Got my car back!

[Tom]

I sent my car to Gernold last fall to have a few issues sorted out.  

-Rattles
-Camber (positive rear-end camber)
-Engine Detailing
-I wanted to experiment with the Mechatronik suspension
-Finally, I wanted to put in a 3.27 rear-end.

The list of things actually completed is too long to mention here, but...

+New Wood
+Jump Seat
+Gauges
+Air Conditioning enhancement
+Brake equalizer (frequently overlooked but important)
+Rust Spot on rear
+Bumper alignment
+Radiator recored with high efficiency (3 row)
+Mercedes retractable seat belts
+Rocker panels covers removed and redone
+Doors fixed to eliminate rattles (it is a wonderful sound!)

Gernold drove the car to Alexandria today.  I got it right as the sun went down and drove it for 30 minutes... I think I'm in love!

New Rear-end
The 3.27 rearend is a marvel.  At 65, RPMs are at 3000.  At 80 mph the RPM reads 3500.  I got over 90 mph and never saw 4000 rpms.  Gernold intalled an auxillary kick down switch that allows me to press a button and activate the kick down switch (this is an automatic).  So the normal slow start with the 3.27 is averted with the press of the button.  It's a blast to hit the button at 60 mph and pass another car.

Mechatronik Suspension
The Mechatronik Suspension experiment is a success.  Handling is outstanding.  The ride is a bit firm, but I like that.  The car does sit lower than before, and this is something I will need to consider further.  Mechatronik makes a taller spring that I may install, but for now, I am going to try the current set-up and see how it looks and feels.  So far, so good.

A/C Enhancements
The new rotary A/C compressor, a new high RPM modern blower motor in the Frigiking unit and special adapter to divert air to the driver makes the A/C actually work well (ice cold) on low speed.  Thanks to Tom R. in Boise for the idea.

The Radio
Had a Grand Prix installed with an input jack for the IPod and wiring for 2 more speakers.  The IPod works great through the radio.  Becker (Ed Ebel) can install this input jack if you send them the radio.  The Wonderbar on the Grand Prix works great and as designed for finding the next station.  Now I need to go find two new speakers for the rear that can sit back there (I can't bring myself to cut holes in the car).

Engine Detailing--looks new.
New hardware with proper plating, valve cover and intake manifold detailed.  Fuel injection lines plated with proper finish.  Everything looks great!

Gernold did a great job.  I'll post more over the next few days.  I am so happy to have this car back.  My wife says I'll be in the garage all of the time now that "she" is back.  I'll post pictures over the weekend for those interested on my website.

Best,

Tom the happy camper

1971 280sl Tunis Beige Metallic (restored & enhanced)
1971 280sl Tobacco Brown (low mileage stock)
1970 280sl Deep Red (Project Car)

[TR]

Congrats Tom!!

I'm sure I'm not the only one looking forward to photos.

Tom in Boise

[hauser]

Tom, great to hear you finally got your car back.  I'm sure you were having withdrawal synptoms with an empty space in the garage.  I know I did when my car spent a week at the shop.  Can't wait to see the results!  Congrats!

1969 280sl 5 spd
Gainesville, Fl.

[George Des]

Tom,

Glad to hear you got your car back. Interested in seeing your a/c enhancement. As you know i put the rotary compressor in my 230SL and it certainly blows cold. Hvae a few tweaks i need to work out on the blower unit though. I may have to go with a high efficiency radiator at some point becasue my temperature has a tendency to go up. I believe the condensor blocks off enough of the air flow thorugh the radiator to cause this. Hope to see you at Micahel Egan's this Sunday.  I plan to drive over my restored 230SL Euro ZF 5 speed. Still have not had the front end aligned at Carlos' and I desparately need to replace my Timevalve--it's new but the sound is horrible.

George Desiderio

[Kenneth Gear]

Those are some cool enhancements!  I can't wait to see it!

Congratulations!

Ken G
1971 280 SL
Silver/red

[jeffc280sl]

Hi Tom,

Your car sounds great.  Please say some more about the brake equalizer.  Does this have to do with improving rear brake performance by installing a new pressure valve?

Jeff C.
1970 280SL 4-speed

[Tom]

Thanks for all of your comments.

Jeff, that valve is also referred to as the Brake Proportioning valve.  I will tell you what I know about it (not much).  Located at the rear of the car, it determines the relative pressure applied to the front and rear calipers (I guess by regulating the amount of brake fluid pressure).  On a 250 mile test drive, Gernold noted that the rear right rotor was too warm compared to the other rotors.  This indicated that the caliper was sticking or dragging, causing heat build-up.  He could not bleed the proportioning valve, which indicated a problem.  He replaced that valve and the excess heat went away.

