Restoration Difficulty Level

[GGR]

Get well Andy. The priority is your health and your family. The Pagoda can wait.

[kampala]

Andy

Seriously wishing you a full recovery.  While not being able to work on the car you can help advise others based on your pagoda experience.  As you know, blood clots are not to be taken lightly --- take care  ---- and keep us up to date. 

[andyburns]

Just when I thought I had seen the last of it and on the home straight. Bang... back in hospital being scanned for clots in the lungs.  This game is now getting a little serious for my liking.

I scenerly hope that when I bring the 113 motor back into life i don't have this sheer amount of bad luck.  I really wish I could be reporting on putting my soft top back in rather this malarkey.   

Feeling like a second hand pin cushion.

[Bonnyboy]

At least you are in the right place to have this malarkey happen.   Here is hoping that the hospital can load you with enough draino to dissolve those little suckers and you can recover fully so that the occasional burn't arm or cut thumb it the worst of your worries.  Stay calm and remember the car is already 45+ yrs old so another little bit time won't matter.   

They say life is too precious to waste it with the wrong car.  You have the right car, so you can focus 100% on getting better.

[andyburns]

Thanks guys for all your kind words.  It really has been great reading them all in the hospital while waiting around.  Really boosted my spirits.

Good news is that after a quick contrast die CT scan they have for the time being ruled out a PE.  I had a serious PE 12 years ago in England after breaking my leg and it almost killed me so I was quite anxious going into the scan today.  Because of the history they didn't piss about and even though the past 8 hours has been hell the relief is overwhelming.  Back home after a 9 hour stint.  There is simply nothing as good as your own bed, shower and toilet!

Hopefully this is my last health related post!!!!!!!!!!!

[pdc]

Good news is that Andy,

Get plenty good rest and take time to recover.

There is plenty very valuable and informative messages from you we can read again during your recovery.

[Peter van Es]

Good to hear, Andy… Now don't go an overdo it again straight away…. we don't mind if this series takes a little longer to finish!

Peter

[andyburns]

The most stupid 3 seconds of my life... so far

I just got the MRI scans back from the surgeon today and feel quite sick.   I thought I would share in graphic representation with you guys the undeniable consequences of not using the correct technique to lift even moderately heavy items on your car. 

More than happy to be the poster boy for stupidity in here if even one of you guys remember this post when working on your car and don't end up in the same situation.  Trust me its far far far from pleasant.  At worst life changing. 

Three stupid seconds of lack of cognitive thought.

[JamesL]

OUCH!

Actually, double ouch!!

[Tomnistuff]

Thanks, Andy, for the heads-up, the warning about lifting the transmission and the graphic image of what can be the result.  I've lifted my transmission several times recently, moving it around to get it out of the way of other work, fortunately without the results you obtained.  You've taught me my lesson.  As Edgar Allen Poe said, "Nevermore!"  As I age, (70 in 6 months), my young brain forgets about my old body - to my detriment.

As winter approaches here, I expect that you are in the midst of springtime.  You probably can't wait for summer to arrive, but resist it and take the long view.  I wish you all the best, without pain, and with a quick and durable healing.

Tom Kizer
Quebec, Canada

[andyburns]

Tom I am sure a man of your caliber would never make the same dumb ass mistake. Also the fact you have made it through to 6 months off 70 without issue would indicate that you have sensibly heeded the advice all through your life.   Given your engineering background you have probably had this drilled into you all your life and its become instinctive?  Me I am really just a glorified desk jockey more familiar with pressing keys than turning spanners.  My enthusiasm just got the better of me.

At 43, with quite a bit of my working life ahead of me this isn't a good time for this to happen.  Still have the family to feed.  I have just yesterday had to let my prized W108 go and have sold it, cheaply in my opinion, to a very persistent guy here in NZ who has wanted the car for some years.  It will get me out of the current hole I am in and ease the burden for me to go back to work prematurely and risk further injury.  It a huge loss to me as I really loved the car and would have liked to have had the two restored mercs sitting side by side in the garage.  That was the dream.

