March 16 2003, Note about the page below: This is an example of my first experience with a project car. I learn lots of things. Most importantly, if a car has lots of rust, don't buy it ;-) I sold the car after a month or two on ebay and broke even. I had fond memories of the new owner picking up the car in the height of hurrican floyd. I bought my first 250S the first week, and the first serious project (learning experience) began.

Project 116

A 1975 Mercedes Benz 450SEL

A W116 series car.

 

Goals:

  1. Tuneup (DONE), fix rough idle
  2. Repair Seatbeats (They're jamed) DONE
  3. Repair leaky exhaust manifold
  4. Replace Windsheild (its cracked)
  5. Pass Inspection!!!!!!!!

If all that goes well and the car actually runs ok, the real work begins!

  1. Replace Front rusted fenders with used, freshly painted ones.
  2. Remove most of the bubbling paint, fill the holes, and prepare for repainting
  3. Repair leaking Power Steering Pump
  4. Replace Rear shocks
  5. Repair all the other little problems that will pop up!
  6. Paint!

Not bad for $850! Everything seems to work, including the windows and sliding roof. Even the AC blows cold air!

Updates:

7/19/99: On Saturday I did a complete tuneup on the car. I replaced the plugs, cap, rotor, wires, points, and condensor (these parts were very expensive!). I also unjammed the seat belts and drove the car around the rest of the day. It performed well and only missed a little at idle. Today (monday) I drove the car to work. I was disappointed to see that it once again ran poorly and very rough at idle. I'm getting a little worried about the condition of the engine, but I'm still optimistic I can get it running well. I also got the stereo working this morning, so driving it around isn't so boring.

Here are some pictures: