This weekend's progress on trusty rusty

[s class]

OK, this weekend I slaved away like a dog - on the W140's paintwork mind you. I am in the process of repainting the bumpers, and lower door panelling all round because it was looking a bit scratched, dinged, and tatty, putting off prospective purchasers.

FINALLY, this afternoon I put that aside to throw some effort at trusty rusty. I removed the tranny sump, and drained the torque converter too. Tomorrow I'm sending off a job lot to the powder coaters, including :

tranny sump
sump guard for the three engine oil lines
engine oil filter canister
aircon bracket
aircleaner.

A whole coffee can of nuts, bolts, washers, brackets etc is going off for zinc plating while I'm at it.

I have also put a lot of work into the engine oil tank. It was badly pitted from rust on the outside, and thoroughly encrusted in grime and crud. It was chemically stripped inside and out, and now I'm in the process of applying filler primer and flatting it down. Its looking great now, and will be ready for black 2k next week.

I'm exhausted, my fingers have had their treads worn off, but I'm going to bed happy.

 

[John S]

Sounds like it's going to be better than new!! I'm looking forward to seeing it.

 

[WGB]

Sounds like a good weekends DIY - very satisfying.

I still worry about your level of OCD

We all suffer from it in this sort of hobby but your attention to detail is amazing.

I'm still getting a buzz out of how much my new subframe rubbers have improved the handling in my 6.9. and that was only two hours work.

You really need a 300SL Gullwing to make your hobby pay.

Bill

 

[s class]

Thanks for the compliments guys. THe problem is, I look at these pictures of super-low miles 6.9's, and my efforts seem paltry. So far to go still.

 

[s class]

More progress today.

I do need another timing chain for trusty rusty, but it will not arrive from Germany in time for me to fit it prior to the roadworthy inspection I must pass before the end of July.

So I was forced to close up the engine as it is.

I refitted the sump and valve covers today. But before doing that, I cleaned out the oil pump pick-up strainer - it was full of crud - check this out :





Here's the sump all cleaned up and ready to go in :



I had all the oil fittings and bolts, nuts, washers etc zinc plated. Looks fabulous :





Here are the valve covers after ultrasonic stripping :





And then in primer :





They are now painted black and fitted, but I'll need to wait for daylight tomorrow to get a decent picture.

 

[s class]

I also decided to retorque the heads.

The right head was fine - only one of the 18 bolts moved at all.

The left head - most were a bit loose (moved even with 70Nm), and a few of the bolts around cyl 8 were finger tight. Two of them took almost a full revolution to get to spec.

I have not previously noticed any signs of head gasket leaks, which is really surprising considering the state of those bolts. I hope I've caught it in time.

 

[s class]

More work today :



This is what my oil tank looked like a few months ago, and then the finished picture today :

 

[s class]

I also spent some time on the cooling system :

 

[Michel]

Very impressive work Ryan,

Can't wait to see the car in person...

Look at it this way....

2008 is halfway finished

2009 is around the corner

 

[Lukas]

I second that - looks schmicko. Your oil tank is shinier than 66% of my cars

Lukas

 

[WGB]

Looks beautiful.

It will be a shame to drive it.

Bill

 

[s class]

Well, given where the oil tank is located, I'm interested to see how it holds up to stone chipping etc.

 

[SELfor50]

Lookin' great there Ryan!! Attention to detail, second to none.

 

[s class]

 

[s class]

Right, last night I refitted the A/C compressor to its bracket, and mounted the bracket, only to discovered that the flange which overlaps the water pump housing was a bit bent, so the shared bolt and spacer wouldnt fit. THis evening I removed the bracket again, bent the bracket straight, and refitted everything. No photos, my arms are buggered.

 

[s class]