poor pagoda blues

[n/a]

Hi all, I bought a signal red 1971 280SL last winter. The car sat for 15 years in a barn prior to that, and was dirty, but suprisingly well preserved, esp. for CT. The car was not started during that period. The trunk floor has rust, and there is some rust in rear wheelwell panels, and some quarter size spots here and there, but she looked great with a wash, and appears to have no strucutal rust. Chrome is excellent, and interior is great but for the deterioration of the seat padding, and some pretty stiff tex. So after removing the huge amt. of crud from the fuel tank, replacing the fuel pump, brakes, etc. she started instantly. I ran her for the afternoon with no problems, but then took her for a spin, and at about 4000 rpm, a huge racket came from the motor, and she died. The valve train looks fine, so I'm guessing something on the bottom end is shot.. or maybe a valve snapped into a cylinder or something. But the big question...I have $6500 in this car at this point, and don't have money to burn, but am head over heals for the car. A crate motor will probably end up costing 10k with all work, and I'm guessing a used motor would run half that. What do you think about replacing with a motor from a 2.8 sedan, etc. to save some money? Is there any way to do this on a mortal's budget, or should I get out? Sage advice needed bitte. Lexy.

[hauser]

Have you looked into rebuilding your engine?  Metric Motors can sell you a rebuilt engine with a warranty or rebuild your engine.  Here's their site.  http://www.mercedesengines.net/

1969 280sl 5 spd
Gainesville, Fl.

[n/a]

Thanks for the lead. I hear fantastic things about metric. Sadly they are where I'm getting the astronomical $6k figure for a crate motor (which seems to be the going price.) I wonder why these numbers are so much higher than a long block chevy, etc. Are they inflated, or are the motors so much more sophisticated?

[hauser]

It sounds like you got quite a bargain for $6500.00.  I've seen a  rolling chasis that was pretty much stripped down to nothing go for over $5K. At this point you've got your head well above water and you may even make a profit to boot!  The bottom line is how much money are you willing to spend?  Once you figure this out then you'll be able to make a better decision.  Keep in mind while some items may seem like a bargain others are ridiculously priced.

1969 280sl 5 spd
Gainesville, Fl.

[ChrisInNashville]

Lexy, I'm jealous.   I wish my cost basis was the same as yours.   If your car has a sister, will you introduce me to her?  

As with all things in life, I encourage you to give it the best you can afford...but keep the "head over heels" emotion in check.

[rwmastel]

Cees Klumper has rebuilt an engine (or two?) and in this thread:
http://index.php?topic=389

he said:
"...the total cost of the parts and work that has to be "outsourced" for this typical total rebuild came to $2,500. Metric Motors charges around $5,000 for this package, so the cost of the labor on a typical full rebuild will be another $2,500 which makes sense, given the amount of time involved (50-60 hours easily). Plus the cost of removal & installation."

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

[ja17]

Hello,

Take the valve cover off and see if the timing chain is still hooked up.

A rusty but running 280SE sedan will run you from $500.00 to $2000.00 these days. I would at least find out what is the problem with your engine first.

Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

[George Davis]

On the question of using a sedan engine, yes, quite a few Pagodas are running around with sedan engines.  Off hand I don't know exactly which cars to look for, but it's certainly been done.  Try a search on the subject.

George Davis
'69 280 SL Euro manual

[Cees Klumper]

A used sedan engine (check the information on this forum about installing the tachometer drive from your current engine onto the replacement) is probably the cheapest solution, unless your current engine can be repaired for less.

"Crate" engines were still available new from Daimler-Chrysler a few years ago for some W113's for $20,000. Not sure if they still have them these days, but if they do the price will be higher.

New pistons are listed at around $350 each in DC's and most reseller catalogs. For some reason though, in the US there are still some suppliers offering them for less than $200.

Check also here for gobs of information about rebuilding engines:

http://www.sl113.org/articles/engine/

Good luck, hang in there and please let us know how you do.

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

[gugel]

Lexy,

Thought you might be interested in another data point.  I rebuilt my engine in 2002, and apparently spent a bit more than Cees did.  Here are the major costs:

Machine shop, including boring cylinders, valve job with new springs, new timing chain, new bearings, new oil pump, and assembly not including mounting the head or the oil pan:  $1727

New Mahle pistons (6): $1086

Misc (new water pump, clutch, pressure plate, pilot and throwout bearings):  $350

for a total of $3163.  I did the engine removal and re-installation myself, including installing the head, fuel injector pump, and other assembly.  

Of course I also had the radiator cleaned out, put in new coolant hoses and clamps, new plug wires, points, condenser, new flexible fuel lines, new motor mounts, fan belts, etc., but the total above does not include these items.  Luckily, my fuel injection pump had recently been rebuilt, so I did not have to incur that (considerable) cost.

If the car still has its original engine, I would advise rebuilding it or having it rebuilt rather than installing a different engine, to preserve the value of the car.

Chris Earnest

[n/a]

Thanks for the excellent advice/info. I'll keep y'all posted.

[n/a]

so the number 2 piston shattered for some reason. The valve train and head survived the assault, but still it would seem like a bone-headed move to go through the bottom end of the engine, without doing the valve train. so back to the metric vs. rebuild vs. swap in a coupe motor vs. sell dilemma. Anyway, I think I'll probably end up pulling the motor, swapping in a temporary, while saving to redo this one properly. Speaking of metric, has anyone used Noel's for motors?

[n/a]

also, just as a side note, Cees mentions pistons being available for under $200 in the US. Metric sells them on ebay regularly for $125 each. I'm assuming they must be good. Just thought you might like to know!