New interior

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I am a new member since last Dec., bought my 71 280sl in Palm Springs and after getting it home I decided it needed a new driver's seat cover...this led to all new MB tex seats and horsehair pads, new carpet and dash covering, new heater controls, some cleaning and straightening up inside the dash.  Bottom line is I did it all myself except the seat upholstery, and have this forum to thank for all of the how-to info. The interior looks great, I'll try and post pics soon.  I even took apart and fixed my speedo which quit on the drive home from Palm Springs.  The only downside is a squeal inside the tach which wasn't there before and of course means quite a bit of disassembly to get it out!  I love driving it with all the lights inside the dash working, and yes my speedo lights are dimmer just as others described.  I LOVE driving the car, it starts right up, runs smooth, shifts well (auto trans), so I am looking forward to some nice spring trips up to the Sierras.

[Cees Klumper]

One thing I did when I had to take the center instrument cluster out, is replace all of the bulbs in each of the instruments. I also cleaned the inside glass of each instrument. This resulted in a nice evenly lit dashboard.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

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I also cleaned both sides of the glass and replaced all the bulbs, it just seems that less light gets to the face on the speedo.  I remember reading that was the case with others on an older thread.  With regards to the tach noise, I was thinking of dripping some oil into the engine end of the tach cable and elevating it as high as possible and hope it will flow back up to the tach.  Otherwise its disassembly time as I can't live with the noise!

[J. Huber]

Hey Jimko. I'm afraid the squawking tach is a fairly common malady for our cars (especially in the colder months). Worse than nails on a chalkboard! Remedies have varied from self-appointed greasing, to replacing just the tachometer cable, or to ultimately having the tach serviced by experts. What works will depend on well, what works! In my case, the answer was sending it off to Palo Alto Speedometer for some TLC.  

As for the dash lights -- mine are fairly equally dim. Bulbs all work -- but are originals (I think). I have heard of people using higher wattage but don't know for sure.

Finally, as for looking forward to some spring trips to the Sierra - sounds great. Hopefully we can all hook up for a gathering sometime soon. Good luck.

James
63 230SL

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I also had noise from the tach the first time I put my instruments back in. My problem was the cable was slightly twisted, so you might feel up there and straighten it as much as possible before pulling everything back out. You may get lucky, especially since it was quiet before you took it out. John 68 280sl

[rwmastel]

quote:Originally posted by Jimko

I LOVE driving the car, it starts right up, runs smooth, shifts well (auto trans), so I am looking forward to some nice spring trips up to the Sierras.

Join the MBCA and go to StarFest this year in Las Vegas.
http://www.mbca-lasvegas.org


Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420