Firewall Drain Tubes

[Wolfmann]

Should the two drain(?) pipes that exit on the firewall under the bonnet have flexible hoses attached leading to the bottom area of the engine compartment to ensure that water is vented underneath the car rather than it going into the engine bay please ?? I can't find any pictures as this area is rather crowded with the engine and ancillaries in situ.

Thanks in advance,

Steven.

PS  The pictures below are some I took of a friends 250SL. I do a bit of pro photography too. I hope they are not too risque, to me they sum up the  style and elegance of a bygone age that spawned our cars...

[Larry & Norma]

If you have RHD the tube above the steering box is open i believe whilst the one on the
nearside should have a rubber bulb thing on the end, this supposedly acts as a valve to stop water
going back up the pipe. This frequently gets blocked with debris coming down the pipe from the air intake
and can cause water to back up and corrosion then follows. I leave mine open with a small
length of rubber pipe on the near side one.

[Wolfmann]

Thanks again Larry !

S.

[jameshoward]

No, they shouldn't - if you're a purist. They did have rubber 'valves' (look like balls). Frankly, though, if it's raining, draining the water from the firwall/vent box into an already wet engine bay isn't going to do any more harm than the mass of water that's going to be coming up from the wheel spray.

The photos are great.

[Larry & Norma]

By the way like your pictures!

[jameshoward]

Larry - beat me to the draw! (I was too busy looking at the, er, detail of the photos....)

[mbzse]

.../...The pictures below are some I took of a friends 250SL. I do a bit of pro photography too.../...

Steven,
Truly enjoyed your pictures! Really top notch 
/Hans in Sweden

.

[Wolfmann]

Thanks everyone...It was fun taking them !

Hans in Sweden...Was it you who sold me the 250SL head for my car last year?? I guess there are a few Hans in Sweden but it's worth the question !

[mbzse]

Hans in Sweden... Was it you who sold me the 250SL head for my car last year?

Yes, certainly! I hope it came to good use... I still have some heads and blocks around here. I do strive for "Hans in Sweden" to mean myself, on this Forum anyhow 
/hans

[mbzse]

.../.. the one on the nearside should have a rubber bulb thing on the end, this supposedly acts as a valve to stop water
going back up the pipe.../..

An additional purpose of this rubber ball valve is to prevent petrol (gasoline) and exhaust fumes to enter the passenger compartment of the car. The reason the factory didn't fit one on the right side was that the hot exhaust pipes that pass by fries the rubber there...
/Hans in Sweden

.

[Wolfmann]

Thanks again Hans, the head was absolutely perfect, straight and un-machined as you said. If you remember you sent it direct to Crewe Engines and they incorporated it in the rebuild.
Car is bodily restored as in pics in the "Re Snow White/Hello from New Member" post in "General".

I remain very grateful for the part and the great price, I had been quoted  £800 from a well known specialist for a part with "one skim left in it" or £1500 for a "good one" !

My old 230 head is below the specified height. There are springs etc in it but am I right in thinking it is scrap or should I preserve it as I believe material can be put back on them (for a price). I guess if theses things get even more rare it may, one day, be worth restoring. What do you think ?

Steven.

PS Does anyone have a spare rubber ball laying around that I could buy or is it another wallet buster at Poole Classic Mercedes

[thelews]

190 SL has better girls.

[Larry & Norma]

Not too sure about that, a few more pictures might decide it!

[Wolfmann]

More pics...The car, of course, is the star.

There are quite a few Mercedes SL pictures on my Flickr site. User name Von Wolfsburg. also my own website www.redclockworkrocket.com


Steven.

[thelews]

Not too sure about that, a few more pictures might decide it!

OK.

[Larry & Norma]

Gosh this is a tough call, maybe some more....................

[mdsalemi]

I dare not post it here.  However, I was given a photo of a very elegant, very beautiful Alice Bracq (wife of Paul), striking a pose in a pre-production Pagoda, on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris in 1963, with the car.  Paul titled it, "Two beautiful ladies".  Anyone wanting to see it must come to PUB.

[thelews]

The weatherstripping hanging down from the closed door sure ruins the picture!

Maybe you could resize future pictures to fit the screen.

[Wolfmann]

No one else was looking at the weather stripping !

The pictures were for a magazine so I can only post the "out takes". That was fixed for the published pics.

[thelews]

No one else was looking at the weather stripping !

Like I said, my girl is more "interesting."  Therefore, my eyes started to wander to the car.  Your girl has more class, but...

[Wolfmann]

For me it is all about class and elegance rather than obvious appeal...Cars I mean !! (For "keepers" at least)