[RobSirg]

Sorry to hear about you parting with that beautiful car Andy - it was surely in too notch condition too. Any one of us would kill for one of your cars ( watch your back! - pun intended )

The spine is an amazing thing - they say it can take up to 300kg I believe in a straight downward load but lift a 5kg baby the wrong way, and you can be screwed for life. As I have twin 2 year olds I have keep reminding myself about this.

Hope you buy that car back some day

Cheers

Rob

[andyburns]

Cheers Rob, yes you are perfectly correct about the weight not being an issue.  I had actually straddled the box correctly between my legs.  It was when I tried to push the gearbox forward to engage the spline that I got into trouble.  The engine was suspended off the ground a couple of inches on the crane and I was picking up the entire weight of the gearbox.  In hindsight I should have blocked the engine off the ground and used the crane to take the majority of the weight of the gearbox.  Ancient history now.

The W108 is a freak that I will probably never see the likes of again.  One owner NZ new.  Absolutely no rust or dents.  No body fill at all.  Right down to the original carpets which still look new.  Unheard of.

It makes my 113 look like a piece of swiss cheese even though the 113 is a pretty good example.

It really makes me angry they are worth so little on the open market still.  Even in this condition.  If you were to pay someone to get it into this condition it would be 100k.

[GGR]

Don't blame yourself for your back. Many DIYers move heavy stuff around with no bad consequences. In your case you may have done a wrong move or something was weak in your back already. You couldn't know. C'est la vie. What's important now is to take care of it properly, which starts by not making it worse. So don't get back into your garage before it's really OK to do so. All my wishes for your recovery. 

[getsmart]

fortunately I can only squat 299kg !!!! 

Joe 

Sorry to hear about you parting with that beautiful car Andy - it was surely in too notch condition too. Any one of us would kill for one of your cars ( watch your back! - pun intended )

The spine is an amazing thing - they say it can take up to 300kg I believe in a straight downward load but lift a 5kg baby the wrong way, and you can be screwed for life. As I have twin 2 year olds I have keep reminding myself about this.

Hope you buy that car back some day

Cheers

Rob

[getsmart]

How you feeling Andy ?

Joe

[andyburns]

Hi Joe,

Feeling a bit better thanks.  Good enough to start thinking about doing 'stuff' again.  I managed to drag my sorry ass out of bed yesterday and do a bit of light bead blasting.  Probably the very last lot I ever have to do thankfully.  Rats and mice of the engine bay.  Even half an hour in front of the machine really tired me out but a good sense of satisfaction in actually doing something constructive.  I was driving myself crazy.

I have been carefully working on all the very very light stuff that isn't going to compromise my recovery.  Decided to tackle the cold start valve mechanism first. 

After stripping it all back I discovered that the main inlet fitting has a very very fine gauze filter on it.  By the looks its actually two butted up against each other.  Trying to blow through mine it was almost entirely blocked.  I have no idea how the car started so well with this restriction and am picking it may be something which causes a great deal of issue with in other cars.

I soaked it in solvent for 24 hours and then went to work with the air gun for an hour or so.  The net result was that its much much less restricted now but there is still some resistance to blow air through with your mouth.  I am now of the opinion that this is normal.  I would be interested in any ones comment or experience with this.  Given it worked before and I have improved things I am picking I wont hit any more snags.

I am going to put this fitting with all the other gold electroplating stuff as it could further block or restrict the gauze filter.  I will just tickle it up with my gold paint and reinstall.

Tested the old solenoid and all is good there so just a cosmetic and protective coating should see it right for the next 20 years.  Looks good as new now.

I also bead blasted the main CSV plate.  Before I started I masked up all the inlets and outlet point to avoid getting media in the guts of it.  Can imagine that would cause all sorts of grief.

