Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,740
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Dec 13, 2014 13:19:37 GMT
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you can title this update 'priorities.' there is two things i hate about facelift w115s. some of it they got quite right, i much prefer the bigger boot chrome handle, it looks more in proportion. the rounded, frog-mouth front lower grille/valance/lower wings looks much better to me too. i'll even forgo the opening 1/4 lights in preference of integrated door mirrors that don't look like a total afterthought and actually allow adiquate rearward vision. but, two things are inexcusable. one is the big ribbed plastic rear lights. i'll get round to them soon. the other is this thing.  as you can see, its on the floor, where it belongs. you see, id bought an early 'wheel off ebay. it was cheap, so i wasnt expecting it to be mint. it was listed as having a few cracks to the plastic, kind of expected really. i didnt expect it to look like this when it turned up though-  i don't think its happened it transit either, it looks like old damage. also, it was listed complete with column, ign/ switch, keys, and indicator/wiper multistalk. the ignition switch is broken, the supplied keys don't operate it, and all the wiring plugs have been cut off. joys of eBay. but, i clamped the column in the vice, and swung off the steering wheel, and its now flat/straight, without any loss of plastic or further cracking. shame the hornpush is also sh1t (and the foam is saturated, and the boss was half full of water too. obviously been sat outside for a while).   but, its a merc, it has to have one, so-  i remember reading somewhere about how sliding behind this steering wheel when you get in makes you feel special. its true, even if the rest of the car is a shed, you look down at that steering wheel, and just thing 'yeah, i drive a proper merc'. |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,740
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Dec 13, 2014 13:30:23 GMT
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so, restoring the steering wheel added to the ever increasing job list, i decided to poke at the floor/sill some more. first i pulled off the remains of the outer, as far back as where it was separated from the floor. then, i took the spot weld drill to the jacking point mount too. pile of rusty bits-  surprisingly good A-pillar. needs the bottom flange replacing, but its more or less a flat patch, so I'm pleased with that-  previous multi-overlapped repair work, including a patch onto a patch where they cut the first one too small!  front corner isnt too bad, you can see where ive drilled out the spotwelds to remove the closing plate with the sill-   then, after chiselling a lot of the tarboard sound deadening off, and knotwheeling all the previous repairers (pink!) paint off, i marked up and got cutting... didnt have long before i ran out of time, but ive drilled out even more spotwelds, and exposed the back end of the sort-of chassis leg bit. although a bit rusty, inside, its solid, and just needs sandblasting, which is another relief!    only nasty surprise is the rot has spread under the front outer seat bracket, so i'll have to remove that to repair under it. I'm going to put a half-sill on this side now i think, but ill make up the floor repair myself rather than buying a panel. again, i think i got away with it a bit, its all pretty straightforward repairs, and it could have been a lot, lot worse! |
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Last Edit: Dec 13, 2014 13:32:03 GMT by Dez
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,740
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Dec 15, 2014 20:27:18 GMT
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so, whilst waiting for this weeks weldathon to be delivered (a S2a landy chassis), i made that hole a little bigger-  oooh look, you can see the new gearknob i made the other night whilst waiting around for another car to be delivered but forgot to take a pic of. it replaced the rodent-eaten stub of the original one...  i decided to take it right out up to the factory floor/firewall join, as there was little point leaving a 2-3" strip there, may as well run it right up and have one less join. i also cut it back over the chassis leg after drilling even more spotwelds out, so i could give in there a proper clean out. its actually pretty good, the front half is still full of wax, the rear half is a bit scabby but will blast up. once i find out who's borrowed my spotblast gun and not returned it anyways...  thats a lot of floor on show when you look down-  this is why the hole had to be so big though. a mixture of sub standard previous overlapped repairs, and some fresh rot around them.  looks like someone might not have cut that bit quite right!-  this turned up too. £25 delivered ebay baaaargin.  so ive now got recent/new front wings and front valance. theres gunna be a big order going in with a panel supplier in the netherlands by the end of the week(big thanks again to berendd for translation skillz), a couple of sills, some inner ring top rails, full rear 1/4s, handbrake scallop for the floor, rear valance, inner rear 1/4s, etc. etc. i don't know if i need all of it, but what i don't use is easily sold on and its easier to bring it in as a job lot. then it can start going back together! |
