Restoration of my fin tail Mercedes Benz

[fouadhafeez]

Indeed...the 1UZ is lookin' good, sir.

[VEEeight]

Indeed...the 1UZ is lookin' good, sir.

And it's note is a symphony! It croons, but when the throttle is blipped all the 8 cylinders get rowdy in unison

[fouadhafeez]

And it's note is a symphony! It croons, but when the throttle is blipped all the 8 cylinders get rowdy in unison

You're absolutely right. The 1UZ has a very nice exhaust note, indeed. At low revs it's so quiet as to be almost soundless, but a bit of high revs, and it has a lovely meaty snarl.

One of these days, we should plan on a road trip of these 50 year old barges (the men, and the cars), together.

[VEEeight]

You're absolutely right. The 1UZ has a very nice exhaust note, indeed. At low revs it's so quiet as to be almost soundless, but a bit of high revs, and it has a lovely meaty snarl.

One of these days, we should plan on a road trip of these 50 year old barges (the men, and the cars), together.

yes and the good thing is it compliments the car esp with the neatness of the installation. I drove it today and once the little niggles are sorted it should be a great drive. A larger radiator maybe needed as will be a brake upgrade. Will see.

A road trip is a great idea but may have to wait till the good weather comes again!

[Xulfiqar]

^^ your engine temperature control problem looks more rooted in the radiator cap location of your car, the upper hose pipe is almost sitting flush level with the cap.

Check the system with a vacuum pump.

[VEEeight]

^^ your engine temperature control problem looks more rooted in the radiator cap location of your car, the upper hose pipe is almost sitting flush level with the cap.

Check the system with a vacuum pump.

ok thanks, will do. Will compare placements with those on the LS 400 itself. I drove the car today and the temp was normal but the real test will come with the hotter weather. Also the ac condenser still needs to be fitted alongwith the auxiliary fan.

[VEEeight]

As the 109 was getting its new heart to start beating, this is the progress on the fintail as it gets its first cover over base. Hopefully, it will begin to resemble a real car at some point

[ansarghani]

Good progress!
At last you figured out how to post the pics in right orientation

[VEEeight]

Good progress!
At last you figured out how to post the pics in right orientation

I haven't actually! It's been a bit of a fluke. Still looking to figure that out:)

[VEEeight]

Today's progress. Oil filler to the boot floor and filler to engine bay. Progress is excruciatingly slow!

[VEEeight]

We tried to get as much of the surface rust off from the boot floor mainly using sandpaper and elbow grease as no rust inhibiting compound was easily available. A 5/8th inch or so layer of a rubber compound has been applied to hopefully stop or at least slow further rusting. Have been using this technique for the last 15 years and more and it's worked fine so far. It also acts as an insulation and helps to minimize rattles.

The engine bay is almost done and should get painted earlier next week. Once that is done and the whole car gets its coats of covering, it will go for mechanical and main electrical work. The engine will be installed, started and sorted as will be the brakes and suspension. All being well, the car will then come back to the painters under its own power

one can dream!

[Xulfiqar]

rust converter was easily available in Karachi last I remember. A spray on and left to dry - sealed it, my old VW golf had rust on the hatch lid where the glass sat, I treated it and built it up, then sprayed with home made wax spray, never rusted again. It would also be wise at this moment of time to remove the rear axle carrier and completely refurb it - tilt the car and prop it up.

Nothing like the feeling of new MB rubber

[VEEeight]

rust converter was easily available in Karachi last I remember. A spray on and left to dry - sealed it, my old VW golf had rust on the hatch lid where the glass sat, I treated it and built it up, then sprayed with home made wax spray, never rusted again. It would also be wise at this moment of time to remove the rear axle carrier and completely refurb it - tilt the car and prop it up.

Nothing like the feeling of new MB rubber

hello again . Am afraid no such item is available off the shelf esp; been told there really isn't much call for it keeping in mind the local climate. Neither are there too many half century old cars being rubbed down to bare metal! Thankyou for the suggestion about the axle carrier. Have found out that the rear susp set up is taken more or less directly from the gullwing 300SL.

[nightflite]

great thread to follow. love to see old cars brought back to life the right way. slightly off tangent, can anyone direct me to a shade card for a w116. im planning a similar restoration of my 450 se and want to go for a dark maroon or midnight blue to set the chrome off. id prefer to stick to OEM/stock/factory colors. if i cant decide on one then the choice is open to a million other shades.

