and then.
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I relamped the on indicator in my Frigiking A/C control. Don't recommend the procedure to anyone. The result is hardly worth the effort. To do this the under dash unit has to be dropped and pretty much dismantled. To put it back, one has to thread screws through holes he can't see. To be sure that I or future owner(s) would not have to do this again anytime soon, I replaced the incandescent with an LED.
Next I will find and fix a system leak, then evacuate and re-charge. Those results should be worth the effort.
Gus
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I replaced my black windshield wiper blades with a new pair of Bosch brushed stainless steel wiper blades. The new blades are about an inch (2.5cm) shorter thank the older blades.
And I affixed my W113 Pagoda SL Group decal on my front windshield on the bottom left corner.
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Just applied the third coat of paint on my steering wheel. Will spray clear coat on it about 3 days. Then I will smooth it off with 3M Finesse several days later. This wheel is a spare. If this experiment is successful, I will do the original wheel.
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I spent two hours replacing the trunk lid handle with the new one, another hour attempting to 'food grade' detail my engine compartment in preparation for three regional shows...I should feel mentally ill but I had a good time.
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Final punch out with Brian Hoover (body shop), and her first coat of wax.
I admit, I think my favorite shot on a Pagoda is the reflection of the engine off the inside of the hood.
Next, Shifter Gate/Bushings/Bulbs, a growly fuel injector, and a tune-up/oil change.
I love this car!
Mike Mizesko
Columbus, OH
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The motor is starting to take shape, it's been a good bit of hard work but I have enjoyed every minute.
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Dave,
That is looking fantastic and will look better when in the engine bay.
Garry
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Dave,
That looks fantastic! Well done! As Gerry pointed out, once in the engine bay and you turn the key it will be even better. :)
Do you have a record of hours and spare / replacement parts cost for your project? I see some of the tools in the picture, did you do the work yourself?
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Hi All;
Readied and painted brackedts & misc. for the reinstall of my vac. booster. I expect it back from Power Brake Exchange in CA. tomarrow in less than a week. Rebuilt and returned for $180. plus shipping. Cant beat that as I couldn't find a rebuilt #882251 anywhere.. However Parts Geek has 32 brand new ATE's at $660. If all goes well should have it on and bleed in about an hour?? :)
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Took off my top the other day (with helping hands from my neighbor) put the top into the stand and covered it. Anyway, it does give the car a different look. I will put the top back on in October, somehow I feel the car must be lonely without it's top :) besides the top makes it a true Pagoda and on dry road winter days I'll take he for a spin :)
That's what I did to her, made her topless ... Forgot to mention it ;D sorry about that ... ;D
Oh, I'm planing a major "engine bay clean up" this coming winter. I saw a link the other day on this subject ... Now I cannot find the link does anyone of you remember seeing it? If you have please post the link, I like to bookmark it for reference (I did try the search in several different ways, no luck)
Thanks in Advance!
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I took my car to my first car show this season in Brockville, On. The competition was fierce in the level of cars in my category was high. No dedicated German category but we had a fine day. All those hours spent reading advice in here from the Pagoda Masters paid off!
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more pictures from the Brockville show.,.
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Congratulations, Jkalpus1 Well done!
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I put on my new firewall pad, and finished my custom doggie protector for the back deck.
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Very nice, what do you use the little round chrome piece in the middle of the rear panel for?
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That's where Mischa's harness is tethered to when she rides in the "turret" position. And for those cringing at the thought of a hole drilled through the back wall, it was already there - the previous owner had mounted "seat belts" for his infant kids.
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That's awesome.
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Ditto to that! Awesome indeed! Great photo
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Here is a picture of my pet, Syrus, in the Pagoda. He gathers a lot of attention...only bested when he is in the motorcycle sidecar.
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Thats just gold. I love it. Where did you get those goggles from??? I cant wait to let my little miniature schnauzer sit in the back seat when I am up and running.
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I've some old fashioned looking goggles… Haven't tried them on our labrador yet…
Peter
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The dog goggles are called " doggles ". You can get them at various pet stores or on eBay. And you can also get them in various sizes and colors. I got those on eBay. Below is a picture of him in the motorcycle sidecar with his "doggles".
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These two pictures are priceless, Denny! I love the goggles :)
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Changed my shocks all around. Chose Bilsteins based on various comments on this forum. I'm pretty sure the ones I took out were original. They're so covered in grime it would take me a while to clean them enough to see. They were still doing a reasonable job of damping and the front ones still had some air springiness.
But the difference in driving is big. The car feels much smoother and also feels much better and more predictable in handling. I had already changed all the rubber front and back last winter (subframe mounts, engine mounts, trailing arm rubber, etc). At this point, the car feels as good as any good modern car. I think that's pretty amazing for a nearly 50-year old car. Wish I could say the same about myself ;).
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Makes me wonder again whether I should be looking to change my springs. I think those are still original, and I never learned whether they wear out or not. Seems like they might.
Anyways, I put in a new battery. After some research, I chose the Bosch silver S4 005 type. €85 in the local (France) LeClerc supermarket. This type of course because of the specifications (AH and CCA) but also the dimensions and location of the + and - posts, and the brand itself, which has a good reputation and because Bosch supplied many parts to our cars originally as well. Perfect fit and hopefully many years of service ahead.
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Cees,
Will the original MB clamp fit with this battery ?
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Hi Eric - if you mean the metal frame that slips over the top and holds the battery in place by means of the two 'hooks' then, yes, it does fit perfectly. I checked the dimensions of this battery on the Bosch site to make sure that it would be just about the same as the original dimensions, and it is.
Bit fiddly to get the front hook to slip into its seat, since you have to basically do it by feel, but that's not the fault of the battery.
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Then today I gave the car a thorough wash and cleaning, and especially cleaned/polished the plastic soft top rear window with this special Meguiar's product (first a cleaner, then a polish) - always love how that window comes out looking new. Also checked the tire pressure (only one tire had lost a bit of its pressure since the last time I checked, which was probably last fall!) and took a leasurely drive here in the French countryside. I noticed again how the exhaust note, on the stainless system I put in in 2004, is very nice, even with the top down at higher speeds and not raspy or loud at all. Purchased the system, complete front to back, at Van Dijk's for (then) 685 euros and of course being stainless it still looks like new now 10 years later.
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Changed two muffler holder O-Ring donuts that were broken, with the 107 substitute part from the dealer, no problem. Replaced clutch and brake pedal covers after trimming the extra rubber, easy fit after boiling them a few minutes. Prepped the car for today's car show. Chatting with the other exhibitors. Nice and sunny.
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After keeping 4 years my alloy rims in storage, I bought new Vredestein 185R14 tyres a few months ago and this morning I finally crossed the river and have both assembled and installed on my Pagoda. New look and new feel.
Without trying to find difference where there is none or little, I must say however that the car handles superbly, especially when cornering. I also noticed much softer breaking and general softer sensations. New rubber that must be :)
In fact, my previous tyres were still in excellent condition (Uniroyal 195 with white strip), but their age got me somewhat nervous.
In general, I am very pleased although I recognise that for some occasions I definitely plan to put back the old rims.
Here is the result
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Finally had the hard top painted in correct colour. Now the hub caps to be done next.
Garry
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Garry,
Great move. The combination is spectacular !
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Beautiful color combination and, yes, when I saw another photo you posted this morning I immediately thought: 'now for the hub caps'! I love the two-tone, which is why it is also in my avatar...
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Very nice Garry! love it ... your car colour is close to mine is it also colour code 903 H?
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No, its the perfect classic, extremely hard to find, highly sought after, highly prized and priced 334G with 350H top. ;D ;D
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Now Garry, Thanks for the colour code info. the top looks real sharp! Now I do agree with all you said in your last post, however, should we not replace prized with treasured when we describe your fine car? ;D
unless of course you are thinking of someones sheepdog ;D
no pun intended :)
(prized adjective ... his prized sheepdog: treasured, precious, cherished, much loved, beloved, valued, esteemed, highly regarded).
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Prized, 8)
And treasured ;)
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Very cool Gary, did you win those this weekend.
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Won the best engine bay on show and second in Sl class. I had not done my seats at that point!!!! it was in 2013. Have not entered since in anything. I might give it a go for best in show next year if it is still clean but I am having trouble with some oil leaks that I just dont seem to be able to get right yet. Am going to give it to a good MB mechanic next week for a couple of weeks to see how he goes with it.
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Love your engine Garry. Do you just keep using aluminum polish on the valve cover or does it have a coating? It looks freshly cast, very natural and right...
Jerome
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Very cool indeed Garry :)
let us find a word that covers it all .... Ausgezeichnet !!!! (excellent)
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Jerome,
After it was peened, I have not done anything with it other than wipe it over so it is all a bit down hill from here until the next restoration that will not be in my life as custodian ;D
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Drove mine!
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Woke it up from hibernation and changed the oil.
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dseretakis,
Why so late it's almost fall :) Hardtop on or in the stand?
Happy Pagoda motoring, when you get there (http://www.m3post.com/forums/images/smilies/burnrubber.gif)
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Sadly I was too busy to drive it this summer! Hardtop is always in the stand! Hopefully I'll get some good fall motoring in:)
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I clayed the car, watched a bunch of Youtube videos on buffing, read forum threads on buffing, then I decided to trust myself and buff my car with a rotary buffer. At first I wanted to trust a pro with the job, but after reading in here from pros who routinely do it on our cars I felt confident I could do it. And the level of quality I require would likely have cost me close to a thousand dollars, plus the hassle of driving the car to and from the detailing shop. These shops have to earn a living, and they will provide quality work a at price point. To get the perfect job requires many, many hours, which means the "Concours" 700$ package, not the 300$ executive package.
On top of that I find they are not too eager to work on my car. They prefer to buff new BMWs and Audis.
I did a trial run on the trunk lid. I figured if I screwed it up it it was the easiest panel to take apart and to the paint shop.
No need. The trunk panel came out absolutely gleaming. It took me a little while to get accustomed to working the buffer, but once you "get" the compounding agent, and how to progressively lighten pressure it works really well. Next in line: the hood.
The paint only has the minor spiderwebs and RIDS that are normal on a 8 year old paint, on a car that was under a cover in a garage when not driven. I noticed them the last time I waxed it for last weekend's concours. I guess the paint surface deterioration on a pampered car is progressive so you don't really notice easily when you are the one taking care of the car. Kind of like becoming fat: if it happened overnight we would be horrified, same with swirls and spiderwebs.
I have to figure out a safe way to do the rounded and recessed curved parts now. If unsure I will do it with my random orbit machine and by hand.
Jerome
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Finished buffing the whole car. No incidents. Empowering not depend on specialists. Discovered the wonderful properties of rubbing alcohol to restore dash knobs. Removes stickiness, restores black better than anything else I've tried so far. Good stuff.
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Today I have had finally installed the side panels with new boards. The old ones were bended due to water infiltration and general humidity. They were also cut too short, which looked rather ugly especially when the doors were open.
The upholsterer used the old MBTex that he dissociated from the old boards and glued it on to the new ones. He also added a rubber pad to make the MBTex get some relief. This gives also a very comfy touch to it.
Nothing exciting in itself, but as those who went through that know that no door is similar and the job requires some serious and smart adjusting workmanship. The result is truly excellent.
There is one piece of advice I'd like to share: I initially bought the boards from a reputable German supplier. The board I got were cut out of a normal, good quality, fibreboard. The upholsterer discard them on the basis that even if he impregnated them, they would not compare favourably with special water-resistant boards made for the yachts, that he cut for me to measure. So, the lesson is that even reputable suppliers sell low quality stuff.
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Today I finally fitted a parallel flow condenser, final stage of 134a upgrade. Previously fitted a Sanden compressor, and finally gave up trying to stop leaks at the "original" peculiar two condenser setup. Seems to work very well, nice and cool even though I may have it undercharged slightly, as both pressures are a bit low. Yippee - it finally works, 134a and all.
I had previously converted my '87 El Camino to134a, simply changed the receiver/drier and fitted the necessary charge ports. That was app. 10 years ago, with the much maligned R4 compressor, and haven't touched it since.
Next serious challenge will be to attempt to get the dubious AC working in my '71 Alfa Montreal - to say it's primitive is being kind !! Wish me luck. Dale, in sunny Vancouver.
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Reinstallation of my radiator was completed today after re-core. A radiator shop in our little town that also handles race and track cars did a fine job $403 to re-core plus plus antifreeze $24- and tax all is well again with my Blue Tornado :)
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Today, I finished the center wood console makeover. The original brown putty paint on the wood was getting a bit tattered after my 35 years of ownership and I never did like the wood being somewhat painted. Since I do not show my car, and I wanting to more match the glossiness and visibility of the wood grain of the non-stardard Nardi wooden steering wheel and the Nardi wooden shift knob, I tackled this particular task. I first removed the wooden bottom of the console, giving two separate pieces and less curves/corners to work with. I then used an electric sander with 200 grit sandpaper (I did not read from the forum until later not to use a electric sander because of the thin thin wood veneer) to remove most of the paint and it came out fine. Next by hand, I used progressively smoother sandpaper to get rid of more paint and to smooth the wood. I used two different shades of Minwax stain in my attempt to get closer to the Nardi steering wheel color....I put down the stains about five times (two times of one color and three times of the other color). I used many very thin coats of Minwax Spar Urethane spray to provide the glossiness and UV protection. It is not as glossy nor does it have as thick of the clear coat as the Nardi steering wheel (because I wanted the console to look and feel more like real wood instead of plastic).
On the reattachment of the bottom, I only had 11 of the original 18 staples remaining (because I threw all 18 them out in the garage can, thinking that I would replace them all but upon reading through the forum someone said to save the staples for reuse, and after rummaging through the garbage I could only find 11), so I used the closest modern staples that I could find for the other 7. The other 7 staples were Arrow Wide Crown #608 which came in a box of 1000. I manually and carefully hammered the individual staples in place by using the original holes. Since those Arrow staples were silver and not black like the originals, I used a black Sharpie-like pen to color them black. I also used the pen to color the original 11 staples so all the staples would look the same. (Nobody would see the underneath of the console but I would know. 8))
In addition, I used new black hardware to mount the console back in place....I used two black countersink screws with collars to hold the console in place and to minimize damage by spreading the screw holding area...For the fog light section of the console, three black raised round hex screws on the top was utilized; and a washer, lock washer, and nut on the bottom. I am very pleased with the result.
I would like to do the other wood pieces of the car but do not want to go through the removing and installation of those pieces as it seems much more difficult than the center console. Maybe one day. Nevertheless, the console has been transformed! :)
Danny
1970 280SL silver Euro 4-peed
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Needs pictures as it sounds like a great job!
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Below are two pictures of the refinished console that I finished last week and wrote about earlier. The first one is with the console carpet and the second without the console carpet.
Danny
1970 280SL silver Euro 4-speed
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Reinstallation of my radiator was completed today after re-core. A radiator shop in our little town that also handles race and track cars did a fine job $403 to re-core plus plus antifreeze $24- and tax all is well again with my Blue Tornado :)
Rolf-Dieter,
Just to confirm, did the shop use MB anti-freeze?
Kevin
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Hi Kevin,
I used antifreeze manufactured by "Zerex" as recommended by Mercedes I recall reading here in the forum as well by Joe Alexander that this is the one to use. I will test the 50/50 mixture I used on a regular basis and properly will change it every 2 to 3 years ,,, thanks for asking.
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I had my door dings (professionally) removed recently, using the paintless dent removal process. I have many paint flaws, and chips where the hardtop has been poorly aligned during 30 years' worth of removal/replacement. But for some reason, all I could see when I looked at my car, was the silly door dings. So after 15 years of ownership, I finally took it to Dent King here in Vancouver. $400 later, and I am immediately regretting not doing this when I bought it. I can't even tell where the dents were.
So I then decided to tackle the remaining paint chips on the passenger side door and front fender. For those that are not comfortable sanding their paint with a 1000-grit block, then I suggest you leave it to professionals. But for those who are handy with rubbing compound and an orbital buffer, it's an easy job.
With a black car, it was simple to find touch-up paint. I simply dabbed paint into the 1/2 dozen or so chipped areas until the new paint exceeded the surface of the surrounding paint. I let each application cure for a day or more between applications. The small chips took about 3 coats, one the size of an pencil eraser took about 5, and a large dime-sized one took around 7 coats. Once comfortable that all dings were completely "overfilled", I set to work with a 1000-grit Meguiars unigrit sanding block. I soaked mine in a dish of water, then used a little car wash soap as lubricant. With light pressure, I worked the block back-and-forth on the affected area. I add more soap often, and checked the surface by feel. Once there is no shiny area around the paint bump, and the area feels smooth, I wipe down the area and see if there are any prominent scratches from the block. A few more seconds of irregular sanding motion gets rid of those. I then use rubbing compound to remove the hazy scratches, then switch to a finer polish to bring up a glassy shine. All I had on hand was Meguiars swirl remover, but now my dings are gone and the door shines like new.
I'll do some more touch up work over the winter, and then will do a full polish and wax with my orbital, but for now, I'm thrilled with the way it looks. I'd post pics, but I didn't have the photographic skills to capture before and after images of paint imperfections.
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To Prepare for a few hundred mile trip to Put-in-Bay tomorrow, Joe Alexander and I tuned up the car, new bosch points and condenser, NGK plugs, Changed oil and filter, Torqued the head, Adjusted the valves and linkages, Put in a NOS battery hold-down I found, replaced a cloudy side view mirror glass, and I replaced a cracked seat back vent. This fall, I want to replace my timing chain, check all of my injectors, and replace my auto transmission stick bushings (and replace a cracked gate).
She is running great!
Mike Mizesko
Columbus, OH
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I am having trouble with some oil leaks that I just dont seem to be able to get right yet. Am going to give it to a good MB mechanic next week for a couple of weeks to see how he goes with it.
Just messaged you Garry but im on the facebook page of MB Spares who are down the road from you? Have you tried them?
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Topped off the tires with nitrogen gas to their recommended pressures.
Danny
1970 280SL Silver Euro 4-speed
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There are other more needy "to do's" but I had my air cleaner can powder coated. Havn't re-installed it, now I'm afraid it will make other engine bay components look shabby.
For those that keep track of prices and costs; it was $50 USD for sandblasting, one coat of base/primer and one coat of semi-gloss black.
Gus
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After a period of inactivity I have finally started to work on my car.
1. Got the hard top to a workshop, had it scraped to remove the rust and got a full paint job done. Have not used the hardtop but keeping my options open.
2. Got the fuel injection rump overhauled by Robert Fairchild ( Great service and reasonable )
3.The linkages column from the Technical Manual was a great help.
4.Complete oil and filter change. Also changed fuel filter.
Now plan to install the 123 distributor this week.
The in Dubai improves from October onwards so I now plan to use the 280 sl and my newly acquired 1953 MG TD regularly.
Nirmal
1969 white 280 sl
1953 yellow MG td
2012 Jaguar XJ
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I took my 230SL to Dan's workshop this week. Chrome and accessories are coming off the back half and it will get a body massage and new paint. This is a big step for me. Hope to be back on the road in early spring.
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Now that I am 65 years of age, I find a little more time to work on the Pagoda.
So I built in power steering in my 230 SL. Makes it easy during a rally to turn around after the navigator has sent you in the wrong direction, which always happens on small countryroads.
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Good for you Basil! Check out your Navigator next time to make sure he/she knows his/her way ;) Reminds me of the TopGear episode where they were each assigned a totally wrong Navigator (a lady no sense of direction, a midget that could hardly see the road and a great navigator only he did not speak English LOL). Perhaps you saw the episode.
This is the one ----> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqx60_KNAE4
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Still trying to figure out to connect the transistorised ignition to the 123 distributor. Meanwhile got some new products from Zymol with which I plan to details my car this weekend.
Nirmal
1969 280 sl
1953 MG TD
2012 Jaguar XJ
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Nirmal,
Take a look at Pagoda Notes, Volume 3 no 4. It has a detailed article about the 123 ignition and may help answer some of your questions.
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Hi,
I finally finished the following work and drove my car tonight !! So far, it feels great.
New flex disk
Lubed drive shaft
Changed auto transmission fluid and filter ( and re-torqued valve body)
Replaced neutral safety/reverse lights switch cable (push-pull cable)
Replaced auto trans shift rod bushings
Thanks to everyone for their help in a few other posts.
