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Just secured a 450 SEL 6.9 after bit of a chase (years)

Started by andrewk, 18 October 2022, 07:38 AM

revilla

Hi

What a beauty.
Nice find.
Persistency ALWAYS pays off, no exception.
Please keep us posted on progress. If ge can be of any help don't hesitate, you're where you should be.

Note: UV lamp idea, sounds great. Thx for sharing that tip.

andrewk

The engine bay is looking pretty grubby.

I will get the air box stripped and the disintegrated bonnet liner removed and replaced.

As the foam rubber degrades with exposure to air/moisture it becomes slightly acidic and eats into metal. The same thing happens with vintage keyboards and test equipment left in their flight cases... quite sad really.

I'd really like to replace the hoses and coolant expansion tank, plus the washer fluid reservoir. Hopefully I can track down the correct parts - it looks like many have been discontinued by MB and their OEMs. The PVC hoses are pretty brittle and yellow but at least seem to be a relatively common type and should be available from Saint Gobain etc.

If anyone knows the paint colour and/or type for the airbox, it would be extremely helpful. Else, i'll try to find a spare in the interim.
1979 450 SEL 6.9 (#5532) - silbergrün metallic

rumb

The air cleaner is satin black. I find semi gloss a bit too shiney.
'68 250S
'77 6.9 Euro
'91 300SE,
'98 SL500
'14 CLS550,
'16 AMG GTS
'21 E450 Cabrio

raueda1

Quote from: andrewk on 23 October 2022, 08:06 AMThe engine bay is looking pretty grubby.

I will get the air box stripped and the disintegrated bonnet liner removed and replaced.

As the foam rubber degrades with exposure to air/moisture it becomes slightly acidic and eats into metal. The same thing happens with vintage keyboards and test equipment left in their flight cases... quite sad really.
I'd really like to replace the hoses and coolant expansion tank, plus the washer fluid reservoir. Hopefully I can track down the correct parts - it looks like many have been discontinued by MB and their OEMs. The PVC hoses are pretty brittle and yellow but at least seem to be a relatively common type and should be available from Saint Gobain etc.

If anyone knows the paint colour and/or type for the airbox, it would be extremely helpful. Else, i'll try to find a spare in the interim.
The washer fluid reservoir is hard to clean, as the surface is rough and it holds oils which then hold dirt.  I've found that prolonged treatment with so-called "citrus" or "orange" cleaner concentrates to work best. Look for a brand containing glycol ethers (or add some old brake fluid).  Then power-wash it.  Good as new!

Kudos also on the correct 6.9 4-tube setup!  This is special and well known obsession of Robert's. ;)  Treat the T-shaped fitting with special care, it's NLA and everybody has long since broken theirs.  It's not just a T but rather has a pinhole orifice for antisiphon I think.  Headlight washers won't work right without it.  Cheers,

edit:  PS, I love the giant battery, nice touch.  These cars deserve a giant battery.
-Dave
Now:  1976 6.9 Euro, 2015 GL550
Before that:  1966 230S, 1964 220SE coupe, 1977 Carrera 3.0

andrewk

Quote from: raueda1 on 23 October 2022, 09:44 AM
Quote from: andrewk on 23 October 2022, 08:06 AMThe engine bay is looking pretty grubby.

I will get the air box stripped and the disintegrated bonnet liner removed and replaced.

As the foam rubber degrades with exposure to air/moisture it becomes slightly acidic and eats into metal. The same thing happens with vintage keyboards and test equipment left in their flight cases... quite sad really.
I'd really like to replace the hoses and coolant expansion tank, plus the washer fluid reservoir. Hopefully I can track down the correct parts - it looks like many have been discontinued by MB and their OEMs. The PVC hoses are pretty brittle and yellow but at least seem to be a relatively common type and should be available from Saint Gobain etc.

If anyone knows the paint colour and/or type for the airbox, it would be extremely helpful. Else, i'll try to find a spare in the interim.
The washer fluid reservoir is hard to clean, as the surface is rough and it holds oils which then hold dirt.  I've found that prolonged treatment with so-called "citrus" or "orange" cleaner concentrates to work best. Look for a brand containing glycol ethers (or add some old brake fluid).  Then power-wash it.  Good as new!

Kudos also on the correct 6.9 4-tube setup!  This is special and well known obsession of Robert's. ;)  Treat the T-shaped fitting with special care, it's NLA and everybody has long since broken theirs.  It's not just a T but rather has a pinhole orifice for antisiphon I think.  Headlight washers won't work right without it.  Cheers,

edit:  PS, I love the giant battery, nice touch.  These cars deserve a giant battery.

My main business is chemical manufacturing & distribution, so I have access to basically every chemical one might need to clean or treat parts. We have diisopropyl ether and d-limonene in stock, both used in circuit board cleaning compounds we have developed. Will the plastic be a nice colour again? The hose is probably better to replace rather than try to fix. It goes brittle and will eventually fail.
1979 450 SEL 6.9 (#5532) - silbergrün metallic

nathan

1979 116 6.9 #6436
2018 213 e63
2011 212 e63
2011 463 g55
2007 211 e500 wagen
1995 124 e320 cabriolet
1983 460 300gd
1981 123 280te

Eyeman

Rumb for sure is more of an expert than I am, but I'd assume the airbox on my Euro version was originally gloss black.  I agree, satin would probably look better.

