Rust Repairs & Restoration

[Big_Richard]

fully sick!

please PM me the price of the carpets if you feel uncomfortable mentioning in public.

Although Professor Nathan reckons he can get a whole car trimmed for $2.50 locally....

[Mforcer]

Thanks everyone!

I never planned to do any of this work at this time. I just started when an opportunity presented itself for the respray and the size of this project has been growing ever since I am now on the hunt for an unmolested center console and a rear seat base that has never been sat on. Possibly even a parts car that hasn't been "looked after" by well intentioned mechanics that do a poor job of fitting everything back together

Now may have been the time to retro fit rear headrests if you wanted to.

I don't see the appeal of rear head rests. I have no use for them personally and they can't improve the visibility out the back window. I do appreciate the safety offered by the head rests but don't have passengers that could make use of them yet. That is not to suggest I am not considering other changes

[Mforcer]

please PM me the price of the carpets if you feel uncomfortable mentioning in public.
Although Professor Nathan reckons he can get a whole car trimmed for $2.50 locally....

The complete set of leather and carpets were purchased from Gahh (ordered through Joe) and their prices are available directly on their website. It was a little more than $2.50

[Big_Richard]

please PM me the price of the carpets if you feel uncomfortable mentioning in public.
Although Professor Nathan reckons he can get a whole car trimmed for $2.50 locally....

The complete set of leather and carpets were purchased from Gahh (ordered through Joe) and their prices are available directly on their website. It was a little more than $2.50

Is there anything Joe cant do ? 

He is escalating rapidly to super hero status and developing a bit of a cult following

Congratulations on your commitment to recreating a magnificent w116.

My only advice to you is, don't take it so far that your paranoid of driving the car and enjoying it - that's what they were built for and not to sit around doing nothing..

[Mforcer]

My car will not be perfect after all this work but I do expect no rust or water issues for many years and supportive seats with no holes in the leather. The new carpet is necessary as part of the search for any rust. I am not afraid of paint chips either, thinking that they come as part of the enjoyment!

[oscar]

That leather looks fantastic.  The Mrs wants a new lounge, I think I should just get it recovered in MB leather.

I think we're so used to seeing 30+ yr old coverings that the new stuff is always going to look a bit different without the sheen or patina of old but it's no detraction.  The uniformity of finish and look is what it would've been when the originals were new.  The colour is awsome and given the fact the old stuff has been affected by sun and whatever else, it's pointless in comparing other than to acknowledge how good new is.  Same goes for carpet, though I did notice a slightly different shape there.  That's rear carpet I presume and there wont be an issue IMO.  Of the green tinge, I can sort of see it in the photos but only because you've got it sitting next to a crummy crusty old one.  Everything will look right on their own and look right in the car.  The sooner you throw the old stuff out the better.  Kind of jealous I am

Rear headrests, I put em in my car and I do like the look.   Visibility out the rear is still good but without them the view from a safety aspect is like no other modern car.  It's far better than any view from reversing cameras IMO.

[Big_Richard]

I agree with Oscar regarding rear visibility.

in fact visibility all round in the w116 slaps you in the face when your used to driving modern cars all the time - we have gone backwards in this regard with modern designs.

when i drive in the w116 it feels like i'm in a rolling glass house as i can see absolutely everything.

[jbrasile]

Michael,

Great pics! I think we got the leather spot on as far as choosing 326 Parchment Pebble, it gives you the factory texture and thickness.

Actually when these cars were new the leather had no shine to it, I was able to confirm that when I personally saw the 250 mile 6.9 at the Classic Center a while back, the blue seats were completely dull.

MT, thanks for your comments!  For everyone's info, I can give you guys 15% off of  GAHH's published internet prices so in the case of the carpet kit all you have to do is look it up online and take 15% off.

Michael, I noticed that the rear carpets did not come with the fastener buttons, your installer will have to cut the holes in the appropiate places and transfer the old ones.

Tks,

Joe

[Mforcer]

I am not sure if I will reuse the fastener buttons as these ripped out of my last set of carpets and am thinking of other ways to keep the carpet in place (if even necessary at all), especially after I add all the insulation and sound proofing. I also noted that the hole for the kick-down switch needs to be added too.