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Today, I have given the beauty some periodical service:
Oil and filter change. I use Valvoline VR1 Racing 20W-50 mineral oil and MANN filters.
Fuel and air filter change
New coolant
Lubed chassis
Dripped oil in the dizzy. I have Pertronix ignition so no need for points exchange or adjustment.
Washed and Waxed
Parked and covered in garage
(Brakes, brake fluid, gear oil and diff oil was checked in February. 1600 km since.)
Recently, during the autumn, I have also:
Fixed window rattle in side windows (thanks to the Technical manual for that)
Fit new door seals
Bought a new Bosch battery
Now its ready for the spring here in Sweden ;D
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Today I took a set of hubcaps to the chromer. The first chromer I tried had them for three months and did nothing. They won’t be back this side of Xmas so I decided to respray my existing hub caps currently 334G light blue to 350H dark blue that is the colour of my hard top after I corrected it to the data card numbers several months ago.
Sanded them back lightly and sprayed with lacquer. Horror, appears the old caps were enamel and there was a reaction. Have to get some paint stripper and take it all off and start again before next weekend when the car is on show for a MB Car club bash on the south banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne.
Interestingly was using the club stencil. The outer stencil does not work that well and it did not cover the outer area correctlyl so taping is needed but the centre stencil works just fine.
Tomorrows job. Paint stripping and repaint.
Garry
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Today I freed up the heater valve that was stuck on "on" (as the first step in also replacing broken heater/air levers). I followed the instructions in the Tech Manual (thanks to JA & everyone!). They are very precise and easy to follow. I was able to now turn the heater valve to the on & off positions.
Interestingly I was NOT able to remove the valve to replace the O ring and grease the valve. No matter how much pressure I applied to lift the valve up and out of its cylinder I could not get it out. I was able to push it downwards (until fluid was escaping but not up and out). I have been applying generous amounts of silicone lubricant so I will try again tomorrow.
Then as it has been a beautiful December day in Melbourne I took my son (and black Lab!) for their very first ride.
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Mark,
Good to see you getting into it. Was a great day for a drive, also took my 230SL out for a drive to Kyneton and surrounds for a couple of hours.
Will catch up in the New Year.
Garry
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Today, taking advantage of a dry weather my Pagoda went for Winter pampering session. In fact this is to seal some leaks in the engine as well as to do the usual review and fine-tuning. The car should be ready for Spring season.
As Artur was to go and collect his Green beauty, he actually offered to drive mine to the maintenance shop. So he had the unique opportunity to drive two Pagoda the same day. A distinct pleasure I suppose :)
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I had a gap this morning and decided to change the diff oil. I took the car for a short drive to heat things up.
Firstly made sure that I was able to unscrew the filler plug before undoing the drain plug. I couldn't imagine anything worse
than draining the diff oil and then finding I couldn't undo the filler plug >:(
The old oil came out looking like freshly brewed espresso, it definitely didn't smell like espresso....I put it through a strainer just to check for any debris and found nothing.
Once most of the oil had drained out, I then jacked up the RR side and then the RL to get the rest of the old diff oil out.
Capacity is 2,5L approx. 2,4L drained.
I replaced the diff oil with Comma 80W–90 Hypoid GL-5 Gear Oil and found it easiest to use a plastic siphon pump to get the new oil into the diff.
I’m thinking that next week I’ll repeat this whole exercise just to give it a flush and refill again with fresh oil.
I've only had the car for just over a year and have never done any of this work before. In fact in the time I've had the car, by following advice on this Forum, on my own I’ve replaced the fuel tank, installed a new fuel pump, installed a stainless steel exhaust, installed Thermo-Tec heat shield and replaced all the carpets, renewed seat bases using pool noodles, new seat belts, serviced the original Becker Mexico and installed new front speaker, hidden ignition cutoff switch, replaced cracked steering wheel, new shocks, new suspension springs and rubbers as well as steering damper and all rubber bushings. Not to mention doing regular oil changes and servicing.
Also had 123 ignition installed by a mechanic.
It’s been a very mild winter so far here in the south of France, I've been driving the car everyday and enjoying every minute.
Best,
Mike
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This week I replaced the power steering, hoses. Hope the oil leak is found with it. Also, I have built a shelf for the pagodas parts and 2 hardtops. If everything is stowed, both pagodas fit back into the garage.
For some, the cold winter in Europe is good. ;)
Peter
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Where did you find door side windows in the Technical Manual?
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Here
http://www.sl113.org/wiki/ChassisBody/Windows
Just typed in Side Windows in the Tech Manual search function.
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Thank you Garry......
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Hey Peterh, slick job on those wheels.
Kay
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the two girls are back in the Garage ;D
Peter
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Nicely done Peter, one day I need to drop by and have a closer look :) (hope to get to Germany next year touch wood as we say).
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Very nice Peter. Do you have room in there for another one? :) Hi Rolf, if you can make it to Peters, I can assure you it will be most memorable. Peter is great host and has a wonderful hotel serving great meals along with two fabulous Pagodas. What's not to like :)
John
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Hi John, I know Peter is also a great organizer of tours (he has two on the go May and June this year). Perhaps before I turn 80 I will ship my Pagoda to Germany (or England) have it checked over from front to back and take some of the trips I was never able to take as a young fellow growing up in Germany :) It is something I'm thinking about anyway, no harm to put it on my bucket list ~grin~
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Rolf-Dieter
Funny you should mention that as I have been doing some quiet planning on a similar thing going through USA to Europe, only my thinking is either Pagoda or Kombi. Not sure which yet. It is definately on my bucket list.
Garry
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Hello John
I could imagine a beautiful old Mercedes, but since there was a big problem with my wife.
@ Rolf-Dieter I would appreciate a visit. A pagoda for a small tour I had. ;D
The second Moseltour 03.-05.July is fully booked. Some rooms are still available for the first 29-31.May.
Peter
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Actually a couple of days ago, this past Sunday, we took a lovely top down drive here in the foothills. Weather was almost balmy for January but the navigator required some additional warmth of which the Pagoda's heater provided. We have not had the car out for some time but it fired up immediately and ran without a hiccup. High light of the jaunt was going through the drive thru of our local In and Out getting lots of admiring glances/comments and ordering two #3s. Happy to say no crumbs or french fries were left behind :). I guess I should add for those members that are not familiar with "In and Out", it is a very popular chain of Hamburger joints here in California and a few other western states.
John
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I did "something" for my car today. I bumped up the insured value. After reading where some of the prices these cars are going for I thought it might be a good idea.
John
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I am with you John,
I think I also need to up my insurance. The car is sitting in the street this week :o with covers on it after getting the back axle out after getting all the seals and rubbers replaced.
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Got the car back home and given it a complete clay and polish ready for the annual MB Club Victoria Concourse competition in two weeks time.
Only problem, I live on a dusty dirt road. :(
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Garry...
that road should your next project ;D
Good luck in the concourse... photos are the lest that we expect here ;)
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Got my Pagoda back today.
New 123 electronic distributor installed. Changed the differential to 3.27 ratio (Thanks Gael). Had earlier got the fuel injection pump calibrated by Fairchild. Also now have the Jawbone music box in the car.
It now runs like a dream. Will detail it with Zymol next weekend.
Nirmal
Dubai
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I put my Frigiking under dash unit back together. New ID plates, vents re chromed(vacuum metalized) by Chrome Tech and a new Spal blower.
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I forgot to mention installed new seat belts and change the tyres (Pheonix)
Nirmal
Dubai
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Shvegel - In your entry above you stated that you put on new ID Plates. Where were able to source these? I remember reading something in a previous thread about somebody trying to reproduce them, but I can't find it. The vents look good. I live in Southern Cal so will look up Chrome Tech and get my vents rechromed. Thanks, Chumps
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I think they were made by one of our members called DaveB in Western Australia. You could try a PM
I got one about 6 years ago and they were very good.
Garry
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With the mild winter and dry sunny days the mood here is to get the car ready for the new season. My Pagoda was pampered at the usual maintenance shop, and today the mechanic called me that she is ready for new adventures.
In fact, besides the typical oil and filter changes the main issue was to eliminate the leaks that the car had out of the injection pump, gear box and rear axle. The most time consuming was to fix the leak in the auto gearbox. As it appeared this wasn't just a seal or simmering but the torque converter that - in the past - was poorly repaired (ah, those US pre-sale repairs! >:().
As the result the pin wasn't well centred and provoked permanent leaks. Fortunately this part is relatively easily available although not cheap (but that we all know).
The car had also all the soft seals replaced, something that was already overdue, so it looks and works better now.
So, now ready for take off... but more about that will be reported (soon hopefully) in the Photo Gallery thread :)
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I took it's engine apart!
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I took it's engine apart!
That's brave ... going for a rebuild?
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Hi Scott, Brave indeed! Will you be posting some photographs (your findings and rebuild)? We hope so :)
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Yes going for rebuild.
I'll put more info in my resto thread, heres a couple of pictures of the state of play so far.
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During the last weeks, I have adjusted the clock speed to Swiss standards and lubed the air & heater controls. See a separate post in the Electrical and Instruments section.
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Did you oil the clock at all, or only adjust it? I've been busy oiling our various old (antique) clocks recently and it's made quite a difference. Curious as to whether our mechanical clocks should also be cleaned and oiled.
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No oiling, only adjusting the screw on the back behind the tape.
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What am I doing to my car? Putting this where it belongs! (with lots of other related parts)
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You're playing in another league... ;)
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You're playing in another league... ;)
The engine was burning so much oil, I was embarrassed to drive it. One valve guide was so loose it moved up and down it's hole. And despite such a worn engine, I drove over 1200 km in a weekend with no issues, besides regularly adding oil of course....
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Today - I put the key in the ignition, let the fuel pressure build and started her right up and went for a little drive to take the kids library books back. Library is 6 blocks away but 45 minutes later I was just getting back home.
Not a big deal but ..3+ months ago I agreed to help a friend dispose of a big block car engine - he told me that he acquired a Chev 454 as part of a reposession of a work truck and wanted to sell it seperately. I had buyers all lined up - I figured he could drop it off at my garage and it would be there maybe a week max 2. Problem was it wasn't a chev 454 - it turned out to be an injected industrial run ford 460 that was in the midst of being converted to natural gas that noone wanted because it wouldn't fit a pickup.
Yesterday I finally sold the engine and tranny and boxes of alternator, starter, throttle body etc. It all left and I celebrated by going for a spin this morning. I can breathe....... Sure missed driving my car over the winter.
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Just finished 3 hours of scrapping & rubbing away at a 2-3mm thick coating of tar the previous owner had sprayed all over the floor of the boot/trunk covering existing paint and sound deadening PVC strips, I guess as an extra layer against moisture.
However, it looked real bad and was very sticky to touch and left black marks on things left in the boot. A terrible job to remove, especially as the tar was also sprayed on the spare wheel support, electical cables etc.
Only half finished but, once completed I will respray with 2 coats of black satin.
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Reinstalled my Becker Europa II after getting it back from Becker Auto Sound. Adjusted the clock speed, and blew a fuse attaching the leads for the glovebox light leads while putting it back in. First nice day in the 50's in a few months.
BTW, For all of you who's AM radio cuts out on your Beckers, (common and annoying issue), Becker can fix with a resistor modification. I had them refurb the radio a year ago, and the AP didn't get fixed, so they fixed it under warranty. Nice guys.
Mike Mizesko
Columbus, OH
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Mark, that looks really unpleasant.
I'm doing something similar on the underside of my car. One thing that I found works well with the tar stuff is a heat gun + scraper. It's less messy than solvent + scraper.
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First post on this forum but I have been constantly reading and learning about my new 71 sl. Got the car back from the shop last Thursday after getting some general maintenance done. They changed the radiator hoses, brake lines, dash vent lever, oil change, plugs and wires etc. Drove the car home with a huge grin on my face. Decided to use the car that night. Pulled out of the driveway and the car was now stuck in reverse. My neighbors helped me push the car back into my driveway.
With help from this site and the search function, i diagnosed the issue to be the plastic linkage bushings. The local mercedes dealer luckily had them in stock.
So this weekend I decided to work on the car. This is what I did:
Replaced both linkage bushings. Seemed to need this anyways as now the shifter is much tighter than before.
Replaced the shift gate plastic insert.
Adjusted the cable for the softop cover. (only one side was latching)
Repaired the clock.
Repaired the loose turn signal lever.
Repaired the Becker Europa radio. (tuning dial would get stuck 3/4 of the way through the frequencies)
Installed rubber water hose washers on the hardtop front posts.
Tightened the sun visors.
Repaired some holes in the muffler the cheap way until i can replace them.
Very satisfying weekend. Felt like I accomplished a lot. Thanks to this site for making it very easy.
Jose Soriano
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Welcome Jose,
Looks like you had a very productive, and hopefully enjoyable weekend.
These cars can bring great enjoyment.
Most thing that you need to do will have happened to someone before, and you will continue to find much help here.
keep well
paul
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Welcome Jose,
The journey begins and I am sure you will have many enjoyable rides in your Pagoda. We all like photos so remember on your rides to take and post some photos for all of us to enjoy.
I am sure you will find the Forum and Tech Manual a big help in keeping your car in good working order.
Garry
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Jose - I was half expecting to read towards the end of your list of accomplishments "and rebuilt the engine"! Welcome to the group.
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Took the cover off, adjusted the tire pressure back to normal, checked the battery charge, put key in ignition to position one (waited a few seconds) then started my Blue Tornado she started without any hesitation :) Drove her onto the driveway and let the temperature normalize then returned her into the garage,
Next on the to do list will be to put the hardtop on and leave her on. I feel it's more of a Pagoda with the hardtop on then off, besides I sunburn quite easily LOL
Edit ... Oh I missed, I put the styrofoam sheets safely away were I rest the car on during the winter months to get less of a flat spot on my tires. Speaking of tires I do need to get new ones.
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Hello Rolf-Dieter.
I was thinking why on earth did you just drive a few feet.
Then I see its only 4C where you live!!
However, the cold didn't stop this classic car driver.
http://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/norway%E2%80%99s-north-cape-classic-porsche-911-true-winter-wonderland
It got me thinking - what is the coldest temp you have ever driven in??
cheers
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Hi Mark,
Yesterday it was 15C the snow is melting fast now. I planned to do yesterday what I did today :) My neighbour got me into the mood only yesterday I had too much on my plate so I did it today. Driving my Blue tornado will only take place when the roads are totally dry (as I said snow is still melting and water running down the streets).
You asked the coldest I've ever driven in would have been out west were I lived for over 25 years. I think it would have been -45 or there a bouts when I drove from Edmonton, Alberta to Fort McMurray, Alberta for a project that needed to be started and no air tickets were to be had. I did that in my then Jeep Cherokee :) It is a good 5 hour drive (longer in winter) you see no signs of life except for wild life for hours on end (it is a fairly non populated road ~ was a 2 lane for years, now they are changing it to 4 lanes). Your car is equipped with a block heater so you can keep the oil warm once you are way up north. Most people at the plant(s) up there when it is that cold keep there cars running all the time (company 1/2 ton trucks) all you see in parking lots is exhaust vapors rising. Mind you it get's even colder with the windchill factor. Then that's another story :) Then again they had temperatures up there in the -50s
I remember a winter in the late 70 during commissioning of one of the oil sands plants up there that the entire plant shut down. The culprit was of course frigget cold temperatures, however, the cause was frozen instrument lines on equipment in the power plant. It took days to get the plant going again.
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After a rain two days ago to wash the salt off the roads and it being +2C and sunny today I took the cover off the car (after sitting quietly for almost 4 months), disconnected the battery tender, turned the key, ran the pump for about 30 seconds and fired it up. Went for a 30 minute drive and it felt really good. Hard top is on and heater is working so it was a very pleasant leisurely drive. It's great to be back on the road. ;D ;D
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Ten months have passed and my Pagoda is still on vacation in Maine.
The engine bay is empty. Its heart (enhanced) now back from California.
The underside is void of all that should be attached to it. Along with the nasty Ziebart that was liberally applied with the worst of aim.
My dash is as naked as it could get.
The interior is gone.
All that remains on the shell is the windshield, gasket and chrome surround all which should be removed soon.
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Well, not exactly today, but over the last x months.
I had the following done.... FINALLY ;D ;D ;D ;D
(I'm just a little happy.)
Rockers are now DARK GREY.
Trunk floor has been replaced.
New metal behind both rear wheels and accross the back below the bumpers (this was to repair some really BAD body work).
Rear side moldings have been installed behind the rear wheels.
I have not even seen the car in person yet. These pictures are from my painter.
I can't wait to see it. :o
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Great Mark, Now my car will get overlooked even more at shows next to yours! :D
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Mark,
Beautiful. Hope to see it at PUB. Now put some clothes on those wheel hubs. You shouldn't expose your lady like that.
Mike
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Crossing my fingers for you Cees, hope all goes well! Are you planning a Euro trip?
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Come again Rolf-Dieter? ???
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Come again Rolf-Dieter? ???
Sorry Cees, I thought I saw a post from you were you mentioned that you took your car today to be inspected for Switzerland and you were concerned that it passes all the test ??? Was I mistaking or day dreaming? Or am I starting to see things that are not there LOL
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Hah, that's 3 years ago! The car passed fine, albeing on diplomatic plates, which means the test requirements are less stringent. If I want to sell the car I need to have it re-examined to see what changes, if any, would need to be made to conform to the Swiss rules. I imagine that would not be too difficult since it already conforms to EU regulations, and it's a 'Veteran'. I will likely have it checked for that this summer, so we can consider your good wishes to be just a bit premature ;-)
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Hello Cees, looks like I was looking at a different page (three years back), must have been that second glass of read I had and I missed that. LOL
Anyway, good luck with that re-certification :)
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I have done some spring service of the beauty.
- Changed rear axle oil (Castrol Axle Z Limited Slip 90)
- Changed gearbox oil (Castrol ATF Dex II Multi)
- Changed/bled power steering oil (Castrol ATF Dex II Multi) and filter
- Changed/bled break and clutch fluid (ATE Typ 200 DOT 4)
The engine oil (Valvoline VR1 Racing 20W-50), filters and coolant was changed before winterising in November.
I have also made my luggage compartment larger by removing the spare tyre and cutting a 3 mm board as a lid over the spare wheel well and cutting and adding some old rubber mats on top. In the well, I now store an emergency puncture repair plus the tool kit and other accessories. Of course, when it's time for show business, I just remove the lid and put in the spare wheel again. Now, I can easily store two golf bags plus some luggage in the trunk. I can imagine this is an early 230 feature only ;D (the extra storage space in the well).
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Nicely done Johan,
I wonder what folks use in North America when it comes to the oil make and type you mentioned in your post.
I noticed your fire extingusher is mounted in the trunk, perhaps under the passenger seat like some other folks here have it would be the more accessible spot. I plan to mount mine under the front section of the passenger seat before my next trip.
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My insurance policy demands a fire extinguisher but accept it to be mounted either in the trunk or in the cabin. In the compromise between easy reach and a clean cabin, I chosed the later. However, I always drive the car with the trunk lid unlocked. Of course, I also have a battery main switch. That is mounted at the battery.
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Regarding posts 432 and 433, sorry for the late response.
Bob, Thanks ! Hopefully we'll park next to each other tomorrow at FUELFED, Coffee and Classics.
Mike, Yes, I plan on attending PUB 2015, and thanks ! I should have those wheels covered up by then.
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More like a what did I do WITH my Pagoda today... it was used in a clothing catalog photo shoot... Fall catalog, so these models were wearing wool scarves and coats in 70+ degrees today. Funny how so much goes into getting a few good shots. Car looked pretty good anyway.
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Panzer,
or what have THEY done to your Pagoda? Is your hood still OK?
Otherwise, this looks like a very nice set up
BTW
did they at least share the wine with you? ;)
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Very cool to see a little bit of the other side of what goes on for a photo shoot. Thanks for posting.
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replaced the oil in my fuel injection pump. Stiffened up both seats with foam and pool noodles, replace both window seals and pillar seals, replaced front and rear hard top seals, replaced the hard top cover seal, buffed polished and waxed,... It's therapy for me
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Repairing the heater core in my 250 SL. Got the heater core back yesterday, desoldered the cover plate. Today, it was some touch up of painted areas around the radio face plate, chasing the various seat bolt in places with a tap and die to ensure they are all free and clear. putting the foam in place on the various heater connections, finalizing the list of "itty bitty" (highly technical engineering term) parts needed. Now to rest until I get back from a jaunt across the pond.
