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W116 Restoration

Started by Gerhard, 21 July 2010, 01:00 AM

albe

Well done on your work so far it is great to see someone spending so much time and money on a car a lot of people think is a waist of time .I think the color is great and will work well with the crome and it should be how you want it to look your the one driving it .keep up the great work will be following your post . As I do am putting one back on the road for Sunday driving .

navigator


Casey

Wow, what an incredible project!  Look forward to seeing updates...  This post is very inspiring as I hope to do a similar level of full restoration on the euro 6.9 I bought recently.

I didn't know any W116's were made without headrests, or with flat portions on the top of the front seat skins.  Very interesting.  I guess all W116's came with front armrests, though some W123's didn't.  Do your seatbacks have nets on them or were they just flat?

Nice to see somebody caring so much for a 280S - everyone I've talked to about them considers them a waste of time and prefer to find a 280SE at a minimum, which are still not generally considered worth investing into.  We don't have any cars in delivered in the USA that have the thinner door panels and certainly none I know of without headrests.  I'd like to get a 280S one day to complete my collection and would like to make it as minimal as practical - manual windows, the thinner door panels, seats like these, take out the front armrest, delete the radio and antenna, etc.  I do want a sunroof but would prefer to swap in a manual sunroof from a W123 like Squiggle dog did.

oversize

The W116 and other early MBs are very good at hiding rust.  Make sure inside surfaces of all those welds are treated, otherwise it'll come back in no time
1979 6.9 #5541 (Red Bull)
1978 6.9 #4248 (Skye)
1979 6.9 #3686 (Moby Dick)
1978 6.9 #1776 (Dora)
1977 450SEL #7010 white -P
1975 450SEL #8414 gold -P

ZCarFan

Quote from: Casey on 04 April 2013, 04:09 PM
Wow, what an incredible project!  Look forward to seeing updates...  This post is very inspiring as I hope to do a similar level of full restoration on the euro 6.9 I bought recently.

I didn't know any W116's were made without headrests, or with flat portions on the top of the front seat skins.  Very interesting.  I guess all W116's came with front armrests, though some W123's didn't.  Do your seatbacks have nets on them or were they just flat?

Nice to see somebody caring so much for a 280S - everyone I've talked to about them considers them a waste of time and prefer to find a 280SE at a minimum, which are still not generally considered worth investing into.  We don't have any cars in delivered in the USA that have the thinner door panels and certainly none I know of without headrests.  I'd like to get a 280S one day to complete my collection and would like to make it as minimal as practical - manual windows, the thinner door panels, seats like these, take out the front armrest, delete the radio and antenna, etc.  I do want a sunroof but would prefer to swap in a manual sunroof from a W123 like Squiggle dog did.

Just for perspective... there was a time about 20+ years ago when nobody cared about restoring sedans in the U.S.  I recall a bunch of 4-door 55-57 Chevys being cut up for parts to use on the 2-doors.  Nobody in their right mind would keep it as a project.  Now, even these are being lovingly restored and are fetching big bucks.  I recall a number of really nice original and very unique big block sedans and wagons parted out. over the years only to see these come into their own in the last decade.

So, Gerhard is just ahead of the curve.  :)

Squiggle Dog

Quote from: ZCarFan on 06 April 2013, 09:13 PM
Just for perspective... there was a time about 20+ years ago when nobody cared about restoring sedans in the U.S.

I'm one of those people that prefer four door sedans over coupes. To my eye, two door vehicles look unbalanced and the lack of rear doors can be very frustrating. I would actually pay more money for a sedan than a coupe, but I know I'm in the minority. I also prefer wagons over sedans. Two door wagons seem very odd to me.
Stop paying for animal cruelty and slaughter. Go vegan! [url="https://challenge22.com/"]https://challenge22.com/[/url]

1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Heated Seats, 350,000+

littlefin

Quote from: Squiggle Dog on 07 April 2013, 03:02 AM
I'm one of those people that prefer four door sedans over coupes. To my eye, two door vehicles look unbalanced and the lack of rear doors can be very frustrating. I would actually pay more money for a sedan than a coupe, but I know I'm in the minority. I also prefer wagons over sedans. Two door wagons seem very odd to me.

I'm with you Squiggle! I've always preferred 4-doors to coupes. Far more practical for daily usage - wagons (or estates as they are generally called here) even more so. We had a W124 230TE for a few years when our kids were little - absolutely brilliant vehicle!

I would guess the majority of people here share our opinion - since MB didn't make a W116 Coupe  ;)   
110011 1967 230
108057 1972 280SE3.5
116024 1979 280SE
126037 1983 500SEL
124030 1989 300E

oversize

I love 4 door pillarless, but they're not as safe as a sedan....  New coupes do look good in my eyes but quite a bit more to buy for something that's less practical.  Convertibles are rubbish and I'd never buy one
1979 6.9 #5541 (Red Bull)
1978 6.9 #4248 (Skye)
1979 6.9 #3686 (Moby Dick)
1978 6.9 #1776 (Dora)
1977 450SEL #7010 white -P
1975 450SEL #8414 gold -P

s class

Quote from: oversize on 07 April 2013, 05:22 AM
....Convertibles are rubbish and I'd never buy one

My 450SL is for sale.... 'cause I need to raise funds for a 450SEL I have my eye on ;)


[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

Pieter Lötter

Dam wish I had the funds to buy that SL I will one day add to my collection but now must just finish one. knowing it was your car its probably spotless. How much btw ZAR?
1974 280SE manual D-Jet,
2011 W204 220 cdi,
My whole life consists of wondering whether or not to make the sarcastic comment.
pieterlotter.oke@gmail.com

Casey

One day I'd like to drive a 450SL just to see what all the fuss is about, but I find W123 coupes to be a pain to deal with (owning one) and am not sure what the special appeal is of them other than they're a cheaper coupe than an R107 and have a backseat albeit a pain to get in and out of.  The W126 coupe has a much nicer appearance than the W126 sedan, but not in my opinion because it's a coupe, but because the angles of the windshields suite that body style much better.

s class

Quote from: Pieter Lötter on 07 April 2013, 02:06 PM
Dam wish I had the funds to buy that SL I will one day add to my collection but now must just finish one. knowing it was your car its probably spotless. How much btw ZAR?

ZAR100k, only slightly negotiable. 


[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