Bonnie Runs

And Bonnie speaks - this is after the diesel purge, but before the valve adjustment.

My Valve Adjustment wrench

My attempts at making one of the valve adjustment wrenches. I happen to own a chiminea, where I heated a Craftsman tool. The Craftsman is a long one. After heating, I put into a vise and bent by tapping with a ball peen hammer.










Here's how he turned out - we'll test tomorrow.

And one more

BenzBoz Pre-Owned Mercedes Parts is a great Ebay parts seller. Not only does he have stuff properly labeled, he gets it out fast - faster than a lot of places. I've gotten a driver door window regulator & motor before - I paid for on Wednesday, got it on Saturday. And, at the time I needed it. THe mailman came, and I just had the old one out. But, I still had my lemonade break.

Another new friend

We have another one in the form of a Mercedes 126 enthusiast - www.mbw126.com. He has one heck of a video on rebuilding an AC compressor. HH is a real cool guy, and is going to list more!

A new buddy

Bought a door from a real nice guy last week, Mr. Ray Petty, who sells on Ebay but you can also contact via his web site . He is super nice, and will tell you what he has. He doesn't run a store front, just what part do you need, etc. Can't say enough about him.

Houstoneuropean.com

The light at the end of the tunnel

OK - more progress. Last night, we got her out of the garage. The transmission bushing clips are installed. Charles had to take her around the block a couple of times, to get the radiator/cooling system flush to circulate. He got to drive her. He said it felt good. The speedometer works. We finally got her started by shorting across C105. Had to use a lot of starting fluid. It took quite some time, but I bled the fuel injection system. Finally got the priming pump to move, and the ends of the injectors cracked open. Tha 17mm wrench fits tight. Found out that we can pull her off just like a John Deere tractor. We drained the radiator, and got a lot more crap out. The water was red initially, so it may need some more flush. For this one, I think we'll use the Mercedes citrus flush. We got hte instrument cluster lights yesterday, along with the new flasher relay.

This morning, she left for the body shop. Hopefully, we can get the door closed soon.

More Progress!!!

OK, more sweet progress - we're cooking now. First, we did the Lubri-Moly purge of the injectors.



Here's the temporary line hooked up to the inline fuel filter.









Here's the return line from the spin-on fuel filter.









I used a 2 liter Diet Coke bottle as the purge material container. This probably was not one of the uses considered by Del Meyer, the inventor of polyethylene terepthalate. But, it worked. For the 300SD, I used 4 feet of 1/4" hose. I cut it in half. If I did it over again, I'd used 2 1/2 feet for the feed, and 18 inches for the return.





Here is the fluid, shortly after starting turning a bright red. Shortly after this, the smoke from the exhaust cleared, and the engine purred.










Here we are near the end, showing a brilliant black, and also a side shot of the AC drier, something I need to soon replace.









A few minutes after the purge, I looked at the gauges. The tach was still not functioning, so I cleaned the contacts, then hit them with a little white lithium grease. The tach showed a smooth 750 rpm.







The fuel tank gauge worked nice, the oil pressure gauge indicated 4 bar (which I need to check), and the temperature showed 50 degrees C. THe most important thing, the gauges were working.







Also on the night's activities was the replacement of the air cleaner mounts. This got done as well.








An undershot.

Another great site

I've found another great site for MB lovers, with some great rebuild info. Especially the compressor rebuild. I recommend him as another friend with a Benz.

Small Victories, with setbacks

We got Bonnie started, with a screwdriver across C105. But, some of the parts have not worked out as I would have liked.



The front cowling is back in , with the windshield wipers.











The new back window does not fit.









Shot of the vacuum accumulator in the left panel.










Little bit of JB Weld on the left windshield mount.









Primed area - where the body drain kicks in. Taped up with gaffe tape.









ANother shot of that damn back vent window. THis really pisses me off.







The old thermo vacuum switch.










Front transmission busing replacement.








The rear - it is in.











Replaced the ignition switch.

Even More - it's getting close

More progress: Here's the rheostat dimmer switch for the instrument cluster. It has been cleaned and reinstalled.






Here is the speedometer. The needle has been repainted to be able to be seen.





Here, though, is my favorte accomplishment, or rather that of a neighbor who has a wire welder. I could not locate the grommet for the wiper mechanism. So, we took a #12 stainless steel washer, reamed it out, and welded it onto the cap. I cycled it for several minutes, and it has held. Now I need to clean out the cowling.




ANother shot of the wiper transmission. We also lubed the wiper shafts themselves.





TOday - title & registration, along with others. I've almost got the left panel off, so I can kill those dents.

A busy day

A new hood pad! I could have gotten the left side aligned a little better; I think about 1/4" off there.

The old look

The home made instrument cluster removal tool.

The back of the instrument cluster.

The left side of the instrument cluster

The instrument cluster, with al of the back side screws on the picture of the back of the instrument cluster. Thanks, Richard Sexton!