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We had a lovely day today (borderline patio weather) so I cut our grass and washed my Pagoda then took her for a nice ride. Oh what a wonderful feeling.
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The cobler's kids go bare foot.
The nurse's kids are always sick.
The teacher's kids are stupid.
And, the Dr.'s car sits in the barn.
Haven't even looked at my car yet this year. Maybe in a few weeks if I have time.
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Yeah, the first thing everybody says is "You let her sit on your car?!"
Only after insisting on a thorough inspection of any part of her that would actually touch the hood... no, not really. And yes, I know it's aluminum and that it can dent easily, but the front edge is pretty damn strong.... it was fine.
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Panzer, you are a Gentleman and a Scollar to let her sit on your fine car, anyway there is always the "Dent Doctor" we all have one or two near by :) besides, the hood is properly reinforced below to give it that extra strength.
The nice thing is, you will have some very nice professional photographs of your car and the young lady :)
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I have been working for some months trying to figure out how I can fit my Pagoda into a 7 metre by 5 meter courtyard, have a nice deck area and a hot tub together with some small gardens and a storage area for bicycles all in our Town House in Melbourne when I want to get the Pagoda off the street if I bring it there.
After much thought and drawings and work, I have almost got the solution and have built the contraption but I am still waiting for some hydraulic rams to automate it.
First picture is the court yard with deck, hot tub, garden and bike hide but no car. The second photo is the car in the courtyard. Dont ask about lowering it, water table is 3 feet below the surface and Town Council would not allow me to do it.
Garry
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Hi Garry,
Have you/did you think about some sort of sliding frame attached to the underside of one of the doors that could then fold out & over the top to form a 'roof"?
see you saturday!
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Great idea Garry!
Must be nice to be able to see your treasure while relaxing in the living area or in your hot tub :) I can invasion it be quite a challange to get out and into the car. Perhaps the next project would be to add a small opening panel/door near the driver side door to make it easier.
Looking at your photos reminds me of my younger years, you know when we came up with an idea and we said to ourself I should patten that idea (many did like the fellow with the paper clip and made millions LOL). Anyway my idea at the time was very much like yours, only there be room for the driver to get out then by remote control the car would lower into the ground (sitting on a hydraulic platforms). The top sections would have build in heating coils to melt the snow in the winter time. I was living in Montreal at the time were we have lot's of snow during the winter. Anyway your pictures brought back those old memories of days gone by.
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Garry,
just curious to know how you get out and in your Pagoda while both wings are raised?
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I picked out new leather and carpet.
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I picked out new leather and carpet.
Hauser,
Why? :o
AFAIR your interior was just great a couple of years back. Brown leather if I remember that correctly. 8)
There is no need to replace that. 8)
Or, are my memories getting lousy here?
I am getting old I suppose ....
Achim
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How can anyone go wrong with classic brown leather? If you live in Florida! Dark interiors are just way too hot.
I'm going with Parchment or similar. We are waiting on new leather samples from Germany which are vegetable dyed.
More to come. BTW it's been one year 5/1/14 that my car left for rejuvenation spa in Maine. ;D
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New gas tank
New fuel pump
New oil cooler
Oh Yeah! Ouch!!
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Today - replaced cracked & tired headlamp boots on both sides with new ones. Its easy, an hour each side. As you need to pull apart the two electrical plugs that connect to the back of the light assembly (so that you can push through the wires into the new boot), make sure you write down a "plan" of the 5 pin main plug.
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My car went to the paint shop today.
My driveshaft came back from Arizona and is now vibration free.
It's coming together!!
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Well, let's see, first I spent an hour or two trying to set the dwell angle to 38... My car has been running fantastic for years, but I noticed a little hiccup in starting and idle, which usually signals the points. Sure enough, the dwell was 50 something. I did the ping-pong game of resetting them ... 21. 44, 28, 48, 34, -- its tricky for me to get that gap just right. (I can hear the Petronix and 123 folks chuckling)... Finally I hit 37.5 which I figured was close enough. Started fine -- ran smooth. My daughter (16) who had been watching, suggested a test drive -- her driving of course. So off we went. Ran very good -- I proudly proclaimed "mission accomplished". Now I hear the rest of you chuckling...
We pulled into the local market for a victory snack, and into a slightly inclined parking slot. As she moved the automatic shifter to park, I noticed it sounded kind of funny. She shut off car and when she let off brake, the car started rolling. I said, hit the brake and don't let up! My e-brake helped a little but it was still moving, if she let up... The shifter was as loose as a goose. Now, many years of membership here had me diagnosing this quickly: shift bushing problem... Even with this knowledge, I couldn't exactly try to fix it where I was, so we called AAA. Within 20 minutes, the Pagoda was riding high on a flatbed -- and my daughter got her first ride in a tow truck... (looking for silver linings here) :D
So ironically, the problem I started with was not the problem I ended with...you never know what is just around the bend with these Pagodas, or life for that matter.
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Hi James, Sounds like that could have been a lot worse. Good thing your "pilot" had a good push down on the brake pedal and you with the emergency brake. I have been pretty lucky, knock on wood, with mine since Ernie resurrected it from the grave five years ago. I took it down to his shop last week for an oil change and lube. Didn't really need it but but always fun to shoot the breeze with him and just keep in touch.
I remember a few months ago you were looking at an older MB Sedan for your daughter? Sounds like she has eyes on your SL instead ;)
John
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So, that was yesterday -- but since the question is asking about "today", here goes...
So suspecting the upper shift bushing, I decided to go in for a look. I had ruled out the lower one because yesterday I crawled under to verify it was still holding and in good condition. I figured it would be because I had replaced it about 10 years ago. But I did not do the top one then... (shoulda woulda coulda).
Anyway, I was pretty sure it was the top guy, and luckily I had a couple extra bushings I bought last time. I peeked at the Tech Manual and went in. Sure enough, once I managed to get a hold of the shift rod, the old one was cracked and just crumbled as I pinched it out of its socket. Following the steps below, I was able to replace the little stinker -- and once back together -- took another test drive! No tow truck needed this time!!
Lessons to learn here: Get AAA plus which allows you to request a flat bed. Join this site as a Full Member so you can use Tech Manual. Buy a couple spare bushings to keep in your stash (like 3 bucks at most.) If possible, change both bushings at once, because if one is 52 years old, its gonna go sooner or later.
Yes its in the tech manual in sort of broad terms but here is my condensed step-by-step that might be helpful.
1. Remove carpet from floor and tunnel. These sections should not be glued down.
2. Remove for bolts holding shift gate box on. Be careful not to drop them in the abyss.
3. Lift shifter out of the way. Down in the tunnel somewhere is the shift rod, you have to find it and get a hold of it.
4. Remove broken bushing pieces from the eyelet if its still there -- other half might be on the shifter.
5. Heat up a cup of water in the micro to boil -- soak the new bushing for 10 mins to soften it a little.
6. Press new bushing into eyelet. Small hole faces drivers side (LHD). Attach shift gate arm mechanism to the shift rod, press it until its snaps in.
7. Reattach shift gate, reattach carpet. Be sure lever is firmly in Park when you start car. Test the shifter positions -- drive on!
This job could be done in less than an hour for sure. It could also be done out in the real world where you are stranded. If you keep a set of the bushings handy and have a pair of pliers, a 10mm wrench (and if possible some really hot water) you can pull off the fix.
Hey John, yes could have been worse for sure. Still humbling though to see the old Pagoda getting carried away on a stretcher... And Calli definitely enjoys the open air.
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This looks like something out of the Avengers movie!! Awesome.
How do you get in and out with the windows up?
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Drove it like I stole it up the Route Napoleon from Gap to Grenoble then sat on the Autoroute for nearly 5 hours at 80+mph!
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We brought home a new "room mate" for our Pagoda. It doesn't speak german very well but since it's "heart (engine and transmission) came from there, we are pretty sure they will get along OK. It has been nearly 47 years since I bought my last Mercedes, so I figured it was about time :)
John
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Drove it like I stole it up the Route Napoleon from Gap to Grenoble then sat on the Autoroute for nearly 5 hours at 80+mph!
That may well be the coolest drive on the planet. Route Napoleon in a pagoda.
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Hi John,
Congratulations on the new stable mate, both complement one another. I like to call my two toys "something old and something new" :)
Happy and safe trails always.
PS. Is it a C or E Class?
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Thanks Rolf. It is a C300. When we visited the MB Musuem in Stuttgart last year, my wife spotted one on display in the show room area and got behind the wheel. As they say, "the rest is history" :)
John
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Hi John, the C Class is a great car, you will love it. My last company car was a C350 4MATIC I sold her to a lady. Then I traded my M3 for a E350 since my wife hated the M3 exhaust tone. A few weeks ago I traded the E Class in for my now C6.3 AMG ... What can I say other then I missed my M3 and now with something new and something old in my garage I'm living the dream. Besides, my wife has her own wheelchair Doge Caravan so no more complains from her :)
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Well, after close to 6 months of work, my rebuilt engine went back in the car, along with rebuilt/restored everything. Gaz tank, radiator, alternator... The works. Had a few issues to get it running well, but now resolved. Rebuilding that very tired engine was an adventure. So worn I had to sleeve the cylinders and have valve guides made because MB's largest oversize was too small for the wear in my head. Every moving part and many not moving parts of my engine were replaced. I had everything that could be balanced, balanced. OK, I had to sell my kids to pay for all this, but what a difference! A sweet running engine. And good looking too!
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A fresh engine and all the ancillaries always looks great after being done. It looks good. 8)
As I had everything out of mine and had already spent a fortune, a friend said to put a fresh coat of body colour paint in the engine bay or I would live to regret it. It cost next ot nothing to do. I did and am glad now that I did. I hate to say this but whilst it was all out you should have sprayed the bay with the red body colour. :o :o
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I have a loss of oil to the engine right. The water thermostat and the chain tensioner removed. The rubber seal on the chain tensioner was hard and too thin, could not seal. Used new rubber and cleaned everything.
It should be tight after installation everything again. 2 hours work
Peter
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A fresh engine and all the ancillaries always looks great after being done. It looks good. 8)
As I had everything out of mine and had already spent a fortune, a friend said to put a fresh coat of body colour paint in the engine bay or I would live to regret it. It cost next ot nothing to do. I did and am glad now that I did. I hate to say this but whilst it was all out you should have sprayed the bay with the red body colour. :o :o
You're right. I could have! I thought about it, but I had so many irons in the fire besides my car ( I fly over 100 000 miles a year to work) that I figured it's something I would do at some other time.
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Took a drive out to the Benz Barn this morning to let Dan (tThe Benz Dr.) give my blue tornado a general check up amongst other things. Dan's sharp eye does not miss a thing, he found an issue with my RHS connecting rod bearing (part is on order for my next visit). He also spotted some interference with a rubber hose and my linkage that was promptly adjusted to now allow me to make full use of my throttle when needed. Amongst other items, oil was changed, brake fluid drained and refreshed, all points greased, general fluid checks including coolent quality checked. I always enjoy my drive out to his shop, nice spots along the way for a picnic stop and some quality time with Mother Nature.
Dan's garage is loaded with Customer cars, two 600, several 190SL's as well as 6 or 7 I think Pagoda's requiring attention is some sort or another. We pushed one of the Pagoda's off the lift outside so tha my blue tornado could be serviced. Dan is a great sport that way to help out one of his Customers you can tell by the sparkle in his eyes how much he loves our cars. Thanks Dan for another job well done and a happy Customer!
On my way out to Dan's shop my odometer turned over to 10,000 Miles (the odometer was replaced in 1992 when RM did some work on this car for the previous owner). I could not resist to pull off the road and take a snap shot :)
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Rolf-Dieter-
Do you change oil & brake fluids, grease points and check coolant quality etc. at specific mileage intervals or time intervals ?
r
ds
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Mark I do it once every year. Dan's shop is one hour and thirty minutes west from where I live and once I am there we do it all at the same time. I have the car now just over two years and have driven her in that time period nearly six thousand miles.
Dan did this work for me in 2013 before I went to Williamsburg on a 1,600 mile round trip. Last summer I had my oil and filter changed at a Mercedes dealer in town and Dan did what I had done yesterday.
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Today was chasing an intermittent no-start condition (power is on, fuel pump whirrs but turning the key to activate the starter motor does not yield result). This has happened maybe five times over the years, last time was last Saturday. It always happens when I am away from home i.e. on a trip - so it doesn't happen when the engine is cold. After some time, it will 'cure itself' and the engine will start normally, as if nothing was amiss. I thought this was due to an old starter so I replaced it with the new smaller, higher-powered one a couple of months ago. But apparently that wasn't it, as the issue re-appeared last Saturday. Nothing wrong with the fuses it seems. I did some reading around the site etc and could not find reference to a starter relay anywhere, so that doesn't seem to form part of the system. I did see references to the ignition switch, so this morning decided to have a look at that. Then I realized that, in order to get at that, the gauges need to be removed. To do that, I decided to remove the driver's seat, and while that was out I decided to take the tracks off and clean and grease them. That was a bit of a job, as they had never been apart and the 'sticky tape' that sits between some of the parts had to be removed, what a messy job. I cleaned the tracks as best as I could (they don't come apart so cleaning and greasing is not easy). Anyways, then I removed the gauges, as well as some superfluous wiring from an aftermarket stero that was installed at one point, and got at the ignition switch. Took off the connector, cleaned the pins and put some electronic cleaner in the lock. No obvious issues anywhere. Put it all back together (those holding brackets for the gauges are always so much fun ...) and the test drive went fine. Just tried starting again after fifteen minutes (same conditions when it failed to start last Saturday) and all is well. One other possible culprit, other than the ignition switch, could be the aftermarket alarm system / immobilizer. We'll see if the problem re-occurs.
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Today was chasing an intermittent no-start condition (power is on, fuel pump whirrs but turning the key to activate the starter motor does not yield result). This has happened maybe five times over the years, last time was last Saturday. It always happens when I am away from home i.e. on a trip - so it doesn't happen when the engine is cold. After some time, it will 'cure itself' and the engine will start normally, as if nothing was amiss. I thought this was due to an old starter so I replaced it with the new smaller, higher-powered one a couple of months ago. But apparently that wasn't it, as the issue re-appeared last Saturday. Nothing wrong with the fuses it seems. I did some reading around the site etc and could not find reference to a starter relay anywhere, so that doesn't seem to form part of the system. I did see references to the ignition switch, so this morning decided to have a look at that. Then I realized that, in order to get at that, the gauges need to be removed. To do that, I decided to remove the driver's seat, and while that was out I decided to take the tracks off and clean and grease them. That was a bit of a job, as they had never been apart and the 'sticky tape' that sits between some of the parts had to be removed, what a messy job. I cleaned the tracks as best as I could (they don't come apart so cleaning and greasing is not easy). Anyways, then I removed the gauges, as well as some superfluous wiring from an aftermarket stero that was installed at one point, and got at the ignition switch. Took off the connector, cleaned the pins and put some electronic cleaner in the lock. No obvious issues anywhere. Put it all back together (those holding brackets for the gauges are always so much fun ...) and the test drive went fine. Just tried starting again after fifteen minutes (same conditions when it failed to start last Saturday) and all is well. One other possible culprit, other than the ignition switch, could be the aftermarket alarm system / immobilizer. We'll see if the problem re-occurs.
I had a similar problem that I traced back to bad wires going to the thermo-time switch. This sits in a casing located between your valve cover and the injection pump. It has a hose connecting it to the thermostat on your injection pump. There is a relay that controls this. To check it, I took the rubber boot off and jumped the positive to ground when my engine did not want to start when hot. As it solved the problem, I found that both wires - ground and positive- were frayed and cut. Replacing the end with soldered-on connections solved the problem. Your problem may not be this, but it's an easy thing to check.
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Bought a new Nardi wheel along with a new hub and horn button.
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Thanks, will check that out. Amazing the sorts of electrical gremlins can occur!
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Today was chasing an intermittent no-start condition (power is on, fuel pump whirrs but turning the key to activate the starter motor does not yield result). This has happened maybe five times over the years, last time was last Saturday. It always happens when I am away from home i.e. on a trip - so it doesn't happen when the engine is cold.
I remember I had that problem with your car after refueling in Belgium on the way to it's new hiding place in France…
Peter
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Exactly Peter! That was one of the incidents. I read up in the Technical Manual and there is a makeshift fix that is to run a wire directly from the battery to the starter solenoid, with a switch at the dash (along the lines of jpinet's suggestion), for when the problem occurs. Kind of cool to have a starter switch as opposed to having to turn the key. Still, will try to find the root cause before I resort to that. Problem is that it only occurs very rarely.
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Dan's Mechanic did all the work under the watchful eye fron the Benz Dr. Of course. I had fun driving to the shop and home again
During my last trip to Dan's shop (Benz Dr), Dan noticed one of the ball joints in my "drag link" worn that produced quite a bit of play, left to right and up and down on my right hand front wheel. So Dan orders a new one and it arrived last night.
So this morning I took the blue tornado out to the BenzBarn for a change out. All went well and after the changeout all is like new again. We took her for a test drive after and at 130 km/hr no more play or shakes in my steering ... Simply solid as a rock ... Come on September and PUB 2015 I'm ready now ;)
Thanks Dan for another fine job and for noticing it with your keen eye on my previous visit!
My car on the Benz Barn Hoyst and the old drag link in photos below
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Today I took apart the driver's side door window mechanism. The window had become more and more difficult to wind up from the full down position. Decided to take the entire mechanism out because some cleaning and greasing didn't result in enough of an improvement. Turned out that (1) the rear window jaw/slider had come off of the glass (common fault), and (2) there is a slider channel that is invisible until the whole scissor mechanism is taken out. My channel was bone dry. I cleaned and re-greased that and all other moving parts and that made a huge difference: super-smooth action winding up and down. Then, using the guidance in the technical manual, re-affixed the rear jaw using some new thin felt and 2-part epoxy glue. Tomorrow morning, when the epoxy is fully hardened, will put it all back together. As Edd China (Wheeler Dealers) will say: "Result!"
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with rain falling this afternoon and all instruments, air & heating out of car - spent 3 hours fully cleaning out the air distribution box, both the windscreen and dash air ducts and the blower of 47 years of dust & debris, then removed all old foam and felt seals and attached new foam/felt seals.
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I fixed my fuel leak! After ordering every possible fuel hose from the Classic Centre (in the absence of a solid diagnosis -super hot temp, hot engine, gas everywhere, no helper), I returned to winter storage for diagnosis: A Gemi clamp had loosened up on the fuel return hose, which explains why the car was running fine despite consuming a half tank over five km! Fixed it and went for a test drive before the 450km journey home. It showed symptoms I experienced before, where the engine suddenly makes no fire...you can hear the compression but no power. I thought: "old gas" (8 months old), since I always have good fire. Went and filled up, problem solved. 450km journey home at 4000RPM no problem. Should have brought earplugs. It's good to have the car back! I'm debating prepping her for the Brockville Automotion Car Show this weekend...won the class last year with a Very Large Trophy with Psychedelic Hologram Foil...Having two would make a set that would establish me further as a man of exquisite taste.
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Fixed window rattles & new window felts: Our Tech Manual on this repair is fabulous and tells you everything you need to get windows perfect.
removed chrome trim, door cards & plastic protection
removed windows
cleaned inside of doors, guides, rails etc.
all four window jaws removed & cleaned (2 loose but all still attached to windows)
new plastic inserts & rubber rings in jaws
re-glued jaws onto windows with epoxy
glued new rubber strips onto glass
inserted new rubber hose into screw holes in glass
inserted new window felts
inserted sound proofing on inside door
new silicone grease everywhere
five hours each door, including 1.5 hours of constant adjustment to get perfect fit up/down
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Smiling :) @ Otto ... Good luck with that trophy ... Do post a picture.
Mark, on your next trip around the world stop over at my house you then can do my doors ~grin~ just kidding, I plan to do the same next winter in my garage. I like the idea of sound proofing the doors. I now have my hardtop in place I like the idea for several reasons, protection from the sun, no hasel to put the soft top up when it rains, much quieter ride and I can enjoy my music along the way. Good job you did with your doors!
