This is being prepared for sale,With only 103,000 miles it has spent a lot time simply parked . Unfortunately this has not been good for this magnificent car as the engine has already been replaced once with a rebuilt unit. Who ever serviced the original engine changed the oil but never changed the filter… The filter disintegrated sending pieces of filter paper through the engine and destroyed the cam bearings,this in turn caused the cams to seize and thus bending the valves.  The new engine runs beautifully but again someone in the past had made a very simple mistake,leaving off one of the crankshaft spacers . This sat the flex disc a bit too close to the rear of the engine block and fouled the starter motor. Eventually the ring gear was chewed out . It wasn’t until i removed the trans two days ago that i finally found what happened to the starter and noticed the lack of clearance for the flex plate….

in the foreground is my homemade trans jack,basically an adjustable plate fitted to a spare engine crane . I’m not a fan of these Chinese made cranes as the design is too weak and the material is not really suited for the load of most engines.

Here is the trans strapped to the mount ,a very easy way to remove a trans com-ared to what i have done for far too long… lift it out with a trolley jack.  I fitted a new flex disc,as the one in the picture looks to be the original ,full of cracks and as hard as rock.

The lack of clearance for the flex plate is very obvious here . The plate on the hub is also seen here too. But there is supposed to two of them,one on the inside against the crankshaft hub @4.4 mm thick. A set of new bolts and a plate and it’s time to reinstall the trans.

Old ring rear with missing teeth… ouch!!

Here is a video of Will Samples in the USA,running a pair of Restored Solexes for a Sydney,Australia customer .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wdEImTCqwU&sns=em

recently purchased by a new owner, this is a very unusual ponton, because of it’s lime green colour . Imagine this car in 1958! I remember first seeing lime green on cars in the late 1960’s and even then it was “out there” !.

So what has to be done to this car?

The seller gave me a comprehensive list of things to be done apart from the normal service ,jobs such as replacing valve guide seals and sorting out a wiring fault to the spot lamps. First job though was to investigate the locked right rear brake. Normally a symptom of leaking brake cylinders ( the linings soak up the brake fluid making them stick to the drums)

Well both wheel cylinders were sick,one was rusted solid and the other was leaking badly. But the most concerning thing was the dodgy self adjusters which had been filled with washers.See picture 4 .  All parts are available for these fantastic cars so it is simply a matter of getting the linings fitted with new bonded linings ,which are radiused to suit the drums and the wheel cylinders reconditioned.

New hoses have been fitted and the self adjusters fitted with new friction discs and thrust washers…no more old galvanised washers from someones magic used bolt bucket.

The 5th picture shows the nipple where the front bush of the rear torque arms mount to the body. As can be seen these are in very good condition. often,these rusted right off the chassis even when the cars were still fairly new. Mercedes sold replacement kits to fix this.

Picture 6 shows the condition of the torque arm bushes ansd the left rear shock absorber which had broken off, all have been replaced with new parts.

Picture 7 is of the brass screen in the oil filter housing. A bit of typical mercedes overengineering where the paper filter element is surrounded by a metal screen to catch bigger bits of dirt..

This car is also equipped with a hydrak automatic clutch.. basically a vacuum controlled clutch with a fluid coupler . The gear lever controls a valve electrically which uses vacuum to work the clutch via a vacuum diaphragm canister.

06/07/14

Torque arms,spring plates and various fasteners and washers have been restored awaiting refitting.