Photos of a floor project?

[n/a]

Hi.My name is Arni and I live in Iceland
 I am new in here.
I am looking for photos of a rusted floor project. The drivers floor pan on my SL is rotten and needs replacement. Just want to be prepaired for the worst

Thank you

MERCEDES-BENZ 230SL PAGODA '1966

[mal]

Following are two photos of the floor on a 280SL am restoring the whole floor and boot where changed
Good luck
Regards

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Malek Mrowa - Beirut, Lebanon.
280SL 71- Light Blue-/Blue
190SL 61 - Ivory/Red

[jeffc280sl]

NM

[Chad]

Malek, what are you doing for rust prevention on that car. The standard or would you paint POR15 on it.

-CD-
1967 230SL, 113.042 10

[mal]

Hello Chad,
I do the standard thing black schutz (protectant)then paint it a nearly flat black. As for the wheel wells they are painted body color
regards

Malek Mrowa - Beirut, Lebanon.
280SL 71- Light Blue-/Blue
190SL 61 - Ivory/Red

[J. Huber]

Ok -- possibly a silly question: does replacing the floor pans always entail what I see in Mal's project -- turning car on side, removing nearly everything -- or is his the more extreme total restoration variety?

James
63 230SL

[Khurram Darugar]

james,
     you need to have your head close enough to the welding gun to see the weld pool.  It is physically fatiguing to remain still and in a contorted position while delicately manouvering the gun.  If you are in really good shape you can do this without tiring, if not Mals set up is ideal.  Generally though if you can lift your car 3 ft off the ground you are in good shape to reach just about anywhere.

Im not sure what the forces on the shell are with certain panels missing, but the rotisserie is pretty cool and will certainly make for more comfortable and easier welding.
Kay

Kay
Euro 280sl LHD Auto.

[norton]

Hi Arni If your just doing the lower front floor, most of this work, including welding can be done from inside the car, once the seats and carpet have been removed. A "welding blanket" should be used to protect the rest of the interior, paint work, and windshield from weld splatter

Mike Halleck
Chesterfield Mi
71 280SL
68 250SL (parts car)
94 E320 Coupe

[waltklatt]

Hello Arni,
I can post some pictures of my nearly stripped 1963 230SL.  It needs all new floors.  I removed the 'new' floor they riveted in before i got it and looked like parts of a street sign.
Walter Klatt
1967 220SL-diesel
1963 230SL-gas

[J. Huber]

Please do, Walt. For the record, I think I used some 22 gauge sheetmetal in mine ... otherwise, there would be quite a draft coming in from underneath!  :twisted:

James
63 230SL

[waltklatt]

Sure thing James, not to mention a geyser aka old faithful blowing up everytime one runs through a deep puddle.  Guess we should add another rare option and that would be a snorkel and goggles for wet weather driving.  Wink!
Walter Klatt
1967 220SL-diesel
1963 230SL-gas

[ja17]

Hello,
A floor restoration on a badly rust damaged W113 can take a professional shop 100 hours or more depending on the amount of fabrication and/or the pre-made panel used.

Having the right equipment and the car set up so it can be worked on easily will save time and improve quality. If you are not equipped or experienced the work will take a lot longer. If you are working on your back expect to spend a lot more time.

If you have a complete floor and chassis to rebuild, setting the car on its side with a fixture is well worth the effort in the long run. You will save an enormous amount of time and discomfort and the quality of the repairs will be better in most cases.

However I understand that this is beyond the capabilities of most owners.

If I am not setting the car on its side, I prefer to lift it from one side at a time. In this way not all the welding is done on your back!

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Pre-made panels (K&K Manufacturing) save a lot of time and improve quality over making them  yourself. In addition these panels are zinc coated to resist corrosion.

Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

[66andBlue]

quote:Originally posted by ja17

.. If I am not setting the car on its side, I prefer to lift it from one side at a time. In this way not all the welding is done on your back!

Joe, what do you think about this gizmo? How far would you tilt before you would worry about fluid levels? See: http://www.liqui-technik.com/kipp2_e.html

Alfred
1966 blue 230SL automatic

[ja17]

Hello Alfred,
It looks interesting, although I have never seen one used. Do you know what the cost is?