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Thanks Rolf-Dieter.
When you do yours you will find that taking out and putting back the window is actually not difficult.
However, what is a real pain is getting the final adjustment right. It is very very tedious. There are so many ways that the windows can be adjusted and the only way to get a lovely smooth wind up and down is to get the window position 98% right. I am sure that a lot of the difficulty is the odd shape & curvature of the glass.
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Yesterday I had my new Uniroyal white wall tiger paw tires installed, including the spare. The side is 185 / 70R 14 (same size I had on the car). I never I'm my life removed tires from a car that still looked like new tires (my former Michelin All Season white wall), however, they had to go after a 15 year life they have done there duty
The drive home was fantastic and nice and smooth. I even got two (2) thumbs up during my short 12 KM drive home, not sure if it was for the tires or the car ~grin~
5 tires, mounting and balancing I paid $620.09 Canadian ($474.51 US) or $124.02 CDN / $94.90 US for each
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Excellent. The extra smoothness is the first thing I felt when I recently replaced my 12 year old tires, meaning that the old tire rubber had become hard notwithstanding only 4,000 miles of use!
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Over the past week, mostly before work and a couple 2 hour stints I replaced my sub frame mounts, motor mounts, tranny mount and shocks. This morning I took the car out for a spirited ride through the twisties and really enjoyed the difference a bit of suspension made. It feels like the car is sitting 4" lower with the wheels 12" farther apart. But of course it isn't. I really hammered one sharp left hand corner trying to see if the back end would let go and it didn't even get close. I can say that my car handled good before but so much better now.
If I knew how easy this procedure was I would have done it years ago but I was always aprehensive reading through the instructions. Its no biggie if you are mechanical - follow the instructions provided. I used a 5' crowbar to seperate the subframe because that is what I have on hand (I just sat on the bar and reached in to remove the mount) and used 4 tapered punches to align the bolt holes. The one thing that I did that made it so much easier for me was to clean all the bolts and clean the threads on the mounts as there was black paint on the threads that made the initial threading a bit tough. Everything was clean and it went together beautifully.
Oh yeah, all the mounts were shot. I think that they were all original.
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My car has been coughing and not holding idle recently so I changed the plugs and THEN changed the point breaker which has resulted in the car running better than ever!
Through the miracle of the technical manual, I removed the glove box to remove my clock which has been losing about 5 mins a day. I moved the adjustment screw the equivalent of 1.5 hours on a clock face and am waiting to see if this was enough. After 1 day it still seems to be losing about 3 mins over a day. I'm gonna replace my glove box spring when I make the next adjustment.
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Giving the old girl a full annual service today. 54,000 miles service.
Meanwhile I have been putting off doing a gearbox overhaul for over three years. It was the last item on the restoration list that I knew could be delayed for some time but I think that time has come after doing a long trip (350 miles/600km) at the weekend and noticed that the revs flair out on occasions between 3 and 4 and now some times 2 and 3 now even when cold. its time I think.
A job before summer is upon us as it gets worse when hot.
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Because there was a stutter of idle revs just at the 'almost normal' operating temp, I had a think about the situation and as the idle revs were stable with a hot engine, I concluded it was time to replace the Thermostat in the Inj Pump WRD.
Luckily I bought a spare from the MB Classic Center Irvine CA on my way to PUB 2015.
So today It was replaced and all is back to normal.
It is interesting that the Thermostat cost AUD $40.65 3/12/2003 and USD $161.50 31/08/2015
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I finally tackled and replaced the compensating spring and rubbers this morning. It's something I've been putting off since late last year, when I replaced the 4 suspension springs and rubbers.
The old spring was tired and the rubbers were completely trashed.
It was easier than I expected, used a good strong spring compressor, loosened the 2 bolts on the support and dropped the spring out.
Compressed the new spring prior to fitting, fitted the rubbers and bolted the support back into place and then loosened the spring compressor.
Working with and compressing these springs really scares the crap out of me, when I think of what can happen if the spring compressor slips or gives way! :o
Best,
Mike
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Gorgeous, tranquil autumn days here in the South of France, it's a great time to do all the work I've been wanting to do on the Old Girl.....I've owned her for 2 years this month.
In this time I've replaced & installed: changed US headlights to Euro, new fuel tank, new fuel pump, new fuel sender unit, 123 ignition, new springs & rubbers, new Bilstein Shocks, new steering damper, torsion bar bushings, new stainless steel exhaust, new carpets, steering wheel, new seat belts, new brake calipers, new brake pipes & hoses, new master cylinder, new starter motor and auto shifter bushings- to name just a few.....
2 days ago I replaced the compensating spring.
Yesterday I did an oil service, replaced oil filter and all seals, added Liqui Moly 15W40 High Mileage & Liqui Moly 1013 Oil Additive- I do this every 2, 000 kms on my 128, 000 mile engine.
Today I did something I've been wanting to do for a while- checked on the condition of the tach bushing and vertical timing gear. All was in good order and within tolerances- for good measure I installed a new Tach Bushing.
I've read on the forum that checking this and the "garden hose seal" in the top of the oil filter housing are : "Two very important preventative measures for every W113 owner should be checking"
http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=3097.0 (http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=3097.0) reply #1
Best,
Mike
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Mike, very nice work. You've done a huge amount in the 24 months you've had this car.
Would you advise if you notice any change after replacing the compensating spring? How were you able to judge if replacement was needed?
Best,
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Mike, very nice work. You've done a huge amount in the 24 months you've had this car.
Would you advise if you notice any change after replacing the compensating spring? How were you able to judge if replacement was needed?
Best,
Hi Oz,
Thank you, it adds up! This was a car that I was told had been completely refurbished several years ago- utter bollocks!
Body work is great, no rust and engine was clearly redone, as for the rest.....
In fact she had her "control technique" this week, the guy who did the check couldn't stop telling me how impressed he was with the car's condition- especially when we had it up on the hoist...
Looking at the tired condition of the suspension springs & trashed rubbers when I replaced them last year, I thought it's probably a good idea to do the compensating spring as well.
I also felt that given the new springs and shocks, there was something still not 100% in the feel of the ride.
The car now definitely feels tighter all round, ride feels firmer and road handling is much improved.
The other thing I've noticed is that wheel alignment is now slightly out since replacing the comp. spring. Driving on a straight road the steering wheel is slightly to the left.
I'll get this sorted out today...
Best,
Mike
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Hi Mike,
She looks great all around, well done! Wish my engine bay would sparkle like yours :) perhaps in a year or two (time permitting I'll get there), I will start this winter to devote plenty of free time to my engine bay.
Cheers, Dieter
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Thanks Dieter!
I semi-retired last year which has given me the opportunity to devote a lot more time to her and get her into shape.
I'm reasonably "technically minded", but up until 2 years ago I had never worked on a car before, thanks to the wealth of information and amazing support available on this forum, I've managed to do all of this work on my own...
Best,
Mike
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Hi Mike,
I have a love/hate relationship with cars like yours and many others, including those I saw up close at PUB2015. I love them because they are beautiful and provide incentive for me to finish mine. I hate them because I'm jealous that mine is so far from being finished - springtime at least.
Anyway, today I finished a project that I didn't expect to do at all. Earlier this week, I pulled my 1966 or 67 (not sure which) 230SL steering column off the shelf to reinstall it, but when I turned the shaft, it sounded and felt like someone had filled the steering shaft bearings with sand. I am amazed that there is so little detailed information in our TM and in the BBB, Haynes, Chilton's and even on the other Mercedes sites regarding the insides of the steering column. There's lots of stuff on the steering wheel and steering gear, but not on the column insides.
I pulled off the Steering Coupling near the Steering Gear end of the shaft, then the Multifunction Switch and then pried off the Horn Contact Ring. All fine so far, but then I unscrewed the two socket head cap screws that hold the Bearing Ring to the column. I heard lots of metallic tinkling sounds inside the column housing as parts dropped away from the Bearing Ring, deeper into the column housing - to wit: the two pieces of the Lock Ring, the two small springs and the two large square nuts that hold it all together on the ends of the socket head cap screws.
I had no idea how it all fit together, so I went to all the above resources to find out. No Luck! Even the EPC sketches are too small and without enough detail to help.
Anyway, I cleaned everything and inspected and repacked the upper and lower bearings, then I even unbent the tabs, disassembled, repacked and reassembled the the little stamped-race bearing between the steering wheel and the horn contact ring. All the bearings were dry and rattled, but not damaged at all.
I even remade the nylon washers and fitted some other washers to rebuild the Steering Coupling, since I couldn't find them anywhere. Wasted gas and google time looking for them.
Finally, this afternoon, I got it all back together and the shaft turns smoothly and so silently that I can not not only see and hear the turn signal return perfectly equally in both directions, but I can even hear the tiny turn signal tab re-cocking itself when it reaches the point where the turn signal will return once the wheel is turned back to almost center. The centering of the wheel and the turn signal return points are much better now than they have ever been, at least since I bought it in 1987.
Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos, so if anyone decides to take on this project and needs help, I'll be glad to annotate your photos to help put it back together. I'm not going to take mine apart again just to take photos. The Lock Ring pieces with the square nuts and springs are not difficult, unless you don't know how they are supposed to be oriented. It took me two or three hours to figure it all out with several restarts without any documentation or pre-disassembly photos.
Don't hesitate to ask if anyone needs help.
Tom Kizer
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Here's how my project is coming together.
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Hi,
Great pictures that shows attention to details not often seen on restorations.
I noticed the paintless sections for the mass connections in the engine compartment, well done.
Look forward to more pics of your project as it progresses.
Excellent work!
Hans
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Well, today I attacked the passenger side window; the smaller of the two guides had come off so needed to be re-epoxied on. Figured I would do the other one at the same time, as that was looking a bit tired as well. I did not mess with any of the adjustments and all went back together well, until I decided to make one tiny adjustment and **** KABAANG!!!! **** the window broke into the usual thousand little pieces that went flying everywhere. Bit disappointing since I was sure I had left the adjustments alone, but there you have it. Will check with the Geneva MB dealer on the cost of a replacement, SLS has the (green tinted) for €220 or so.
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Sorry to hear about your glass breakage. My front glass which is clear is being swapped out for tinted. If anyone needs clear glass please contact Gernold as these will be for sale.
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Glass won't normally break unless you touch up against with a sharp metal object. Where were you working when it broke?
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It was really strange Dan - I had already closed the door a bunch of times, glass fit well and tight. What I then wanted to do was move the rear part of the glass just a tad closer in, and I loosened the top screw of the rear rail, the one that you access from the rear outside of the door, under the door rubber, near the top. Loosened it, then moved it inwards by hand by maybe 1-2 mm, which seemed to go easy, and that's when I suddenly got the glass shower. There must have already been loads of tension in the glass, and this was the final straw. That's my theory anyway. I wasn't touching the glass with anything at the time.
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Sorry to hear about your misfortune Cees, hope you find a replacement at a reasonable price.
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Wow Cees,
I feel reassured that I'm not the only one that has that happen.
My dad simply closed the door rather hard and the glass shattered.
I found that the tiny u shaped chrome piece on the top of the door at the front twisted too much when he cranked the window shut.
Too much force on the handle pushed the glass all the way to the top and the holding frame twisted, pushing the glass tight against a sharp edge.
When closing the door the glass rattled and shattered.
Pretty sure many of you have those linear scratches along the leading edge of your windows.
That is the cause.
Walter
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Cees,
Give our friend in Poland a call (Stan's friend) I purchased a RH door glass from him a lot cheaper than anyone else.
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Thanks for the tip Eric, will follow up.
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Today was a big day in my garage - I finished the second of two mini projects and moved my car onto the hoist.
I have a stationary hit and miss motor that hadn't run since the 70s that I had to get running again just to see if I could and I have an early 80s Honda outboard that was left for dead 6 years ago due to salt water corrosion. I pulled them both out of the shed and decided to get them both running before I put them back in. If they were dead they would go for scrap but if...just if they were still good I would keep them. Happy to report both are running efficiently and I was able to put them back into storage in my garage to make space so I can pull my car up onto the hoist now and do my annual spring time (here is wishful thinking) maintenance and rust preventative application, paint touch up and overall analysis. They should stop salting the streets in several weeks and it'll be time to drive.
On Friday drove to Canadian Tire and saw three Pagodas within a block - must be a relocated mechanic in the area - all cars were rough.
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I use silicone on door glass sliders - never glue or epoxy them on or it may not come off if you need to remove it.
Hit and miss engine you say? What make? I have a Gray built about 1913 and a couple of FM engines that were designed to pump oil wells. One is a 8 - 10 HP which is fairly large. My first real experience working on engines when I was about 15 years old.
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This weekend, drove my 280SL home from Joe Alexander's, after some maintenance:
New Stainless exhaust system (Timevalve)
New Timing Chain
Cleaned all injectors, replaced bad one
Replaced all shifter bushings upper and lower
Oil/filters changed
Valve Adjustment
Head torque
Replaced Headlight doors with new ones
Replaced Neutral Safety Switch cable
Replaced brake pedal light switch bushing
Runs like a dream, and got it back in the garage while it was still 47 degrees and dry. 4 degrees this morning.
Mike Mizesko
Columbus, OH
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Find first some rust and then holes 8)
Peter
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New headlight doors and a pair of NOS Bosch H4 7" (NLA) Headlights. Almost as bright as the Hella's I removed but I think they look a lot better cosmetically. Remind me more of the euro glass with the big "Bosch" logo. Everything else is Bosch so why not!
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Fitted new sump gasket, was not leaking but could detect 50 year old gunk with my finger through
the drain plug opening, all back together nice and clean.Cheers. Mike.
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Built 18 drawers for my new workbench so I can finally get sorted and get going on my suspension. only 16 more to go!
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I live on a dirt road and it is currently very corrugated. I started to hear a rattle under the car as I was driving so slid under and checked out the exhaust fitting as it sounded like an exhaust knocking both front and rear. Did not find anything wrong so took it to a Mechanic to get it up on a hoist.
Glad I did. Turns out my Petrol pump was rattling around in the Flower Pot and not only that but at the front the Radiator strap had broken on one side as well and needed refixing.
Garry
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I helped Tyler to remove the hood from his 250SL, took us about 15 minutes.
But then he swapped the 009 distributor on my 280SL for a new 123 distributor and that took about 2 hours.
We decided to leave the "infamous spring" out.
Car runs perfect, thanks Tyler!
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Thanks Alfred, I think we spent most of that time looking for the MIA hex wrench! I forgot I put it in the trunk so I could do rack adjustments on the road!
Tyler
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Visited my pagoda at the restoration shop yesterday. Next week will mark one year that the car has been away. The shop has done a tremendous job in bringing this one back to full beauty. I counted at least 9 pagodas there yesterday along with a couple of 190s. I hand carried new headlight doors on the plane with me to deliver to the shop. The few things that remain include new carpet and seat coverings. The dash needs to be put back together and am installing A/C. I found an original Frigiking unit that is being restored as well. The car did not come with A/C originally, but our summers in S. Louisiana are brutal. When I bought the car it was a strange shade of almond. The car was originally tobacco brown with cognac interior. After months of deliberating of whether or not to go back to original, I finally decided on 172G Anthracite Grey Metallic. The interior will remain Cognac. A few pics are attached. The headlight doors in the pics are the old ones.
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Awesome color combination. Car is looking great!
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Mario, Nice job, you must be a happy camper once she is all done :) looking great!
Dieter
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Gorgeous!
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Thanks all for the comments! Picking the color was a difficult choice but I'm very happy with it. You may recall the workshop from this thread:
http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=21649.msg154173#msg154173
I know several of you have had your cars looked after by Gus.
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How about what I did to my Pagoda over three winter. Where do I start? Well here goes. I replaced the full exhaust front to back,replaced transmission mounts, motor mounts, radiator,all hoses,fuel pump fuel lines, fuel filter,front shocks,transmission fandango differential fluids. I am hoping for a trouble free summer and a lot of driving.
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Busy winter Milly! Car looks great!
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Car looks super Milly😊 See you on the road.
Mario, that would be three long winters here in Canada 🤓
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Drove the Roadster down to Ernies for her annual check up yesterday and she passed with flying colors. Oil/filter change along with the fuel filter being replaced and happy to see no sediment in the filter's bowl. Always a bit of a white knuckle experience driving down to the Big City (Sacramento) but we both made it down and back unscathed ;D
John
PS Always liked the to call my car a "Roadster" as that was what Mercedes called it, a "Coupe Roadster". I really don't remember anyone using the term "Pagoda" back then.
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The 'Pagoda' term I'm pretty sure was only used outside of North America until we started using it here in this group. I remember an exchange like this where it was Doug Kim in New York who suggested 'why not adopt it also in the US' or something to that effect, and since then it has stuck. Just like David Pease coined the 'BBB' term at some stage of our development.
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After installing new injectors and having it run much better, the warm up was still pretty rough with a lot of back popping. After it was warmed up and seeing the plugs were much cleaner it ran fine. I had also installed a new CSV which was working fine, fuel pump and fuel lines were done a few years ago, as well as a fuel tank flush. After researching this site and others and talking to several experts I pulled the injection pump and sent it out for a rebuild. Two months turn around time. I think my biggest problem is that it just sat for about 6 years up until a couple years ago and it's been a slow process to get it back right, doing the least expensive repairs first.
(http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/su8pack1/IMG_0174%20copy_zpsjoafvd5v.jpg) (http://s113.photobucket.com/user/su8pack1/media/IMG_0174%20copy_zpsjoafvd5v.jpg.html)
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I posted pics on this link:
http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=23699.0
Since the summer of 2015...
Mechanicals: Engine sent out to Metric for rebuild. Radiator repaired ,new water pump, thermostat, hoses, belts and all that goes with it...replacing bushing in shifter.
Interior: sent out tach & speedometer for reconditioning, sent all interior pieces for recovering,--keeping original carpet
Installing 3 point seat belts
Exterior--new paint, new windshield,new antenna,new seals,new hood badge etc
Still more work ahead...
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Not exactly today, but --- When I bought my late 280SL, it had a 123 distributor, emission control inoperative, no vacuum line to dist., and 123 set to E. It ran quite nicely, but I had no previous experience re. the performance. As the emission stuff was inoperative, I removed it in it's entirety, including the wiring. That sure improved the under hood appearance ! After reading a lot of information on the Forum I decided to look for an earlier throttle body, and was fortunate enough to find a perfect one, installed it, hooked up the vacuum, set the 123 to curve #8 , and Wow !!
Timing advance is now correct, with 38 degrees at just below 3000 RPM. The two immediate improvements were much better starting, and a considerable improvement in mid range performance. The car now run up slopes/hills without having to shift down, as previously, although I can still occasionally botch a hot start. The idle runs consistently at 550, which is also a nice gain. Haven't checked fuel mileage (If I couldn't afford the fuel I couldn't afford the car) but as Dan (Benz Dr) said in a previous post the performance is a noticeable improvement, so mileage is a secondary, almost unimportant, consideration. Hope this may be of interest to owners of US spec cars running the 123.
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Today, I wakened the beauty from winter hibernation an took it out for a spin. What a joy! Now the fuel pump was humming nice instead of being very noisy. (See http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=23329.0 ) Back at home I re-torqued the engine head bolts (thank's for the valuable PUB session on that topic) and was also supposed to adjust the valves. But I found to have the wrong wrench so need to postpone that work a few days. The timing chain was firm on the sprocket. A good sign, I guess. I will examine the cam lobes for wear as well.
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My Engine Rebuild is coming together quickly now and looking good. So happy with my choice of rebuilder (Greg Wood) - he is taking such care and precision. Quite convenient that his Shop is about 1 mile from my home. Got to move the crank yesterday - silky smooth.
First photo is how the block looked when I gave it to him and it cleaned up a gem - you can see the red overspray inside after cleaning. Pistons cleaned up well. We went with new rings, chain, cam (lobe showed evidence of weld), rockers, etc, - everything else was rehoned, regound, straightened back to original specs.
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A few more
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last one
Rob
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A few updates as of today
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Love the colour Steven (I'm a sucker for the less common / 70's colours). Is it the original colour? It will look great with the Bamboo interior.
Nice shut lines on the hood.
Mine is getting there ......ever so slowly (why oh why did I tell him I wasn't in a hurry ???)