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Last Edit: Dec 15, 2014 20:38:21 GMT by Dez
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Dec 15, 2014 21:28:27 GMT
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I owned this car for a while glad to see it getting some love if you found some white rimmed sun glasses in it can I have them back lol
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Dec 15, 2014 21:39:40 GMT
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Also I think the shocks were from polish police omega,oh btw don't be angry at me for the quality of the car I just owned it and enjoyed it  it's fantastic to see it getting love once again  |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,740
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Dec 15, 2014 23:22:23 GMT
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oh, I'm as responsible as anyone for the condition of this being a bit sh1t. these where cheap but cool beaters back when i had them nearly 10 years ago. the heavily dented bonnet on this one was like that cos i ended up dancing on it whilst severely inebriated, when it was fitted to my yellow one. when i started fixing up the yellow one, i robbed a load of bits off this, i swapped the bonnets, and swapped the brown interior into this one and had the black interior for my 'better' car. in reality, this car is probably less rusty than the yellow one was!
whoevers owned it in between my two ownerships has looked after it better than expected really- new steering relay pin kit, new rear brakes, possibly some new exhaust too by the looks(certainly had the downpipe sorted out). more than youd expect on such a cheap, rough looking car. plus, the mega thick, treacle like paint added has probably done it a few favours in the rust prevention department too!
only thing I'm a bit miffed about is the glovebox liner, glovebox catch, ashtray and bracket are missing from the dash, and replacements arent proving too easy to source. i can get the catch, and i can get an ashtray but not the bracket. i cant find out if the glovebox liner is the same LHD/RHD, and they're a bit pricey to take a punt on one off german ebay to find out!
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Last Edit: Dec 15, 2014 23:23:01 GMT by Dez
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berendd
Europe
why do I need 3 keys for one car?
Posts: 1,449
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good progress!
took me ages to get my 114 to the stage you are with this now...
I might get back to you for sorting a pair of shocks out, but that's a later issue, as mine are good enough for MOT.
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Dec 16, 2014 14:02:05 GMT
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I don't think it had the lining think it had dash catch and ash tray I didn't have any of those parts can't see why someone would remove them tbh I sold it to drifter rich bought it from Abdul and he bought it from alex Whittal I loved the car great motor slept on the bonnet at a show once haha drifted it across a turn at the end of my street in the wet but other than that drive it gently still got pics of it great car just at the time didn't have the cash or time to fix the slave cylinder I was dailying it down the road to work before rich took it on lovely car though pulls so smooth would Defo have a diesel one again if I could get one,when I bought it it had landrover discovery seats in the front and changed them back to the old wrecked seats also it had a big red button horn on the dash put the old dash vent back in and that's all I did il be watching and can't wait to see it finished happy your looking after her  |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,740
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Jan 21, 2015 10:54:15 GMT
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this update has been a long time coming. i was hoping to post this pic before christmas, but myherpes helpfully lost half my lazercutting, and its taken a month to sort it all out and get it recut. but this is the pic ive been waiting so long to post-  that a full kit down to pretty much every fixture and fitting. i originally had a black firestone 3gal tank, but it was only 2port which meant a lot of heath robinson T pieces going on, or me welding in a load of extra bosses. so i sold that for 50 quid+ post and bought the brand new 4gal airlift 5port tank you see for £89 delivered. it simplifies the plumbing, looks better, and fits the space I'm using better too as its longer and thinner. the bags are fairly generic firestone 1/4" port ones like come with all the cheap kits. relatively cheap and cheerful, but should get the job done.  the compressor is a thompson that you get with air ride technologies kits, but ive designed the system with a view to upgrading to twin viairs or