The plugs out of the driver's side window motor.

I washed it down with contact cleaner, but pulled it out anyway since the mailman delivered a new one.

This is the hood area, after I had sanded and primed.

The old window motor, which is now added to the used parts bin.

More progress - slowly

Pictures of tonight's work

Here's the radiator drain plug, with the o-ring

Here's the Hirschmann antenna. I've printed out a diagram for parts, but this one may be best to send to Walter Odemer.

Front underneath the carpets on the driver's side - needs a youngster to clean out.

Ditto for the back seat area. I did find wasp nests underneath the back seat.

With a hood pad on the way, we need to get the crap off the hood. I used a citrus based stripper, non-flammable, a ZEP product. I've used it before to get stain off dors, paint off chairs, etc. It has done well in the past, and seems to have helped tremendously here.

Another shot, showing the dropcloth - Thanks Rusty!!!

While I had the stripper out I stripped the shifter console. Since I have veneer on the way, and this is pretty cracked, I may bookmatch and replace the veneer.

These don't really do it justice, I'll have to learn how to do good camera shots. A photographer I ain't.

What I don't have is a shot of the dent on the hood - I hammered it out. I think I finally have the hang of the hammer & dolly.

Great Service Testimonial

Just like I bitched about what I considered piss-poor service a few posts back, I now get to glow about a good guy. Rusty Connell, at http://buymbparts.com/, is one of the nicest guys I've dealt with in dealing with parts and information. When you go to his web site, if he is online he does have a link to chat if he is there. On the telephone, he is pleasant, knowledgeable, and pretty doggone funny. He even laughs at customer jokes. Please buy from him, whatever you can.

The work is coming at me fast

OK - the weekend was sort of a bust, but, I did get the radiator drain plug out. Once I drilled thru the plug, all sorts of nasty water came out. I literally stripped the head off the plastic plug - but I don't think I actually did it.

Several flushes with pure water yielded even more gunk out of the engine. Once the plug is in, we'll flush with some vinegar or mild citric flush material before fully operating. But, the engine needs to start. I can run for a minute or two with the radiator not full, and a plug of sorts in the bottom of the radiator. I wonder if I put Pig Putty in there if I would be able to get it out later - I may try.  It is fun.

Anyway, Bonnie is now up on the ramps in the garage, awaiting some parts. Those are:

• Radiator drain plug - Vendor A
• DIY DVD on AC Repair - Vendor A
• Fuel Filter Kit - Vendor A
• Automatic Transmission Bushing Kit - Vendor A
• Air Cleaner Rubber Mounts - Vendor A
• A/C Belt - Turbo - Vendor A
• Thermo Vacuum Switch - Vendor A
• Rubber Pieces for Thermo Vacuum Switch  - Vendor A
• Right side mirror - Vendor B
• Left door seat switch - Vendor B
• Rear vent window glass - Vendor B
• Ignition Switch - Vendor C
• Hood Pad - Vendor C
• Zebrawood 1/16" wood veneer - Vendor D
• Veneer Tape - Vendor D

Other things I will need:

• Windshield - found
• Left driver door window motor - looking
• Antenna motor/assembly - working over
• Fix sprung door - found vendor

I pulled out the interior carpets, and the padding is abysmal. The back seat also had some wasp nests in it. I have pulled out the shifter panel, and it needs to be refinished. I'll strip that sucker, and redo. My son's video camera is sent for repair, so we'll have to upload from an analog camera. Old School, kind of like Paul Teutel, Sr.

I'll also fill in the vendor A - D later. I had a real nice talk with Rusty at www.buymbparts.com. Will give them a whole write - up as well.

Mixed results

Limited results - the radiator drain plug sheared. Now, we do need a new one.

These are the connections by the master cylinder

This is the vacuum actuator referred to as S47, out of the driver's side door. It does not look like it has a vacuum hose connection. There was also not a vacuum connection in the door panel. We'll try to get teh video camera to display.

Here once again is the infamous wiper assembly. I think we'll trim down the grommet, and weld/braze/solder a washer onto there. This should make it hold.

This we found near the transmission. I had seen it before, but wanted to get a picture before we knocked it off.

Here's the new right hand turn signal, courtesy of Clint at Rolling Hills Farms Collectibles, and his Ebay store.

Here is the insides of the antenna mechanism. Looks like a little corrosion has taken place.

The inside of the tachometer assembly.

The AC compressor - belt is totally off, and the compressor does not turn. I think the mystery electrical connection hooks up here.

Another look inside the powered antenna.

This is a side view of the shifter connection to the transmission. It is very loose. I also did not see the vacuum switch I was looking for, plus the limit switch interlocking the starter.

A punchlist will be constructed in the next couple of days. There's a boy anxious to drive. We did find a good price on a windshield, courtesy of a reference from the new Firestone dealer in Friendswood. We are also doing some wire brushing to clean up rust spots, as well as stabilizing rust in places. I will also have to pull the dash components.