Braded cloth wire insulator

[zoegrlh]

Does anyone know where I can get the "black braded cloth" used as the wire cover insulator in the trunk boot.  There is a cloth cover on the wires that comes off the main wire harness (left side of boot) along the left thunk bonnet hange to the overhead trunk light.  I am in need of 45CM.  Mine has become fraded.
Any help thanks.

Robert Hyatt
Williamsburg, VA.

1970 280SL, Red on Silver,4-speed, Euro spec; 1999 C230 Kompresser Sport, Black on Black; 1990 Miata, Black on Red, 5 Speed

[al_lieffring]

What I have done here is to remove the damaged section of fabric wire cover down by the hinge and pull down the undamaged material from inside the trunk lid.
The fabric extends all the way up to the light but only about 12 inches of it is visible. I leave a small section by the lamp with a gap in the middle where it is hidden inside the trunk box section. I tape over the exposed wires in the middle where they can not be seen.



Al Lieffring
66 230SL

[jameshoward]

Another way unless you're seeking to keep things strictly original is to unconnect the wires and put shrink wrap insulation over them. It's excellent stuff - you buy it in various lengths, colours and diameters, place it over wires and gently apply heat from a small blow torch. It shrinks (unsurprisingly) and provides excellent insulation and protection. I've used it quite a bit on my loom. Very easy to do and great results plus it's dirt cheap.

JH

[waltklatt]

Robert,
Go to one of the W108 or W109 sedans of the same era and cut out the wires to the trunk light.  Remove the light socket assembly from the trunk on the SL and unclip the plastic plug piece and unsolder the wire prongs.  Then slide the old cloth off and then slide the new cloth on.  Might help to clip the exposed copper wire nubs to the plastic sheath to ease the installation of the new cloth.  
Then strip some of the insulation off and resolder the prongs back on.  Install the plug pieces and insert the light socket piece and you are done.  Should not take longer than an hour if you are good.
Walter
1967 220Sl-diesel

[mdsalemi]

Robert,

With the utmost of respect for my and our friends Walt Klatt (and Joe Alexander, also guilty of such things!) who say in a most cavalier attitude, "just go to a junkyard and cut off the widget you need from a W[insert mid-60's vintage MB model number here]" AS IF we have junkyards in our backyard, and AS IF they might actually have a 1968 W108 in them.  We don't have junkyards in many parts of the country, (hardly any here anymore) and they don't have 40 year old Mercedes in them!!!  Last time I made an issue of this someone recommended "local" junkyards in Michigan--some that had been out of business for 25 years!  'Nuf said.  Who wants a 40 year old plastic part anyway?

NOW what YOU are looking for is called braided sleeving or tubular sleeving and is a common item in electronic cable assemblies.  You can either buy or order the stuff from a local electronic supplier or distributor (check local yellow pages or online) or you can order from an online distributor.

One such distributor is Mouser Electronics; page 886 in their catalog carries several kinds:

http://www.mouser.com/catalog/632/886.pdf

Alternatively you can search for surplus at reduced costs such as this:

http://www.skycraftsurplus.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=225

Like shrink tubing, you need to disassemble the cable on one end; put this stuff on and then reassemble.  Professional cable assemblies often have either end sealed with shrink tubing, and some of this braid actually is shrinkable with heat--depends on the type, style and manufacturer.

Hope this helps.

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
President, International Stars Section
Mercedes-Benz Club of America

[J. Huber]

quote:Originally posted by mdsalemi

Robert,

With the utmost of respect for my and our friends Walt Klatt (and Joe Alexander, also guilty of such things!) who say in a most cavalier attitude, "just go to a junkyard and cut off the widget you need from a W[insert mid-60's vintage MB model number here]" AS IF we have junkyards in our backyard, and AS IF they might actually have a 1968 W108 in them.  We don't have junkyards in many parts of the country, (hardly any here anymore) and they don't have 40 year old Mercedes in them!!!  ...
Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
President, International Stars Section
Mercedes-Benz Club of America

I had to chuckle when I heard this. Very true in these parts. Oh, we have a junkyard -- replete with various mangled and lifeless carcasses and the stench of oil, crud, and well, just stink... One day, I pulled up, just curious if there were any old Mercedes lurking in there. Well, there were actually a couple of sedans from maybe the early 8os -- but not much else. I did see a "pristine" rubber muffler donut hanging off one -- and darn if it doesn't look just like ours...so I grabbed it. The guy said "no charge" and "by the way, pretty car ya gots thar." I said, well I was hoping to find another old one here. He said, "believe me, if its come in, its going straight to my house!" Oh well -- there's nothing like a free donut!

James
63 230SL

[mdsalemi]

quote:Originally posted by J. Huber
I had to chuckle when I heard this. Very true in these parts.

Well, James--I try to provide useful information, that anyone sitting at a computer could actually pursue!

While I have used "junkyards" in the past, that was about 30+ years ago when there were some around, and even then they had late 1960's cars and early 1970's!

I have also used a few internet junkyards and a few known Mercedes recyclers.  But these guys know what they have.  There's no "just cut off...".  Everything has a price.

