Rotisserie Restoration

[TATO]

I started to restore my 230sl, in the process I have to buy new rubber seals (all of them will be replaced). There are several places in the US where I can get them, like Miller's, Bud's, etc. Any suggestions where to buy them, because I noticed different prices.
Thank you all

[IXLR8]

Hi--

I made up an EXCEL spreadsheet and populated it with vendor name, part name part number and price.

Then, I bought the least expensive items from each vendor respectively.

What I found surprising was that some prices have a range of 6 or more--that is, from one vendor to another, the identical part could cost 6 times as much from one vendor versus another.


the other Joe

[IXLR8]

hi--

I forgot to include the list of vendors I used, including Bud's, Miller's, K&K, AutohausAZ, Rock, and Stores which list on eBay--poforauto, import baron, lagunaguy, Benzrestorer, etc.


the other Joe

[Dave H]

I am 6 months into a rotisserie restoration myself, a very good starting point for rubber is AutohauzAZ....search on their site for your model car ie
"mercedes 230sl".....this opens up another window ,click on"bodytrim + lighting"....this opens another window,click on "weatherstripping and moulding",
and the prices are fantastic,....with pictures included....some purists on the forum might argue that they are URO parts/not mercedes own but i can vouch for the quality and its top notch.
I started off with a budget of $70,000 to source the car and complete the restoration but i am allready close to $80,000 with no end in sight .
AutohauzAZ stock 1/2 to 2/3rds of the rubber you will need.
They also stock thousands of other Genuine Mercedes items you will be needing, at a fraction of the price of the other suppliers mentioned in the post.
I have no affiliation with Autohauz...i live in the UK ! check it out as a starting point !

[TATO]

Thank you both,
Joe if you have the excel I will appreciate it, and Dave< I was told to buy only OEM weather stripping, what is your experience with the rubber seals that you bought from Autohauz , because is cheapper than other vendors.
Thanks
 

[Dave H]

Half my seals are from AutohausAZ, half were ordered direct from Mercedes in Germany,all i can say is that i cannot for the life of me see any quality problems with either, its just one lot cost me 4 times the price ! reasureingly expensive is how a salesman would put it.....
I am a mechanical engineer and if it aint right its not going on my car and the Autohauz seals are just as good...i think any quality issue down the line would be down to the chap fitting it !these cars are a bottomless pit anyway so budget on total outlay of $100000 minimum when doing a correct rotisserie restoration.
Any other kind of restoration is just putting paper over the cracks ,as you can only ever do half the car but then you know this allready
Have you seen the restored pagodas on the motoringinvestments.com site? Wow !

[IXLR8]

Hi--

I've been asked for a copy of the EXCEL file, but I can't figure out how to attach it.

Anyway, my prices are about three years old, so you'd have to research them again.


the other Joe

[Peter van Es]

Excel files can be attached only by creating a .ZIP archive from them. Those you can attach.

Peter

[getsmart]

thanks the other Joe, I'm blown away by the price differences !!! I have a lot of research to do/updating of my own excel file...as I begin to purchase parts for my own rotisserie restoration...

From the other Joe squared