similar at a later date.  the valve block is ridepro from air ride technologies. i really like these blocks, nice bits of kit-  all the unions are new, i've gone to metric line to make bits easier to get over here (indeed some of the fittings i needed to adapt stuff to work with each other weren't available in any other size) i've gone 8mm for the main lines and 4mm for the gauges. speaking of the gauge, ive got this rather nice bit of kit, that i plan on putting in place of the dash clock-  its an air brake gauge off a '60s/'70s truck. correct pressure range, even labelled front and rear! couldn't be more perfect really. this is the lazercutting i was waiting for. i wasnt happy with the endplates that came with the bags(too thin, too large diameter, port cutouts not right), so i designed some of my own and had them cut. they're now 5mm plate instead of 3mm so properly self supporting, a bit smaller diameter so they don't need cutting down to fit, and the port cutouts are big enough to clear slam specialities bags if i ever decide to upgrade (SS bags are imho the best out there)   i also bought a load of new line and fittings and that to fit it all. so, its all ready and waiting once i get some free ramp time. don't know how soon that will be with the amount of work i've got on though! I'm going to buy a sheet of MDF this week to do the boot install, so will probably get that lot done between other jobs so all i actually have to do when it comes to it is remove the springs, fit the bags and run some lines, to cut down on the amount of ramp time needed. |
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Last Edit: Jan 21, 2015 10:59:07 GMT by Dez
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Jan 21, 2015 13:17:51 GMT
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Loving this build so far & can't wait to see the air fitted.
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Instagram - Woodym3evo
W114 M104 69 Merc
1 Series 135i M-Sport
#thegovernorsclub
#TeamAF
#baggedbenzuk
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Jan 21, 2015 16:09:33 GMT
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You probably have experience on these cars, however take care when removing the front springs as they'll fly out if not using a spring compressor. The rear springs are super easy to remove, just lower the diff by loosing the bolt that holds it and the spring will come out gently (remove shocks first).
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Last Edit: Jan 21, 2015 16:10:05 GMT by geoff115
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,740
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Jan 21, 2015 21:31:49 GMT
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yep I'm familiar with them. they're not quite as death-causing as stock anyways, they're already missing a few coils from the first time i owned it. other things have happened over christmas, mostly buying sh1t. i got a n/s early rear light off ebay for 25 quid, which was pretty cheap i thought. it needs a polish but only has one tiny hairline crack in the lens.  neads a seal too but i'll buy a new pair once ive got the other sie as well. more importantly, i got talking to the old boy i bought it off, and he mentioned seats, long story short, i ended up buying a pair of black MB tex front seats with armrests in the dark by torchlight in a pub carpark in the rain, on the other side of ipswich. i couldnt really make a full assessment of what i was getting, but i saw armrests and chrome hinge covers and knew i was getting a good deal at 35 quid! what i ended up with was a pair of what i assume are late w108 seats. the seats have 115 part numbers on tags in the back, but have w108 runners. both are absolutely filthy, coverd in mud/dust/actual growing grass, but the vinyl is still soft so they're plenty usable. amazingly the drivers one is mint, but the pass has some damage to the top corner. both have armrests but you can only run one in a w115 as they're narrower than a w108. i even got 7/8 of the chrome hinge covers. interestingly, the seat pans are identical, so you can unbolt the w108 runners and fit the w115 ones straight up. only issue is the w115 ones are spot-welded on not bolted, so you have to drill all the spotwelds out before you can do so. subframes/runners swapped over, and dropped into place. i'll give em a thorough wash next, now i know they fit.  and armrest- all the cools.  this is the top corner of the pass seat that has damage. i think I'm going to sikiflex it up to stop it getting any worse, and keep a lookout for a seat top half. although its surprisingly hidden by the B-pillar.  hes on holiday in mexico at the mo, ive got to go see him about a bumper and possibly a bonnet when he gets back though. hopefully he'll have more goodies too.... |
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Last Edit: Jan 21, 2015 21:35:26 GMT by Dez
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Jan 21, 2015 21:36:11 GMT
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Really interested in the air ride install *n |
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Top grammar tips!