[Xulfiqar]

hello again . Am afraid no such item is available off the shelf esp; been told there really isn't much call for it keeping in mind the local climate. Neither are there too many half century old cars being rubbed down to bare metal! Thankyou for the suggestion about the axle carrier. Have found out that the rear susp set up is taken more or less directly from the gullwing 300SL.

Obviously you should not be simply relying on off the shelf items for such a restoration. When you set out to restore such a car - its best to invest in some real stuff, look up some vendors, there are lots of em and get their product shipped over. You can first talk to some of their seasoned pro staff before ordering.

The climate in Pakistan is nothing what happens in EU where there is snow - they throw salt on the roads to melt the ice, if you were to start a mehran in the morning and go to work, Im sure you would only have your keys the next day - the entire care would have been gone.

[Xulfiqar]

great thread to follow. love to see old cars brought back to life the right way. slightly off tangent, can anyone direct me to a shade card for a w116. im planning a similar restoration of my 450 se and want to go for a dark maroon or midnight blue to set the chrome off. id prefer to stick to OEM/stock/factory colors. if i cant decide on one then the choice is open to a million other shades.

look at the factory build plate for the code, you can look it up and even contact MB to answer that, the 116 had some real nice shades to choose from.

[VEEeight]

great thread to follow. love to see old cars brought back to life the right way. slightly off tangent, can anyone direct me to a shade card for a w116. im planning a similar restoration of my 450 se and want to go for a dark maroon or midnight blue to set the chrome off. id prefer to stick to OEM/stock/factory colors. if i cant decide on one then the choice is open to a million other shades.

thankyou for the interest you are taking in the fintail the choice of colour is a very personal one. Luckily the 116 comes with enough chrome on it that it looks good in any colour. Any respectable paint store will have the shade cards u need. Your choice wil also depend on what the interior is going to be. If i may suggest, keep an open mind on this. Also look thru the colours for the 126 range. A 450 "SE" is rare for here, the few that are around are "SELs" . Good luck and build up yr reserves for patience and optimism that u will no doubt need! The fintsil has taken 4 and a half months so far and at no time did the work stop. I imagine it will be another 3 to 4 months still.....if am lucky!

[VEEeight]

Obviously you should not be simply relying on off the shelf items for such a restoration. When you set out to restore such a car - its best to invest in some real stuff, look up some vendors, there are lots of em and get their product shipped over. You can first talk to some of their seasoned pro staff before ordering.

The climate in Pakistan is nothing what happens in EU where there is snow - they throw salt on the roads to melt the ice, if you were to start a mehran in the morning and go to work, Im sure you would only have your keys the next day - the entire care would have been gone.

That's what I mean. I rem what the roads in that part of the world did to a Fiat 130 (Pininfarina) Coupe I had almost 30 years ago.
Have scraped out as much rust as possible and have applied red oxide and auto shield will be applied to the underbody. It is the equivalent of the old undeseal. As for vendors, you'll be amazed at the lack of them for products there is little or no demand for! Have learnt that the hard way in the 20+ years of restoring old wrecks. Can tell you tales about a 1956 Chevy i have that would make your eyes water!

[nightflite]

its originally silver which to be honest is the 'correct' German saloon color but it really does a good job of washing out the chrome completely. i have gone over several rebuilds in Australia and the States and some great colors are out there. Currently getting the weather stripping for the front and rear glass before any such fantasy takes place. Also the car is constantly fouling its plugs even though the entire fuel system has been taken out (gas tank included) and seems ok. Stumped now as to where to take it as Qadeer and Sports Motors (khi) have both disappointed greatly (on honesty and competence both).

[VEEeight]

its originally silver which to be honest is the 'correct' German saloon color but it really does a good job of washing out the chrome completely. i have gone over several rebuilds in Australia and the States and some great colors are out there. Currently getting the weather stripping for the front and rear glass before any such fantasy takes place. Also the car is constantly fouling its plugs even though the entire fuel system has been taken out (gas tank included) and seems ok. Stumped now as to where to take it as Qadeer and Sports Motors (khi) have both disappointed greatly (on honesty and competence both).

keep lookng at colour shades and as u do, when u come across the "right" one, you'll know. There is one called lapis blue u may wish to consider. As for the plug fouling, stupid as this may sound, try changing the fuel pump(s) and even the park plugs. I had a similar problem on the 380 (126) and it got sorted when I changed the f/pump even tho there was "nothing" wrong with the first one. Can't explain it but its been fine since then. I just hope it's not yr fuel distributor! Good luck