Rob
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I put in new motor mounts today. I'll do the transmission mount this weekend.
(http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/su8pack1/1969%20280SL%20296_zpsn7quo1ba.jpg) (http://s113.photobucket.com/user/su8pack1/media/1969%20280SL%20296_zpsn7quo1ba.jpg.html)
(http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/su8pack1/1969%20280SL%20292_zpsrr4acyqt.jpg) (http://s113.photobucket.com/user/su8pack1/media/1969%20280SL%20292_zpsrr4acyqt.jpg.html)
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Rob,
Yes--original 571 red metallic. It is a very interesting color. I can't wait already....the weather in NY is getting nicer...finally!
Steven
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Paint is looking great Steve
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Engine is getting close now :)
IMG_1232.jpg
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Rob ... Wow is all I can say ... She looks fantastic 😳
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I just saw Mario's car today, while I was getting an oil change. All I can say is wow. Congrats Mario. Not much more work left. Gus has been maintaining all three of my lucky stars for many years.
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for the 1969 last weekend I have spent the whole weekend block sanding the car and removing door dings and getting it ready for paint. The original color is Olive Green which is very dark hence I have to have the body work really straight. Hardest part was getting the hood aligned. It was also warped in the middle. Took a whole day to get it all straightened up but very close to a near perfect fit.
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Thanks R-D,
He is doing a great job. He has built many of these for a long time but now his business is mostly hydroblasting and polishing. He ( Greg) hydroblasted all the Aluminium ( as he did on my other car) - it looks a little too bling now but at running temperature it dulls off nicely and probably looks like it did as it rolled off the line - complete with casting lines. And remarkably stays that way and does not need polishing ( my other car was done 4 years ago ).
This weekend he will fit the Injection Pump which was refurbished by the guy in CA recommended on this site. I hand carried it LA ( well checked it in) It also looks great.
I'm really looking fwd to driving this car being a stick shift with an engine that will be as good as new - maybe this time next year or end of this year if l am lucky.
I gave myself a 12 month extension as the bodywork stopped 6 months ago - but hopefully restarts next month.
Rob
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Hi Rob. Looking very nice indeed. I must drop by your body guy in Richmond and have a look at her. cheers
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I took the cover off today took her for her spring check up and fluid change then for a nice country road run. The weather was super, stopped along the way for some very light shopping. First drive of the year. Loved it.
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Thank you!
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This winter I had what I think is a lot of this and that type of work done which I hope will give me a trouble free summer,not that I had troubles last summer. But as I got to know the car better, I wanted to get that tight driving feeling. Haveing said that , this winter I replaced transmission mounts , motor mounts,fuel pump,fuel lines underneath the vehicle up and including fuel injector. And fuel filter. I replaced the radiator and hoses. Finally I had a new exhaust system done from front to back.oh and I replaced the fan belt. Hope to have it out in the next two weeks.
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Your car looks very sharp Milly. I wish I had a couple of bumper guards to give you. It would make your red look even sharper.
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This weekend was a productive day on the 1970 SL. There were three rust holes in the rear that I addressed. I cut out the areas and mig welded in new sheet metal, Ground down the welds and smoothed over with body filler. Waiting on warmer weather to epoxy / primer both the 69 and 70.
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Yesterday I drove mine for the first time since November.
Over the winter I had the following done: Hydraulic Clutch/Torque converter sealed, engine front crank seal, front pump seal on trans, water pump, thermostat, steering damper, front brakes, and timing chain tensioner seal. Also, new (used) hubcaps and paint on them.
Last night I washed and clayed it. ;D 8) Now I am happy.
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Yesterday after work I went into the garage and figured it was time to do an oil change - now I haven't done an oil change on my car without the use of my hoist before so thought I would see how regular people did it. I vowed not to make a mess……
Process is easy….Warmed up car so oil would flow nicely, Lifted front end of car up and put on ramps, Blocked the rear wheels, Put oil pan under the drain plug and lifted drain pan on motorcycle lift up as close as possible because oil comes out in a real rush, Undid the allen bolt and drained tank slowly by holding plug against hole intermittently (got a bit of oil down arm – no biggee), After oil stopped draining put a rag into oilpan to wipe up and residue and inspect – no metal shavings – very little goop – good.
Went further under car and undid bolt just a little to oil filter housing and slowly let oil drip into repositioned drain pan, When oil stopped dripping I undid the bolt and removed the oil filter housing without spilling the oil in it, Holding the housing and bolt carefully above my head – careful – careful….the bolt fell out – missed the drain pan and hit me square in the forehead and ½ a litre of warm oil followed right where the bolt had just bounced off my forehead.
Now my eyes are closed, I have oil running down my neck, my hair is all wet and all I can think of I need to plug that hole and don’t drop the oil filter housing and dent it. I crawled out from under the car holding the filter housing and thought – “that went well”.
Yep I miss my hoist.
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:) :-[ ::)
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Lucky that you didn't warm up the engine to have boiling hot oil. I do at least a10 mile run before a change.
Now you know what that 3rd little 'O' ring is for.
naj
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Roger Edwards Motors has had my 65 230 for 5months now. Had engine rebalanced, whist out had a full concourse detail, new sun visors, seat belts and a few other minor works. Just waiting for the hardtop total refurb to be completed then we are all ready for the season. Some pics below.
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Well, I should have posted this yesterday, so what did I do to my Pagoda yesterday? Following advice, went out to the garage before work and richened the injector pump a couple of clicks as the engine was stumbling and hunting on acceleration after bringing it home last weekend from having the head rebuilt. Later in the afternoon I popped home, stowed away the soft top and went for the first pleasure drive since last year, when I discovered a burnt valve upon returning home from a nice 150 mile run. She drove beautifully, so I treated her to a rinse off and vacuum, then buffed up her whitewalls, returning them from a dull beige that nearly matched the cream upholstery to gleaming white. "She who must be obeyed" will be riding in style again, just in time for our 40th wedding anniversary!
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Mike, What did you use to brighten the White Strip on the wheels?
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Nothing more than good ol' Wesley's Bleche-Wite and steel wool!
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I visited my car at the body shop yesterday. It was recently moved off the measuring frame and welded to the rotisserie. At every step I marvel at how much detail is revealed and how much work is involved.
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Hi everyone.
Well it's bank holiday Monday and I been browsing!
Tire's this time, particularly those with a white stripe! Lot's available for bikes, but not so popular anymore with cars.
There's this "Wide White Wall Rubber Tire Paint" [see image attached] option, so I was wondering if anyone has gone down this road????
See also: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN2y0XIbW8Y whereby this guy sands back the rubber!
Amazing!
JOH.
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My head gasket was "smooshed" (according to my mechanic) because the bolts had been overtightened and so needed replacing. I decided to clean up the engine bay at the same time.
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... and not a minute too soon Marc! Your engine bay looks cleaner than new ...
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Thank you. It was in need of a good cleaning and plating. I'm not sure I like the hood-less (bonnet-less) look, though.
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I flew over to the restoration shop yesterday to visit my Pagoda. After 14 months she is looking almost complete. Just a few adjustments left and recovering the seats and it should be done. I got to drive it for the first time in over a year as well so that was great. I added an original Frigiking unit and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it works.
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Nice Mario, I particularly like the 'stance' of the car, and the color.
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After Chuck and Ray finished dealing with the burned valve issue last month I went on line and ordered a windblocker from ChromDesign in Germany. It finally arrived yesterday and I installed it this morning. (Installation: Open the soft top compartment lid, drop the windblocker in place, close cover!)
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Hi Mike,
Can I assume that you explored the Chromdesign version ($80 more) that appears to be the same color as your interior?
I bought a black one because my car is dunkelblau with dark blue interior.
Tom Kizer
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I can see how a beige/tan or brown one might be nice on my car, but I did not see any option other than black in the English language link that had been forwarded by a friend. Turns out that she sent me a direct link to the black 113 windblocker. However, after you mentioned the alternate color I logged on the site using the url on my packing receipt and find that it is offered in all-black and also beige/tan with black mesh. To tell the truth, I'm very happy with the look of the all black one after seeing the photos.
I did find a handy accessory storage bag when trolling through their site that I might have to order! Curiously enough, the site recommends a "Size 3" bag for the all-black windblocker and a "Size 4" bag for the beige/tan one. I would assume that the dimensions would have to be the same for both 113 windblockers - any thoughts from the group on which size is actually correct?
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More like what I've done for my Pagoda ... yesterday :)
Got a garage mate for my Blue Tornado this weekend. I will call the addition The Red Baron it is a 230SL 1963 I say.
I will park The Red Baron in my office for a spell anyway ... until the shelf for my other little ones is on my cool garage wall :)
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This morning we had beautiful May weather in Alabama. My brother Harold was available to offer a hand so we backed the Pagoda out of the garage and removed the hard top for the first time in a good number of years. I wanted to check the condition of the soft top which had been in the “up” position only a very few times over the years. In putting it up we found it nearly as stiff to stretch into position as when new. We were pleased to find that the condition of the fabric was excellent, in fact it still looks practically as new. When in position there are a few wrinkles behind the doors on each side which I expect would stretch out if left in position a few days. The only thing that appeared to have deteriorated was the folding-instruction decal in the roof well. Although discolored, the multi-lingual decal can still be read after over 47 years! A few pictures are attached.
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More pictures for Post 577 above
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Success with a Pertonixpoints installation...... ONCE I went back to the Bosch Red 030 coil.
I had installed the PerTronix Ignitor and their 40511 Flame-Thrower 40,000 Volt 3.0 ohm coil which crapped out at 4,000 RPM. Like hitting a wall.
The Bosch 030 Red coil cured the problem and my 66 230SL now easily revs up to 5500.
(http://)
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This morning I started with a comprehensive review of all engine management systems, because yesterday the car was running very poorly (missing routinely at low rpm's). Started by printing the tech manual linkage tour (thanks again Joe ...) and proceeded with some basic things. First checking the air filter, to make sure no small rodents had taken up residence there during the long periods of inactivity over the past years. Then swapped out the spark plugs, even though they were fairly new, because the no. 3 had fouled up last week, when I changed the timing chain. Enriched the idle mixture two clicks, re-set the ignition timing, re-set the intake venturi air flap to 'binding'. Checked whether the rack in the FIP was free. I already knew the WRD was free and had adjusted the valves only 2 thousand kms ago, so those should be fine. So I did nothing methodical yet according to 'the Tour', just 'here and there' checks to rule out obvious things. Then went for a test drive and WOW the car has never run so strong and smooth. When the engine had fully warmed up, stopped by the side of the road and adjusted the air screw on the intake manifold to fine tune the idle to 750 RPM (car was running at 620). Later I went for a longer drive, some 100 km, to check whether anything had changed, but it's all great. I will still go through all the Tour steps, just to make sure, but couldn't be happier with how it runs now. I think replacing the timing chain has made a marked difference, so the engine timing (valves vs pistons) is now where it should be for the first time in many years. it's always nice when a bit of tinkering delivers such good results.
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One day trip to the rhein river with the famous Loreley.
Peter
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hello Peter, Very nice pictures along the Rhein. I have a photo taken in the exact same spot but only a VW Golf not a beautiful Pagoda in the foreground. Hope the flooding in France didn't come to you on the Mosel.
John
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Hallo John
In liddle more water then usual.
Last weekend a group from the nederland with DKWs stay at our hotel. Nice people nice cars and biks
Peter
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Drove it for the first time in (8+?) months, for a whole 300 feet! Just got my car back yesterday after having the head gasket replaced and the engine bay cleaned up a bit. Hoping for a more extended drive this weekend.
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(http://)
I drove him some kilometers to the butcher, and drove home with raw sausages for the barbecue and a good feeling 8)
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Good Times :)
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Have spent the last few days preparing my 230 for the MB National Concours
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Today, I participated in the Swedish Mercedes-club annual meeting, this year gathering on the Swedish west coast. Around 140 vehicles ranging from 1939 until today participated in a 70 km rally on nice curvy roads with pit stops for quiz and maneuverbility excercises and a final lunch. 9 Pagodas joined. Everything very well organized. Thank's Jonas et. al. I also convinced a few of the Pagoda owners to join our forum and not only sneak view ;)
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I managed to "annoy" my SL by stripping out the #3 plug threads while doing what i thought would be a simple plug change ! Had to tap and Heli coil it to fix it .
i also while i was on a streak I managed to cause myself more grief i was changing the fuel injectors and the cap on one of the injectors was frozen so as i was turning, i managed to twist the steel line and break it off. So much for simple jobs today !
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Over the weekend I cleaned out two Gas tanks and two fuel sending units. One of the fuel sending units ha the copper wire detach from one end so i soldered it back on and it worked nicely.
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I just had my five wheels (original and date coded) cleaned up (rust removed) and powder coated.
They are not quite as smooth as the original paint, but I sure like how they look.
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I finished restoring my horns.
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Nice horns !
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Fitted European lights today. I've always felt they "make" a Pagoda -personal preference, as I know they are not universally liked. The car had the side markers removed before I bought it. I removed the the bumper guards (ugly ?), fitted the chrome trim below (behind ?) the license plate, so now, apart from the head rests, it looks like a European market car. I know, I know -- the purists may throw their hands in the air, but I think it looks fine. Comments, pro and con, welcome. Cheers, Dale.
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I've always thought that, because Mercedes designed the car originally in European spec, and then later had to 'federalize' it, I liked the original euro design best. That's why I did like you to my American delivered Pagoda. So good for you! Actually I don't recall having seen much support for the 'keep it American' approach.
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Thanks for your comments, Cees. I'm certainly very pleased with the installation, looks great. Cheers, Dale.
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Finished painting my gas tank
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Got a Notice of Intended Prosecution for speeding. 36mph in a 30mph zone.
Tomorrow having new rear bearings fitted.
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Adjusted (sort of) the windshield wipers which I didn't do prior to assembling the dash. With the AC unit in place it's a PITA,
and to top it all off, the left wiper sweep is perfect, but the right stops at the vertical. Any suggestions?
My guess is I did something wrong with the mechanism before it went in.
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Adjusted (sort of) the windshield wipers.../...My guess is I did something wrong with the mechanism before it went in
Perhaps some tips in this thread:
http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=22111.msg157962#msg157962 (http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=22111.msg157962#msg157962)
The arm must be in the resting position just like on the photo, when you assemble
/Hans S
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Kids were home sick and napping so I hooked up the "Flash to Pass" feature that is disabled on North American delivered cars. Being its a 250sl, it threw me for a bit of a loop. These cars were right at the cusp of the emissions and DOT regulation changes. I found that both flash to pass wires were indeed installed and terminated on the fuse block. However there were no wires terminated with connectors at the handshake connector as is usually the case??? What?? Didn't make any sense until I dug a little deeper and found that an intermediate sub-harness was installed. The connector hiding on the top of the bracket. This is what disabled the flash to pass and enabled the US hazard switch to be added. I added female sockets and wire to terminals 5 and 8 on the combination switch side of this harness, and added a pin and wired to terminal 8 on the bulkhead side. Then tied the other wire to the existing pin on terminal 10. In the pic you can see the missing pins and the 3rd leg that goes up to the hazard lamp switch.
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Presented my 280 SL for the 'controle technique' (France) today, so I can have it titled in France. Good news: only remark on the report is a small oil leak in the differential. Bad news: I couldn't get the car to start after the test was completed! This intermittent non-start problem has been plagueing me for years now, but today it was the worst it ever was, car wouldn't start for the life of it. I installed a new (extra HP) starter last year, hoping that would cure it but alass no.
So I tried the sure-fire (pun intended) fix: running a wire directly from the battery to the starter solenoid. Car started right up. So next stop is installing a fail-safe starter button to override the starting circuit when necessary, while I figure out which system element is at fault: ignition switch, immobilizer, starter safety switch, wiring.
Tomorrow off to get my French registration, yahoo!
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Surely you mean
"Tomorrow I get my French registration. Verizon!" ;D
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Getting new heater levers put into the car. Three of them work fine, but the bottom left doesn't move for some reason.
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Surely you mean
"Tomorrow I get my French registration. Verizon!" ;D
Haha. No, I would stay loyal to the platform (the old Yahoo! w113 forum) that our club grew out of ...
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Getting new heater levers put into the car. Three of them work fine, but the bottom left doesn't move for some reason.
That reminds me of the next thing I have to do to my car. One of the levers finally stopped working like on your car. Where are you getting your new ones from?
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Having moved from Switzerland to France, I just got it registered and insured in France. The insurance cost was a surprise: only EUR 50 a year (basic liability coverage only). That's more than 90% cheaper than in Switzerland, for the same coverage ...
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Rothko, oooh, the bottom left is the tougher one (they are all a real pain in the butt), as it controls the heater flow valve (located under the big rubber grommet at the top of the firewall just to the right of the fuse box (as you sit in the car).
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That reminds me of the next thing I have to do to my car. One of the levers finally stopped working like on your car. Where are you getting your new ones from?
My mechanic took care of it. He orders the parts, usually MB. Total job was about $900 for all 4 levers.
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Removed my hardtop for the rest of the summer feels soo good taking an evening spin to the store to get some items like milk, bread etc.
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Remove all the junk / parts i was storing in the car behind the seats and trunk. Vacuumed carpet and ready to install the missing front carpet sections.
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What have i had done for my Pagoda !
We are going on a whistle stop tour of Gloucestershire, Yorkshire and Norfolk very soon and had a few things i wanted to get checked and sorted.
Our very own Colin Firns, aka Stickandrudderman, took care of the list for me of which some of the items were : Fit the 123 distributor, fit new engine mounts and gear box mount which got rid of an annoying clonking rattle that i could not locate. Replaced drag link and tie rod ends and refurbished steering arm joints, fitted new brake servo, fitted new indicator stalk so i now have 2 speed wipers the stalk holds in place and i now have the head light flasher option. Checked fuel pump flow/pressure and filters adjusted intake venturi and idle fuel/air mixture, replaced bushes on shift linkage and adjusted the fuel injection linkage and replaced joints in linkage.
It is quite unbelievable the difference it has made, marilyn now drives so responsive and the auto gear shift is now super smooth in both up and down shifts making the driving experience even more of a pleasure, hopefully the tour will go without a hitch. One day i will get to grips with this photo minimising and actually post some pictures.
Ray.
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Replaced my Pagoda car battery last week with the same type that I had in my car a "Motomaster"
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The beauty deserves some gold...
Tonight, I changed the original R1 injectors to brand new gold shining R2's. The old ones had fairly decent spray pattern but they didn't hold the pressure too well. However she ran quiet good after all. But with the new ones... oh-la-la.
After a warm-up ride, I had to adjust the idle. 12 clicks clockwise and a split linkage check made her to purr at her best. Then an Italian tune-up - and she responded... Not to mention the warm start.
Now she has got six golden shiny gems in her cylinder head. She deserves them - and myself :)
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Spent 2 days cleaning aluminum parts:
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Parts looks really good. How did you clean them?
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I just got my new headliner, off white, from Bud's Benz and have a top guy lined up to install it Wednesday. My old one wasn't too bad with only a few stains and I just considered re-dying it but the foam insulation between the top and the headliner was disintegrating and falling through the perforations in the original headliner. It looked like grey rain inside the car and was blinding at high speeds. Wish me luck $500 to $600 installed.
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Pinder,
Degreased then glass beaded with really fine beads. After the parts were clean I swept the surface with the gun at a shallow angle to polish it a little. I then gave the parts a very thin coating of Nyalic which is a polymer coating used on the Aluminum of Airstream trailers. If you spray it thin enough(which is what they want you to do) it is virtually undetectable and it tends to grey down the aluminum and give it a more natural color.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00867RC50
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Thats great information. thanks for putting the details out. Ill look into getting the product.
Today I painted the 280SL in Db670. single stage. had a few runs on the doors and a few other minor defects that I will correct on wednesday. Gave it 4 coats of single stage. went on pretty good. I think I wont need to wet sand it too much Ill wait till spring to do final wet sanding so paint shrinks back. I have noticed on all cars Ive painted they always shrink back and show fine scratches or other defects so this time ill make shore its really dry. 90 days should do it.
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My mechanic took care of it. He orders the parts, usually MB. Total job was about $900 for all 4 levers.
I see your mechanic like you. The job from hell............
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Sandblast, paint, repeat...ick.
