How one Pagoda turned into four..

[twistedtree]

So no lights or reflectors would be factory-correct?  I'm slowly trying to sort out just how original these cars are.  I'm learning fast, but still have a LONG way to go.

Any expert members in VT/NH interested in taking a look and helping me learn?  They are located not far from Hanover, NH and White River Junction, VT

[dseretakis]

Here are some pictures after a sponge bath inside and out.

Those are some great shots.  Are you going to have all four in the garage at once?  What an amazing photo all 4 cars together in the garage would make! 

[twistedtree]

Those are some great shots.  Are you going to have all four in the garage at once?  What an amazing photo all 4 cars together in the garage would make! 

Yes, I'm sure I'll get them all in there together in time.  The third is in an adjacent room right now.  Most of my shop is full of kitchen cabinets being painted as part of a renovation I have going on so you can barely move, let along get another car in there.  But I'll get my shop back in a couple of weeks and then I can move all the boys in together.  It will be like a bunk room for them.

[dseretakis]

Keep the photos coming.

[twistedtree]

Here's a quick update.

All four boys are back at my shop now.  As soon as I have them all in one room, I'll snap a picture.  Maybe someday I'll get a lift, then they will have bunk beds:)

Anyway, I've remain focused on the '70 280SL mostly because it's the only one with a 4-speed.  So far I've flushed and cleaned the gas tank, replace filters, replaced the plugs and wires, installed a Crane ignition system, replaced the clutch hydraulics, adjusted the throttle linkage, adjusted the air bypass mixture, un-seized the wipers, by-passed the dash light dimmer, removed the heater lever assembly to replace the levers (waiting on one more lever to finish it), put the cooling system back together, ordered new tires, fixed misc lights, got the car running, and drove it around the barn yard.  It seems to run well, but I won't really know until I take it for a real test drive.

Now the car is on jacks with one side of the front end apart for a re-build, but I got replacement king pins that appear corroded on the bearing surface, so I need to return them for another set.

The list of unknowns is getting shorter and sorter - at least for this car.  Still three more to go.

[john.mancini]

Great story. You'll have a ball with these cars and parts.
John

[Flyair]

what a great story! although I spotted your post only today, I enjoyed reading it as if it happened yesterday..... one is never tired of reading about Pagodas.... Please do not make us wait too much for the next part about your multi-Pagoda restoration battle
Stan  

[twistedtree]

what a great story! although I spotted your post only today, I enjoyed reading it as if ithappened yesterday..... one is never tired of reading about Pagodas.... Please do not make us wait too much for the next part about your multi-Pagoda restoration battle
Stan 

Thanks.  I've gotten side tracked a bit  moving back into a house that we restored, and getting the floors in my shop/barn epoxy coated.  The good thing is that the shop now looks like an operating room.  Hopes of having one running this summer looks grim, but perhaps for the fall.....

[Louis]

Has anything new been happening with your 4 adoptees?  I just read through this story and see it hasn't had any updates in a long time ....

[twistedtree]

Has anything new been happening with your 4 adoptees?  I just read through this story and see it hasn't had any updates in a long time ....

Yes, and thanks for asking.  I've got 2-1/2 of them running, but none drivable yet.  I've got the next week free to work on them and hopefully a bunch more time over the winter.

The '70 is pretty close.  I still have to do the king pins on one side and reassemble the dash, and it still needs some tuning.  Then I think it's ready to go.  Still ugly, but ready to drive.

I got the '67 running a couple of months ago.  It turns out it wasn't completely put back together, so it was a bit of a treasure hunt to find all the disconnected hoses etc and get them reconnected.  After that it fired right up.  Now I'm going through a full setup of the engine from scratch - everything was off.  The trans is slipping too, but I'm pretty sure it's just a setup problem.  The three position solenoid was set up completely wrong (including being cross wired with the pressure switches), and I just found another disconnected line resulting in a giant vacuum leak.  Right now I'm thinking I'll get this one fixed up and sell it to free up some room.

So far I haven't touched the '65.

The '64 is the "1/2".  It kicks and sputters but doesn't run consistently.  I've done nothing to fix it except repair the cold start injector which was flooding.  Next step is to clean the fuel system.  It's contents are probably 20+ years old.

