What have you done to your Pagoda today?

[Garry]

Won the best engine bay on show and second in Sl class.  I had not done my seats at that point!!!!  it was in 2013.  Have not entered since in anything.  I might give it a go for best in show next year if it is still clean but I am having trouble with some oil leaks that I just  dont seem to be able to get right yet.  Am going to give it to a good MB mechanic next week for a couple of weeks to see how he goes with it.

[Jkalplus1]

Love your engine Garry. Do you just keep using aluminum polish on the valve cover or does it have a coating? It looks freshly cast, very natural and right...
Jerome

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Very cool indeed Garry

let us find a word that covers it all .... Ausgezeichnet !!!! (excellent)

[Garry]

Jerome,

After it was peened, I have not done anything with it other than wipe it over so it is all a bit down hill from here until the next restoration that will not be in my life as custodian  

[JamesL]

Drove mine!

[dseretakis]

Woke it up from hibernation and changed the oil.

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

dseretakis,

Why so late it's almost fall Hardtop on or in the stand?

Happy Pagoda motoring, when you get there

[dseretakis]

Sadly I was too busy to drive it this summer! Hardtop is always in the stand! Hopefully I'll get some good fall motoring in:)

[Jkalplus1]

I clayed the car, watched a bunch of Youtube videos on buffing, read forum threads on buffing, then I decided to trust myself and buff my car with a rotary buffer.  At first I wanted to trust a pro with the job, but after reading in here from pros who routinely do it on our cars I felt confident I could do it.  And the level of quality I require would likely have cost me close to a thousand dollars, plus the hassle of driving the car to and from the detailing shop.  These shops have to earn a living, and they will provide quality work a at price point.  To get the perfect job requires many, many hours, which means the "Concours" 700$ package, not the 300$ executive package.

On top of that I find they are not too eager to work on my car.   They prefer to buff new BMWs and Audis. 

I did a trial run on the trunk lid. I figured if I screwed it up it it was the easiest panel to take apart and to the paint shop.

No need.  The trunk panel came out absolutely gleaming.  It took me a little while to get accustomed to working the buffer, but once you "get" the compounding agent, and how to progressively lighten pressure it works really well.  Next in line: the hood. 

The paint only has the minor spiderwebs and RIDS that are normal on a 8 year old paint, on a car that was under a cover in a garage when not driven.  I noticed them the last time I waxed it for last weekend's concours.  I guess the paint surface deterioration on a pampered car is progressive so you don't really notice easily when you are the one taking care of the car.  Kind of like becoming fat: if it happened overnight we would be horrified, same with swirls and spiderwebs.

I have to figure out a safe way to do the rounded and recessed curved parts now.  If unsure I will do it with my random orbit machine and by hand.
Jerome

[Jkalplus1]

Finished buffing the whole car. No incidents. Empowering not depend on specialists. Discovered the wonderful properties of rubbing alcohol to restore dash knobs. Removes stickiness, restores black better than anything else I've tried so far. Good stuff.

[Flyair]

Today I have had finally installed the side panels with new boards. The old ones were bended due to water infiltration and general humidity. They were also cut too short, which looked rather ugly especially when the doors were open.
The upholsterer used the old MBTex that he dissociated from the old boards and glued it on to the new ones. He also added a rubber pad to make the MBTex get some relief. This gives also a very comfy touch to it.
Nothing exciting in itself, but as those who went through that know that no door is similar and the job requires some serious and smart adjusting workmanship. The result is truly excellent.

There is one piece of advice I'd like to share: I initially bought the boards from a reputable German supplier. The board I got were cut out of a normal, good quality, fibreboard. The upholsterer discard them on the basis that even if he impregnated them, they would not compare favourably with special water-resistant boards made for the yachts, that he cut for me to measure. So, the lesson is that even reputable suppliers sell low quality stuff.