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Nice job. Looks great!
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Rebuilt one of the knuckles and built a stand for the front suspension.
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The shell recieved a bare metal respray 3 years ago but work commitments have stopped the rebuild. Moving house this week and needed somewhere to store the shell for a couple of months untill the new house is ready so took the oportunity to get it back into the paint shop for minor punchlist items. The scaffold was ideal for beefing up the rotisserie jig durning transport.It looks a bit hairy on the pick up but it was solid as a rock and a doddle to get on and off with the winch.
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I have had the underside on my car dry ice cleaned. All of the old gooey rust protection was removed in the process, exposing possible "issues". Exhaust, tank and rocker panel covers were removed. The black/grey paint under the rocker covers didn't seem to survive the dry ice treatment, unfortunately.
Anyhow, I made quite a lot of pictures of the whole underbody, including pics of tiny details. If anybody is interested in specific parts, please let me know and I will post.
Meanwhile, I'm trawling old threads elaborating on coat layers, colors, and manufacturing trivia, trying my best to understand the stuff under the car..
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Hej Mike, your car looks quite alright in these pictures. Did you come across any surprises?
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Thanks Cees, I knew there would be surprises. On one hand you want keep to keep the goo on, happily not knowing what's underneath, but on the other hand, you desperately want to know what's lurking under the car. It's almost like Schrödinger's cat.
There are some spots that need to be taken care of. The PVC has cracked up in some places and in others it's like it's chipped. I hope it's not too bad.
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While looking at pictures from the ice blasting, I came across two things I didn't notice when taking the pics.
First, there seems to be brushed black/grey paint on the metal part (sorry, I don't know the name for it) just below the lamp house. The car paint looks as if it has been applied afterwards. I guess this is normal.
The second thing is the image "stuff2", there seems to be a textile piece hanging down from the spring. Is this meant to be there, or have someone managed to run over a shirt or something without noticing..?
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Mike,
I believe there are some rubber under the springs that are covered in textile material. I would suspect that it is wear over time. Cool detail that the paint markings on the spring have survived so well.
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Took the car out for a nice drive yesterday as the weather was ideal for a top down drive. We have been away traveling a bit this year so their hasn't been much driving time in our beloved SL so it was nice to get behind the wheel again. It still always amazes me just how much fun this 48 year old car is to drive especially with top down. Car ran great as always and the driver remembered his clutch "skills" too after driving a half dozen other cars with automatics this past month. Just like riding a bike, you never forget. :)
John
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Looks really good, Mike!
I think you're doing the right thing digging out those (very very few) rust spots and addressing them.
With a little paint and a few litres of cavity wax your car will survive in original shape at least for another 45 years 8)
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Thanks Petri!
Maybe loads of road dirt is a good protector after all(!) This is what it looked prior to blasting. Can't help posting a picture of a fuel line holder. People must think I'm nuts taking pictures of clamps.
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Dear Mike,
I love seeing all your photos of your car with everything correct. I would love to see the fuel line clamps for my car but they are somewhere in a box with lots of other parts. Maybe one of these days.
Did you happen to get those 2 measurement on the rear inner fender that we talked about?
Howard
71 280SL 4-speed
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Sweden_Mike,
The textile bit you are seeing is a piece of tape that was used to keep the rubber on the spring when the spring was installed. This is listed in the factory repair manual as the correct way to retain the rubber.
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Thanks! I will leave the textile part as is for the moment, perhaps just make sure it's not flapping around.
@Howard, pm sent. I will get the car back from the mechanic next week, hopefully. Then I will get the measurements.
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Last year when I replaced my fuel injectors & posted some pics here, it was pointed out to me that the "slipper" /upper guide on the timing chain was fitted the wrong way around: http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=23478.msg167881#msg167881 (http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=23478.msg167881#msg167881)
This has bothered me ever since, and today I had the time to sort this out. I removed the "slipper" / chain guide and flipped it around. All very straightforward, just had to make sure I didn't drop any bolts into the abyss below....
With the cylinder head cover off I also took the opportunity to replace the rubber gasket valve cover.
Best,
Mike
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I did an oil change, which I do every 1, 500 miles on my 132, 000 mile engine -renewed oil filter & rubber seals in the filter housing.
I'm using Liqui Moly 15W40 High Tech mineral oil.
Also renewed the filter and sealing ring in the power steering fluid reservoir.
Best,
Mike
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I removed the spare wheel and tire from the trunk space today to do some general clean-up work. The rim and tire are the originals delivered with the car in 1969 and I thought a couple of pictures might be of interest. Tire replacement is coming up after the holiday season and as I want to keep this set intact, I will be looking for an additional rim for mounting a spare for day to day use.
I also shot a couple of pictures today of the often discussed factory paint runs on the trunk lid.
Clean-up continues!
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Ralph,
Great shots for history!
Have a wonderful Holiday season.
Jon
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After ordering a refurbished Kangol seat belt set, I had always wondered how Mercedes-Benz had dealt with its placement when not in use, in the late 1960's pre reel era. A simple anchoring buckle behind the seat back also seemed primitive and not well finished. Then at a Mercedes Club gathering I noticed that a friend's 4 door sedan had these covers with built in hangers for the seat belt buckles. I took a chance and bought them on e-Bay, assuming they could fit my 1970 280SL. They simply snapped into place over the original shoulder anchor point and provided a way to keep the belts tidy. I am very happy with the way they complement my Pagoda's interior and recommend them as the perfect finishing touch.
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Not only "What have you done today" but many, many days in the future.
I purchased my first Pagoda today. One owner with 55k miles. 100% complete with all parts present.
Lots of rust in the floors. A friend purchased the car and started the work and ran out of steam.
I (wisely or foolishly) decided to take on another project.
Wish me luck and please allow me to ask a lot of uneducated questions.
K.
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I think that will buff right out.
Congrats on a wonderful choice. She looks great.
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Pull out the injektion pump.
Peter
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Looks good Peter. Why did you pull it?
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Jerks in the lower speed. My friend Hans Fritzsche has designed a self-built electronic set-up machine.
It can calibrate the individual cylinders more precisely.
Peter
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Chrome is back. :)
Peter
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Wonderful! Pagoda jewelry!
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Looks smashing Peter, will look even more smashing on the car!
Pictures brought back some memories when I refurbished my original 1987 BMW 535is for my daughter back in 2004. I did what you did removed all the chrome trim including the bumpers. All worked out well except for the bumpers. The bumpers started to peel in 2008 and my daughter was not very happy. Apparently the shop did something wrong is all I know.
Anyway, Kim and I used the same BMW dealership for our service since I drove a ///M3 at the time in 2008. So I ask the service rep to order two new bumpers from Germany and put them on the car next time Kim took her car for service. I told Mike the service rep if she ask questions just to tell her "the boys in the shop decided to give the bumpers a good polish" that of course did not last very long until she figured it out. :)
Dieter
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started yesterday at the small restauration , and making a list of al the parts needed to make her road ready , also started to clean untherneed the car to expose the rusty areas
i wil need
fuel pump inc cover
interior complete ( second hand)
2 headlights ( the ones in the car are so worn they are beound restauration)
2 taillight
steering wheel ( depending on the color interior i wil choose black or white )
soft roof ( the one in the car is euhhhhh ........)
one chrome handle to release soft roof cover ( its missing )
interior mirror ( if i do not find one i wil restaure the one inside the car )
all the rubbers possible i can find ( they are almoast all worn by heat )
buschings from the shift handle , they fall out
all filters including tank filter
and i also buyd a getrag 265 in germany 5 speed 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
tomorow im gona shop in pagoda heaven , its a friend who has second hand parts , but he is not always willing to sell them so i hafe to persuade him ;D ;D , im hoping to purschase a lot of stuff there ( it would safe me some $$$$$$$ )
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-3 C today up here in Canada, the sun is out in all her might so I took my little Blue Tornado for a ride. People waving and turning thumbs up all I wanted to do is circulate the engine oil as I do a few times during our winter months. She's back now in her cozy garage to continue her well deserved winter slummer :) (photo was taken a few summers ago, I forgot my camera).
PS. Too cold in the garage to do any work, guess I have to get a heater or wait for spring ;)
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Funny Dieter, I did se same myself today. Also about -3C and dry roads here in the Gothenburga area. Took the beauty out for a winter-warm-up-spin for 27 km. Started after only a few seconds of cranking and then set off. What a joy to listening the purring in the front :D :D :D.
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I know we are not alone Jowe on a lovely day like this. Bet many of our members do the same when the roads are dry like today. I took her out with the top down, guess that is what made people turn and wave with thumbs up :) unlike you I only drove around 10 KM
Mine also started just like that, I like to do it every 8 weeks or so weather permitting.
I did nothing more to her today then check all fluid levels and gave her a light dusting after removing her winter cover.
Dieter
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To celebrate the 48th anniversary of my car’s delivery at Sindelfingen on February 12, I had her spruced up a bit. Amazing what can be done to paint and leather this old with the products they use today!
Her other present was a new rear license plate mounting. Since the car was new I have used a fairly crude rear license plate attachment. The two factory holes in the valence are spaced 11 inches apart, one inch narrower than a standard USA license plate, and I have always drilled holes in the license plate two inches down from the top for attachment. The original oval Zoll plate was attached directly to the valence in the same way with no bracket and was notched to fit around the trunk lock.
I fabricated an intermediate mounting plate from 22 gauge steel plate with measurements slightly smaller than the license plate and drilled it to match the valence holes and the license plate.
My brother gave me an original 1969 Alabama license plate for Christmas. I had the plate registered with DMV for official use, along with a vintage vehicle sticker. This was attached to the car with the new mounting plate and finished off with a thin line chrome frame. Voila!
What a pleasure it has been to own this car!
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......and a couple of more pics.....
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Absolutely wonderful Ralph! What a great touch with the 1969 plate.
Will we see this out in the wild for PUB??
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Thanks Jon,
Yes I am booked for PUB Virginia and plan to drive her up from Birmingham.
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Actually it was yesterday but joined the local Mercedes club for a drive and tour of a restoration shop an hour+ away. My latest work on the car proved to be effective - car ran flawlessly for an hour of heavy stop and go traffic and once on the highway it was pure bliss. Got home and shovelled enough snow to get the car near a garden hose - hosed down the underside of the car to get the salt off, sprayed the mud off the rockers and then pushed her back into the warm garage. Found a nice streak of seagull poop on the soft top and with the garden hose and a stiff brush it all came out just beautifully.
I took a friend to the event so I put the top up for him - as a rule I don't drive with the top up unless its raining and couldn't believe how comfortable the car is with the soft top up. I may have to try it again sometime soon.
The only issue was I forgot how to turn the squirters on for the windshield and smeared road grime all over the windshield. Once I stopped and realized everything was working fine I figured it out and it stopped drizzling.
Heading down to the states now to celebrate Lincoln's birthday at the Ross and Harbour Freight.
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A few days ago I purchased a new 2lb dry chemical fire extinguisher for my car. I decided I would mount it in the dead space under the front edge of the driver's seat as have some other members. The extinguisher came with a plastic mounting bracket complete with holes for mounting screws and a two piece plastic strap for securing the extinguisher in the bracket.
I made use of the existing angular metal clip between the seat rails for attaching the unit by removing the horizontal screw and using it to attach a vertical metal plate extending downward to which the extinguisher mounting bracket was attached. This positioned the extinguisher low enough to allow the seat to be moved fore and aft without fouling the extinguisher. Picture attached.
Being a perfectly beautiful and sunny 65 degree day, I treated myself to a short excursion on completion of the job!
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Ralph,
You might want to consider sourcing a metal headed fire extinguisher for storage inside the passenger compartment. I am not the safest person on the planet and have had many injuries to prove it but something about plastic holding back 200 PSI nitrogen then being subjected to all the temperature cycles of the Deep South gives me the willies.
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After spending the Summer cleaning up part after part I finally am getting around to the fun part.
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You might want to consider sourcing a metal headed fire extinguisher for storage inside the passenger compartment.
Good thought! Thanks for the suggestion Shvegel. Your engine is looking great!
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I have one of these on the floor at the front of the passenger seat. Looks good and will hopefully never ever be needed
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorsport/fire-extinguishers-hand-held/lifeline-polished-hand-held-fire-extinguisher-1-75-ltr
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Made a new bushing for my tachometer / oil pump drive gear. Only took me three tries! I am a much better mechanic than a machinist.
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Hi Shvegel, Did you make the new bushing the same length as the original MB part? The reason I ask is it looks to be a bit long. When I replaced my thrust bushing with a new MB one I still had excessive play in the drive gear. There is another bushing below the drive gear in the block that also wears out. Part #615 181 00 26. If you made your new part bigger than original to get rid of play then the oil pump drive gear will not be riding on the intermediate shaft gear at the correct location. Just a thought.
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Tyler,
The picture shows it pre-adjustment. I made it a little long since i didn't have the exact length so I drove the busing into the housing, bored it to final size then faced it off to the proper length to give the proper end clearance. I did look at the lower bush and I didn't see any wear on the upper end.
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The new tires are on!
For some years now I have had black wall tires on my car. I decided last year that at my next tire change I would revert to the narrow band whitewall look as originally delivered. The Firestone Phoenix 185/14 with the WW and curb ridge was special. The Coker Phoenix is a fairly close reproduction but some comments about the ride quality are not positive and they come at a premium price. I have not had experience with them,
My car is not a show car so I looking down market. I narrowed my choices to the Uniroyal Tiger Paw AWP II and the Maxxis 92S RWW MA1. I went with Maxxis. I ordered on line and had the tires shipped to my local tire shop for mounting. After mounting I took the car straight out for an hour drive and the feel is great.
When I got home, I measured the new Maxxis 195/75R14 spare against my unused, original Firestone Phoenix 185R14 spare, both inflated to 30psi. The results were as follows:
Maxxis 195/75R14: Advertised Diameter - 25.7” (653 mm), Circumference (calculated) 80.7” (2050mm). As measured: Diameter 25.5” (648mm), Circumference 2044mm.
Phoenix 185R14: Tech Manual - 650mm diameter (25.6”). As Measured: Diameter 25.5” (648mm), Circumference 2040mm.
Basically there is no measurable diameter/circumference difference between the new 195/75R14 and the original Firestone Phoenix.
Obviously the new 195 tires have a fatter look. There are also differences in the white stripe. The Phoenix stripe width is approximately17mm (almost 11/16”). The Maxxis stripe is advertised as ¾’’ but actually measures 7/8” (22mm). The ID of the stripe on the Phoenix is 16 1/4 “ (413mm) while the ID of the Maxxis stripe is 17” (432mm).
Not withstanding these differences I think the look on the car is great and I am well pleased with the purchase.
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.....and on the car.
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...and one more!
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I'm on the aesthetic phase, which means I'm now being painted!
JOH.
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Good progress JOH. I like the color. :)
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Cheers.
Cream top & interior next................
Sort of model'd it on the one attached.
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JOH, looks fantastic. You should paint your hub caps cream as well (same as hard top) and it will really pop.
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JOH, just love the color! What is the color code?
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Hi,
afaik hardtop and hub caps had the same colour when the car was delivered in two different colours.
...WRe
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Truly a magnificent Pagoda. The WW tires suit it perfectly. Congratulations!
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The season is clearly open!
In mine there will be no visible changes, as all effort would go under-hood: new Bilstein shocks and some gaskets.
Ah, yes, the paint will be polished, so some shine would spark out :)
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Keeping the caps dark, but am fitting 4 tyre rims! They will be enough to lift it.
JOH.
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Having finished the propeller shaft alignment, installation of the flex joint, rear transmission support bracket, transmission mount, transmission support plate and tightening up everything yesterday, I tackled the alignment of the rear axle. It was already close, since I did a quick and dirty measurement a few months ago when I installed it.
I don't have a "check gauge" because if I had made one of copper tubing, it probably would have been less accurate than how I finally did it. I'm really terrible at soldering.
My wife sews quite often and has all the makings of the perfect system, in my opinion. I used some of her needles, some thread and a magnetic business card from Rock Auto. I cut the card into some small circles, punched a hole in the centers with the needles and slotted the edge with scissors to capture the end of the thread after passing it through the hole. I made a slip knot after passing the other end through the needle so I could adjust the length of the thread easily. The photos show the details.
I taped two packing paper sheets together and taped them to my 4-post hoist "jack bridge". The magnetic card on one end of each thread was stuck to the end of the stud at the front mounting of the torque arm. The third one was stuck to the end of the rear axle suspension support arm pivot pin.
After adjusting the length of the threads to have the needles almost touch the paper packing sheets taped to the hoist bridge, I let the needles stabilize and stop swinging.
I then marked the three "needle" plumb bob end points on the sheet and used them as the basis for the "T" of the "check gauge" drawing on the sheets. Between the torque arm studs of my car, the measured distance was 875 mm instead of the 877 mm of the check gauge drawing. I decided that having the axle accurately centered on my car rather than to perfectly match a "supposed to be" check gauge design was the most important. I found the third "supposed to be" point (for the axle support pin end) by starting my "T's" vertical line at 459 mm from the driver's end of the "T" cross-bar line instead of 460 mm. That made the passenger side of the "T" cross-bar line 416 mm instead of 417 mm. I drew the vertical line of the "T" and it passed 5 mm from the axle support pin end plumb bob (needle) on the passenger side. Serendipitously, the 480 mm dimension of the check gauge "T" drawing turned out to be 482 mm on my car, so I ignored it.
So I got my wrenches and started working to eliminate that 5 mm error in the location of my axle. After about 15 minutes of working on the screw slot end of the cross strut, the plumb bob had not moved. So I said to myself, "Myself, what's 5 mm among friends? There must be something else not right." So I tightened the lock nuts and started gathering up my tools. Then, as I started to un-tape the paper sheets with the plumb bob marks, I noticed that the needles at the torque arm ends had moved 5 mm in the direction opposite of what I was trying to get the axle support pin to move.
As my mother would say, "Lo, and behold", I had not been screwing the axle toward the passenger side of the car. The plumb bob was hanging from the axle support pin which was fixed to the hoist and the hoist bridge and the paper "T" design by the tires sitting on the hoist ramps. It would never move, no matter how much I cranked the cross strut.
Instead of cranking the axle toward the passenger side of the car, I had been cranking the "car" toward the driver's side, so the torque arm ends, attached to the body, were moving to correct the error relative to the axle support pin end. The three plumb bobs, relative to their target positions were all exactly 5 mm away in the same direction, so my cranking fixed the problem. Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn occasionally.
If I had been using a check gauge, it would have been measuring relative positions of the three points. My plumb bob method works equally well, but one must remember that when you crank the cross strut, it's not the axle that moves, but the body end moves as you draw the body toward the axle support pin. I was blinded by perception. I was thinking of the axle relative to the car, when I should have been thinking of the car relative to the axle.
It's perfect now and I, once again, have learned a lot. On to the next project on the list.
Tom Kizer
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Today checked why the fuel pump didn't whine the way it did for the past 18 years since it was put in new, one month after I bought the car. Tried it on the bench, nothing. Opened up the bottom, and found one of the 20 or so vanes broken off and causing the pump to be blocked. Removed that one vane, put it all back together and all seems well again, car runs great.
In order to get the pump off I had to drain the fuel tank, which resulted in some very fine sediment to come out. Not much, but still. Also in the bottom of the pump there was some fine sediment - which I suppose could have caused that one vane to get stuck and break off. I ordered a new fuel pump (ouch! the cheapest I found was €520 on an exchange basis). I also put in a new filter down in the fuel tank that had been sitting on my shelf waiting for me to drain the tank.
Something else I found out: for as long as I have owned the car (18 years), I would fill it up when the fuel gauge showed 'empty' however I could never get more than 60 liters in, although the tank is supposed to be 82 liters. Turns out that the fuel gauge shows 'empty' when there are still 20 liters left. Another job to do. Waiting for the new fuel pump, in the meantime the '20 less one vane' pump seems to work fine.
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Mother in law moved house so I went yesterday to help her unpack
Forecast was for hottest June day for 40 years ( a humid 34 degrees C)
Do I take the SLK for a blast and have open top AND aircon? Or do I take the daily for really good aircon and Sat nav to the new house
Or do I sweat my buns off driving the snot off the Pagoda? 8)
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Hello Cees,
I take it it was the Main Fuel Pump near the tank, did you take photos? I found the photo below in our forum, if one of those vanes broke off I gong think pump efficiency will be affected much since engineers always build into the design a safety margin (to look after wear and tear excess clearances etc.). Also the impeller is so small I don't think vibration due to unbalance will be a problem. I would properly have removed one vane 180 degree opposite the broken off vane to make sure vibration would be an issue.