[twistedtree]

This week was pretty productive, with time focused on the '67 230 with a 280 motor.  I got the linkages set up correctly, tracked down all the disconnected hoses and hooked them back up, plugged a major oil leak from a missing mounting bolt for the PS pump bracket, bled the power steering so it's not spraying fluid all over every time you shut off the motor, put the idler arm back together so the arm is actually screwed into the top cap rather than just flopping around, replaced tie rods on both sides, got belts tightened so the PS pump and water pump are actually working.  At this point the engine actually runs pretty well, but it's still racing and never comes all the way down to idle after warming up.  I've tracked it down to the WRD which isn't closing completely despite an operative heat feeler and a free plunger mechanism.  I'll have to shim it to solve the problem.  The good news is that if I block the air intake the engine speed drops right down to a nice purr, so I'm pretty confident this will fix the most glaring problem.

The other great news is that I got the transmission working.  I had previously fixed all the miss-wiring on the 3 position solenoid and gotten that working, but was still getting almost total slippage in both forward and reverse.  With a bunch more fussing and adjusting of the linkage I was able to get proper modulator pressure in all three positions, and presto, now I get solid and firm shifts into forward and reverse.

[twistedtree]

The first car emerged today and is on it's way to market!  My plan continues to be to keep two and sell two, and I need to get at least one sold to make room and allow me to focus on the others.  The first to market is the '66 230SL with a 280 motor.  It's off to the detailing shop tomorrow, and I'm hopeful it will emerge as a respectable driver with many original features.  The front fenders are original with the spot welds intact, there is little to no rust, and I believe the interior is original.

[dtuttle123]

Peter -

Not only has one 230SL emerged - but you have become quite the expert in these cars in a very short period of time!  Nothing like throwing you in the deep end of the pool to teach you how to swim!  Keep us posted on the prices in the market if you get a buyer, and I look forward to getting together with you this summer - we're planning another event in Maine!   (I will be measuring the hight of your 280SL from the hubcap to the fender!) 

[twistedtree]

Yes, sink or swim.  I'm swimming, but just barely with 4 cars weighing me down  .  I do have mixed feelings about letting one go, but my shop is too crowded and it's a bit overwhelming bringing 4 cars back to life.  Besides, the only way to diversify my car collection is divest myself of a few.  I bought an old Volvo 142E that I have yet to pick up and need to make room.  I know, it's not a glamorous car, but there is a warm place in my heart for them.  I also want to get a BMW 3.0 CS.

[twistedtree]

Here's a quick update.  The first car out of the barn was the '66 230SL with a 280 motor.  I offered it for sale back in May but the bids came in a bit under my reserve.  After that I went away on a 3 month boat trip and the car sat until I returned in August.  Well, the good news is that it sold and is just awaiting pickup for shipping to the UK.

I'm now looking forward to getting the '64 and the '70 roadworthy so I can bring them to Ashville for the 50th celebration.  That should keep me focused between now and then.  Anyone want to start a pool on whether they make it

[twistedtree]

Reading back through this, I see I haven't updated it in a while, and there has been a bunch more progress.

Per the above posting, the '66 was brought back to full road-worthiness and has been sold.

The '64 has also come a long way and runs and drives around the yard.  I had the injection pump, feed pump, and CSV rebuilt by H&R, plus they cleaned and tested the injectors.  But even after that it's not running 100%, and I've identified some vacuum leaks where the manifold and head meet.  Also, the front frame mounts are shot, so these issues are next on my list.  Oh, I also replaced the fuel tank with a new one.  Some of the rear brake lines were replaced along the way and its a real hack job and is leaking, so I'll be making up some new brake lines and will replace the hoses at the same time.  I also expect to replace the shocks, engine mounts, and rear suspension mounts along the way.  Then we'll see how it actually drives on the road.....

The '70 got set aside a while ago in favor of getting the other cars running.  It has new king pins on one side, but I still need to do the other side, and I also have a new gas tank to install in that car too.  The dash is also partly (maybe mostly) disassembled as part of replacing the heater control levers, so all that needs to go back together.  Then it will be time to see how that one drives too.  After that, it's just a matter of making them pretty :

[twistedtree]

And then there were two.....

A few months ago I posted an ad for the '65 230SL (with 250 motor) in as-is condition.  Other than poking around the car a bit, I hadn't touched it since purchase.  The two cars I'm currently working on are keeping me plenty busy, and I was feeling like having gone less project staring back at me would be good.

The sale was a halfhearted effort, but a few weeks ago off it went to a new home if Florida.  Now all focus is on the '64 and '70 to make at least one reliably drivable for Williamsburg.  I'm not going for cosmetics at all, just a reliable car.