I just can't wait to get this to the trimmer to install although it could be a few months yet.

[koan]

I am not sure if I will reuse the fastener buttons as these ripped out of my last set of carpets and am thinking of other ways to keep the carpet in place (if even necessary at all)

I think you'll need something on the back edge of the front carpet. My carpet on the passenger's was secured with the buttons until recently but now the carpet wants to creep forward and form a hump all the time. Maybe Velcro on the back edge would be sufficient, I bought lengths of self adhesive Velcro years ago from Jaycar I think, sold for attaching speaker grills to cabinets.

koan

[Mforcer]

Another few hours of stripping;

Rust under the accelerator pedal:


The floor isn't too bad but there are some bad patches which will need rust cut out and new metal welded in.

Rust behind the fire wall internal heat shield:

This will also need the rust cut out and new metal welded in.

After removing the roof lining, the sunroof frame seemed to be in perfect condition. Previous mechanics had botched up the front sunroof drains in their attempt of resolving the water leak issue. I'll need to remove the blue gunk


The rear drains look pristine apart from the drain hose not being fed through the drain hole in the C-pillar:

There is some rust on the sunroof wind deflector which has never been an issue but will be addressed:


And a small bit of rust in the roof around the opening:

The left side of the sunroof trim holding up the roof lining:

Right side of the sunroof where the trim is missing:

This missing trim piece prevented the headlining from being fitted correctly and allowed the head lining to drop when the glue wore out. Which mechanic failed to replace such an important piece?

While exploring, I cleaned out the aircon drains on both sides of the center console:


The hose on the right hand side was intact but had dirt in side which fell out when I squeezed the hose. The splayed hose end closes presumably to prevent access into the aircon drain from under the car but I suspect the dirt becomes sticky when wet and prevents water draining.:


The hose on the left side was broken at the tip which would have prevented it from becoming clogged:



There is also some rust in the left side of the boot/trunk and wheel well:


My center console is looking a little beaten and will hopefully be replaced with one in a better condition:





I also took some photos of the collection of parts being stripped:


Next week I want to remove the lining on the floor to expose the bare metal. Any suggestions on how to do this?

Also, what is the super sticky padding around the bottom of the interior sills and against the box section under the rear seat.

Finally, how does the insulation on the floor and internal firewall compare to new products like DynaMat? I am thinking it is better to remove the original pieces which allow water behind and replace entirely with new products which adhere to the sheet metal and will prevent water touching the metal.

[WGB]

Great work and good photography.

Just don't weaken when trying to get it all back together......

The original sound insulation ( or is that blotting paper) is not a patch on dynamat and is prpobablty the root cause of a lot of our rust.

Removal - heat if you are brave or else solvent like petrol (without heat of course).

Bill

[Mforcer]

Thanks Bill. I can still use every bit of support. I am feeling more lost with each week of work but thinking of the great help and support from everyone here keeps me going.

The most difficult part about the photography is remembering to take my camera

I didn't get much time last weekend which involved only disconnecting the heater blower and the windshield wiper motor, and removing the instrument cluster. A small cockroach had crawled in behind the clear plastic and died there to just add to my work

I didn't take any photos of how the instrument cluster was wired before removal so am not looking forward to re-installing

I examined the sunroof frame and found some rust under the front seal. I don't think it is normal that there is silicone between the roof and the frame.

[jbrasile]

Michael, the instrument cluster wiring is sort of intuitive, everything kind of falls into place once you start re-installing.

As for the sunroof frame, I was reluctant to have mine restored when the car was painted last year but the time is now if you find it is starting to rust. The best way to remove / re-install  the frame is while the windshield and rear window are out so I would seriously consider it.

Tks,

Joe

[WGB]

I examined the sunroof frame and found some rust under the front seal. I don't think it is normal that there is silicone between the roof and the frame.

There is not usually silicon between frame and roof - rather a large sponge rubber seal that cost me about $30 a few years ago.

If there is silicon I would take a closer look at what is going on.

As Joe says it is not hard to remove the frame if you want perfection.

Bill