     
 

[Montreal V8]

   Today I finally fitted a parallel flow condenser, final stage of 134a upgrade. Previously fitted a Sanden compressor, and finally gave up trying to stop leaks at the "original" peculiar two condenser setup. Seems to work very well, nice and cool even though I may have it undercharged slightly, as both pressures are a bit low. Yippee - it finally works, 134a and all.
   I had previously converted my '87 El Camino to134a, simply changed the receiver/drier and fitted the necessary charge ports. That was app. 10 years ago, with the much maligned R4 compressor, and haven't touched it since.
   Next serious challenge will be to attempt to get the dubious AC working in my '71 Alfa Montreal - to say it's primitive is being kind !!  Wish me luck.   Dale, in sunny Vancouver.

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Reinstallation of my radiator was completed today after re-core. A radiator shop in our little town that also handles race and track cars did a fine job $403 to re-core plus plus antifreeze $24- and tax all is well again with my Blue Tornado

[harleydan]

Today, I finished the center wood console makeover.  The original brown putty paint on the wood was getting a bit tattered after my 35 years of ownership and I never did like the wood being somewhat painted.  Since I do not show my car, and I wanting to more match the glossiness and visibility of the wood grain of the non-stardard Nardi wooden steering wheel and the Nardi wooden shift knob,  I tackled this particular task.  I first removed the wooden bottom of the console, giving two separate pieces and less curves/corners to work with.  I then used an electric sander with 200 grit sandpaper (I did not read from the forum until later not to use a electric sander because of the thin thin wood veneer) to remove most of the paint and it came out fine.  Next by hand, I used progressively smoother sandpaper to get rid of more paint and to smooth the wood.  I used two different shades of Minwax stain in my attempt to get closer to the Nardi steering wheel color....I put down the stains about five times (two times of one color and three times of the other color).   I used many very thin coats of Minwax Spar Urethane spray to provide the glossiness and UV protection.  It is not as glossy nor does it have as thick of the clear coat as the Nardi steering wheel (because I wanted the console to look and feel more like real wood instead of plastic).  

On the reattachment of the bottom, I only had 11 of the original 18 staples remaining (because I threw all 18 them out in the garage can, thinking that I would replace them all but upon reading through the forum someone said to save the staples for reuse, and after rummaging through the garbage I could only find 11), so I  used the closest modern staples that I could find for the other 7.  The other 7 staples were Arrow Wide Crown #608 which came in a box of 1000.  I  manually and carefully hammered the individual staples in place by using the original holes.  Since those Arrow staples were silver and not black like the originals, I used a black Sharpie-like pen to color them black.  I also used the pen to color the original 11 staples so all the staples would look the same. (Nobody would see the underneath of the console but I would know. )

In addition, I used new black hardware to mount the console back in place....I used two black countersink screws with collars to hold the console in place and to minimize damage by spreading the screw holding area...For the fog light section of the console,  three black raised round hex screws on the top was utilized; and a washer, lock washer, and nut on the bottom.  I am very pleased with the result.  

I would like to do the other wood pieces of the car but do not want to go through the removing and installation of those pieces as it seems much more difficult than the center console.  Maybe one day.  Nevertheless, the console has been transformed!

Danny
1970 280SL silver Euro 4-peed

[JamesL]

Needs pictures as it sounds like a great job!

[harleydan]

Below are two pictures of the refinished console that I finished last week and wrote about earlier.  The first one is with the console carpet and the second without the console carpet.

Danny
1970 280SL silver Euro 4-speed

[KevinC]

Reinstallation of my radiator was completed today after re-core. A radiator shop in our little town that also handles race and track cars did a fine job $403 to re-core plus plus antifreeze $24- and tax all is well again with my Blue Tornado

Rolf-Dieter,

Just to confirm, did the shop use MB anti-freeze?

Kevin

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Hi Kevin,

I used antifreeze manufactured by "Zerex" as recommended by Mercedes I recall reading here in the forum as well by Joe Alexander that this is the one to use. I will test the 50/50 mixture I used on a regular basis and properly will change it every 2 to 3 years ,,, thanks for asking.