After around 45 degrees you should begin to worry about fluids. Brake fluid will remove paint when spilled, ATF and power steering fluids will discolor some finishes. Rear end oil and engine oil will begin to leak out vents and get into places they should not be. Obviously leaking fuel is a real hazard. An empty fuel tank can be dangerously full of explosive fumes!

On a major floor and chassis rebuilding, removal of all fluids and removal of the fuel tank is the norm.

Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

[66andBlue]

Hi Joe,
apperently in Germany the tilter sells for about Euro795, but on ebay.de used ones go for around Euro450. The manufacturer's rep in the USA quoted $1395 for a new one including delivery.
The company claims that fluids (except battery if it is not sealed) would not have to be removed but the vent holes in fluid container lids should be plugged or sealed.  I am not sure but I believe that Jim Villers somewhere wrote once that he had seen one in action. Perhaps he can chime in here.

Alfred
1966 blue 230SL automatic

[Tom230sl]

I used one, worked great. Although I used mine with a car stand, will make tough jobs enjoyable (ok, easier).

Worth it!

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[Benz Dr.]

I can read a newspaper while looking through my welding helmet - it's one of those ones that go dark in mirco seconds. A must if you want to weld in dark areas. I use a floresent trouble light to light up the general area. They won't pop from sparks hitting the bulb like a regular light.
I have a car cradle here I never use and maybe I'd sell it. I've been to the shop where they actually started making these things and still use their proto type engine lift. These guys could design and make anything.

They actualy drive *cars* in Iceland?

Dan Caron's
 SL Barn
benzbarn@ebtech.net
 slbarn.mbz.org
  1 877 661 6061

[jeffc280sl]

I believe Tom's pics show two variations of the same system.  The first looks like it uses wheel lugs to suspend the car.  

The second pic shows the same overall setup but using a frame system to suspend the W113 usning its jack stand holes.  A word of caution if using this system.  The frame setup assumes the W113 rails are in good shape.  The bracket for my drivers side front jack stand pipe was very rusted.  The bracket and pipe are welded to the lower and larger frame rail. Looking back at it now I would not have wanted to use it to jack up the car to replace a flat tire.   Assuming you have major rust repairs to attend to I suggest some sort of inspection of the rails and jack stand brackets before tilting the uni-body.  In spection of the brackets can be accomplished by cutting away the bottom section of the frame rail or in the case of the front bracket you can cut away some of the firewall and look inside the frame rail to inspect the jack stand pipe brackets.

Jeff C.
1970 280SL 4-speed

[Tom230sl]

Yes, good point. On a setup like I had, you must have good jack-mounts. The tilter is sold with mounting brackets that allow you to remove the wheels and lug nut on the mounting brackets. The good thing about the system is for relatively little money, you can get good access to the bottom of the car--even in a garage like mine.

[n/a]

Awesome! Thank you guys for good posting regarding the floor project. It seems that the worst rust area in my SL is in the left rocker panel, undrneath.

MERCEDES-BENZ 230SL PAGODA '1966. 4-speed.

[jeffc280sl]

Hello Arni,

I just replaced the drivers side lower frame rail. The entire frame rail is made of two pieces.  Imagine the frame rail as a square tube.  

The lower section represents about 80+% of the total frame rail. It extends downward from the outer midpoint seam (under rail cover), then in towards the passenger side, then upwards and finally to the outside again where it is seamed with the top rail section.  This second seam is found under the aluminum cover which secures the carpet under the door edge.

Unfortunately for water to gain access to the lower frame rail there must be a leak in the firewall and/or front fender seal.  Eventually there is further deteriorization in this area and the floor pan begins to rust.  Followed closely by the seat bracket securing the front bolts of the seat.  Once the front of the seat bracket goes it is followed by rust in the rear of the bracket which leads to water gaining access to the compartment under the seat.

I hope your problem is relatively new and that rust has not spread too far.

Jeff C.
1970 280SL 4-speed