Where Can I obtain Spare Parts for My W116 Please

[Bis]

Moning All, I have just registered on this forum. I have recently, within the last 6 weeks, become the proud new owner of a 1974 350 se . It used to belong to a cousin who sadly passed away . I was not a huge fan until I drove the car on Sunday from Jhb to Pta .

What an awesome machine, The ride, comfort and classic luxury is unbelievable. Instead of selling the car, I have decided to put some effort in, bring the car back to the state that it deserves. The engine seems pretty good, I had a mac take a look at it, There seems to be a bit of an overheating problem which i'm sure will be relatively simply to fix. I do however need the following parts:

A new windscreen, the current one has a deep scratch;

A left tail light

and rubbers for the doors.

If any of you would be so kind as to point me in the right direction to obtain such parts, I would be hugely grateful.

Thank you kindly.

[koan]

Give us a hint what country you are in, or at least narrow it down to an hemisphere.

Seriously, if you were to place your location in your profile we all would know and be able to direct you to the best sources for parts.

koan

[Bis]

sorry, getting to know the ropes

I'm in Johannesburg South Africa

Thanks.

[WGB]

Welcome and hope you keep enjoying your car.

One of the SA members will probably be more helpful but windscreens should be easily found locally at any windscreen replacement outlet, Door rubbers you can get from www.autohausaz.com or check you local agents as M-B prices were always a bit more reasonable in SA than Australia, rear lights are usually found at wreckers.

Many parts also turn up on ebay.

Be careful with the overheating problem,

Usually it is a blocked radiator core in my experience which can be easily cleaned by "rodding" as it is a  copper radiator but get the head-gaskets checked as well as replace the thermostat when it is apart. Use only Genuine M-B coolant (Blue coloured) at 50:50 with distilled water  once you know that all leaks and problems have been fixed.

Low octane petrol and/or too much ignition advance will also cause overheating

Bill

[Bis]

Thank you bill, I have started with the wreckers (scrap yards here in sa) without success thus far but will continue. I will check with MB. When you refer to low octane petrol, I've been using 93. Do you think that is sufficient ? Thanks again.

[oscar]

Hi bis and welcome. 

Check out this thread too http://forum.w116.org/shop/suppliers/

I'm sure the SA members will chip in with what's around Joburg but check out autohaus in the US for some pricing whilst you wait.  Good advice from WGB I might add.  Some things are just going to be easier to sourc or service locally eg windscreen and radiator.

Regarding 93 octane, the manual will state to use premium or 98 octane.  My 73 350se has done about 250,000km of its 400,000+km on unleaded 91octane fuel without additive by the previous owner (my dad).  It's first 100,000 was done with leaded regular or super whose octane might have been between 91RON-95RON. The speedo is up to about 390,000km but there's about 20-30thousand missing because the speedo didn't work for a couple of years before I got it. Anyway, the enigine has good compression and is still going strong.

But having said all that.  Not long after I got the car and joined this site, I started using 98RON and occasionally when I remember, put an AVSR (anti-valve seat recession) additive to the fuel. Your engine will have or should have a high compression of 9.5:1 compression ratio and needs a high octane fuel to produce a progressive burn.  Low octane is more explosive and will eventually do damage one would think despite my testimony to how well my 350 has survived unintentional abuse.   I'm sure my 350 will survive for ages with 91 or 93 RON and with timing retarded to reduce knock but it's a bit of a personal choice to treat the old beast with some lurv.

[Bis]

Thanks Oscar, mine only has 95 000 km on the clock so it's still a baby. I will have to check what is the highest octane we can get here in SA.

[WGB]

M116/7 Euro motors definitely prefer 98 Octane.

Bill

[OzBenzHead]

Thanks Oscar, mine only has 95 000 km on the clock so it's still a baby. I will have to check what is the highest octane we can get here in SA.

Bis: According to M-B, 98 RON is the go if your engine is a high-compression version, though you can run it on 95 in an emergency.  If you plan to run it on 95 permanently (NOT advisable!), the timing will need to be altered to suit, else you risk killing that nice "young" engine prematurely.  (Low-compression versions will probably do okay on 95 RON.)

I found, after switching from 95 to 98 in my high-compression Euro-spec 116 that, despite the considerably higher cost per litre of 98 RON, the performance and efficiency were so much better that I got more km per dollar than on the cheaper, lower-grade fuel.

As the slogan of Karl Benz (or was it Gottlieb Daimler?) goes: "Die Beste oder Nicht" - the best or nothing.

[s class]

Welcome Bis, good to have you here.  I have been working on 116's and 107's for many years here in Edenvale and I can connect you with the right suppliers for the right prices for just about anything. 

As a starter, for your questions -

windscreens - you could go to the big guys like PG etc, but its expensive.  I use Like-Nu in Selby/Langlaagte area.  They supply used or new windscreens.  Most of the used ones are chipped/scratched, but they can get you a new SABS windscreen for half of what PG will charge. 

Radiators - best is the Knights (Germiston) branch of Silvertons.  Silvertons is a franchise and so the branches produce varying work quality.  I've tried a few - go to Knights. 

Other common problems with cooling - themostat, and visco fan clutch.  I would check both carefully on an unknown car.  If you are mechanically inclined you can do it yourself, otherwise I can help you. 

For new spares, the best is Cargo M2 city in Johannesburg.  (011) 405-2800.  Ask for Dave in Spares.  Most of the other branches have salesmen who don't give a damn about the older cars.  Dave is different - he goes out of his way and has supplied a boat load of stuff for my cars.

For used spares, call Ross at CJ Auto (011) 452-9696.  Tell him Ryan sent you.  CJ auto is a breaker that does MB only.  They have a fair number of 116's in, but the sought-after stuff like tail-lights go first.  You need to be lucky to buy good condition items off cars as old as 116's. 

To the other guys - Johannesburg is at about 1700m altitude, so octanes are lower here.  The highest octane unleaded that can be purchased is 95 - and not everywhere either.  A lot of stations only supply 93.  The highest octane Lead-replacement petrol is 93. 

I've run my hi-comp 280Se on 93 for years and its fine.  It tends to ping of you don't get the timing just right though. 

Indeed, that car is a baby - my 280SE has done 448000km plus about 100 000 that the P.O. 'haircut' off it before I bought the car back in 1997. 

[Bis]

Thank you all for the much needed assistance. S class, I work in Bedfordview and with edenvale just around the corner, most of your suppliers will be convenient for me too. I am not in any manner mechanically inclined and would appreciate all the help I can get.

Much appreciated.