W116 Restoration

[Gerhard]

Hi there. Long time no talk (Sept 2010). A lot of people must have thought another uncompleted project.

Finished stripping all the paint form the car in Sept. Then I just got fed up working in the sun, wind, rain and all that and decided to do some alterations.

The first was to convert the garage into a spray booth/garage. No more working in the garage.



After that build a decent carport for working on cars. As you can see the roof was build high enough to accommodate a joist at a later stage. Not yet finished but at a stage where the car could be rolled in.





In the building time the car has rusted up but that will be fixed. I will most probably start working on the car in the beginning of next month. The first task will be to spray the whole car with a rust inhibitor and the start panel beating.

[CMS280SE]

Love your work Gerhard. I can't help but envy all that space you have at your place - you'll build a whole workshop before you know it!

The look of all that surface rust is a bit daunting though!

Chris

[thysonsacclaim]

Ah Gerhard, nice to see you posting.

Keep us updated.


Adam

[pompy]

I've been wondering what you've been upto.

[Gerhard]

CMS280SE - The rust is just surface and should not be a big problem. Will first spray it with a rust inhibitor to ensure that rust in hidden places are neutralised and then sand all the m\panels down.

Pompy - You know it goes. You sit around and do nothing but the moment you start with a big project a lot of work start flowing in. I am basically semiretired for the last 10 years. Developed a accounting software package for the Office Automation industry and basically live off the support income. From Des last year I had a couple of new installations. Restored a Hyundai Accent body that looked as if someone danced on the whole car with high heels. Think the previous owner also used the car as a battering ramp. Resprayed my son's bike. Picked up a E46 BMW with some body damage but low kilos. Fixed this. Further the exceptional high rain fall we had this year also hampered all work.

[WiSeGuYY]

hey Gerhard , very interesting project to follow , good luck and hope you finish it quick , shame that after all that effort and work to keep it laying without completing it.

hope you don't forget what you take out or missplace it  to be able to put it back intact .

REGARDS from up north

TAREK

[jjb-w116-hu]

gerhard, do you remove rust first before spraying with a rust inhibitor or does the inhibitor take care of removal also?

[Gerhard]

I will spray the rust inhibitor over the exciting rust only as a safety factor for rust in hidden places. After that I will sand the whole car down to bare metal followed by an epoxy primer.

[Gerhard]

Yesterday removed last interior fittings (AC and roofing). Lifted the old rustbucket and sprayed it with a rust inhibitor.



Engine compartment before


After


Need to go over all the small nooks and joints with a brush to ensure that the rust inhibitor takes care of all the rust.

I have decided to drop the front suspension before doing anything else on the body but at this stage our tool management system is up to s%$t so first is to build decent toolboxes

[Big_Richard]

leaving the rear end dangling like that for an extended period of time destroys the half shaft boots too.

I found that out the hard way 

[Gerhard]

leaving the rear end dangling like that for an extended period of time destroys the half shaft boots too.

I found that out the hard way 

Thanks for the advice. Will support them.

[Gerhard]

Got the seats back a couple of weeks ago. Verry happy with the job done



This morning got my precent from Joe. Thank for your fantastic service.

New dash, windsheild seal, boot seal and two tailight seals



The sanding of the rust inhibeter is progressing well. Must say I think the rust inhibiter is the best primer I have ever seen. Quite a job sanding it off.



Still have to do the engine compartment, bonnet and two front fenders. Will start priming the sanded areas in the next week.

[Gerhard]

Its been 3 months since I last reported on this project.

In this time we have sanded the rust inhibitor from the bonnet and front fender.



The body, bonnet and fenders has been sprayed with a filler primer.



Yesterday the front suspension was removed so we should be starting with preparation of the engine compartment to reinstall the drivechain

[oscar]

Wow Gerhard, I forgot about your car and had to go back to the beginning to re read what you've done so far and got all excited all over again.  Still impressed with how the engine looks and the home made water connections plus the DIY effort in general.

[Gerhard]

Yes the progress has been slow. This is only a hobby but the hobby is starting to become a fulltime job with all the other jobs (favours) done in between. Also started buying cars with small damage and fixing them for resale but we hope to give the 116 quite a lot of attention from now to the end of the year.