450SEL"restoration".

[TJ 450]

Continuing with the trend, I have decided that the rust must be repaired. I have pulled everything out, including the sound deadening that I will probably replace with Dynamat in certain areas.

BTW, the strange lighting is due to the use of a 250W High Pressure Sodium discharge lamp in the car. This is the only way to work on cars in WA. This is a practice MT has been using for a while.

Driver's view. There is no rust on this side.


Across to the driver's side.


That drainage hose mentioned in Koan's thread.


A piece of steel was tacked onto the outside, with a differing profile by a P.O. There was clearly a huge hole there at some stage.


A few holes, but not too bad.

...

...


Unfortunately, the car is missing the carrier for the main loom.


Tim

[s class]

Awesome.  Those are very inspiring photos.  Thanks for sharing, and keep it up. 

[flutes]

Good to see Tim.

Are you using a donor car to replace the rusted sections or or welding new steel?

[Big_Richard]

Good Work, glad to see the 450 is getting its Christmas present   


You certainly take disassembly to a whole new level - what was it exactly that required the removal of the brake booster, steering column and controls ? 

[TJ 450]

Thanks for the comments.

I removed the brake booster for cylinder head removal and it was a piece of cake to remove the steering column and brake pedal assembly. It needed to be done so I could confirm the condition of things behind there, as there's no point only doing one side if the other one needs attention as well. Thankfully, it is all 100% on the driver's side, except for the dodgy wiring arrangement that I will fix.

I'm sure the car will thank me for the efforts and I will be able to drive around in air conditioned comfort (hopefully).

BTW, in case anyone thinks we are illicit hydroponics enthusiasts, with the discharge lamps, that isn't the case. It is just a main/arterial road street lighting luminaire being used in the car.

Tim

[TJ 450]

Well, I just cut a huge hole in the floor. Hopefully I haven't cut myself into it. 

I'll post some pics shortly.

Tim

[TJ 450]

Pics...







By the way, don't worry about structural integrity. It will be way over engineered and much better than the rusted out mess before. What you see in the before pic is the tip of the iceberg!

Tim

[s class]

Nice progress, and 10 out of 10 for bravery.  I've never seen rust there before. 

[Big_Richard]

by the looks of things, you still have some more cutting to do, since there is still more "cancer" under the box section that the seat mounts on

[WGB]

Nice progress, and 10 out of 10 for bravery.  I've never seen rust there before. 

Is that where the water collects internally when the carpets get wet due to firewall leaks?

Bill

[TJ 450]

Yes, there's lots more cutting to do, but it will have to be from underneath. I need to remove the fuel/brake lines first.

Bill, I reckon you're on the money there. The water gets trapped under the box section and once it starts rusting, the iron oxide acts as a wick and soaks up the water.

Tim

[s class]

I've always thought that genuine MB windscreen seals (front and rear) are expensive, but its clear that not replacing them when needed becomes horribly expensive. 

[TJ 450]

I think so, s class.

The windscreen seals have been replaced on this car, but after the damage was done unfortunately. I do think that the hole in the firewall was the main culprit, though.

Tim

[TJ 450]

I've now got the HVAC unit back together. MT was able to re-foam the main flaps and I finished off the others. It's ready to go in, when I have the firewall sound deadening sorted out.

I haven't made huge progress, but I've stripped most of the metal of paint and PVC in the repair areas of the floor. A large flat sheet of steel from one of my W126's old doors has been stripped and prepared for the repairs.

Tim

[Big_Richard]

that was a quick airbox freshen up, i must say, mine was lying around the house in pieces for over a week before i found the motivation to do the job and complete it

Your's and S-class's unrelenting determination and motivation are something to be envied by all.