Topic: 1975 450se.....should I?!

[Harv]

Green is good.

[UTn_boy]

Haha.  You guys are a riot! 

Well, after conferring with you fellas, my Dad, a few close friends, and myself, I've decided to pull the trigger.  I think Father offered some sound advice...."if you buy it make sure to get rid of something so you'll make room AND have a way to fund the 450se parts and repairs."  So, taking that advice to heart, I'll be letting go of a 1967 W108 250se as soon as I get new tires, drive it, and charge the A/C.  It won't bring in much of anything, but someone will get a mechanically sound W108. 

I already know the potential issues I'm going to face with the engine......it'll either need an engine or a top end and timing chain rebuild.....which snowballs into having a valve job done since the heads are off.  The only thing that annoys me about the car is that because it's a U.S. model it has those stupid catalytic converters under each exhaust manifold.....you know, the ones that always melt the rubber motor mounts every year?  Yeah, I'm going to want to get rid of that mess.  Now, I have a set of Euro manifolds, so no bog deal there, but then I'm going to have to find a set of header pipes.  There's that snowball affect again.  :/  BUT, if that's the worst of it, I'll be alright. 

I've already bought a pad of sticky notes.  haha  I'll just have to stick them anywhere my wondering OCD mind and hands may venture.  And Lucas, you're advice is sound.  It'll be to keep and enjoy, so the initial +/- $500 purchase price really is negligible.  And an ROI?  haha  Nah.  That's just not possible on most W116 cars.  I can definitely swing the purchase price...thankfully. 

So, in the coming weeks I'll start another post showing better, more detailed pictures of the car, as well as what I find to be the cause of the seized engine.  It'll be something fun and relatively easy to do since V-8 work is pretty fresh on my mind.  In the last year I've had to remove heads and front covers on four V-8 engines.  Apparently, people don't take heed to the 100,000 mile timing chain replacement intervals.  And then SNAP goes the chain and or rail(s), and bang bang bang goes the engine. 

[daantjie]

Gentlemen, a round of applause   Another nice 116 saved from wreck and ruin and now in ultra - capable hands, well done Aaron!

[UTn_boy]

My hands may be capable, but my bank account will not be afterward. haha 

[UTn_boy]

Well, the 450se is supposed to be delivered tomorrow.  I'll show some more pictures after it gets here. 

[daantjie]

Nice one !

[rumb]

Well here is the 450se that keeps calling to me.  Should I?
https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/d/eastlake-1974-mercedes-450se/7136668741.html

yeah right, just needs a fuel pump.  I talked to him and he did drive it 500 miles before parking a year ago. - Car is debris from divorce. Interior is very nice, I believe the paint would buff up. Was an Arizona car.

[daantjie]

Well here is the 450se that keeps calling to me.  Should I?
https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/d/eastlake-1974-mercedes-450se/7136668741.html

yeah right, just needs a fuel pump.  I talked to him and he did drive it 500 miles before parking a year ago. - Car is debris from divorce. Interior is very nice, I believe the paint would buff up. Was an Arizona car.

Interior for sure shows nice.  You can likely get this one for under $1K so really I cannot see you getting burnt on this one, as long as you have space and your other half will not make you sleep in it if you bring another "puppy" home

[UTn_boy]

Well, with 210,000 miles on it it'll either need very little or a whole lot.  And those are some mighty fat/tall tires on that thing.  hahah

[floyd111]

.

[floyd111]

Well here is the 450se that keeps calling to me.  Should I?
https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/d/eastlake-1974-mercedes-450se/7136668741.html

yeah right, just needs a fuel pump.  I talked to him and he did drive it 500 miles before parking a year ago. - Car is debris from divorce. Interior is very nice, I believe the paint would buff up. Was an Arizona car.

I'm gonna try and shoot this one down from afar..