[Flyair]

How about some pictures, please

[twistedtree]

Well, my last post here was in 2013 leading up to Williamsburg.  Unfortunately I didn't make it after breaking the mounting ear off my alternator just prior to departure.

Now the push is on again to get the '64 230SL in dependable driving condition to make the trip to PUB 2015.  It runs, but I all I've done is run it up and down our dirt road a few times.  I still have the hood and hard top removed for easier work access, but the side effect is that I'd rather not drive it in the rain, and it's been raining.  Hopefully over the next few days it will dry out a bit and I can start to give it a real run to see what I've got and what I'm still up against.  I hope I'm close.  So far the projects completed are (as best I can remember off the top of my head):

- Replaced front frame mounts
- Replaced engine mounts
- Replaced brakes all around
- Rebuilt brake booster
- Rebuilt fuel injection pump and associated components including cold start valve and injectors
- Installed 123 distributor
- Replaced all the rear suspension bushings including the top carrier bushing.
- Replaced the tie rods
- Rebuilt/resealed the power steering gear that was leaking horribly.
- Replaced the fuel tank and fuel gauge sender
- Replaced the speedo cable
- Reinstalled the original air valve
- Set up the linkage
- Checked the automatic transmission pressures
- New Vredsteins all around.
- Replaced numerous light bulbs
- Replaced the alternator and belts
- Replaced the shocks all around.
- Rebuilt the fuel pump

So mechanically it's looking pretty good, except of course for the things that I haven't come across yet....  What it really needs now is time on the road to shake out all the remaining problems.  The car has been worked on, but not restored so it's no looker.  But I think it is a mostly intact example of a very early 230.  It's chassis number 1946, and number 200 with an automatic transmission.  All number match, except the transmission which was replaced somewhere along the way.

[Iconic]

What's the status of your '70 280 SL?
Can that be driven to PUB 2015?

[twistedtree]

What's the status of your '70 280 SL?
Can that be driven to PUB 2015?

That would be even more of a stretch than the 230.  I haven't touched it in several years, instead focusing on the 230.  At a minimum I would need to put in a new gas tank (I already have it, fortunately) reinstall the injectors that I had tested and cleaned, and put the dash back together.  Then start it and see what I've got.  And it's generally in rattier shape than the 230.

I'm making slow but steady progress on the 230.  It's running and I'm driving up and down our little road testing things out.  The biggest issues is that the engine has zero balls.  It revs ok in neutral, but under load it's got nothing.  I backed into a steep driveway to turn around, and it couldn't get back up the hill.  I just finished a quick series of experiments with different timing and it had little effect.  I then tried a poor-man's mixture adjustment by lengthening the FIP rod by three turns.  It ran much better.  Then I tried three more turns and it got better still.  So pretty clearly I have a lean mixture.  Now I'll go richen it up on the main rack and move forward from there.  I've got a wide-band air fuel mixture meter which is helpful, but on my little short runs it's nearly impossible to get any sort of steady load/speed to get a stable reading.  I need to get the car running well enough to get out on the paved roads for the meter to really be of much help.

[Iconic]

I've heard many people have had great results from the "Linkage Tour" found here on our website in the Tech Manual for us Full Members only !   

[Garry]

Peter,

I agree with Mark, you need to run through the "Linkage Tour" in the Tech Manual to get it set up properly otherwise you will be going around in circles and probably making it worse on one way or another.

Garry

[twistedtree]

Thanks.  I know the linkage tour very well, and am utilizing it as a test tool, hence the artificial lengthening of the FIP control rod.  It's just a simple way to play with mixture variation.

[twistedtree]

OK, we have progress. After chasing down a shift linkage issue and verifying that I have all 4 speeds in the transmission, I've been able to get out for some more meaningful test drives.  The main rack only needed a little tweaking in the end, and the car now drives acceptably - at least for now.  According to the AFR meter, mixture under load and at idle are good, but just cruising around with a very light load the engine runs real lean (15-16), so I'll need to sort that out in time.

Over the course of my test drives I also surfaced a cracked hose running between the radiator and expansion tank, and a hose to the heater with an un-tightened clamp.

Other wise the car seems to run well.  The steering is good, suspension is good (love having new bushings everywhere), brakes are good, instruments work.  It still looks like hell, but definite progress is being made....