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1978 Mercedes Benz 280S 'AMG' 4spd manual

Started by zook, 14 August 2012, 04:15 AM

zook

ahhh!! invaluable information!! thankyou!! i reckon it still might be worth a shot trying to get em to send the sticker anyway..but ill definitely get the old girl on the road in 3 months!! couldntve had better news
[url=http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/1978-mercedes-benz-280s-'amg'-4spd-manual/]| '78 280S 'AMG' 4spd |[/url] [url=http://ozfoz.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=34858]| my daily; '98 Subaru Forester |[/url]

Tony66_au

So Zook is the rego suspended?

I wasnt aware that they still did this?

I believe the new rule is no RWC = No Rego and that you only have 14 days from signing the transfer papers to get the car transferred.

The only way around this would be to get a new copy of the transfer signed by the old owner as soon as you have the RWC.

It is getting very hard to re register older cars mate, a real pain in the bum.

Tony66_au

Oh and info on the Vic Roads site is a bit grey in definition when it comes to transfer which was why I called.

Dont despair though, a compliant former owner and a new set of transfer doco before the 3 months is up should do the trick.

Tony

zook

yeah, its suspended..the PO didnt get a roadworthy in time so it was suspended before i bought it..for some reason i was able to transfer it into my name, even the woman at vicroads that did it was surprised haha.

so would i still need another set of papers? the PO was gonna give me the sideskirts to the car which he didnt have at the time of sale, but he's vanished of course

HOWEVER. found something rather nice in a w116 at the wreckers yesterday


seems to be a completely original, mint condition, unused first aid kit :o and the fools only thought it was worth 5$ hahaha. a nice little addition i reckon
[url=http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/1978-mercedes-benz-280s-'amg'-4spd-manual/]| '78 280S 'AMG' 4spd |[/url] [url=http://ozfoz.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=34858]| my daily; '98 Subaru Forester |[/url]

Beastie

Aw, man, I need one of those for my car!! Would you be at all interested in selling it to me for like, twenty times what you paid for it?
1979 280SEL

"She's built like a steakhouse, but she handles like a bistro."

Tony66_au

Zook I will have to check on that as I didnt think they still did that for all plates.

refresh my memory, did you have custom plates on the car?

oversize

Those First Aid kits sell for lots more on Ebay.  Zook, you're a bargain hunter!!!   ;D
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

zook

haha sorry beastie, keeping this one! and there were none in any of the others :(

nah not custom, just your average plates

oversize, i presumed as much! good investment for my car :D
[url=http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/1978-mercedes-benz-280s-'amg'-4spd-manual/]| '78 280S 'AMG' 4spd |[/url] [url=http://ozfoz.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=34858]| my daily; '98 Subaru Forester |[/url]

oversize

#38
Zook unless you're going with your own custom plates, I'd try very hard to keep the original ones.  Call me anal, but I start asking questions if the plates don't match the year....  Plus I think late numbers look wierd on an old car; I see plenty of big dollar cars on the road, but the owners seem to put zero thought into their number plates.  They just seem to take whatever they're given.  To me it shows a lack of attention to detail and even; you're just a car, I don't really love you and will sell you to the highest bidder at the earliest opportunity!!!   >:( :o ??? :'(  I'd be treading a little more carefully on your car seeing as it's an original AMG!

Even if you do go custom plates, from what I understand if the originals were in your name, you can cancel the reg and retain the plates if you wish (you just have to let VicRoads know).  That way you retain the rights to the use the plates in the future (once you've assigned them to a car and paid reg).  VR really don't want them back if you cancel the rego; they just want to ensure they don't end up on a car that's being used.