[rico_vancouver]

I had my door dings (professionally) removed recently, using the paintless dent removal process. I have many paint flaws, and chips where the hardtop has been poorly aligned during 30 years' worth of removal/replacement. But for some reason, all I could see when I looked at my car, was the silly door dings. So after 15 years of ownership, I finally took it to Dent King here in Vancouver. $400 later, and I am immediately regretting not doing this when I bought it. I can't even tell where the dents were.

So I then decided to tackle the remaining paint chips on the passenger side door and front fender. For those that are not comfortable sanding their paint with a 1000-grit block, then I suggest you leave it to professionals. But for those who are handy with rubbing compound and an orbital buffer, it's an easy job.

With a black car, it was simple to find touch-up paint. I simply dabbed paint into the 1/2 dozen or so chipped areas until the new paint exceeded the surface of the surrounding paint. I let each application cure for a day or more between applications. The small chips took about 3 coats, one the size of an pencil eraser took about 5, and a large dime-sized one took around 7 coats. Once comfortable that all dings were completely "overfilled", I set to work with a 1000-grit Meguiars unigrit sanding block. I soaked mine in a dish of water, then used a little car wash soap as lubricant. With light pressure, I worked the block back-and-forth on the affected area. I add more soap often, and checked the surface by feel. Once there is no shiny area around the paint bump, and the area feels smooth, I wipe down the area and see if there are any prominent scratches from the block. A few more seconds of irregular sanding motion gets rid of those. I then use rubbing compound to remove the hazy scratches, then switch to a finer polish to bring up a glassy shine. All I had on hand was Meguiars swirl remover, but now my dings are gone and the door shines like new.

I'll do some more touch up work over the winter, and then will do a full polish and wax with my orbital, but for now, I'm thrilled with the way it looks. I'd post pics, but I didn't have the photographic skills to capture before and after images of paint imperfections.

[mmizesko]

To Prepare for a few hundred mile trip to Put-in-Bay tomorrow, Joe Alexander and I tuned up the car, new bosch points and condenser, NGK plugs, Changed oil and filter, Torqued the head, Adjusted the valves and linkages, Put in a NOS battery hold-down I found, replaced a cloudy side view mirror glass, and I replaced a cracked seat back vent.  This fall, I want to replace my timing chain, check all of my injectors, and replace my auto transmission stick bushings (and replace a cracked gate).

She is running great!

Mike Mizesko
Columbus, OH

[jaymanek]

I am having trouble with some oil leaks that I just  dont seem to be able to get right yet.  Am going to give it to a good MB mechanic next week for a couple of weeks to see how he goes with it.

Just messaged you Garry but im on the facebook page of MB Spares who are down the road from you? Have you tried them?

[harleydan]

Topped off the tires with nitrogen gas to their recommended pressures.

Danny
1970 280SL Silver Euro 4-speed

[69280sl]

There are other more needy "to do's" but I had my air cleaner can powder coated. Havn't re-installed it, now I'm afraid it will make other engine bay components look shabby.

For those that keep track of prices and costs; it was $50 USD for sandblasting, one coat of base/primer and one coat of semi-gloss black.

Gus

[nirmal]

After a period of inactivity I have finally started to work on my car.

1. Got the hard top to a workshop, had it scraped to remove the rust and got a full paint job done. Have not used the hardtop but keeping my options open.
2. Got the fuel injection rump overhauled  by Robert Fairchild ( Great service and reasonable )
3.The linkages column from the Technical Manual was a great help.
4.Complete oil and filter change. Also changed fuel filter.

Now plan to install the 123 distributor this week.

The in Dubai improves from October onwards so I now plan to use the 280 sl and my newly acquired 1953 MG TD regularly.

Nirmal
1969 white 280 sl
1953 yellow MG td
2012 Jaguar XJ

[pj]

I took my 230SL to Dan's workshop this week. Chrome and accessories are coming off the back half and it will get a body massage and new paint. This is a big step for me. Hope to be back on the road in early spring.