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300SD Driver Side Floorboard Replacement. Financially Feasible?

Started by WildKarrde, 12 September 2012, 07:39 PM

WildKarrde

I just found a rather significant problem with my car. I was noticing that my driver seat seemed to sit lower than normal. Initially I thought the springs had simply decayed further. Turns out, the seat has fallen through the floor board on the rear left side!! I'm greatly disheartened about this... and wondering if it's even worth fixing. The drivetrain on this car is amazing, but cosmetically lots of the expensive stuff is broken, and the AC doesn't work, a potentially $1500 fix by itself. I've got about $2000 in the car already, but at this point I'm wondering if I'm better off cutting my losses and parting it out.

Has anyone else dealt with this on their W116? What did it cost you? What did you learn through the process? How did you handle it? Thanks for any advice offered....

jbrasile

WildKarrde,

I had a similar issue with my 74 280S but to a much lesser extent, fairly common problem  on 116's

Sounds like you have a car that needs lot's of attention and cosmetics. There are enough 300SD's out there for a lot less than what you will end up spending on your current vehicle.

Here is one example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/300SD-LOW-MILES-TURBODIESEL-GARAGED-/221121889212?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item337be443bc

Tks,

Joe



oversize

I think you may've anwsered the question yourself!  If you're even considering parting out the car then clearly it has no sentimental value.  Use it for parts and find another.

BTW floorboards go in houses!!!  All MBs that I've seen have steel floors, so if yours is timber then she's really been butchered!!!   ;)
1979 6.9 #5541 (Red Bull)
1978 6.9 #4248 (Skye)
1979 6.9 #3686 (Moby Dick)
1978 6.9 #1776 (Dora)
1977 450SEL #7010 white -P
1975 450SEL #8414 gold -P

WildKarrde

I have a sentimental attachment to the $2000 I've put into it. =\ I looked at it again today, it's not teeeeerrible... maybe I can think of a creative way to fix it for another couple years use.

oversize

Hahahaha!  Really I don't think it'd be that hard to fix!  Can you weld, or know someone that can?  If you've got a donor car it's a no-brainer, or maybe you could head to the wreckers with a rechargeable grinder in hand.....  Cut out the affected area in your car and replace with that from the donor.  W116s have that bloody sound deadener inside the car that makes it very difficult to assess the integrity of the floor.  No doubt it'll be rock hard by now and breaking up.  Worse still it absorbs moisture and won't dry for ages.  It might pay to remove the lot.

Welding is definitely an art that requires skill and often years of practise, but it's not impossible for someone who hasn't done much.  It's important not to put much heat into the surrounding metal otherwise it'll be permanently effected.  I think stitch-welding is the most appropriate with a MIG but I'm not an expert myself.  Check all the seat mounts because they all may be bent as a result of the seat falling through.  And it'd pay to check the other seats too and do the whole thing at once.

Protect the new welds by prep and paint.  Use a sound deadener inside the car (Dynamat or similar) to replace the original stuff.  Underneath it'd be a good idea to use underbody sealer/stoneguard.
1979 6.9 #5541 (Red Bull)
1978 6.9 #4248 (Skye)
1979 6.9 #3686 (Moby Dick)
1978 6.9 #1776 (Dora)
1977 450SEL #7010 white -P
1975 450SEL #8414 gold -P

JasonP


A new floorboard is around $500 from the Classic Center, from what I understand (of course shipping would be probably half that).

If I had a second car, I would have mine on stilts, and take the whole damn chassis off and re-paint it, like some of the lucky folks on here have done.

It's hard to say what is "cost effective." I think most classic-car enthusiast are automatically in the not-cost-effective zone. But it's what we love owning, and love doing, and that has a price all itself.


1979 300SD
Color: 623H "Light Ivory"
1979 300SD
Color: 861H "Silver Green Metallic"
1977 280 E
Color: 606G "Maple Yellow"
-------------------------------------------

John Hubertz

Find a hillbilly welder and have him go in from the underside and do a thorough if non-original repair - the fact the car has significant rust means that it isn't an investment, just a fix.

My 2c
John Hubertz
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
(Hunter S. Thompson) 

1977 450SEL (Max Headroom)
[img width=68 height=73][url="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f248/fullhappyfish/max.jpg"]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f248/fullhappyfish/max.jpg[/url][/img]

jbrasile

EPC shows that the floor comes as complete assembly, driver's floor apparently is not available separately.

List: $735.00

Shipping via Fedex Ground should be reasonable, MB has incredible rates with Fedex so that shouldn't be an issue.

Tks,

Joe

ZCarFan

From an investment standpoint maybe fixing it is not so hot, but there is something to be said for creating rather than simply consuming in this world.  If you are going down that road (fixing it) I'd recommend finishing the job and getting all of the rust on the car at one time.  You either get a solid baseline structure for the car to build on in the future or you are just postponing the inevitable.

I'd think it best fix the leaks first, then replace the entire pan at one time.  The entire floor for $750 is a bargain in OEM sheetmetal  That's about what I'll be spending on the floor of my 260z and it will be aftermarket panels with less coverage.