gold 6.9 resto

[nathan]

following on from pbs post of what he did this arvo, here is my sunday PM

dad finally said he wanted that gold heap moved to the painters so it was time to start stripping.  hadnt started the car in a while (ie months) so it looked
like some sort of WWI mustard gas attack upon it finally turning over.

today i just wanted to strip out the bulk of the interior which i did in about 3-4 hours solid work with some help from TJ who thankfully lives close and is always
keen to have his goodwill abused (i shall test out PB later when it comes to a fun job, like the dash!).

TJ then drove goldy to his joint so i could see bluey, his 6.9 which is also in progress resto.  i didnt want TJ to get killed in the car so he took the only area
which had a seat, i sat in the back as you can see

anyhow, attached are some of the small rust areas to make you feel better about your own 116!

[robertd]

Hi Nath,
That's some scary looking rust, is it going in to be repaired ? Gives me courage to do more to my Goldie.
Regards
Robert

[oscar]

So what was that rear seat option code again?

Nathan, if the rust is repaired, are they going to shape sheet metal to go in the patches or are you going to use cutouts from donor cars - you've still got a 450 wreck or two haven't you?

[s class]

Thanks very much Nathan.  I've been slaving away working for a looming Monday deadline at work, and your post has improved my day immesurably because :

a) Now I realise that trusty rusty is comparatively rust free.  Man I've not seen anything that bad before.

b) your lawn chair seating arrangement had me laughing thoroughly - in a good way.  You know these cars were once the most exclusive sedans in the world, and its amazing the state most have got into. 

[nathan]

Ryan,
point B is very true and quite amusing.
problem with my seat was that there are some large (non factory) screws jutting up into the rear seat base area which give quite a painful prick to the foot or stab in the arse if you
hit them. thats why i needed the deluxe seat
the car will be fixed.  i initially bought it as parts but my dad is crazy and after i left it at his joint, he has taken it upon himself to fix it.  i was a little hesitant to strip it fo rthe last few months as i dont know my dad needs to drop considerable coin on poor goldie, but, he is crazy and so goldie will live again (if not in astral silver!)  the most fun was stripping the roof. everytime i pulled a trim bit off, i heard the sound of chocolate rain, as huge flecks of rusty metal fell down upon me.

i have taken a crap load of pics for some before and afters...when the car eventually gets in i imagine it will be a few months before it comes back!
i am a litte more inspired now as i thought i would be spending a slab of my own money putting a m117 500 engine into the gwagen.  a 126 came up a week ago which i made an offer on but it seems to have fallen through unfortunately which is disappointing. i have had the dream of a v8 in the G for over a decade but never had the money or the right engine.  whilst i still dont have the money i did for a fleeting moment have the right engine. anyhow, not meant to be 

oscar,
we delivered two wrecks to the paintshop in advance so hopefully they will chop the majority of what they want off these for some the awkward areas like the sail area/c pillar base

[oscar]

"chocolate rain" from the ceiling.   and no 500 engine - surely the thought of a 6.9 G has crossed your mind.  It did mine 

[WGB]

From memory there is a significent West Australian Heritage that goes with that Gold car isn't there Nathan?

I should lend you my MIG and at the end of it you'd be a very accomplished welder.

What's the floor look like as it appears better than the rest of the panels in the pics.

If 116's ever become a significant historical model we might have to become proficient at this sort of ver major repair.

Bill

[nathan]

Bill,
the car was owned from new by the people who own Leeuwin winery.  they had left it in a barn for about a decade when he got a new S in the 90s (who the ^#&$ leaves a 6.9 in a damp barn?!)...they are quite generous and charitable people so the car wasnt purchased, rather - i made a tax deductible donation to his charity and they gave me the car (they are quite loaded) which worked for me!

Oscar,
strangely i had that thought...my mechanic ran off screaming when i asked him about this...in reality though, the engine is flippin heavy and would seriously alter the dynamics of the car.  that and in low range it would likely blow the transfer case to smitherines!! as for the 500, hold that thought!

[Big_Richard]

Quick, everybody buy shares in Daimler AG, Nathans dads about to do a mercedes resto.

I've seen the cars hes restored first hand, the mans a perfectionist! 

[SELfor50]

Nathan, that's some pretty evil cancer!!  You and your dad are trooper's to be taking on that.

Why don't you just convert the hydro to coil suspension and race it!!    


Seriously though, have you set an 'actual' budget for the resto? 
I set myself a budget of about 7k for ol' silver...i've probably spent about 10 and it actually looks worse than it started out as.   


PB, can you actually purchase daimler shares?

[nathan]

sel,
basically the family equation for restoring an old merc is as such...pick a number between 1 and 10, times it by a 1000, add 40%, then add 15 weeks and finally you come up with a much nicer car in the garage!

attached is a pic of the green machine, which strangely isnt green but is still called green machine! this car was clapped out - with similar rust to goldie.
the car had no sentimentle attachment, but dad had the mental bit so did it up.
looks a lot nicer now...it was painted one of the new merc silvers rather than astral 735 which he probably should have done

at the end of the day, if any of us do up an old car, its still a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a new falcon or commodore which youll lose 10 grand on in the first year or two anyway...(least that what dad tells himself when he does such things!)

[TJ 450]

Nathan,

Is that the original carpet in the green machine?
If it's original, that's seriously clean. Either way, it's very impressive.

Tim

[oscar]

Gee, you'd want to take your shows off first before jumping in that car.  That's impressive Nathan. Bring on goldy.

[SELfor50]

Agreed Nathan, definitely much cheaper than a new bommodore or falcon..  And when finished, much more reliable no doubt.

The silver one looks very nice indeed... 

[500eguy]

gosh, that is a hell of a improvement! i love the way it came out... can't wait to see the 6.9 done:)