67 250 SL Crashed

[MikeL43]

A couple of months ago some brain dead driver of a Ford F 150 decided to pull out from a McDonalds restaurant in front of a stopped city transit bus across three lanes of traffic to make a left turn.  Unfortunately because of the city bus and another car beside me I didn't see him until he was about 10 feet in  front of me. Fortunately I was not going very fast but could not avoid him and hit the rear of his truck destroying the bumper, grill, hood and drivers side fender.  At the time I had a stated value insurance policy of 50K with American Bankers Insurance company (associated somehow with USAA).  I didn't think the damage was significant as there was no frame damage and it looked like only a parts replacement and paint job would be required however the appraiser said that with the high cost of parts and some minor fabrication the car should be totaled.  I disagreed since I thought the car was worth around 70K and finally settled with the insurance company for $42,500 which allowed me to keep the car and not have a rebuilt title.  I have a contract with an excellent local body shop that routinely repairs Ferrari's and Rolls Royces to rebuild all of the damage for $42,500 including a new paint job and a power steering pump rebuild.  I had just finished refreshing all of the wear items on this car including a new high efficiency radiator and a new AC condenser both of which were destroyed.  The body shop has bought all of the available parts from Mercedes Benz including the hood which cost $5,900!!!  I am concerned that the creases in the fenders at the headlight are correct and that they use the best paint available.  I had some minor touch up paint work done some time ago by an old German car specialist who said that Spies Hecker paint was the best available so I plan to recommend that they use this brand paint.  What I need is/are photos of the fender creases, comments on the paint brand selection and anything else you experts may suggest before these repairs get any further along.  Any ideas you have are welcome and if you would prefer you can send your comments to me at mblunsfordsr@yahoo.com.  TIA

[Chris_ATL]

Member "Doitwright" aka Frank Koronkiewicz has a detailed document on how to make sure everything is done correctly... Try reaching out to him.

Alternatively, search the forum and technical manual will bring up a significant amount of information on the various specifics that need to be done to maintain originality

[Pawel66]

I am enclosing a picture of a fender notch from the "Holy Grail" they had in Motoring Investments - a fully original 280SL. I used it as part of instructions for my chassis and painting guys.

[MikeL43]

Thanks to Pawel for the photo and Chris for the advice.  The photo is exactly what I was looking for.

[Garry]

Very sorry to hear of your accident.  It must have been quite some major damage to co to $42.5k.  Would you like to post some photos of the car.


 I would think that apart from making sure that they do an excellent job, you also make sure that they include the fender notches and also the weld spots in the engine bay where the fender is attached to the body. This like the notches is something that is often not done correctly.  The paint code will be on your data plate and it will give you which of the two paint suppliers the original paint came from.


Other than that they (the repairers) should/could become an Associate Member and that way they would have access to most info here sufficient to do the repairs correctly and if they need additional information then they can ask questions and I am sure someone here will be able to give them the correct answers. 


Best luck on the restoration


Garry

[Pawel66]

You would have the weld spots on the other side, right? Picture just in case. Not well visible, but enough to get an idea.

[Pawel66]

When I thought about it - maybe the headlight housing details and rubber plugs in the fender may be important - easy to forget... Also from my instructions.

[TheEngineer]

The fender notches should line up with the notches in the  rim of the headlight. The spot welds are tricky. It takes a special tool that is small enough to reach in behind, such as the one shown. Many shops use a LENCO spot welder and weld from the front  side  like a panel welder. Often it doesn't  result  in good  welds. Test weld quality  on a  specimen. Good  welds should tear the metal sheet.  Poor welds may become a safety  item.
BTW: I know a fellow here in town who had a new hood for sale. He said it was brand new and needs to be fitted  for proper  gaps.

[MikeL43]

Thanks for all the information, this group is the best!  I'll try to post a photo of the crashed car but i'm not very good with attachments.  As far as the hood, i'll check with the shop but I think they have already got one from Mercedes Benz. 

[zoegrlh]

Yes Mike, check your paint code.  There were two paints available when W113 was built, Glasurit (G) and Herbert’s (H) on your tag located on the left fender hood locking brace.  As you can see it have a 180 G 180 G, body and top Silbergrau Metalllic Glasurit.
Bob

[Pawel66]

Nice relays! 

I think this plate was painted the chassis colour, together with the holding screws. Please correct if I am wrong.

[Jonny B]

The data plate and screws would be painted the same color as the car.

[doitwright]

Most paint manufacturers make products for different budgets. Just specifying the brand of paint may not be enough. My car was just painted with PPG because that is what the shop doing the work was used to working with. Since I was quite impressed with examples of their work they had progressing in the shop, I trusted their judgement and am beyond pleased with the results. Some shops also invest huge dollars in their own paint systems which are brand specific. This gives them on the spot mixing and color correcting capabilities. My advice is ask the shop you have already trusted to do the repairs make the call on the brand and products of paint to be used. If they say Glidden or Dutch Boy, get your car out of there ASAP.

[Pawel66]

I had 180G on the plate and I just used Glasurit. They still have it in their palette. Must have been their "high budget" option  . But I suppose the colour may be quite close to what it was back then.

[Tyler S]

Here is a searchable color chart from Glasurit.
http://color-online.glasurit.com/CCC/new/index.php

[TheEngineer]

I re-painted parts of a 220 Sb sedan, blue, using Glasurit paint, the same number that was on the data plate. By that time the car was a few years old but the paint was a perfect match.

[Pawel66]

Well, that is good thing to know!

The issue of using the catalogue number to prepare the colour, then painting part of the body to find out it is different than the rest bevause the rest is faded a bit - is quite irritating. Sometimes painters here take a piece of the car (most often the fuel filler cover) to scan it so that the computer makes a mix to reach the slightly faded colour.

So your experience is very valuable.

[lurtch]

Regarding the fender notches, I just took these photos of a burned-out Pagoda.

I think it is well accepted among this group that the notches were a leaded-in somewhere along the assembly line?
That is to say, shaped by a craftsman from a semi-liquid blob of lead. 

I scratched away some scale with a fingernail, then did some smudging with my thumb and was able to reveal  the telltale sheen of lead melted onto steel.

Just a little more detective work for our archive - - .

Larry in Santa Rosa

[TheEngineer]

Yes, that is the way it was done. They used to put flux on the metal and then applied lead by melting it from a stick with a torch and using a wood paddle to smooth it. I worked in a garage in Davos where they bought surplus Willy's Jeeps and modified them for use by the post office and doctors who needed to get around in spite of the weather, Mostly lot's of snow in the winter. These jeeps were wonderful. We put cabs on them with a heater inside. We made them longer. It's easy: just cut the drive line to the back differential and weld in some panels to lengthen the body.

[sandcrab59]

Engineer:
The 2 pictures of spot welding equipment, what is it.
Meaning , manufacturer and where to purchase it.
Also how is it hooked up to a MIG welder.
Tom

[Taleb]

This is how the original fender notches looks like ( attachment)

[TheEngineer]

Engineer:
The 2 pictures of spot welding equipment, what is it.
Meaning , manufacturer and where to purchase it.
Also how is it hooked up to a MIG welder.
Tom

It is designed to attach to a LENCO spotwelder. The tapered ends fit into the handles. I have no experience with a MIG welder. My spot welder has an adjustable timer. You set it by testing the welds on a piece of scrap of the same thickness (one m/m). You have to make this tool, I did.

[sandcrab59]

Thanks