My Custom 1980 300SD Project

[Squiggle Dog]

The part number for the air cleaner mount heat shields is 617 094 02 20. They are factory and help keep the turbo heat from prematurely aging the rubber. I got mine here: http://www.autohausaz.com/search/product.aspx?sid=abinvy55cedqjh55iay5ho55&makeid=800016@Mercedes&modelid=1193992@300SD&year=1980&cid=22@Fuel%20%26%20Air%20System&gid=5886@Air%20Cleaner%20Fastener .

[Squiggle Dog]

I bought new rubber fuel door bumpers and replaced the filler grommet with one I got at PickNPull. I painted the grommet with rubber/vinyl/plastic paint to help protect it against spilled biodiesel. I also painted the cap with Krylon chrome paint and replaced the gasket with a biodiesel-compatible one. You can see how the biodiesel melted the old filler grommet.



One nagging problem I've had since I've owned the car was a missing accelerator pedal. The mount that was welded to the body rusted and broke. Driving with only the rod was uncomfortable.


I finally addressed the problem by purchasing a new accelerator pedal mount from Mercedes-Benz (part number 116 616 00 20), which was only about $10. It even comes with a hole to bolt it to the floor. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to bolt it in, or have it welded, but after seeing the condition of the floor and how stuck the old mount was, I decided to just bolt it in.


I used a Dremel tool and a cutting wheel to remove the curved part of the pedal mount and ground it until it was flat.

[Squiggle Dog]

I drilled a 5/16" hole through what was left of the old mounting plate. Then I used a wire brush and sanded the loose rust off of the floor, followed by an application of Rust Doctor, which converts the rust into magnetite.



I found a factory nut, bolt, and washer that were the perfect size. I laid down a layer of JB Weld before setting down the plate to fill any spaces and to keep the plate from rotating. I also had a small rust-through area to fill.


The fender washer sunk in flush with the undercoating and I used thread locker on the nut.


I actually completely disassembled, cleaned, and lubricated the pedal/throttle linkage assembly. So smooth! I had a bent linkage that was easy to straighten, and I replaced the accordion grommet on the firewall with a used, untorn one. Now I finally have an accelerator pedal. I also found good brake and parking brake pads, so I installed those as well. One more nagging problem solved on a tight budget.

[TJ 450]

Very good work. It's amazing what can be achieved with such a small outlay in terms of cost on these cars if you DIY.

It looks as good as new, and luckily the soundproofing was removed. Did you do that or was it like that already?

Tim

[Squiggle Dog]

Very good work. It's amazing what can be achieved with such a small outlay in terms of cost on these cars if you DIY.

It looks as good as new, and luckily the soundproofing was removed. Did you do that or was it like that already?

Tim

Thank you. I removed the soundproofing, though it was in rough shape and I ended up putting it back in so the carpet would lay somewhat flat.

[Squiggle Dog]

You all laughed at me for installing a roof rack, but today it proved to be useful for shipping large car parts:



There is no way that box would have fit in the trunk.

[Tony66_au]

They wouldn't deliver it?

I usually make it a condition of sale lol

[Casey]

There is no way that box would have fit in the trunk.

Sure there is! Clearly what you need to do is remove the rear seat and sunroof, move the back window and gas tank forward, and make yourself one of those crazy coupes like you posted pictures of before.  Anything will fit in one of those trunks - even another W116 for the tow home!

There's a nice white on red W108 near me with a roof rack. If it was a LWB I think I'd try to buy it. Beautiful car.

[Squiggle Dog]

They wouldn't deliver it?

I usually make it a condition of sale lol

There are 6 door panels in that box. I was taking them to the post office to ship down to a buyer in California. I only got $10 for all 6, but at least I don't have to take them with me to Phoenix, now.

[Squiggle Dog]

There is no way that box would have fit in the trunk.

Sure there is! Clearly what you need to do is remove the rear seat and sunroof, move the back window and gas tank forward, and make yourself one of those crazy coupes like you posted pictures of before.  Anything will fit in one of those trunks - even another W116 for the tow home!

There's a nice white on red W108 near me with a roof rack. If it was a LWB I think I'd try to buy it. Beautiful car.

That W108 sounds nice.

[Tony66_au]

Ahh well then I applaud your dedication to the preservation efforts of 116 bits, I know many would have junked the lot to avoid the hassle and what you are doing makes you a King amongst men!

And for this I shall cease sniggering every time I see your roof rack.....  :-)

[Squiggle Dog]

I've been away for a while due to a move from Tacoma, Washington to Phoenix, Arizona. If I could sum up the move in one word, it would be "nightmare".