White... Whatever is rusty, bobbly, scratched or dented is gonna stick out like an eyesore.
Arizona car: less rust, scorched rubbers and seals all around
The chrome wheel arches.. famous for hiding rotten wheel arches underneath. And there's clearly something wrong there.. black bitumen..or popped out rubbers?
The grille.. if this is how he treated his ex-wife, i get it. Major sign of not giving a f..
Front seat springs.. looks like no springs in there
rear seat.. looks like it was stuffed with something to hide a major collapse.
cracks in the dash
Does he even have floor carpets?
Looks like dent in the passenger door, and what's that in the glass of the driver's door?
rust above the rear lights
a dent in the rear middle bumper
tacky license plate holder.. a sign he does not care much for good taste or originality.
ist that dirt or rust above the head lights?
May be the light..but it looks like a crack in the front window.

And..no pics from the engine bay, underside, and no description of the car, other than a wiki-roundup. That's dodgy.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and predict he's gonna have window lifter issues, power lock issues, water in the trunk and a dodgy airco.
But the engine witll turn!
However, you may want to change the 210.000 mile timing chain before that.

[raueda1]

Haha.  You guys are a riot! 

Well, after conferring with you fellas, my Dad, a few close friends, and myself, I've decided to pull the trigger.  I think Father offered some sound advice...."if you buy it make sure to get rid of something so you'll make room AND have a way to fund the 450se parts and repairs."  So, taking that advice to heart, I'll be letting go of a 1967 W108 250se as soon as I get new tires, drive it, and charge the A/C.  It won't bring in much of anything, but someone will get a mechanically sound W108. 

I already know the potential issues I'm going to face with the engine......it'll either need an engine or a top end and timing chain rebuild.....which snowballs into having a valve job done since the heads are off.  The only thing that annoys me about the car is that because it's a U.S. model it has those stupid catalytic converters under each exhaust manifold.....you know, the ones that always melt the rubber motor mounts every year?  Yeah, I'm going to want to get rid of that mess.  Now, I have a set of Euro manifolds, so no bog deal there, but then I'm going to have to find a set of header pipes.  There's that snowball affect again.  :/  BUT, if that's the worst of it, I'll be alright. 

I've already bought a pad of sticky notes.  haha  I'll just have to stick them anywhere my wondering OCD mind and hands may venture.  And Lucas, you're advice is sound.  It'll be to keep and enjoy, so the initial +/- $500 purchase price really is negligible.  And an ROI?  haha  Nah.  That's just not possible on most W116 cars.  I can definitely swing the purchase price...thankfully. 

So, in the coming weeks I'll start another post showing better, more detailed pictures of the car, as well as what I find to be the cause of the seized engine.  It'll be something fun and relatively easy to do since V-8 work is pretty fresh on my mind.  In the last year I've had to remove heads and front covers on four V-8 engines.  Apparently, people don't take heed to the 100,000 mile timing chain replacement intervals.  And then SNAP goes the chain and or rail(s), and bang bang bang goes the engine.

Well done!  The fun never ends.

 A thought about the sticky notes -  I started using them for my recent project but they never suck well enough.  I ended up going through a few boxes of those stiff labels with twist-wires.  Some were on parts, others on parts needing to be torqued or whatever.  The car looked like some kind of bizarre Christmas present with the labels hanging off.  But it saved my butt and was really helpful.  Good luck with it!

[UTn_boy]

Well, I got the car home.  I spent the rest of the day on the engine.  It's as I suspected......the engine has seized.   I mean really bad.  I removed both cylinder heads, and ALL 8 cylinders had severe rust in them.  I have never seen anything like this.  Being a 1975 U.S. model, it has the secondary air injection on it for the catalysts.  When I remove the pipe from the air pump to the chain tensioner water came out of it.  I'm not sure how water got in the engine, and in all 8 cylinders. Even if I were able to free the engine, the cylinder walls are so bad/perforated with rust that it would destroy the piston rings.  So I'm going to have to put another engine in.  This is going to be fun. haha  But I knew the risks from the beginning. 

[floyd111]

maybe it's been nose-first into a ditch or river at some time? then power-washed to sell?

[UTn_boy]

I don't see how........I mean, it sat in a garage for 15 or more years.  Before that it ran fine.  Go figure. 

I did wonder if someone might have squirted a water hose on the air pump while it was running.  This would definitely introduce water into the combustion chambers.