I don't know the procedure for adjusting this valve but it must be in the Big Blue Book.

The brakes on the car have always been good (maybe because the right rear brake was always being applied!).  I did note that they are noticeably better than before.

George, I look forward to comparing notes on the A/C.  Gernold noted on the drive down that he experienced stopped traffic on the interstate with the A/C on.  Idling in mostly stopped traffic, the temperature rose to 190 from the 180 mark.  That seems acceptable for now (it was hot yesterday).  He loaned me his hard top with the sun roof, so he needed the A/C with the hard top on the car.

Best,

Tom

1971 280sl Tunis Beige Metallic (restored & enhanced)
1971 280sl Tobacco Brown (low mileage stock)
1970 280sl Deep Red (Project Car)

[TR]

quote:Originally posted by George Des

Tom,

Glad to hear you got your car back. Interested in seeing your a/c enhancement. As you know i put the rotary compressor in my 230SL and it certainly blows cold. Hvae a few tweaks i need to work out on the blower unit though. I may have to go with a high efficiency radiator at some point becasue my temperature has a tendency to go up. I believe the condensor blocks off enough of the air flow thorugh the radiator to cause this. Hope to see you at Micahel Egan's this Sunday.  I plan to drive over my restored 230SL Euro ZF 5 speed. Still have not had the front end aligned at Carlos' and I desparately need to replace my Timevalve--it's new but the sound is horrible.

George Desiderio

George -- As Tom knows my car is going thru a good deal of enhancement work.  It's currently in the interior shop, so I haven't had the opportunity to try out some of the new stuff yet.

But what triggered this latest round of activity was engine overheating.  This led to a new engine from Metric, as well as a 2nd(!) new high capacity radiator.  Also, the A/C system is effectively new (replaced the compressor, condensor, high volume fan, brought A/C air out of the round chrome vents on each side of the dash, etc., etc.).

You might be interested in this: When we replaced the radiator we also went with a new M-B A/C condensor (I think from a new SL, but not totally certain about that).  Also put a small electric fan in front of the new condensor, right behind the grill star.

I know a lot of W113 owners would not make this many changes; but my guidance to the lead mechanic was to keep things so that all could be returned to full original if and when the mood strikes.

Tom -- Replacing everything in the doors really does the trick, doesn't it?  We've replaced every piece we can with new parts, plus lined every square inch possible with Dynamat Extreme sound/vibration absorbing mat'l.  Now when you close the doors they are solid & quieter than on a new Mercedes setting on the showroom floor.  No kidding.  One can definitely make the doors of a W113 spooky-quiet.

Tom in Boise
'71 280SL, 4-spd, signal red w/ lt. tan leather - enhanced

[mdsalemi]

Tom,

Good news, though with that low mileage stock model you have in the third (!) garage bay, don't look for any sympathy for 113 withdrawl!

Most cars have a brake proportioning valve, a simple and inexpensive device designed to make the rear brakes actually do something.  My old Austin Cooper S had it; the MG Midget had it has well.  Without it the front brakes end up doing too much work, thus leading to overuse and overheating--exactly what Gernold noticed...

Sounds like when my bank account is replenished (goodness knows when that will ever happen with our rotten economy...)Gernold can do his magic on my car as well.  There are a couple of rattles that drive me up a wall, and I keep having to tell myself it's nearly 40 years old.  I suspect that experienced ears can tell where they come from, thus can go to the source of the noise and nip it in the bud!

Your kickdown switch is a novel idea, solves the dilemma of performance versus economy.  Of course you could have put in a nitrous system  if a 60 MPH pass was what you are looking for!

I do hope you plan on driving the car to one of the National Events this summer, or at minimum, to Joe's in July.  There'll be quite a few of us interested in what you've done!

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red w/Black Leather
Restored

[jeffc280sl]

Thanks Tom,

I'm currently working on my brakes at the moment so my question about the valve.  I looked at the stock valve on my car and it looks original.  It's larger and more complex than I imagined.  Looks like something that could be re-built with a kit, not unlike a master cylinder.  From the outside I'd say it has some sort of piston and spring mechanism which absorbs the some of energy directed to the rear calipers.  Have not decided what to do yet with this device.  If there is a piston and spring I could see seals breaking down over time causing problems.

Jeff C.
1970 280SL 4-speed

[graphic66]

I believe that proportioning valve is only on the 4 wheel disc brake 113's, not drum brake cars. My worst rattle on my 230SL was a mount separated from the radiator expansion tank bottom. The sound came in perfectly through the right chrome dash vent.

