Rodd's 230SL mechanical restoration blog

[rwmastel]

Hello … Pagodaites?     I will be using this thread to track the mechanical restoration of my Italian delivered 1966 230SL automatic over the next, well, however many months until I deem it "done".  Defining "done" can be a challenge all in itself, because I don't know what might unexpectedly consume my budget and force me into difficult decisions to redefine "done".

Anyway, I plan to lock this thread so only I can post in it.  I know that's counter-intuitive for a discussion forum, but I really just want to use it as a way for me to journal all kinds things related to this journey I'm embarking on without going down rabbit hole discussions.  It's for me to plan and track my progress, and for others to understand what I went through before they embark on something similar for themselves.  I will compile, track, and share technical information.  Experiences with my work, tools, parts, vendors, and more will be outlined.  And, the decisions that I made along the way, and why I think they turned out to be right or wrong, will be recorded here.  My specific problems, challenges, questions, and efforts on individual things will be posted in many, many other threads along the way.  Hopefully, I'll learn enough to be able to contribute to the Tech Manual!  But, this thread will just be an ongoing record of my efforts.  I've never done any blogging or journaling before, so we'll see how this goes!

Thanks in advance to all of you who end up lending knowledge and experience to my upcoming efforts.

[rwmastel]

Well, this thread is 19 months old!  Sometimes it takes me a little bit to get started, maybe I have a procrastination problem.  Probably.

Anyway, it has begun, and technically it began at Pagoda Fest Chicago because there I got inspiration from many longtime friends and from all the Pagodas there.  It made me miss driving mine, it has been off the road many years.  I bought a few things on-site from our friends at Vintage Auto (firewall pad, firewall rubber grommets, sun visors, jack hole plugs) to get my juices flowing.

Fast forward to this month, and I've decided to dedicate my fall season to the car (which will only be a beginning) by taking about 10 Mondays in a row as vacation days.  These 3-day weekends will be focused on the Pagoda, so we'll see what a procrastinator can get done!   

[rwmastel]

I'll be posting many threads in the appropriate forums as I have questions and work through problems, I'm just using this thread like a blog.

Last week, I removed my old fuel tank and cleaned it this week.  Trying to sell it in our forum because I bought a new one from the Classic Center.  I'm disappointed in the new one, it has two dents and some paint is scraped off one spot.  Storage has been tough on it.  And, it was shipped to my old work address!  Luckily, I'm still friends with some people there, so I was able to retrieve it.  Classic Center is giving me a discount on my next order.  I bought a new tank because I want to refurbish the whole fuel system.  The small, genuine MB 230SL tanks are hard to find.

Yesterday I removed the short electric fuel pump.  I have it soaking, full of mineral spirits, and will test today if it spins freely.

Today I removed the radiator and will be taking it to a shop recommended to me by a couple trusted sources.  I'll start a thread on that, as the radiator is a bit damaged, even though there were no leaks when last used.  I'm wondering what the repair shop will say.

Update:  The fuel pump ran fine!  I also cleaned the pump shroud.  I dropped off the radiator for minor service and testing, they don't recore anymore.

[rwmastel]

I got the exhaust removed today.  I had the front manifold separated from its pipe, but the rear has been very stubborn.  JA17 lent me a lead hammer so I could be a little more persuasive on the pipe and its flange, and that finally did the trick.

Next item is removing the flex disk. When looking at the plate and trans mount bracket to remove, I noticed more factory inspection paint dots.  I'm taking pics of those along the way in case they help our dot-ology in the Tech Manual.