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450SEL"restoration".

Started by TJ 450, 23 December 2009, 11:40 AM

TJ 450

#30
A large amount of progress was made, but there's still a large hole in the firewall to deal with. Thanks to Major Tom's assistance and many hours of work, some repair panels were fabricated from a W126 door outer skin and subsequently welded in.

I'm also wondering if anyone has any tips for removing the PVC underbody coating. I'd like to strip it off and redo the lot in those areas.

The result, primed.


Some stripping, poking and prodding revealed this, not surprisingly...






Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500

s class

That's some very nice progress, well done.  I bet you went to bed tired but smiling. 

Is the welding MIG?  Did you do it yourself?


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL

TJ 450

I did indeed, although it was quite early in the morning by that stage. 8)

Major Tom did the welding, whilst I prepared the sheetmetal. It was Gasless MIG welding.

Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500

s class

Well it looks like MT is quite capable with the MIG then. 


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL

Big_Richard

welding is the easy part - getting the sheet metal parts bent to the correct shape and size is where all the work is, which i didn't participate in - that was all TJ's efforts ;)

We started this job at 3pm and I went home at about 2am, Its a massive job.


oscar

Nice work fellas.  8) 
I can sympathise with forming the metal.  Assuming you guys haven't got any special tools in the garage for folding etc?  Last time I made a small bracket up I was running around the shed finding straight edges and pipe to bash my sheet metal against.  That was after breaking my cheap vice too.

Re removing underbody coating:  I've used wire wheels on a 4" grinder and tried a few other wire bits for a drill.  Also tried a coarse flap sanding disc which worked well but clogged up when you hit paint.   From memory the wire wheels worked best. 
1973 350SE, my first & fave

WGB

I used a wire rotary brush as well as paint removing layered discs on both 4 inch and 9 inch grinders.

It does burn quite well but you have to be very careful.

bill

Papalangi

This is for specific types of undercoating, I've no idea if it will work with yours,
http://www.eastwood.com/under-gone-undercoating-remover-aerosol-17-oz-net.html

Michael
'83 300SD, I'm back!  It's the son's new car (12/2020)
1976 450SEL, 116.033  Sold it to buy a '97 Crown Vic.  Made sense at the time.
1971 250C, 114.023
1976 280C
1970 250/8

Big_Richard

TJ's car was on fire on numerous occasions during the welding, that MB body deadener certainly is very flamable. It was all very amusing at the time. But the garden hose was never far away. Handy for extinguishing MB fires and also a never ending source of rubber flavoured drinking water.







s class

You do realise that a garden hose amounts to ideal lab conditions for cultivating huge quantities of bacteria, some of them associated with severe stomach ailments?


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL

Big_Richard

in perth, there is so much chlorine in the tap water that if you test it with a pool testing kit it shows the result as "ideal" I doubt anything could live in it. Ive always drank from a hoses as have others and never gotten sick ;)

TJ 450

#41
Fortunately, there was also a source of filtered water in the Kitchen. It was a garden hose sitting in the sun, too.

I was using a wire cup rather than wheel. That underbody coating is very thick and drill attachment really bites into it with a lot of friction. I did notice that it lifts off when heated. Perhaps I'll try a heat gun.

It also seems that it's applied directly to bare metal.

I was unaware of just how combustible that material was.

Panel fabrication was done with a 4" bench vice, tin snips, 4" angle grinder, a selection of hammers, a small anvil and a few other tools.

Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500

TJ 450

This afternoon, I installed the dash and HVAC unit. Saturday was spent with Major Tom welding in the section of the upper firewall and applying filler to finish it off. It was then painted in satin black, but in hindsight white would have been more appropriate. I'll apply sound deadening over this anyway.



Unfortunately I didn't get to take any photos prior, as we were going flat out to get it done.

Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500

Big_Richard

I told you white was better ;)


s class

That's very nice, impressive progress.  Did you have that dash refurbushed?


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL