280sl restoration

[Joel]

mounting door and boot lid to adjust new wing

[Joel]

wing done

[kampala]

Joel,

This is an incredible amount of work.    A little like this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acEIycUg5CQ

This has been posted here before.  Best of luck and keep posting your updates.

[Joel]

new right rear floorboard

[Joel]

took the front and wing off,

[Joel]

the old and new inner wing

[Joel]

new frame rail

[Joel]

crossmember repair

[Joel]

more

[Joel]

new metal

[Rick007]

Respect Joel ...I can see you really enjoy your work, and love working with sheetmetal .. Keep posting 

[Joel]

Thanks,
Yes i love to do sheet metal work, it takes a lot of time but the result is rewarding!

[Joel]

I just uploaded a new video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHTR0V6aPQs

[Joel]

new cross member

[Joel]

new inner wing

[Howard Long]

Joel you have done a wonderful job starting from a car in terrible condition.  My 280SL had been given a rotten restoration many years ago before I got it, where they covered up the rust in the floor and then spent time and money on a great paint job.  The good news it that while I had to replace both side rail and the floors on both sides, the rest of the car appears to be in better shape that your project.  There are still unknowns when it goes to the media blaster.

Keep up the good work, I like your photos.

Howard
71 280SL 4-speed

[Joel]

Thanks Howard,
Media blasting almost always brings more secrets and work to the surface. But I love it because I do not like to find surprises afterwards.

[Howard Long]

I can see that you really love sheet metal work and you have all the necessary tools to do it.  I have many year of experience working on many different cars for the last 50 plus years but my paint and body work experience goes way back to a my first car a 1949 Hudson and a 1955 Chevy that I worked on as a teenager.  When I found that my 280SL was in such bad shape I had to decide if I could justify the cost or a body shop or to learn the skills and do it myself.  Maybe a foolish decision but I decided on the later route.  I have been rewarded with the challenges and the progress so far, i am about 60% done with metal work.

I am probably still 2 years away for getting the 280SL back together.  Today it is sheet metal work to recreate the bottom 4 inches of the front of the right rear fender between the passenger door and the right rear wheel well.  The rust had got that area in a bad way and I did not find any reproduction metal for that area other than the entire bottom half of the fender.  It will take several small pieces to recreate that 4 by 8 inch piece of fender but it is something I can do.  Although I can use a metal shrinker for other parts, this is the place that i could not do very well without justifying the cost of a Shrinker and a Stretcher.

I have attached a photo of where I am working on the bottom of the right rear fender and a photo of the complex piece on the bottom of the fender that joins with the rocker panel.  This piece in only one of 4 pieces that will recreate the fender area.

Howard
71 280SL 4-speed

[Joel]

yes sheet metal is fun.

[guyke]

what paint does jou use as a anti rust coating ?

[Joel]

hi guyke,

I use Glasurit and standox époxy to spray with a gun.
the red primer is in a aerosol.
the grey weld through primer is normfest aerosol.

If you need more info send me a mail. (ik spreek nederlands) 

[Joel]

today i sand down the paint from the inside of the bonnet. P60 - P80 - P100

[Joel]

and 2 layers of black époxy.

[Joel]

exterior bonnet: about 12 layers to remove 

[Joel]

5 hours later
and epoxy