[Bob G ✝︎]

Tom:
How does the Mechatronic suspension compare to the John Olson coil springs and stock Bilsteins. I would like to know how low you went ith the front and rear of the car. It seems you have your car set up for performance an inhanced luxury.
It would be intrestiing to take your stock 1971 SL and do a rod stest comparsion
two thinks I have on my 280SL is a custom radiator and replaced the York compressor with a Nipindenso which puts out more cold air.
Keep us informed on your modifications.
Happy Motoring
Bob Geco

[Tom]

I asked about this valve.  After 30 years, the proportioning valve does not function well.  If you think about it, if the front and rear brake performed equally, braking would cause the rear to lock up every time (less weight).  So I guess this valve delivers more brake fluid pressure to the front and less to the rear.

If the rear brakes do not bleed well, it probably makes since to first check the rubber brake lines to see if they are occluded (closed).  If that does not fix the problem, then the proportioning valve needs to be replaced.  As Graphic noted, this valve is only found on cars with disc brakes.  I replaced this valve on my 92 Toyota Land Cruiser last year.

Bob, the Olsen springs are very good.  I think the difference is the combination of the new springs and the new shocks. I am not competent to explain why it performs as it does, but the handling is great.  The springs are much lower, and that alone would help the handling.  I am going to install the taller Mechatronik springs and see how they perform.

1971 280sl Tunis Beige Metallic (restored & enhanced)
1971 280sl Tobacco Brown (low mileage stock)
1970 280sl Deep Red (Project Car)

[George Des]

Tom in Boise,

When I installed the A/C in my 67 230SL I used a brand new parallel flow condensor--the biggest I could fit. I had purcahsed a smaller one but realized once I got it that I could actually fit a bigger one into the space. I used this on the theory that bigger is better especailly since I'm running R134a. In retrospect, I may have been better off fitting the smaller one since this would have allowed greater exposure of the radiator and a more effective cooling area for the cooling system. My temp has a tendency to go up a little over 90C when stopped in traffic on a normal (70F) day. This is w/o the a/c running. I'm running R134a and it blows cold enough to really cool things down particularly w/the hardtop on. The Sanden 508 I'm running has negligible draw on the engine and the RPMs do not drop even at idle when it kicks in--no vibration either.  I used an original FrigiKing underdash unit w/modified evaporator fitings and hoses to account for the increased pressure of the R134a. My compressor is mounted on a modified version of Bud's bracket that I cut out of 1/4" steel plate using a sabre saw a w/metal cutting blade lots of oil and lots of patience. Not even close to cutting butter, but it works. Rough edges were final finished with a high speed grinder. The trickiest part was finding a suitable sized Goodyear belt to run over the idler and the crank pulley I got from Joe Alexander. The system works but I still have some bugs to work out on the blower unit.

George Des

[hauser]

I believe that once Tom installs the taller Mechatronic springs we can definately call him our resident suspension Guru.

1969 280sl 5 spd
Gainesville, Fl.

[Tom]

Update Post:

Decided to go back to progressive rate springs and Bilstein shocks.  The competition suspension set-up was nice to drive for a while but I prefer a softer ride.

It's really hard to describe how much I am enjoying the car now that everything is working right.  Strong acceleration, great handling, and solid ride with no rattles-I am in love!  With the 3.27 rear-end, I can't hear the car engine/exhaust until I am above 60 mph-it's that quiet.  Now that everything works right, I am not even tempted to tinker with the thing (maybe I need another project car)?

I sat on the patio tonight and just looked at the car, admiring the lines, the chrome and the engine.

Hope everyone is having a great summer with their cars-whether they are running or you are working on getting them back on the road.

My preoccupation with these cars is an illness for which I plan to seek therapy (probably will go into therapy around Christmas, once the snow is on the ground and the car is tucked away for a long winter's nap).

Best,

Tom


1971 280sl Tunis Beige Metallic (restored & enhanced)
1971 280sl Tobacco Brown (low mileage stock)
1970 280sl Deep Red (Project Car)

[ja17]

Tom,
With all due respect, we hope the therapy does not work. You have made too many cotributions to the W113 cause to be cured from your addiction!    

Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

[Khurram Darugar]

Tom,
    Congratulations, super car!  
On the subject of suspension....
Did you ever consider John olsen sports springs (as opposed to progressive).  I recently spoke to him in regards to getting a set of progressive springs and he almost tried to talk me out of it in favour of the sports springs.  I think that is partly to do with my location, London, where narrow and twisting roads are the norm.  I was just wondering with your experience with suspension if you ever considered the sports springs.

Cheers
Kay

[norton]

Kay you should check Jim Villers post on springs before you over pay (like I did) for the Olsen springs http://sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=3855

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