On the hood underliner, in my case it's kind of deceptive how much corrosion I have vs glue.  But it sounds like you are like me, you somewhat want to remove the old foam, get everything back to proper paint, then glue on the new one.
1963 190SL(project)
1977 6.9 (Euro)
1994 Porsche 968 Cabriolet
1994 Porsche 968 Coupe
2008 BMW 135
2017 AMG GTS

rumb

Quote from: Eyeman on 24 October 2022, 10:19 AMRumb for sure is more of an expert than I am, but I'd assume the airbox on my Euro version was originally gloss black.  I agree, satin would probably look better.


There are a lot of black parts on our cars and and cant say any of them are gloss black. I've used semi-gloss and satin and I feel satin is closer to original.
'68 250S
'77 6.9 Euro
'91 300SE,
'98 SL500
'14 CLS550,
'16 AMG GTS
'21 E450 Cabrio

daantjie

#23
If you are not too concerned about absolute originality, you can also fit a later style air filter housing from a W126 or R107 V8.  They are MUCH lighter for sure.  Just make sure the snorkel configuration works for your setup.
Daniel
1977 450 SEL 6.9 - Astralsilber

McNuggets

What a beauty! I love the green color, there were so many great choices available back then.

Rumb, should the block itself be satin as well?

raueda1

Quote from: andrewk on 24 October 2022, 12:33 AM
Quote from: raueda1 on 23 October 2022, 09:44 AM
Quote from: andrewk on 23 October 2022, 08:06 AMThe engine bay is looking pretty grubby.

I will get the air box stripped and the disintegrated bonnet liner removed and replaced.

As the foam rubber degrades with exposure to air/moisture it becomes slightly acidic and eats into metal. The same thing happens with vintage keyboards and test equipment left in their flight cases... quite sad really.
I'd really like to replace the hoses and coolant expansion tank, plus the washer fluid reservoir. Hopefully I can track down the correct parts - it looks like many have been discontinued by MB and their OEMs. The PVC hoses are pretty brittle and yellow but at least seem to be a relatively common type and should be available from Saint Gobain etc.

If anyone knows the paint colour and/or type for the airbox, it would be extremely helpful. Else, i'll try to find a spare in the interim.
The washer fluid reservoir is hard to clean, as the surface is rough and it holds oils which then hold dirt.  I've found that prolonged treatment with so-called "citrus" or "orange" cleaner concentrates to work best. Look for a brand containing glycol ethers (or add some old brake fluid).  Then power-wash it.  Good as new!

Kudos also on the correct 6.9 4-tube setup!  This is special and well known obsession of Robert's. ;)  Treat the T-shaped fitting with special care, it's NLA and everybody has long since broken theirs.  It's not just a T but rather has a pinhole orifice for antisiphon I think.  Headlight washers won't work right without it.  Cheers,

edit:  PS, I love the giant battery, nice touch.  These cars deserve a giant battery.

My main business is chemical manufacturing & distribution, so I have access to basically every chemical one might need to clean or treat parts. We have diisopropyl ether and d-limonene in stock, both used in circuit board cleaning compounds we have developed. Will the plastic be a nice colour again? The hose is probably better to replace rather than try to fix. It goes brittle and will eventually fail.
LOL, our careers seem to have much in common!  Don't get me started on polymer and adhesive stabilization.  Anyway, your concoction is pretty close to the orange stuff I found, though water solubility of diisopropyl ether is a lot lower than glycol ethers and other stuff in the "orange" cleaners.  But I don't see how it could really hurt except that it might be too aggressive and couldn't easily be diluted with water-based sufactants.  Anyway, it worked great for me!  And I certainly replaced the brown hoses (brown PVC = degraded PVC).  That's how I learned about the T fitting.  I managed to make a passable replacement but it doesn't quite look stock.  So, cut the hoses off the T, don't risk breakage by pulling!
-Dave
Now:  1976 6.9 Euro, 2015 GL550
Before that:  1966 230S, 1964 220SE coupe, 1977 Carrera 3.0

BMA

It seems in 1979 they built a lot of 6.9's. Yours is #5532, mine is #7271, got its first license plate 01. January 1980, so obviously one of the last ones built in 1979.
happy having finally a 6.9 # 7271 in my garage, ...so nice to cruise!

andrewk

Well, the fuel system is going to need a fair bit of work - that's for sure.

I'm not sure why the inside of the fuel door has rust, but it seems to be surface rust only, rather than deep corrosion. I wonder if it is from mud or dirt getting in to that area...
1979 450 SEL 6.9 (#5532) - silbergrün metallic

gurrier

Hi,

A blocked drain in the base - careful probing with such as a length of wire should release the debris blocking.  May be easier to see if you remove the fuel filler flap.
1973 350SE

daantjie

Quote from: gurrier on 13 November 2022, 01:47 AMHi,

A blocked drain in the base - careful probing with such as a length of wire should release the debris blocking.  May be easier to see if you remove the fuel filler flap.

Yes the drain hose runs into the trunk (behind the cladding) then exits into the well and out.  Pretty much guaranteed this hose is well plugged. A good time to also check sunroof drains.
Daniel
1977 450 SEL 6.9 - Astralsilber