Before I put it back in the car I am going to fully test the assembled unit under pressure with fuel to ensure there are no leaks or blockages.  I have a spare delivery pump off an old 108 so will jerry rig this up.

Feels good to be posting again 
 

[Garry]

Glad to see you back Andy but take it carefully.

Garry

[stickandrudderman]

When you remove the CSV plate you will,see that there is a spray jet in there. Make sure it too is not blocked, they often are. I put them in an ultra-sonic bath for 20 mins and that always cleans them up nicely.

[andyburns]

Hi Stick, thanks for the reply.  How do you tell if they are blocked.  I tried to force compressed air down it and couldn't perceive any air coming out the jets.  I then tried to blow down the jets with my mouth and couldn't feel any give.  They seem blocked.  The unit was working fine.  I then found another W108 unit and it also seems the same.  Any clues on how to determine if they are blocked?
 
I guess the ultimate test is to wire it all up and see if you get atomized fuel.  I am wondering if the jet apertures are so fine they you cant really gauge if they are blocked or not.

[RobSirg]

Hi Andy,

As always, really enjoy reading your posts.

If you don't mind, and when you have a moment, would you mind listing the different paints you used for the bits and pieces and the applications you used them on.

I see doing touch-up here and there as one of the few jobs I can do myself on the project car. (BTW - finally kicked off the project with a partial strip down with my interior guy....one of the other few jobs that I can do/did and thoroughly enjoyed).

Many Thanks

[andyburns]

Paint Summary For Rob

I have used quite few different types of paint.  Predominately if I am not being lazy I use just three products

1) A zinc rich metal prep like POR15 Metal Ready.  Coats the item with a very thin layer of zinc.  In my view this is the most important stage.
2) An 2k epoxy primer also rich in heavy metals
3) A 2k Top coat if I have it.  You can spray a non 2k topcoat, or even enamel paint , on a 2k primer but not the other way around.  End up with a huge frying mess

A good paint job is all about well executed consistent repetition. 

If you find yourself going 'here we go again' your probably doing the right thing!

For bits that really need huge durability and take a pounding, like suspension and sub frame,  just reach for the powder coating.  Even some of the engine parts like the front pullies.

I would go to the ends of earth to re coat any gold electroplated parts as this is what will give you the 'correct' look.  Even then sometime I avoid it like yesterday when I decided not to plate the inlet fitting to the CSV because it had the mesh in it.  Probably at the factory they pressed the mesh in after the part was plated.  I cant replicate that.  In this case I bead blast and then treat the part with as much POR15 metal ready as humanly possible.  Then paint it with a metallic gold enamel.  I have found with experience that if you don't take that first step then your part will rust out in a year or two.  You could blow it with epoxy primer but on very delicate parts if you layer it it with paint it start to look  quite swollen and sticks out like dog balls.

Other paint I have used is High Temp coatings on radiator and anything that is hot.  They are designed to be put directly on bare metal.  I have found the trick to getting this right is making sure the surface is perfectly clean and rust free.  Either bead blast or use a wire brush on your angle grinder or drill.  Then make sure you use copious quantities of wax and grease remover. 

The first coat you blow with any paint is incredibly important.  Make 100% sure its just a dusting.  Resist the urge to try and get a solid covering.  Wait 10-15 minutes for it to flash off.    This give the contacting paint a really good key onto whatever the surface is.  Then repeat two or three times.

I have also made use of ceramic caliper paint in a rattle can.  It usually comes in silvery metallic colors and I managed to get one that is very close to the zinc coating they used on various engine parts.  Where you cant get stuff re zinced I have used this.  Used it yesterday on the CSV solenoid.  Its more expensive but is much more rugged than normal rattle can metalic spray.   Probably twice the cost.  But it is very resistant to solvent, oil and grease and also is designed to resist heat to 300+ degrees.  If you use crap quality enamels I can almost guarantee they will be peeling within a couple of years.  Also if you ever get in and clean your engine bay, which I tend to do from time to time, if you use anything remotely solvent based enamel paint will vanish quick pronto.  The ceramic paint seems to be much more durable then even the VHT specific paint.

