Restoration of my fin tail Mercedes Benz

[VEEeight]

Abbasi sb, yes, clear lacquer was applied and will b buffed to improve on the final result

[msabbasi]

Apologies for the lack of postings on this thread. Work is at a very slow pace as other projects are taking precedence and also because the main parts are all done and its "just" a case of putting it all together for closure......or so I thought.

At this stage I have noticed imperfections that need to be sorted. In the two pictures of the front left and right wheel arches, it is the left one that needs to be set right. The steering geometry is fine as far as the mechanics and I have been able to ascertain.

This pictures shows the ill-fitting headlamp sorround. This needs to be carefully set up....

Finally and hopefully during my lifetime, the interior work will be done

In the picture above, there is a bit of filler pealing off at the base of the headlight. You might also have a look at that while the fender and headlight surround is being sorted out. Otherwise she is looking pretty good. The wood has got a lovely honey brown colour to it.

[VEEeight]

In the picture above, there is a bit of filler pealing off at the base of the headlight. You might also have a look at that while the fender and headlight surround is being sorted out. Otherwise she is looking pretty good. The wood has got a lovely honey brown colour to it.

you're right. There's a few of those that came about during the trial fitting of the bumpers. One reason the front one looked a mess was the fault in the front left fender. The denter got it all wrong. Hopefully the car will go for all these rectifications next week. The cost of replacement bumpers is excruciatingly prohibitive especially taking into account Lahore traffic!! Am going ahead with full denting of the bumpers including hammering and filing to get the surface all smooth. A friend got some chroming done on his classic and it seems to be holding up well in the 2 years or so since it was done, so will get these done from the same place. Am very sure about not starting on the interior till all this is done!

[msabbasi]

you're right. There's a few of those that came about during the trial fitting of the bumpers. One reason the front one looked a mess was the fault in the front left fender. The denter got it all wrong. Hopefully the car will go for all these rectifications next week. The cost of replacement bumpers is excruciatingly prohibitive especially taking into account Lahore traffic!! Am going ahead with full denting of the bumpers including hammering and filing to get the surface all smooth. A friend got some chroming done on his classic and it seems to be holding up well in the 2 years or so since it was done, so will get these done from the same place. Am very sure about not starting on the interior till all this is done!

For filling, how about lead loading. Not sure if lead will accept chrome though. If you are happy with the chrome, I might get the rear bumper of the Jag done from the same place.

[VEEeight]

For filling, how about lead loading. Not sure if lead will accept chrome though. If you are happy with the chrome, I might get the rear bumper of the Jag done from the same place.

Am not sure to be honest. Am sure the end result of the chrome will look great, but the test will come in the weeks that will follow. The friend whose classic I referred to is Mujahid and his VW. The "boom tube" was rechromed and is still looking good. Would be only too pleased to get the Jag's bumper done for you IF I find I can recommend u getting it done from the same place

[msabbasi]

Asim Sb. the lead used in lead loading is pretty close to the solder used to repair radiators. Idea I had was to fill up the minor dents with solder and sand down to a factory smooth finish. Then chrome. If the solder accepts chrome, you will end up with phenomenal looking bumper. To see if the solder accepts chrome, get a small piece of steel, put a dab of solder on it and get it chromed. See the results. If you have the bumper simply dented and chromed there is a pretty good chance the result will be wavy.

[VEEeight]

Asim Sb. the lead used in lead loading is pretty close to the solder used to repair radiators. Idea I had was to fill up the minor dents with solder and sand down to a factory smooth finish. Then chrome. If the solder accepts chrome, you will end up with phenomenal looking bumper. To see if the solder accepts chrome, get a small piece of steel, put a dab of solder on it and get it chromed. See the results. If you have the bumper simply dented and chromed there is a pretty good chance the result will be wavy.

Thankyou. You make a sound suggestion. Will try it out as u say and if it works, will let u know. Am hoping to start on the bumper straightening etc next week. Cheers!

[junee22]

Work has been at a standstill but not quite. Atleast one issue got sorted as these pictures will show.
Owing to the mech mods on this car, I wanted to use 15 inch rims wider than the 14s. As it is I wasn't being able to source the 205/70 R 14 tyres i wanted without doing somersaults , financial or otherwise..... However what I DID have lying around and not doing very much was a set of BBS look alike 15 inch 6.5J alloy rims with the Mercedes bolt pattern which i really didnt like. However, that changed when I was offered a set of the original style chrome and colour coded hubcaps in the VERY rare 15 inch size, I saw the potential.....