Did you drive the car and does the pump run rough? If so a new pump might be in order. Perhaps others might comment what they think. €520- that is quite a chunk, would be nice if you can find a replacement impeller.
Best of luck,
Dieter
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his hub caps were creme in the "action" painting shots
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The pump seized again, after only 25 kms. I haven't taken it apart yet, but the new one arrived and as soon as I get back from Amsterdam, on Monday, I will install it and have a look at the old one. It did sound different from before after I took that one small vane out, like it might have been imbalanced. Or more could be going on inside the pump. Anyways, hope the new one holds up, will report back after some driving.
Update: the new pump sounds the same as the old one before that broke. I've done 160 kms with it and so far, so good. Car runs very nicely once again.
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Today I finished installing the new seat covers on the passenger seat. Was about an 8 hour job, and turned out very well. Had to fabricate a new back plate from cardboard, as the old one had two layers of carpet glued on that weren't coming off. Very satisfying job, no more rips and tears in the 50-year old original MB Tex vinyl. Next up is the driver's seat, along with the new carpet set. Can't wait to see the full effect.
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Dear Cees,
You are a little better of with a fuel gauge that reads empty with 20 remaining liters in the tank than my car which reads 1/4 full when it runs out of gas. That is one thing that is getting fixed while I have the car apart for restoration. I have ran out of gas twice over the years because I keep forgetting the problem.
Howard
280SL 4-Speed
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Thanks Howard, yes, I agree. The other quirk my gas gauge has, is that for the first 120 or so kms, the needle stays pegged at 'full'. So I am thinking it definitely needs to be calibrated if that's possible some way.
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Thanks Howard, yes, I agree. The other quirk my gas gauge has, is that for the first 120 or so kms, the needle stays pegged at 'full'. So I am thinking it definitely needs to be calibrated if that's possible some way.
This is quite normal behaviour. when they get to 1/2, the reading is quite accurate.
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..finally bit the bullet and bought a correct gas cap (000 471 2030); wife's gonna kill me..
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Charles,
Just don't tell her and live on to enjoy your Pagoda :)
Dieter
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Well, I decided to start 2018 off with a wash and carnuba wax. To finish it off I finally stuck my new SL Group decal on the windshield...goes well with my blue trim.
Then.... went for a nice drive. Unfortunately, this has led to a new issue. I noticed some piddle in the driveway -- pretty gnarly fuel leak when fuel is pump on... It looks to be a small braided hose of about 5 inches somewhat in front of the pump itself.
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Put the rear suspension back in.
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Fuel tank and new fuel pump back in. Luckily I bought the pump 10 years ago when I started the restoration. I thought it was expensive then.
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WOW, looks great.
Well done.
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beautiful!
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Nice job! When can you come to visit me and help work on my car ? :)
Dieter
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Dieter,
Drop by anytime. Of course you will have to negotiate for space in the garage with my wife. ever since I remodeled it and installed heat she seems to think she is entitled to a parking spot inside in the winter.
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Today I torqued the rear suspension and finished the paint markings (dotology) for the rear half of the car.
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Beautiful job, very nice Shvegel
Urban
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Looks brand spanking new! Well Done !!!
Dieter
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Really nice!
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New underhood brake lines. Went through 25 feet of tubing to get a good useable 7 feet. Brake master is a stand in until I find the new one I put away “somewhere safe”. The only place I could find the correct end fittings for the brake lines was a company called Belmetric. Everything else I fond was a 10mm nut instead of the Euro standard 11mm.
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Maybe you could take pictures of all three sides of the bay so that we have the pictures with proper lines routing, clamps etc.? I would, actually, find it very useful...
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Shvegel,
Why did you need to go through 25 feet of brake line to get 7 usable feet. I mean, what was wrong with the line you could not use?
Thanks,
Mark
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Pawel,
Always best to model off of an original car. There are slight differences between mine and original that I am willing to accept. Use the "before" pictures as there are some things that are not correct in the after pictures.
https://motoringinvestments.com/historic/Gelson280SL.htm
Mark,
Nothing wrong with the tube. The problem is with the guy bending it. I am pretty picky and having things be the right height, in the right place and straight can take a few tries. I worked for a plumbing company years ago in the days of hard threaded pipe and the guys I worked with took great pride in their straight runs etc. It sort of rubbed off on me.
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Thanks Shvegel, I get it now.
If I had more experience in bending tube (one of the things I have avoided so far) I'd bet I wouldn't have had to ask that question.
Thanks.
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Pawel,
Always best to model off of an original car. There are slight differences between mine and original that I am willing to accept. Use the "before" pictures as there are some things that are not correct in the after pictures.
https://motoringinvestments.com/historic/Gelson280SL.htm
ok, thank you!
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I found these on Amazon. They are a perfect match if you have the black plastic straps on your underhood brake lines.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UKEUCPO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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The brake lines look good.
Its one of the things I am fussy about too. I had a guy work for me once and one of the questions I asked him at his interview was if he could make nice brake lines, obviously he replied yes.....fast forward a couple of days and he proudly showed me one he'd made and it was appalling, too long, kinked, wrong shape. I told him it wasn't up to scratch and to try again, he got the hump and walked out, never to be seen again...and that was out of kunifer, much easier to work than steel.
Another one of my competitors replaced a brake line on a customers 64 and that was the same, to get the length right they put an S bend in the middle of the line. They spilled brake fluid on his fender too...maybe the same guy went to work for them.
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Today I mounted the correct 5.5j x 14 wheels, wheel covers, and trim rings. Really made a difference in the appearance of the car..
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Incidentally, since I’ve owned the car it’s had the wrong wheels (108-400-07-02) and one-piece wheel covers. Took almost 2 yrs to get all the right hardware together - but it was worth the effort..3 more pics attached.
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Those look really nice.
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Lovely! What size are your Uniroyal Tiger Paw white walls?
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They look really good
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Great looking car. 8)
Peter
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The dark body colors with the narrow white walls provide a great look! (But I am a bit prejudiced ;))👍
Looks very nice indeed!
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What size are your Uniroyal Tiger Paw white walls?
These are the same 185\75 R14's Buds Benz mounted several years ago. I'm really no fan of Uniroyal, but since the tires have plenty of treadlife remaining, I went ahead and had them remounted. I'll go with a wider whitewall next time..
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Charles,
Like this? It's my screen saver and future objective. I found it when I Googled 230SL images. I'm almost there. I've mounted Diamondback wide whitewalls but they still have the light blue protective dye on them for a few more weeks.
Tom Kizer
Levis, Quebec, Canada
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Tom I really like those Diamondbacks - they're just too pricy for the lady of the house and they'd end up costing me ten-fold in women's apparel. I’m leaning toward those Maxxis ¾ whitewalls that Ralph has on his 280.
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Fun with firewall pad.
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Looking good with the pad, and soooooooo much easier when all the other items are out of the way.
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JohnnyB, Thanks, I am going to put the engine back in in the next couple days and after standing in the engine compartment doing the brake lines I put the firewall pad on my list of "before engine" projects.
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Mr Chassis, meet Mr Engine.
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In my language the engine is "he" and chassis can be "she". Just sounds more romantic.
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not when the old engine fails
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I named the engines on the boat after two strong women. Thelma and Louise.
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I named the engines on the boat after two strong women. Thelma and Louise.
Just don't follow them and drive your boat over the cliff! :D
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I "topped up" my A/C system. Nice! Now ready for the hot days. 8)
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Wow! 30 degrees is cold.
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That is a 60 degree temperature differential. Do you plan to sell ice cream from your car? ;D
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Yesterday took a 3+ hr drive to Dan's place (Benz Barn) where he then proceeded to replace my rockers, ball studs and lash caps. It was obvious they needed replacing as the studs weren't round any more. So I guess this is more what Dan did to my Pagoda. Then drove the 3+ hours home. Was a good day. Shelly was kind enough to even provide coffee and lunch. That is what you call customer service.
While there, Dan showed me a 250SE engine he just completed rebuilding that went into a 230SL. Looked beautiful. Some pics.
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I am nearly done reassembling after a year in paint
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Stunning!
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Wow!
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Looks spectacular! Great job.
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Stunning!
Wow!
Looks spectacular! Great job.
Holy smokes! I did not expect that. Thanks guys, really. You just made a old man pretty proud. I should have the rest of the trim & windshield in it shortly. Thanks again. :)
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Holy smokes! I did not expect that. Thanks guys, really. You just made a old man pretty proud. I should have the rest of the trim & windshield in it shortly. Thanks again. :)
You should be proud, it really looks great. It looks like it is already drivable, so if you take it for a spin now you can experience first-hand the joys of what one British automotive journalist called "the wind in your hair, sun in your eyes and bugs in your teeth!"
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Finally finished installing earlier "hard "door pockets. The flimsy elastic things foisted upon the last of the 280SLs were not, in my opinion, worthy of the Mercedes brand. I knew this was not a straightforward job, and great care must be taken, as all the mounting holes are in entirely different positions. Also, of course, the door panels have to be recovered. The end result was well worthwhile as far as I was concerned. Also, a little while back, replaced the "split" rear axle cover with a "solid" one. A little time consuming, but, again, worth the effort - I had no faith in the split thing !!
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I am nearly done reassembling after a year in paint
Car is beautiful, but I think I'm more impressed with the shop!
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:'( :'( :'( :'( no one likes my engine......... :)
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I installed a Nardi steering wheel. With the original large wheel and automatic transmission, the car is a cruiser does not feel much like a sportscar.
The smaller Nardi wheel gives the car quite a different (sportier) feel. Now I just need a manual transmission...
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:'( :'( :'( :'( no one likes my engine......... :)
It's a beautiful engine - and I wish I could have seen the whole thing! But I was even more impressed with your header tank - complete with sticker!
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It's a beautiful engine - and I wish I could have seen the whole thing! But I was even more impressed with your header tank - complete with sticker!
Here are some more pictures Mike. Didn't take an entire engine pic but took them in pieces in case I wanted to take a closer look at something.
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hi
I just finished re veneering the dash wood, installing new MB tex seat covers (GAHH) , new wheel skins on steering wheel and re upholstered the horn pad in mb tex.
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3 x Oil change (engine, gearbox, differential), lube job,
another turnsignal switch,
a few minor here's and there's.
Still missing valve job, some adjustments on dash board and a thorough wash.
Did do a + 600 kms test drive though ... ;D 8)
Achim
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Absolutely lovey guys.
So I put the windshield in mine yesterday... Then patiently assembled all of the associated trim and wood around the glass, only then realizing that I had forgotten the a-pilar chrome trim that fits under the windshield seal! Arrrrgh. :-\
So back out came the glass ~ and all of the associated trim.
Today I reinstalled the windshield & assembled it all over again. Good thing I like this car ;D Only the side deco remains uninstalled.
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Looks fantastic, great car.
Peter
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Well, moved over here after hi-jacking Shvegel's Cheap Tires thread (sorry!)...
So today I decided to take a nice spirited drive with the new Hankooks. Seemed to handle pretty nice. I do not have power-steering -- and the car is always pretty tight. But yes, nice improvement!
And, while the whitewalls won the popular election, I had to think long and hard when theLews cast a negative vote! In a meritocracy such as ours, JL carries a lot of weight -- as his car is awesome... but I went with the masses nonetheless. Thanks all.
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And, while the whitewalls won the popular election, I had to think long and hard when theLews cast a negative vote! In a meritocracy such as ours, JL carries a lot of weight -- as his car is awesome... but I went with the masses nonetheless. Thanks all.
Winning! Looks wonderful. (I was a W/W yes vote) :D
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So today I decided to take a nice spirited drive with the new Hankooks. Seemed to handle pretty nice. I do not have power-steering -- and the car is always pretty tight. But yes, nice improvement!
And, while the whitewalls won the popular election, I had to think long and hard when theLews cast a negative vote! In a meritocracy such as ours, JL carries a lot of weight -- as his car is awesome... but I went with the masses nonetheless. Thanks all.
Hey James, we were out and about today as well (posted a couple of Pics in the photo section). The tires look great. Has the car always had BW tires? As I recall it was pretty rare to see BW's (at least in So Cal) when these cars were new. Car came with Conti WW's, put thin WW Michelins a few years later that lasted unto when i got the car running again. Fisk Classics now. Cheap tires but look Ok IMO.
John
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Today was new shifter boot & bushings day!
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Feels like a new car now, doesn't it? :)
John
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Feels like a new car now, doesn't it? :)
John
I think it does! Its maybe a little tight. :D It was so worn (top busing gone) that this is a big change.
Today I rewired the trunk light. My 1966 & this 1970 both had broken wires at the trunk lid. I have soldered two sets now. Must be a design flaw... Those wires take only so many bends until they break I would guess. Tomorrow I may replace front brake hoses. Mine have swollen some I think. Pretty easy car to work on.
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New battery, new main pos cable and all new earth cables.
Changed brake fluid, greased all points.. General check over.
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Bought the car in October of 2017 and took the hardtop off for the first time. Still fickle weather in northern NJ so the first top down ride will have to wait.
Joe
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I needed a new air cleaner and after searching eBay a few times and seeing them sell for close to $500 I decided to try converting a 280SE aircleaner ($45) into one that will fit a 280SL. This has been sitting on my bench for months because I wasn’t looking forward to the amout of grinding needed. I ground off all the old bracketry from the SE air cleaner then cut the brackets off the corroded SL cannister and plug welded them back on with my trusty TIG welder.
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You're hired!
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If it comes with Canadian citizenship I might take you up on it.
“Oh Canada. Our home and native land...”
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went to bodyshop to blend the door due to a mismatch in the past... turned into a much bigger job...
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I have renewed the gasoline pipe after 12 years. It was more than urgent. You should control it.
Peter
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Ouch!
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Learning how to zinc plate.
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I did an oil service today with Shells Rotella 15/40. The engine seems to like it. The valve-train might be a touch quieter too.
Back to driving...
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Plating away.
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Over the weekend I used my car in a funeral procession. My pal luved old cars. So I polished the 280 up & represented among a lot of other cars of interest. I had other cars of mine that I could take, but nothing has nearly as much quiet elegance as the Pagoda.
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Learning how to zinc plate.
Very interesting! You got me thinking so I went to my local neighborhood library (YouTube) and checked out a book ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmn94B5UUuU
Thanks for the idea, I'm definitely putting this on my todo list :)
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Only take a ride. Check my pagoda meeting tour in 12 days. 8)
Peter
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Hello Peter, Always love to see pictures of your Pagoda(s) especially with the beautiful Mosel in the background. Still have many happy memories of our visit with you.
John
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Just finished a mechanical restoration on the Porsche (since November 2017) so I introduced the Pagoda to its room mate last night.
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Michael,
That is my next project. I never liked 911’s until I drove an early one.
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Michael,
That is my next project. I never liked 911’s until I drove an early one.
Oh yes. While I still have a lot of respect & admiration for the Pagoda, an early Porsche has its positives too.
So little time, so many cars.
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I own one and I still don't get the attraction for them.
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I have owned 4 Pagodas in 35 years and 2 911s in 5 years and just looove them.
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John,
I worked on a ton of 80’s Porsches some Ruf and a highly modified Fittapaldi turbo. It wasn’t until I drove a long hood car (pre 74) that I fell in love. When you strip away all the excess you are left with the essence of the car in all it’s quirky underpowered glory. Give me a well sorted stock early 911 on narrow tires and turn me loose on a twisty road. Pure joy.
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I dropped the injection pump that I rebuilt off at H and R a few days ago to be calibrated. I picked it up today fully dialed in with a clean bill of health. Pretty proud of myself.
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Justifiably proud! That's an impressive step in your restoration.
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That amazing that you could do it without a clean room, and of course that you had the skill to even attempt it.
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Shvegel
You taking orders? Between you and Baronyoungman we have our fuel issues go to team.
Well done!
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Congratulations!
I remember the uncertainty when you started!
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Kampala,
Definately not taking orders. The liabilities if for some reason you messed up someone's pump and or engine as a result of a messed up pump far exceed a few dollars made. I wanted to do it to learn the system and at the end of the day I am sure I have more invested in tools and parts (I bought an entire spare pump in case I messed this one up) than I "saved" by doing it myself. I work as a mechanic on a large yacht and have virtually no budget or supervision which takes most of the challenges out of my job on a daily basis. Rebuilding my own pump way a way for me to do something that made me really nervous for the first time in a long while.
I think rebuilding the pump was basically on par with rebuilding an engine. That being said there are more ways to destroy a pump if you are the least bit heavy handed. I was given a metal lathe a few years ago and without it and the ability to make whatever tools I needed to perform very specific jobs I would have never made it through without destroying the pump.
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Shvegel, that's a beautiful pump and I know it'll perform as good as it looks. BTW, thanks again for your advice and council these past couple of years with my old R11 pump (leaking cone-valves, seals, etc). Thanks to you and this forum, my hot-start problem is a thing of the past..
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Charles,
That is good to hear. I am glad it worked out.
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I had a couple of fun days watching my 230 SL being used in a photo shoot for an ad campaign for a high end bedding and pillow company in San Antonio. Here are a couple of shots from my camera....
The model and camera crew were super careful with the car.
Norm
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I'm having a tough time deciding which looks better; the model or your car. ;)
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Definitely the car Dan
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yep, that poor girl looks like she needs a hamburger!
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I'm having a tough time deciding which looks better; the model or your car. ;)
It’s a no brainer Dan ... the car :)
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Today I changed the injection pump with my friend Roman. Now the pagoda purrs like a kitten again, thanks to Hans for his awesome work on the pump. Working with friends on the pagoda is most fun.
Peter
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Job is done.. 8)
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Tyre change
Had a screw in the front left tyre and it was totally flat. Put the spare on and took the puncture to my local tyre place. They "riveted" new rubber in the hole so hopefully all good; will keep an eye but as the tyre is effectively new, i didn't want to lose it First puncture in a very long time.
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Peter, where did you get the fender (wing) protector for the 113? I’ve searched everywhere for them.
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Try this:
https://datex.com/en/pdf/Datex_MB%20partners_________en___.pdf
Look on Page 8 "Classic" :
"Various special covers for veteran Mercedes-Benz models. On request. Non-scratch attachment without magnets. Made of black foam-coated artificial leather. With imprint of the logo and of the models to support the workshop’s image"
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Very nice, any idea on the cost?
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Very nice, any idea on the cost?
Bülowstraße 92 · 45711 Datteln · Germany
tel.: +49 2363 34 579 · fax: +49 2363 34 444 · e-mail: info@datex.com
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Am in California at the moment was able to pull the 250 out of storage for a couple of hours and give her an aggressive workout. It was really hot (104F / 40C) and it was great to see the temp on the car hold normal even on a steep grade at high revs.
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Hi Peter,
it seems that your car runs hot (100°C) when you drive hard.
What about these drive rails (Schienen auf den Tragarmen) for your lift, did they come with the lift or is it a self construction?
...WRe
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It's a self construction from my friend Roman. You know him from the pagodentreff. Hi is a clever guy..
It's a twin bush lift with rails, right. Now it's easy for normal checks to drive on.
I think since I chance the "Kühlwasser" the temperature is a little high. ::)
Peter
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After waiting for easily 10 years, I finally bought a new ivory steering wheel for my 1965 230sl. The old one had "patina", with tons of spreading cracks throughout, and two places where there was fairly severe cracking. I've wanted a new steering wheel for a long time, but was deterred by the cost. Depending on the source it could be upwards of $1300. I've been looking on eBay and/or trying to justify refurbishing the wheel, and out of curiosity I called the Classic Center. They had two in stock, on sale, for wholesale price - around $850. As much as I could see that money going towards new carpet in the living room or school fees for the kids, I just couldn't pass it up. Especially since I took a pass on a new wheel years ago when they were closer to $400. After some frustration regarding a center nut on the old wheel that refused to be budged (thank you WD40) I am now the proud owner of a new view out my windshield. It's purely cosmetic, but somehow it seems like the car drives so much better. -Kris
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Summer is over in Norway, the best for years. Now we have 15-20 deg C at day, and as you see, the weather is fantastic still. Friday we took Le Noir the 120km from outside Oslo to our cottage by the sea at Tjøme. What a ride, and what a pleasure driving short trips at the island of Tjøme. The picture is from the neighbour island Hvasser, Kruke harbour.