Another spray on paint I have used in volume is a product call Burnox.  Its an epoxy rust killer and surface sealer.  Probably my favorite spray on paint.  Not designed as a cosmetic paint in any way shape or form it is used in area that are inaccessible or surfaces that will not take any further paint finishes.  I used cans and cans of it in the early stages and blew is into every seam and nook and cranny that I possibly could.  When the ends of my chassis rails were open I used about three cans on each one.  The can comes with a fine straw nozzle that allows you to reach a couple of meters away or push it into seams.   I gave these areas two or three coats a couple of days apart.  The whole deal with epoxy is that it hardens to a much greater extent and produces a very very good barrier preventing oxygen from getting through.  This stuff also at the same time kills and seals and rust.  The only major downside is that you cannot paint over it with 2k or you get a nasty frying reaction. 

The only enamel spray I have used on the car is a product called fiddly bits.  It was recommended to me by the electro platers who use it to touch up gold electroplating imperfections.  After years and years of trying a wide range they came upon this product which they swear gives the closest color and finish to the real thing.  I have used it only in a couple of places.

The underside of the car I used a trick the painters told me about.   You can combine the base metallic color, in my case silver, with 2k hardener.  It produces a finish that they call crinkle cut in the industry.  It would look odd to have a clear coated under carriage just too shiny.   If you study the original examples quite often, depending on the painter, quite a bit of the body color ended up underneath.  I replicated this but with 2k hardener added in.  The hardener give is just a bit more sheen to a semi gloss level and also locks the finish in solid.  Base metallic coat is not very stable without clear over it and would disintegrate if it ever got even the slightest hint of road oil etc on it.  So this just ensure that the finish will be there in 20+ years and can stand up to some vigorous cleaning down the line.

Really the only other paint system I have used is the main body color.  The base color is a 1k (ie no hardener)  followed by a 2k clear coat.

 

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

You cannot replace the 2002 with a 280sl.

Bonnyboy, You, Andy and I have something in common, namely the 2002 e46. I purchased mine in Vancouver in 2004 from a Doctor. Traded her in for a e96 M3. I can still kick myself that I ever gave her up. I do feel like you do about driving the 280sl and having that smile on the face. Pulled some photos out of the arcives the first one is when I purchased the e46 in Vancouver (parked at a friends house). The second photo shows her in my garage in 2007. I still have a chance here and then to drive my first ever BMW (to get wild so to speak and take those curves sideways when I drive my original BMW a 535is (now my daughters car, the car just turned 27 years of age) third photo. You may note in the background the m3 e96 parked in the garage in the last photo. I had my fun with all together four ///M3's I am more then content driving my 280 sl ... what a car. As they say they don't make them like they used to any more. The 280 sure get's more attention from onlookers then my four ///M3's ever did.

Andy, good to see you back and around, I'm re-reading your thread again and look forward to the day when you take her for a spin I agree with you something you should have done before you took her all apart  ah never mind what's done is done. It will feel so much better when she feels smells all new. Just get help if any heavy lifting is to be done you hear! Keep up the good work and soon you be all done. I so enjoy your posts and detailed photographs of your work!!!

[RobSirg]

Thanks Andy - this is most helpful and informative.

BTW - What type of gold paint ( IE: Name and Brand) have you found that best matches the Cad Plating?

Regards

Rob

[andyburns]

Hi Rob, the paint thats close to the cad plating is actually called 'fiddly bits'.  Its such a corny name its almost unbelievable.  I think its Australian manufactured as well!

Rolf,  I do love my M3 but loved my 2002tii even better.  Hopefully I will feel the same way about the 230.  Its quite strange as I cant even remember how it drove now its been so long.   More than likely it will drive completely different with all the rubber I have replaced in any event.