I arranged to have a transporter pick up four of my roommate's cars plus my 300SD to take them to Arizona. Though we were flexible on the pickup date, the condition was that the cars could not be delivered before July 3rd because we wouldn't have possession of the property yet. After stating this to the dispatcher, and then to the actual transport company, they arranged to pick up the cars on June 26th. Once the cars were loaded, the transporter said he will see us on the 28th. I said, "Oh no, they can't be delivered that soon. We won't even be in Arizona at the time and there will be no one there to receive them!" After talking with the lead at the transport company, and telling them of his mistake, he said he will have them dropped off at a nearby storage lot. I told him that I guess that would have to do. Needless to say, my roommate was not happy.

I had picked up a 26' moving truck with car trailer (for my 1967 Mercedes Universal station wagon) from Penske earlier in the day, and I started to back the trailer into the driveway so I could detach it. We separated the trailer, but Penske's trailers don't have a wheel up front and so you have to try to move it by manhandling and lifting it. The wheels of the trailer were in a ditch, so moving it was difficult. I placed a jack underneath the tongue as we pushed. The jack tipped over and the tongue of the trailer fell down onto my foot. I was wearing steel toed boots, but the steel toe really only protects the first toe. It crushed my foot and I had to have my roommate help me to lift it off because the trailer weighs 2,000lbs. With the truck still out in the road, the cars headed down to Arizona, and the loading still ahead of us, what I felt was pure horror.

[Squiggle Dog]

My foot was in bad shape, but thankfully my roommate had his brother come over to help load the truck (and it's a good thing most of the household was already boxed). They worked hard and managed to completely fill the truck before the day I was to leave. I am so thankful, (especially to my roommate's brother) that they were able to make the deadline. I paid to have professional movers come and help with the heavy items, especially the antique piano. A nice neighbor came by with crutches.

My roommate flew down to secure the house and I drove down (thankfully the truck had an automatic transmission and it wasn't my driving foot that was hurt). Once my and my roommate's dogs were in the cab, I started driving the truck. Getting the dogs in and out of the truck cab for rest stops was very difficult with an injured foot, but I made it happen.


Due to the 55 MPH truck speed limit and bad roads, I ended up driving 15 hours and at 5 AM I was still two hours away from the reserved motel, so I stopped at the nearest one, which only had one vacancy--a smoking room on the second floor, so I took it. I had to use a combination of crutches and crawling to get both dogs up to the second floor motel room, which was a long distance away from where I parked the truck.

After 5 hours of sleep, I took the dogs out of the motel room and checked out, then drove about another 15 hours and made it to the second motel that I had reserved. Fortunately, this one was on the first floor. One thing that was troubling me is that my roommate's Great Dane (Noxi) hadn't peed in three days, despite my efforts to get her to go the whole time. Right after I drifted off to sleep at about 6 AM, I heard water running and looked to see her peeing on the floor in the motel. So, I got up again, took her outside, (now it's daylight) and she still wouldn't pee outside. I took her back in, got about 4 hours of sleep, then drove the rest of the way to Phoenix. The drive into Phoenix was very beautiful with the saguaro cacti.

[Squiggle Dog]

Once I got to Phoenix, I hired professional movers--and to my amazement, they pushed my station wagon into the driveway and unloaded the entire 26' truck in only 5 hours! They even got the 900lb piano out of the truck, even though it almost broke the loading ramp. I'll probably have to use them again, since I had to leave most of my possessions (my bicycle, all of my tools, all of my spare car parts) back at the old house since there wasn't room in the truck for them. I'm thinking of flying back up there, renting another truck, hiring movers to help me load the truck, then driving back down, and hiring movers to unload the truck.

The transporter dropped off our cars at a local storage lot (since they arrived way too early). Our cars were covered in oil like someone had dumped a barrel all over them (even though our cars were loaded on the top of the transporter truck). My 300SD was so bad that I couldn't see through any of the windows and had to have the owner of the lot clean the glass so I could see to drive it. The rear license plate of one of my roommate's cars was ripped off and I had to pay the owner of the lot $300 of my own money for storing them for a couple of days. Also, the transporter dropped off a vintage Jaguar that was destined for Beverly Hills, but the transporter abandoned it at the Phoenix lot and the owner of the lot said he didn't know who owned the car and was trying to give it away to us. Someone in Beverly Hills is going to be very upset!

I'm loving the hot weather (it was 114 Fahrenheit when I got here, and has been well over 100 every day), but my roommate's car (the newest one, and the only one with air conditioning) is dead, so we haven't had AC in our cars as we've driven around during the day. I had over $2,000 saved away so that I could install air conditioning in the 300SD, but since I injured my foot and all of these other costs are adding up, I'm going to be back in debt thousands of dollars very soon.

I went to the doctor and the X-rays show my foot is broken in four places. Now it's infected, so I'm on antibiotics and am hoping I don't lose my foot. The doctor is going to try to set the 4th toe (which was badly displaced) in a week if the infection goes away, since I can't afford surgery and have no insurance (no job, either). I'll probably have to get a desk job since I can no longer work in a warehouse and will be off of my foot for at least two months.

At least my 300SD is here safely (after a run through the car wash).

[GypsyKingg]

This has been one of the most amazing things I have ever read.....