I thought to myself that if I could fit these caps onto these alloys I would have, what to me, would be the ideal combination of rim size, tyres and wheel look after the right paint. All I had to do now was to acquire a set of 205/70 R 15 tyres ( which is easy enough in this size) and would be home and dry!

The pictures show the basic alloy rim which had two holes drilled and threaded so that the metal plate shown could be bolted to it. This plate in turn has had 3 holes drilled on it so that the caps could be literally bolted onto it in turn. Of course that meant drilling holes in the cups as well and tiny screws have been used for fastening. It was a small price to pay for the overall effect

Wouldn't changing a tire in case of a flat tire be an issue with this setup?

[VEEeight]

Not at all, as the hub has not been altered in any manner. Will b using a standard steel rim as a spare. If its use will be reqd in case of a puncture etc, apart from bring aesthetically displeasing, it will work fine

[msabbasi]

Any progress on the bumper chrome?

[msabbasi]

@veeeight - Asim Sb. it seems that the summer has taken the wind out of this restoration job's sails

[VEEeight]

Haha! That certainly appears to be the case. Matters not being helped by my being away from Lahore also
I have still to make a start on the bumpers. The car has to go to the denter again to sort out the left front wing, after which will get the bumpers knocked into shape and THEN the re chroming process will follow. Reason for this continued lack of forward motion is basic lethargy regarding this particular car on my part ! These "doldrums" are an annoying and familiar part of any resto' I undertake as time is never really the issue. The car needs just another 10 days or so of concentrated effort to finish, but right now I can picture all the visual flaws in the end result if I was to do that !!

The awkward parts of the interior have been done, the seats were readied a long time ago. The door panels and carpet sections will be done when the completion of the interior gets underway.

In my initial and then often revised time estimates I was hoping to have everything done by June 30........ However , be that as it may, let me assure that this is NOT going to be one of those stories that fades away with no end:) The old girl will definitely be on the active CCOG circuit next season inshAllah!

[msabbasi]

Haha! That certainly appears to be the case. Matters not being helped by my being away from Lahore also
I have still to make a start on the bumpers. The car has to go to the denter again to sort out the left front wing, after which will get the bumpers knocked into shape and THEN the re chroming process will follow. Reason for this continued lack of forward motion is basic lethargy regarding this particular car on my part ! These "doldrums" are an annoying and familiar part of any resto' I undertake as time is never really the issue. The car needs just another 10 days or so of concentrated effort to finish, but right now I can picture all the visual flaws in the end result if I was to do that !!

The awkward parts of the interior have been done, the seats were readied a long time ago. The door panels and carpet sections will be done when the completion of the interior gets underway.

In my initial and then often revised time estimates I was hoping to have everything done by June 30........ However , be that as it may, let me assure that this is NOT going to be one of those stories that fades away with no end:) The old girl will definitely be on the active CCOG circuit next season inshAllah!

Certainly, other maters take precedence over our hobbies. Hope to see the fintail in one of the events; CCOG or other. Doing a resto project is just like building a house; final touches take the longest time:)

[VEEeight]

Long long time since I posted anything here. Restoration is a strange "business". I am not at all happy with the way the body has turned out after the effort put in and the expense incurred and had decided to give the whole process a break , so the project was put in cold storage.

However, it's fine mechanically now that the steering, suspension and wheel geometry has been sorted. The car now drives most pleasingly which has now prompted me to restart ! Let's see how it goes now.

Will try to upload some videos of the car on final road test earlier this week .

Sent from my iPhone using PW Forums

[VEEeight]

Not a good time to find out, videos can't be uploaded here! These are "stills" taken from them!

Sent from my iPhone using PW Forums

[msabbasi]

Welcome back Asim Sir G.

For posting videos, what I do is to first upload video to Vimeo or Dailymotion or similar and then click on "go advance" on the Pakwheels message page. Click on the video icon. A screen will pop up asking for the URL to the video on Vimeo or other that was uploaded earlier. Simply provide the URL and click OK. QED.

How about some pictures of the fin tail's interior?

BTW car looks mean without the bumpers!!

Cheers