Bought = purchased. Brought = relocated
Lose = misplace/opposite of win. Loose = your mum
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Jan 21, 2015 22:05:41 GMT
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Duly bookmarked |
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Jan 21, 2015 22:21:38 GMT
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Great work as usual Dezmond, looking forward to the finished result.
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,740
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Jan 28, 2015 19:25:31 GMT
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well, the air install is starting with a boot build. i ended up blagging a sheet of oak vaneered 18mm MDF for half the price of a normal sheet because it had been laquered on one side and returned. so thats what its being made out of. i'll probably cover it all in carpet anyways though. I'm raising the air setup up to go over the spare wheel which will lay flat in the boot rather than its normal position, as the new spare wheel wont fit in the original well, and the well is a bit bashed up so I'm going to remove it. this still leaves me with plenty boot space, but separates the air from stuff rolling round in the boot. i cut the spare wheel bracket and jack bracket off, still got to remove the wheel well yet though. heres the basics marked out, cut and put in place. in the words of HARDCORE, 'it appears you have installed a kitchenette in your boot'.  cutting this lot out to go around the bumper re-enforcers, the fuel filler and the slight curve to the rear of the car was a right job. in fact it still needs a little trimming up to sit totally flat, but id had enough by then. i got the rough shape by using a piece of plastic cladding as a template and hacking it out bit by bit til i got a reasonable fit, then transferring it to the board, but i cant find a pic of that.  another view. you can see here the main boot floor section had to be split in half, so you cant actually get it into the boot.  this is how it is raised up and re-enforced. they also act as dividers to hold the spare wheel in place. they run all the way forward to the seat back panel, and will screw through it to make it all nice and solid.  compressor is gunna go here, eventally i want to fit a pair of viairs, one each side, but the one ive got will do for now. the valve block and pipework will mount up behind the tank so its hidden. will probably hardline a few bits to make it look all fancy and that too.  still got to do some more trimming up of the base board, then i can see about glueing and screwing the rest, and making a centre section(i need to get a bit of bendly ply to do that), and a couple of side panels too. pretty happy with it so far though. |
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Steve
Posted a lot
Making progress in small, easy to handle chunks of awesome
Posts: 2,030
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Jan 28, 2015 19:48:50 GMT
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Looking good dude even with the mass amount of plastic covered wood in the boot |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,740
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Jan 28, 2015 21:49:04 GMT
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thats real WAFFER-THIN oak i'll have you know!  |
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Jan 28, 2015 21:56:29 GMT
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Nice build, look forward to seeing how you progress.
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,740
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Feb 18, 2015 21:49:57 GMT
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no massive amount of progress on this I'm afraid, because insurance claim grief and actual paid work. i have done a few buys though, one being this-  so my interior is slowly turning back to its original colour. it was sourced by berendd off marktplatz.nl for me, and brought into the country by UtterPiffle on one of his germany to uk commutes, as handily he lives not too far away from me. it has a couple of small marks and a little repair, but youd really have to be looking to see either and it was a bargain £50, so I'm really not gunna complain as IF you can find one in the uk, itll be 3-4 times that price. the centre is a sightly different pattern on MB-tex (because my front seats are W108 not W115) but again, id have to point it out for 99% of people to notice. i just need some door cards next!! the other one was a bit of a score to be honest. two new old stock genuine merc full outer door skins- a drivers front and passenger rear.  i need all 4 doing on mine (stacklights are well known for rusty doors), and already had a good quality repro passenger front half-skin, so i only need to do something about the drivers rear now. they even have the seal channels on so they're a pretty easy swap, once any repairs to the inners are done. they came out of a dealers in bradford, don't know if it shut down or they were just clearing old stock. the price? £35 each. i couldnt give him the money quick enough!!   |
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it's fantastic to see it getting love once again 
