Author Topic: 1964 230SL restoration in UK (Read 238338 times)

Scottcorvette · « **Reply #500 on:** March 02, 2018, 20:08:48 »

Thanks Stick, thats nice of you to say. Feels like a long old slog!

andyburns · « **Reply #501 on:** March 02, 2018, 21:44:18 »

I second stick. Makes my efforts seem very very amatueur. Amazing work which I am very much enjoying watching unfold.

Scottcorvette · « **Reply #502 on:** March 03, 2018, 08:43:14 »

Thanks Andy. Nothing amateur about your rebuild though.

Im in a bit of a dilemma. When I got my car it had an aftermarket radio and a pair of speakers in the rear bulkhead. According to the data card it came from the factory with no radio and I kept switching between radio/no radio. I assumed that even radio delete cars would have had an antenna and speaker fitted at the factory because of the difficulty of retro fitting these items.

There was no old speaker in the dash, no old wiring, but there was the correct small additional fusebox in the engine compartment which I believe is for radio supply and the antenna hole looks to be drilled nicely and in the correct place according to the tech manual.

I'm not that bothered about listening to the radio as I only ever listen to my iPod in the car and am going to use a bluetooth speaker, I had pretty much decided on a radio delete plate because I like the look and I wouldn't have the hassle of fitting a radio that probably isn't going to work that well or sound that great anyway as I would stick with a single mono speaker in the dash.

However now I find that radio delete cars didn't have an antenna and mine does, so a delete plate would look odd with an aerial and would bug me, I then figured I'd go the radio route. I can get a restored Becker Europa TR which is correct for my year or a delete plate so Im able to go either way.

Welding the antenna hole looks like one of those jobs that is easier said than done and Im not relishing the idea of it, but if Im going to go radio delete then I'll have to and obviously now is the time.

What do you think? weld the hole and fit the plate, or fit a radio and antenna even though the data card says it shouldn't have one. Ive got to make my mind up this weekend so get those votes in....

mbzse · « **Reply #503 on:** March 03, 2018, 08:58:32 »

Quote from: Scottcorvette

I can get a restored Becker Europa TR which is correct for my year or a delete plate so Im able to go either way.
.../...What do you think?

IMHO, the radio front plate with "Nadelstreifen" pin stripes is a well fitting and nice touch there on the dash...
For me, the sound from the single speaker also fits in with the retro 60´s feel that I do enjoy in my SL

DaveB · « **Reply #504 on:** March 03, 2018, 22:20:42 »

I would also vote for a restored Becker small-face radio. Though it would need to be a really nice one to match the other aspects of your restoration.

neelyrc · « **Reply #505 on:** March 04, 2018, 01:44:36 »

Quote from: Scottcorvette on March 03, 2018, 08:43:14

...... or fit a radio and antenna even though the data card says it shouldn't have one....

I vote for the radio and antenna,Scott. I think it just looks better. Will this be the only deviation from your data card? ..tires, colors, key numbers, trim??

Just my tuppence worth!

Beautiful work, thanks for keeping us in the picture.

andyburns · « **Reply #506 on:** March 04, 2018, 16:28:57 »

Radio adds another level of sophistication. Was an incredible option in its day. Becker had a string of firsts in terms of technology advancment and was a superb cosmetic compliment to the 113 in particular. I walked over hot coals to get my small face and have never regretted it. It wasnt that hard to install.

stickandrudderman · « **Reply #507 on:** March 04, 2018, 19:10:26 »

Original small face radio with an MP3 jack and mono speaker is the way most of my customers go.

Scottcorvette · « **Reply #508 on:** March 04, 2018, 20:08:14 »

Thats pretty conclusive then....

It is the way I was leaning purely because I didn't want to fill in the existing antenna hole. I try and avoiding doing things like that if I can. I really like the clean look of the delete plate, but I also like the radio so it really could have gone either way. The delete plate would have been cheaper but I got over that one long ago...

So radio it is then. From an earlier conversation with Scott Allen he advised me that the correct radio would be a Europa TG but they can be trouble and a TR would be a better bet, or a Blaupunkt, I prefer the look of the Becker. I can get one either from Becker Autosound or Koenigs Klassik , they both seem like good companies. Anyone have any advice on which one to go with?

I have the original antenna from the car that had a light blue plastic top section. Is it worth trying to get this restored or am I better going with a repro Hirschmann antenna?

There will be a few deviations from the data card but nothing really irreversible, I am going for euro lights and leather over vinyl, key numbers will be different as I have new locks, I am also fitting a 5 speed. Colours and tires will all be as original.

Scottcorvette · « **Reply #509 on:** March 04, 2018, 20:20:48 »

We still haven't had any gas delivered so it was too cold at work to do anything on Saturday. I wanted to get a coat of dunkelgrau on the bits that are going to be hard to get to when the wing is on. When I opened the time it looked jet black but you can see the difference from the drops on the lid after it was mixed.

When it was sprayed it looked jet black again, I hung around long enough for it to tack off so I could give it a second coat so maybe it dries more grey but it looked very black to me. When I paint the trunk completely I will flat this down and go over the whole lot but I thought some of it might be tricky to get to so I'd give it a quick blast now.

I have been toying with the idea of adding the later style drains to the soft top box and then changed my mind but I think Ive changed my mind again and will put them in before I fit the wing, I figure it can't hurt and the more drainage the better right?

Garry · « **Reply #510 on:** March 05, 2018, 01:22:47 »

Scott,

In my trunk which is original with all the dribbles, the finish of the dunkelgrau is what I would call Satin rather than matt.

I agree more drainage cannot harm. The only rust areas on my 230Sl were around drain points that had blocked up at some point on the fire wall.

Scottcorvette · « **Reply #511 on:** March 06, 2018, 07:32:12 »

Its dried to a very nice satin finish, Im still convinced its black but my lovely wife says it isn't and thats good enough for me.

I stayed for a bit at work last night and cut the holes for the extra soft top box drains. I had been looking at some photos of these and seen on the factory fitted ones there was a depression around the hose so that it sits flush. I made a tool out of a couple of Corvette sway bar link kit bushing cups so that once a hole was drilled I could use them to make a depression in the metal and then enlarge the hole to the correct size. I had a couple of trial runs in a piece of steel to make sure it worked OK and it seemed to work well.

Access was tight to get the drills in but just doable. Im quite pleased with the way it went, it doesn't look exactly the same as an original car but it is close enough and better than just cutting a hole and having the lip of the drain hose sticking up.

Scottcorvette · « **Reply #512 on:** March 06, 2018, 07:36:54 »

I was a bit cautious about cutting the hole in the B pillar for the hose to poke through and could have gone about a 1/4" lower in hindsight, I didn't want to cut it too fine but it meant I had a sharper curve than I would have liked on the hose. I used a Corvette gas tank drain hose spring to go inside the hose and that enabled it to curve without kinking so alls well that ends well although I might shorten the hose a little.

I'll do the other side when the wing is off as I suspect I will have the same issues with the soft top box as I had on this side.

I really don't like drilling extra holes in old cars but I think this is probably a good thing to do. Once I had cleaned up the raw edges I touched them in with a bit of primer and will touch in the brown paint today, then I do believe it is time to fit the new fender...watch this space!

Scottcorvette · « **Reply #513 on:** March 15, 2018, 08:23:54 »

The new rocker mouldings arrived from MB along with the soft top chrome strip. For once the chrome strip seemed excellent value, or maybe I'm just a seasoned Mercedes parts buyer now...

The mystery of the rocker mouldings is solved once and for all and the new ones are indeed around 1/4" shorter, they fit the car perfectly so all's well that ends well. Quite a nice reassurance that Ive got everything back in the right place too....

The last picture shows the new ones laid over the top of the original and the difference is significant, so if anyone out there has a 63-64 car with original rear quarters bear it in mind that if you need replacement rocker mouldings, they will be too short!

Once again the value of this forum is proven hands down.

swood1 · « **Reply #514 on:** March 22, 2018, 07:49:13 »

Quote from: Scottcorvette on March 15, 2018, 08:23:54

soft top chrome strip.

Hi Scott,

Is this soft top chrome strip the one that goes around the hatch for the soft top?

Regards

Steve

swood1 · « **Reply #515 on:** March 22, 2018, 07:56:04 »

Quote from: Scottcorvette on March 04, 2018, 20:20:48

coat of dunkelgrau

Hi Scott, can I ask did you manage to obtain this paint from a UK supplier?

Regards

Steven

Scottcorvette · « **Reply #516 on:** March 30, 2018, 07:30:59 »

The soft top strip is the one that goes on the top of the soft top itself. I got the paint mixed up by Morelli, but any paint factor should be able to mix it on the code DB164, I had mine done in Glasurit 68 line.

Scottcorvette · « **Reply #517 on:** March 30, 2018, 07:42:41 »

There hasn't been much progress in the last couple of weeks. I was pretty crook with a bad cold and had a couple of days off work, I didn't feel like going in over a couple of Saturdays so nothing got done. Normal service is resumed now and I finally got the left rear quarter welded on.

It has been a fairly stressful experience overall. I don't know if I made life harder for myself or not by removing the replacement door shut. I wanted to retain the original 3 bolt door latch receiver and the replacement uses the 4 bolt type. Not sure if having the door shut in a fixed position would be good or not. I was able to tweak the shut to get the curve of the wing to match the door just about perfectly, and the door gap is pretty good, it widens by about 1mm toward the top but the original had some lead in there so I figure it is what it is.

Overall Im quite pleased with the fit, all the swage lines are nice and that was my main concern. Try as I might I couldn't get the trunk lid shut line exactly the same all the way along so I figure the boot lid will need to be filed down a little to make the gap. 'The Chief' made short work of the spot welds as usual, I put a few extra in on the door shut where it starts to curve round the top of the fender, I had to get a bit persuasive there...

Scottcorvette · « **Reply #518 on:** March 30, 2018, 07:49:25 »

I'm very pleased with the fit of the new rocker mouldings, in fact all the panels have been very good, the replacement fender is a very good fit and is a nice sturdy panel.

I stayed the other night and finished up the welds on the underside of the arch. My spot welder has an adapter to weld inside wheel arches, I spent forever trying to get it to work for me but gave up in the end and resorted to the single sided gun which worked perfectly.

I have a few little detail bits to finish off tomorrow and then we can declare that one done and do it all over again on the other side...

johnk · « **Reply #519 on:** March 30, 2018, 20:29:35 »

I'm so jealous of your abilities Scott!

star63 · « **Reply #520 on:** March 31, 2018, 17:20:05 »

me too!

Scottcorvette · « **Reply #521 on:** April 07, 2018, 18:28:12 »

Thats very nice of you to say. It does feel like an uphill struggle but I'm quite enjoying the challenge. Its also quite different at the moment to my day to day work owing to the amount of metalwork involved.

I have finished the left rear fender now as far as I can at this stage. I had the corner near the top of the door to do which is now finished. I have to fill the door gap as it was before and I think Im going to try my hand at lead loading for that. I've kept the old fenders to practice on...

Once that was out the way I started cutting the wing off the other side, it has all gone a lot quicker now I've done one already and I'm a lot more gung-ho about it all, to the point where Ive had to reign myself in a bit so I don't cut too much off. Once the fender was off and the inner fender could be seen a lot more clearly it illustrates that this was definitely the right way to go. If you look at the back of the inner fender still attached around the wheel arch you can see how rotten it all is. I wouldn't wanted to have patched all that up.

Scottcorvette · « **Reply #522 on:** April 07, 2018, 18:45:06 »

Today I've been cleaning up the flanges on the door shut and inner fender ready for the new panels.I also cut the door shut off the new fender so we are getting there. You can see a patch in the side of the soft top box that I put in from the other side probably a couple of years ago near the start of the project.That will get removed and redone from this side to make a better job of it now the access has improved.

I hung the new fender on to have a quick look and the fit seems good which is a relief. I'm starting to get a bit excited that the metalwork is drawing to a close and we aren't far from moving on to the next stage....

Scottcorvette · « **Reply #523 on:** April 18, 2018, 04:37:17 »

I was poking around the CB's Autoteile website a couple of weeks back and noticed they supply a trunk mat for the cars with vertical spare tires. I had been under the impression that this had been NLA for some time and no one reproduced it so I emailed the owner and he said he could make me one and it arrived a couple of days ago.

I have never seen an original one, just a few photographs online but to my untrained eye it is just perfect. The fit is superb, it is very nicely moulded and finished and wasn't crazy money either.

This was something that has been bothering me that I didn't have one and it was looking unlikely that I'd be able to get one either so I'm very happy with this part. I guess I'll need to get a trunk mat to protect my trunk mat.

http://www.cbs-autoteile.de

Scottcorvette · « **Reply #524 on:** April 18, 2018, 04:45:10 »

I also ordered the under dash panels that I was missing at the same time. These are also very nice, again I have nothing to compare it too but I am assuming these are made out of the same material as the trunk boards and they look very nice to me.

I know a lot of you guys like to make this sort of thing yourselves but I could never have made these panels as nicely as this by hand. They look stamped or die cut or something, and where there is a fold the bead is nicely stamped in. They were €30-40 a piece.

Th guy is a pleasure to deal with too.

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Author Topic: 1964 230SL restoration in UK (Read 238338 times)