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
President, International Stars Section
Mercedes-Benz Club of America

[RBYCC]

quote:Originally posted by zoegrlh

Does anyone know where I can get the "black braded cloth" used as the wire cover insulator in the trunk boot.  There is a cloth cover on the wires that comes off the main wire harness (left side of boot) along the left thunk bonnet hange to the overhead trunk light.  I am in need of 45CM.  Mine has become fraded.
Any help thanks.

Robert Hyatt
Williamsburg, VA.

1970 280SL, Red on Silver,4-speed, Euro spec; 1999 C230 Kompresser Sport, Black on Black; 1990 Miata, Black on Red, 5 Speed

This product gives a look similar to the cloth cover...
http://cableorganizer.com/fray-resistant/



ED A.
1971 280SL
1988 300CE TWIN TURBO
1990 C43 AMG
2003 G55 AMG

[waqas]

Michael, with all due respect, just because most people don't have access to parts cars (whether junkyard or simply behind some mechanic's shop) does not mean that nobody wants to know about compatible parts between cars of the era.

Personally, I'm very happy that Joe Alexander and Walter Klatt share this info, so that if and when I ever come across such an opportunity (again, junkyard or other source), then I know what to remove from it. (I've a 108 parts car in the back, so I'm definitely biased here  :oops:   )

On the other hand, it's great that you always provide links to more readily accessible sources for everyone else...  

Waqas in Austin, Texas

[mdsalemi]

quote:Originally posted by waqas

Michael, with all due respect, just because most people don't have access to parts cars (whether junkyard or simply behind some mechanic's shop) does not mean that nobody wants to know about compatible parts between cars of the era.

Personally, I'm very happy that Joe Alexander and Walter Klatt share this info, so that if and when I ever come across such an opportunity (again, junkyard or other source), then I know what to remove from it. (I've a 108 parts car in the back, so I'm definitely biased here  :oops:   )

On the other hand, it's great that you always provide links to more readily accessible sources for everyone else...  

Waqas in Austin, Texas

Hi Waqas,

Citing compatibility of a W113 part with a W108 part (or W111 part of whatever) doesn't fundamentally answer the question that was asked--

"Where can I get"

At this point most people should know the compatibility of many MB cars of the era.  My point is that any car of that era isn't exactly easy to find for most of us.  Joe has a yard full of them; I know Walt Klatt has at least one, maybe more parts cars; and now I know YOU have one.  Most of us don't!  It would be so much harder for me to find a parts car that is often cited than to find the part!  I love Joe's and Walt's posts, but pointing to a parts car or a junkyard simply isn't helpful for the vast majority of us...I'm trying to provide useful timely information that anybody can use without a lot of effort...and I think I did that here.  Complete with catalog page, website, and even an alternative source!

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
President, International Stars Section
Mercedes-Benz Club of America

[George Des]

Try Rhode Island Wiring--they have all this stuff

GD

[Chad]

I appreciate hearing any type of information that the many knowledgeable members provide.  Hearing the readily accessible info like Michael provided is great, useful and satisfying.  Hearing about cross-referenced parts and compatibility is potentially useful also, but not always as Michael points out - however it is interesting and useful at least to know about the interchangeability of parts.  Nice to know what parts are used also in other chassis and what isn't. Many of us find parts on our cars that sometimes are slightly different and from other models/chassis as occasionally pointed out by experts like Dan Caron and Joe Alexander as well as others when they see a picture posted.  Anyway, all the info is great to hear.  You all are great.

By the way, I have never seen a 113, 108, 114, 115 parts car in a yard.  A few years back I picked over some 111 cars in Arizona and New Mexico when out there, but today can't even find an MG parts car.  These cars have become unusual to see quite some time ago, I suppose.

1967 230SL

[psmith]

Maybe it's a California thing, but there are quite a few junkyards in the bay area that specialize in Mercedes, BMW and other European cars.  The nearest one to me has 1 113, several 108's, a pontoon, and lots of 80's MBz's.  I find the best approach is to wear grubby jeans and a tee shirt and ask for some obscure part "for an old Mercedes" (try to say 113 instead of SL otherwise the price goes up).  Usually they will let me browse through the piles of wrecks in the yard. If you pay in cash they are more likely to bargain on the price.

Pete S.

[hands_aus]

I went to a local (Brisbane, Australia) MB wrecking yard and bought a 2 prong plug and base and then bought the boot lid light fitting and wiring from a 123 sedan.

After installing the light fitting and wiring to the car I then mounted the female base to the side support of the boot with a PK screw to an existing hole.
Fitting the plug top and base required dextrous use of a small soldering iron.
It is not standard but I used genuine MB parts and it looks genuine. It also eliminates the problem of broken wires to the boot light.


Bob Smith (Brisbane,Australia)
RHD,1967 early 250 SL, auto

[glennard]

All I want for Xmas is--- a ZF tranny, a new soft top, compression, a new wiring harness, perpetual lubrication, new leather, a backup temp capillary, -------.  Santa, I've been good.