My Pagoda Lives

[Bonnyboy]

I write this with tears in my eyes I'm so happy.

Today was the day that I turned the key on Benita and she fired right up and settled into a nice idle - first time in 20 some years. 

You may recall that I picked up a derilict 69 280sl in October of last year from my Father.  It had sat outside under a pile of lumber / inside on a dirt floor for 20+ years with an interior mostly apart and rust in all of the common areas (yes all) and mold on everything else.

For the first month I played with the body and used two cans of white spray paint and a little bondo to make the car look better. 

Mechanically the first thing I did was clean the tank, disassembled the fuel pump 2X, new fuel lines, new oil/filter, new gas filter, new antifreeze, made sure valves were all opening and closing properly, cleaned the old plugs and checked gaps .035, put in a new battery and she fired right up and settled into a nice idle.   I was not expecting that but then I should have realized that it is a mercedes.  I now have a car instead of a decoration in the garage.

Next I'm gonna take apart the brake system and play with the other fluids, put the interior back and figure out why the drivers seat won't stey up.  I have a brand new set of tires that I won from Yokohama that are calling out to me everytime I head to the garage - they want to go out and play.

THANK YOU THANK YOU to all of those that posted over the years so newbies like me could look up items I needed.

Yippeeeeeee   -  you guys and gals rock!

Ian

[Larry & Norma]

I'm really pleased for you must be a great feeling
Any pics?

[Cees Klumper]

Way to go Ian ... Kudos to you. Take care of those brakes and keep us posted (and remember no pics it didn't happen ;-)

[Peter van Es]

Good for you!

[71Beige280SL]

That is outstanding. Another one saved!

[steves sl]

Good Job! The more, Pagodas that is , the merrier.

[lurtch]

WOO! HOO!  Way to go Ian. 

Now the stage is set for that short road trip down to Anacortes, WA and then on out to my Pagodas on Orcas event this August . . . .

Regards, Larry

[Ulf]

Thumbs up from me! Hope you'll get it driving before summer :-)

[Bonnyboy]

I'm having more troubles putting in a picture than the fuel pump on the car....

I'll see if this works -  if it does this is what the car looks like now with two cans of spray paint on the rockers and rear fender - interior still in pieces and brakes getting redone.
Interior shot is when I uncovered it after sitting for 20 years - you can almost see parts from the dead cat in the front - it did stink.
Ian

[Bonnyboy]

Here are a couple more pictures of my pagoda-back in October when I unearthed her.


Pictures:  Up on axle stands, Coming out of the shed, Out in the fresh air, On the trailer coming home.

Ian

 

[J. Huber]

Coming along! I would have probably painted the rocker covers a dark grey or black but you can always do that later.

[49er]

Like others have said, Thank you for saving another one of these great automobiles. Looks like her new home is much nicer than where she spent the last 20 years of her life. Good luck on your restoration and keep us posted on your progress

John

[Bonnyboy]

James, thanks for the comment about the rockers. 

I live on the wet Coast of BC and see many different applications for rusty rockers, most of which include black paint, black tar undercoating, mactac, or hard plastic. 

To me black rockers looks like I'm trying to hide something.  Lord knows they were hiding lots of rust 20 yrs back. 

I'm sure Bracq had intended the rockers to be black to hide the bulk of the car but I like the look of body colour rockers - just a personal taste - it could change in a few weeks after I start getting rock chips but for now they are white. 

[71Beige280SL]

Those are some really great pictures. Love the fog lamps!

[Bonnyboy]

Today in a light rain I backed my car out of the garage and drove it down the back alley approximately 900 feet each way (900 X 4 = 3,600 feet or a little over 1/2 mile I think).  Its lunch so I figured nobody would catch me driving without insurance.  I was mainly checking the tranny, clutch and most importantly the new brakes and looking for leakages.

I had an offer to purchase the car on the spot from one of the crowd that emptied into the lane from a construction site and caught heck from my neighbour for never telling himn what I had in the garage. Is this indicitive of the attention I am going to receive?  

The car shifts ok, the revs seem a bit high at idle (1,200 or so) and the throttle seems wierd compared to my other vehicles - hard to explain but seems laboured when I press the throttle but I can feel that she wants to go.  Its not a linear acceleration like my motorcycle.  I only reved it to a max 2,500 rpm today and brought her into 2nd gear twice to see if she would actually drive and shift in and out of 1st, 2nd and reverse.  

Still no leakages so I guess its time for a full on burnout next time I go out (just kidding). The back up light stays on so that will be put on the list of things to do.  

Still lots of interior work to do (wires hanging down everywhere)

Ian

[gerster]

Good job so far Ian.

[Montreal V8]

  Hi Ian. Well done, must be very rewarding to hear it run after all its' idle years. Where are you in North Van?  I'm in Kits.
  Cheers, Dale.

[Bonnyboy]

Today at lunch I went at the interior just to see if what I have in the "big green garbage bag" was enough to make the interior look pretty.  Other than the floor mat that had the dead cat I think everything is still there and semi useable (signs that the DPO used a crowbar to snap off the aluminium trim....AAAARGH!) .  I just placed pieces back into the holes to see where things fit.   Have a look at what 25 minutes of work came up with...before and after.

The wood is warped so I am going to try to unwarp it before I install it.   Don't know how yet but apparently it was the reason the whole interior came apart. 

Ian

[gerster]

It's an European version to see the speed dialer in km/u. Very nice.

[Garry]

Good pickup Gerster,

Ian maybe we can do some sort of deal on a KPH for MPH speedo if you are interested in changing it over.

Garry

[Ulf]

Wow - quite a change! It really shows how much the little things matter in the big picture :-)

[Bonnyboy]

Garry - I live in Canada the land of kilometres and square metres.  Miles per hour wouldn't do me much good but thanks for the offer.

I pulled Benita out this morning and took a couple pictures and now she is starting to look like the rest of the cars on this board. 

[Iconic]

WOW, what in improvement. You've got a lot of great things going on with that car.
Congratulations on the first engine start.
There are very few automotive pleasures as great as that first startup of a car that has been sitting for a very long time, IMHO.
Enjoy the ride !!

[rb6667]

What a great story.    You made your dad proud!!!    Keep us posted on the progress

RB6667

[Bonnyboy]

Re making my Dad proud - the thing he can't get over is how nonchalant I am about ...the rust - the broken heater levers - the seized wipers - the rusty sub frame - the rusty everything - the broken seat - the plugged fuel pump - the plugged fuel tank - the rusted brake calipers and lines.......   

This Pagoda Sl Group has given me the answers necessary so far to make this process oh so enjoyable. 

I give him weekly updates and he finally stopped apologizing for the condition of the car just a couple months ago.  I explain to him if I was planning on going to look at a European barnfind that spent 20 years sitting idle not getting any exercise or love - I would expect much worse than what I have.   


Now just to figure out how to get rid of that dead cat smell - the carpets, the sound proofing is removed and the floor has been scraped clean and the car still stinks.......I have even bleached the floor..