Tomorrow's forecast is blue sky, so we look forward to the trip home. The cab will be down :), soon enough there will be 5 months of winter.
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Tjome is an exceptionally beautiful holiday resort. I was there with my wife last May. We got as far as to the end of the world ;) (Verdens ende). Your car must look great on the picturous Tjome roads and houses and it must be raising a lot of interest. During the same trip we spotted a red Pagoda in Kragero.
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new carpeting
not a hard job, but still a challenge
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Looks nice!
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Fantastic!
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re covered the soft top hatch cover and the ash tray to match the new mb tex
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Finally finished this corner:
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Very nice Shvegel, very nice!
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Great job Shvegel. Looks good as new, maybe better :)
John
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Thanks. Especially high praise coming from you John. You are one of the few who have seen one new.
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Great work Shvegel. How would you like to come over and stay at my house in the Netherlands for a while and do my entire engine compartment this way? I'll provide lodging, food and drink!
;)
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I'm going to be afraid to show pics of mine after everyone has seen how nice
shvegels is...
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Peter,
I would love to but you must be warned I am a Mariner and you could be forced to sell the car to pay for the food and drink.
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Shvegel
very nice!
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I would love to but you must be warned I am a Mariner and you could be forced to sell the car to pay for the food and drink.
Psst. Don't worry about this Peter. Years ago, someone came to our lake home, and brought a case of this cheap, lousy beer called Red Dog...in CANS no less. Ugh. I swear, the cans pro-created since we couldn't manage to reduce the volume in the case. Then we got a great idea--bring it on a sailboat! Mariners or sailors will drink anything! With glee might I add, at all hours of the day or night! So, when crewing one day, I brought the remainder of the case, and it was gone before you could say "Ahoy, Mateys..."
Bottom line? The cheapest rot-gut brew you can find will be fine for anyone who calls themself a sailor or mariner.
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Peter,
I would love to but you must be warned I am a Mariner and you could be forced to sell the car to pay for the food and drink.
Drink is cheap in Holland and I am quite an accomplished cook...
I could import some Coors or Millers from the US if you prefer bad beer. ;-)
Reminds me of the old joke: Coors is like making love in a canoe...
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I was in Prague this summer and our guide was filling us in on the background of Anheiser Busch bringing "Budweiser" to the US. The original formula is sold in Europe with availability in the US all under a different name because of the contracts law. He loves the original BUD available in Europe and almost threw up when he tasted our Bud in the US.
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I work in Prague.
I do not know anybody who would not like the Czech beer trying it in the Czech Republic. Regrdless if it is a world-wide known name or a small local brewery.
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New front bumpers.
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Peter,
I had thought about posting the Coors joke but didn't want to offend anyone. We are on the same page. Currently sipping some Balcone's Texas single malt Bourbon. Very nice stuff.
Tyler,
Nice bumper. I hope to finally get mine on next month.
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Pawell
The Czech beer was great. His comment was how bad the American Bud was compared to the original Bud.
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Yes, I understood!
I wrote it to just add to general knowledge since it was mentioned, but also to soften the US Bud disadvantage as it is really difficult to match the Czech beer.
Also: you could write a word if anyone plans to be in Prague so that we could have a beer or go to Technical Museum together..
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This week, new shocks, motor & tranny mounts, and a Timevalve exhaust were added. What a huge difference! Plus an adjustment to the rear drum brakes that makes the car stop like it's supposed to -- important.
Unfortunately there is a bit of contact between the exhaust and the body that is most noticeable at startup. Will have to work through that. But I am pleasantly surprised at how quiet the TV system is. I was expecting it to be louder. Maybe my former system was much worse than I realized.
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I would have loved to met you there Pawel. I should have posted our vacation plans before we went.
I will admit I tried many czech beers and loved them all. May have been influenced by the beatiful country and wonderful bar maids!
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New front bumpers.
Very Nice.
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Not today but I did a track day on Saturday!
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Looks lie you are getting on it pretty good in the left hander, James! Lots of fun! ;)
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Perhaps not the best car for a twisty track - the body really rolls and I made sure I was very very careful not to lift off mid corner!
Huge fun, slightly addictive and really hard on the car
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Ha, you’ll be bringing it in next for stiffer springs &shocks and a roll bar next!
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There's a thought ;)
I was more worried about my brother hammering it down the Autoroute at 145kmh for 90 minutes
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Which track? Looks like it was pretty tight.
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Circuit des Ecuyers, west of Reims
(https://cdn-az.allevents.in/banners/f3ffa6e715ddd90044ad92d60cddfbde-rimg-w720-h391-gmir.jpg)
I managed to get into this > https://petrolicious.com/articles/gallery-journees-dautomne-is-vintage-paradise-in-modern-times
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Looks like you wouldn’t get out of third gear on that circuit.
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I closed some holes in the floor by welding and took out the front glass. ;D
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Got confirmation yesterday that my beloved and her bff and our Pagoda have a spot in the Rallye des Princesses again next year. Photos to follow ;D
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I managed to get into this > https://petrolicious.com/articles/gallery-journees-dautomne-is-vintage-paradise-in-modern-times
So is that the front wing and wheel of your pagoda lurking behind the grey Ferrari in one of the photos?
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Guilty - only Pagoda owner barmy enough to try to track his car in the presence of a Le Mans Porsche 906 Carrera and a works Mini Cooper from the MonteCarlo Rallye :o
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in the presence of a Le Mans Porsche 906 Carrera
Any pictures of this? Used to race one of these. Brings back itches......
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I think this was it...
;D
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Yep! Sure looks like a Carrera 6. Slightly rarer than a Pagoda ;D...
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After reading this thread I packed up my 280 and drove 100 miles (with the top down @ 45 degrees ambient) to my home track... The next morning it was 27 degrees ambient but I forged forward (with the top down) for the weekend.
I did finally put the top up for the 100 mile trip home last night! ;)
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One of the many jobs, i have to do , this one is the power brakes
hoses ,im sure look like the original with reinforced wire inside,
hoses were so hard,was able to buy 12mm local here.
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Once again, I proved my utter hamfistedness...
Was putting on a Wheelskins leather steering wheel cover and got about 90% of the way round. And managed to break the thread... So another thread has been requested and I shall have another go once it arrives.
It's a trial that has turned into a trial. Not sure I like the look - need to try the feel - but now have to do the job twice...
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Next job this weekend,Although my car has good wheel bearings correct tension,
good tie rods, all new drag link,tie rod assembly, etc, there was still a little to much play in
steering wheel,while i got under chassis, ask my wife to move steering wheel a little side to side,
found the problem very worn steering idler arm, ordered the rebuild kit couple about a month ago,
It moves about 1/16 in side the idler not good, that gives the driver about 1 inch to 1-1/2 inch
play on steering wheel.
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.../... found the problem very worn steering idler arm, ordered the rebuild kit.../...
One other thing you may want to do, is to also exchange the steering damper. Renewing this item will many times improve the feel in your steering wheel (especially if damper was original = some 50yrs old...)
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Thanks Hans , i should have said the lady that owned this car also had that done in 2015.
There is considerable play in the idler arm,i would say its about 3 to 4 mm side movement,
so the bronze bush and seal is kaput-----regards.
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Finally back on the car for the winter. Put my steering back in today.
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Today I installed new fuel injection lines and csv line with new bracket hardware.
i forgot what a pain it is to install the lines with the hood on especially the bracket at the front of the motor.
a few weeks ago i installed a new vacuum line from intake to inj pump and coolant line from reservoir to t stat.
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new linkage bracket and cold start line clamps
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Treated her to a new steering wheel and pad.
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Made a new mount for my electronic ignition amplifier. Thanks again to Matti (Merkakungen) for the pictures of the one from his car.
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Next job this weekend,Although my car has good wheel bearings correct tension,
good tie rods, all new drag link,tie rod assembly, etc, there was still a little to much play in
steering wheel,while i got under chassis, ask my wife to move steering wheel a little side to side,
found the problem very worn steering idler arm, ordered the rebuild kit couple about a month ago,
It moves about 1/16 in side the idler not good, that gives the driver about 1 inch to 1-1/2 inch
play on steering wheel.
This is a more common problem than you might expect. It can be difficult to remove the bushing so we made a slide hammer to pull it out the bottom of the tube. I use a long screw with nuts and washers to press the new bushing back into place. Never hit against the bushing or you will peen it and then nothing will fit.
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Finally was able to pull the rear axle out today, it took a few weekends to make it happen.
overall about 7 hours total
now to replace
pinion seal
klunk bushing
rubber axle bellow
both rear axle bearings and seals
i also will be sending my shoes and drums out for re lining
6 more hours today,
pulled hanger and had to beat out what is left of the old klunk busing (photo)
installed new pinion seal
tore down brakes on both sides
removed both brake cylinders
removed all bolts holding the backing plate in place
decided to give up when the backing plates would not come off
only a few more hours in today
pulled both axles using the 3/8" threaded rod method, it worked
remove the lock plates and nuts securing the bearings
could not get the wedge bolt off the axle to separate the swing arm from the rest of the axle
nor could i knock off the bearings using by taping the end of the axle on a block of wood.
1 trip to Home depot for 3/8" rod and then a trip to harbor freight for a bearing puller set and back to home depot for 2' long 3/8" rod so can pull the bearings.
i hope to make more progress tomorrow.
well short day today
wedge nut is out, the threads are ok but the threaded portion is bent,
and pivot rod is out thanks to advice from Joe A.
another 4 hours in today
removed and installed axle and backing plate seals both sides
removed and installed new bearings after a hand packing with mobile 1 both sides
installed drivers side axle
july 3
2 more hours today, aligned swing arm with all washers , bushing etc in preparation for installing the pivot rod tomorrow
july 4
5 more hours today, installed pivot rod, wedge pin, swing arm drive shaft and bellows with clamps
july 6
rear end is in, compensating spring installed, centering bracket connected and shocks connected.
lets see if i can finish this up tomorrow...
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Getting close to being done under here. Only a couple more days.
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I did nothing more than drive it top down in the sun, collected flowers and admired the sunlight hitting the dash .... simple pleasures .
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I work at the heater ventil. Easy doing, maybe 20 minutes or so.
Now they work very soft and perfekt.
Peter
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Peter, Glad you were able to pull it so easily. They can be very tough to remove.
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I had it checked for the bi-yearly technical control we have here in Norway. Approved for another two years. (http://)
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Tracked down a coolant leak to the new pipe that I installed (was missing before; was just straight hose) that goes under the intake manifold runners. Loose worm clamp.
Tightened down the Frigiking. One side came loose (hole stripped?) while driving so as a passenger, wedged my foot there until we got home.
Drove downtown seattle!
(https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/68508024_2934062503277447_2794823270631735296_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&_nc_oc=AQkuzTati-sBxfsKyi1IHyL1dYqHdAyASKHKXr2RbJZd91-lbAZ4Dj9Xxxb1oJufk2w&_nc_ht=scontent-sea1-1.xx&oh=7bf6303af2d4b052d0b71257936caf75&oe=5DCEE5E2)
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What??? And it wasn't raining? I thought the Seattle Rain Festival that usually goes on from Jan 1 through Dec 31 was in full swing... :P
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What??? And it wasn't raining? I thought the Seattle Rain Festival that usually goes on from Jan 1 through Dec 31 was in full swing... :P
We get 3 months/year that's lovely. Otherwise it sux.
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We get 3 months/year that's lovely. Otherwise it sux.
;D ;D In spite of all this, I love Seattle. My favorite eats used to be the Zabaglione dessert at "13 Coins" (restaurants may be closed or changed) fresh Copper River salmon during the few weeks it is available end of May/early June at any place at Lake Union, a good steak at the Metropolitan Grill and hanging out at Pike's Place...and playing the game of never losing sight of a Starbucks shop while walking from Pioneer Square to Pike's Place. :o :o
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Just another day restoring things no one will ever see.
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Very nice nonetheless.
As aforementioned in the other thread, installed a 123 ignition
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I got to unwrap my grille from it’s 10 year old newspaper. That felt good.
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Finally finished installing my new Timevalve SS exhaust. I had Mike weld in two bungs so I can measure air/fuel ratio.
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I ran a sponge over mine in prep for a trip next week to Goodwood Revival ;D
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The tedious task of masking and painting hubcaps. With factory feathered look.
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After my long trip i have to do mine again, they have taken a bit of a battering in the last 8000 miles in the two months.
Those look good. Did you put on an etching paint first up.
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Garry, Yes sir. The chrome is brand new so gave it a key with scotchbrite. Then a coat of drab based self etching primer (2nd pic). I was going to clear them but I'm sure I’ll be doing them again at some point.
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took my 66 230 for a drive for the first time in 3 months today.
after i completed the rear axle work it got too hot in TX to drive.
today was a nice day so i took her for a drive, I received lots of compliments and 3 folks asking if I would sell it.
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I really like the way Ralph's 280 looks with those 3/4 WW Maxxis tires so I had a set of 185/75s mounted over the weekend. They ride really nice and I think they look great. Achim, that right front wheel may look familar ;)
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Just took her for a spin today along country roads .... felt guily having neglected her while traveling too and from PagodaFest. Temperature in London, Ontario today was 20 C
Dieter
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They look really great!! :D
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Actually it was this past Sunday that my Navigator and I put the top down and took off for a nice two hour drive. It has been a while since we have had an opportunity to get out out and enjoy our car due to Medical issues (which have been resolved), four power shutdowns (for fire prevention), oppressive heat and smoke from distant fires . As always the car ran great and the new battery got it started on the first crank. We are still "not out of the woods" here as the threat of fire (and loss of power) continue until we get some much needed rain but as long as the weather stays nice, we intend to get in a few more rides before those rains show up.
John
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I watched a thing on the "camp" fire (Paradise) on TV recently. The speed of that thing - it's amazing more didn't lose their lives. Go carefully....
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Actually it was this past Sunday that my Navigator and I put the top down and took off for a nice two hour drive. It has been a while since we have had an opportunity to get out out and enjoy our car due to Medical issues (which have been resolved), four power shutdowns (for fire prevention), oppressive heat and smoke from distant fires . As always the car ran great and the new battery got it started on the first crank. We are still "not out of the woods" here as the threat of fire (and loss of power) continue until we get some much needed rain but as long as the weather stays nice, we intend to get in a few more rides before those rains show up.
John
Hi John,yes i know what you are talking about those years i living in Sacramento,
Placerville has alot of wooded areas, hope you, family , and pagoda,have agood exit plan ,if ever you have to
get out up there in the hills.
WE used to love the drive from the valley to lake tahoe alot,probably went past your area about 6 times every year.
Regards Wayne.
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Wayne, looks looks like the fire threat is down under as well, some near you! Pulled this pic off BBC news site. BBC indicates Sydney is facing “catastrophic” threat on Tuesday.
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Fitted new fuel feed and return line plus brake line, really difficult job to make look correct, even with a lift it’s an awful job. Trust me, I’d rather remove and refit the engine than do this again.
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The brake proportioning valve unit you have there on your SL seems to be refurbished to good order.
Did you disassemble the unit? If so, did you perform that task yourself?
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Wayne, looks looks like the fire threat is down under as well, some near you! Pulled this pic off BBC news site. BBC indicates Sydney is facing “catastrophic” threat on Tuesday.
/quote]Yes you are correct Ralph, i did not mention it when i sent John email,as
did not think we would show up on world news, and the worst is still to come this tuesday and Wednesday,
im am fine where i am close to the coast,regards Wayne.
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Yes Hans, I rebuilt it, bit of a tricky job cleaning and honing the cylinder but possible.
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Well, it wasn't exactly "today", but last week I got my car back from Gernold at SL-TECH.
He fitted a new top, exhaust, pulled the engine and trans to seal up leaks and basically do what I call a mechanical restoration on the front and rear suspension as well as everything under the hood.
I'm thrilled with how it came out.
Of course, part of the credit goes to this site and you since I never would have met him if it weren't for our community. Thank you.
I had done many of the things Gernold did on this blue Pagoda, when I owned my first Pagoda. But, I'm 10 years older now and I figured it would take me years to go through it and I wanted to enjoy it. Also, I cannot do anything as well as Gernold can.
We are snow and ice bound right now, but I sure can't want to:
"Enjoy the ride".
Mark
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Looks Fantastic Mark!! Sad the snow is already flying in Illinois.
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Thanks Ralph !
I'm still hoping for a November warm up and rain ..... but, the odds of that happening diminishes with each day that passes.
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.../...I'm thrilled with how it came out.../...
Really super fine looking! And I do suppose that your car runs great, as well :D
Gernold has solid (Pagoda) knowledge, and the practical workshop skills to add to that.
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Nice to see it back Mark. Finally going well but no place to drive. If your warmer pre winter is like our “warmer” pre summer burning, you will have ice storms next week.
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Hans,
I only "drove" it about 100 meters ... so I really don't know if it runs great, except I do have high expectations. I can tell you it starts great and doesn't over-heat because I had it sitting on my driveway idling for a very long time as I drooled on it and it didn't heat up at all.
Garry,
Yes, funny that you saw the car before me. I hope those ice storms don't happen, but we've already had plenty of snow and ice, starting at the end of October. It melted long enough for me to take those pictures last weekend, then the snow hit again on Monday.
I have a feeling this winter will feel like one of the longest I have experienced.... (out of anticipation for taking that Pagoda on a long Spring cruise).
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Hello Mark, Your car looks really beautiful. Lets hope you have a few more nice fall drives before winter really sets in. Although from what I have seen on the weather reports for you guys, that might be wishful thinking. Our fall has been pretty much just a continuation of summer which is nice for top down drives but we would really be happy to see some rain.
John
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Hi John,
I'll hope for some rain for you !
Nice to hear from you and Thanks.
Take care,
Mark
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Today I fixed my Blaupunkt radio. About a year ago, while the car was sleeping for the winter, I fiddled with the radio tuner and the station indicator would not return from the left end. I figured the knob was slipping on the string that moves the indicator, at least, I'd seen that in other radios. So, went to remove it the logical way..., remove knobs, face plate, etc., but that didn’t work, radio wasn't coming out. I put it back together and left it, I never use the radio. Fast forward about a year, I decided to revisit it today. Read up on the Pagoda board and tech manual how the radio comes out, and differently on an early car like mine. Have to take off a lower panel, remove chrome trim, glove box and clock and then you can slide the radio out with part of the painted dash. Well, it looked like a project fraught with problems, but went smooth as silk. Probably had it out in 20 min. taking my time and being careful. Then came to fixing the radio. Top of it lifts right off, no screws and I figured out the plastic indicator mechanism has a pin that jumped out of the guide that moves it from side to side. Got it back in, lubed up all the moving parts and she was like new. It all went back together as smoothly as it came apart. This is a testament to how well built these 113s are, they are just put together beautifully, like Swiss watches. Also, the shape this car is in, it’s like new inside the dash. Once in a while the mechanic gods throw you a bone.
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Well, it wasn't exactly "today", but last week I got my car back from Gernold at SL-TECH.
He fitted a new top, exhaust, pulled the engine and trans to seal up leaks and basically do what I call a mechanical restoration on the front and rear suspension as well as everything under the hood.
I'm thrilled with how it came out.
Of course, part of the credit goes to this site and you since I never would have met him if it weren't for our community. Thank you.
I had done many of the things Gernold did on this blue Pagoda, when I owned my first Pagoda. But, I'm 10 years older now and I figured it would take me years to go through it and I wanted to enjoy it. Also, I cannot do anything as well as Gernold can.
We are snow and ice bound right now, but I sure can't want to:
"Enjoy the ride".
Mark
I love the color of your car and the engine looks great Mark!
Joihn
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There's more dust on my dash top than inside John's dash - and I occasionally clean the dash top
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Thanks John(K), It is going to be a long winter. ;D
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Thanks John(K), It is going to be a long winter. ;D
You can take it for a "ride" up here and show it to me, especially if you want to put it up on a rack.
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I will wait for spring (unless we get some nice rain), but that sounds like a fun drive.
Thanks,
Mark