After 6 months I finally have my car back. In February I decided to add A/C to the car. Texas heat is just a little much for my wife and I.
Unfortunately, we quickly determined that I had bigger problem with my engine. With very little compression indicated we pulled the head and tore it down to discover bad bearings and bad pistons. Plus the valves guides were bad etc. etc. I'm sure you all know how this story goes. Anyway, after a total rebuild with new "everything" we are now back on the road. Just in time to enjoy some of that Texas heat I mentioned above.
Here are some photos of my journey, including my mechanic Helmut Holder who has been working on Mercedes since the mid 1960's.
Norm