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

zook

very interesting! im gonna try and keep the originals, just COS  ;D but they are of the era where the paint flakes off rather easily, so VR might not be keen on em unless i get busy with the paintbrush..thanks oversize :)

Righto, update time! Actually done something! kinda..

weekend before last i set about fruitlessly trying to get the front left corner apart to replace the lower ball joint. dear lord, it was so much more difficult that i imagined. got slightly annoyed when i realised i'd have to unbolt my freshly installed upper controls arms..but had to continue, eventually unbolting EVERYTHING until the hub was out..

but only after the lower CA was detached from the old ball joint..after much hammering, melting of rubber with a blowtorch, swearing and finally the acceptable use of a separater tool, it came off..but then it seems we had to take the take the entire hub apart to get the ball joint out  >:( gah.

i was planning on doing that last saturday, but i was beaten to it

dad called in a favour at work and i came home to a newly installed ball joint :D yay
but also discovered that to replace the control arm bushes, the CA was gonna hafta come out. ~200$ of spring compressors later..


one side out fairly easily, save for one bolt fused to the old bushing, screwin everything up



with a bit of a wiggle, got the other control arm out, and that thick  bar that links the two..which is actually really quite light :P

had the bloke from down the road come look at the rust and the dent in the front bar, so took off the bumper et al.

axle stands? what axle stands? shes just floatin there mate!
..but looks likes she's missing half her face :'(

i was told i could get a fibreglass repair kit to patch up the rust, cover it with stone chip so nooone would know..as for the bent bar, it could be heated until the top was level, then filled with body filler.
>:( WHAT??

i had been expecting a quote for a lil bit of welding, not this ridiculousness!
call me naive, but i would have thought it wouldnt be so hard to unpick the welds on the front bar, and put a new one on, welding where it was when factory.
as for fibreglass?? to repair a mercedes? the thought maddens me.
nevertheless, we shall see how the funds are when i get to fixing those bits.

i took my mind off it by cleaning up the CAs, removing all the old bushes and gunk..cue blowtorch haha.


the front trio of bushes were bloody difficult :-/ really jammed on. an extensive collection of blunt old chisels and jimmy bars soon fixed that.

it was getting dark by that time, so in good spirits i fiddled with some other non-essential wankery..like putting the 1st aid kit in  :D

and ensuring all the fuses were the correct rating..there were so many red (16A) and blue (25A) where there werent supposed to be ??? is there any reason for that other than the PO being a knuckle dragging simpleton? got my OCD fix anyway haha


also wired up the tacho for the first time....AND IT WORKED!!!! ;D was wooping and leaping around like a man possessed..i kid you not haha
however itll be fun getting the wires properly sorted..nice as they are, sticking out the drivers door and snaking across the engine bay, i feel they should go through the firewall at the proper point, behind/under the fusebox. bleh. tricky to do, even on the MBs at the wreckers

yesterday i continued on with the front suspension, feelin pretty good, only needed to put the new bushes in and put it back together. thats as far as i got :-[ may have broken a bench vice compressing the front bushes..and the rear ones, whilst they needed no compression onto the splines of their fellows, were wriggly little b.astards  >:( being a complete amateur at car maintenance doesnt help i guess haha
what am i doing wrong :S

even if im unable to work on the suspension, by next week i should have the rest of the clutch kit and couplings, so i can work on the drivetrain. foolish parts suppliers permitting :-/

Cheers!
[url=http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/1978-mercedes-benz-280s-'amg'-4spd-manual/]| '78 280S 'AMG' 4spd |[/url] [url=http://ozfoz.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=34858]| my daily; '98 Subaru Forester |[/url]

TJ 450

Looking awesome, but just one question... How did you fit the lower jall joint(s)?

It's a real PITA job... Did you make up a device to press the ball joint in squarely?

Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500

zook

couldnt tell you..bloke that my dad works with did it, he's a bit of a bush mechanic
[url=http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/1978-mercedes-benz-280s-'amg'-4spd-manual/]| '78 280S 'AMG' 4spd |[/url] [url=http://ozfoz.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=34858]| my daily; '98 Subaru Forester |[/url]

oversize

Zook to answer a previous question you'll probably need at least 1L of brake fluid.  Perhaps 1.5L if you intend to give the system a thorough flush.

Did the LVT knock back just a torn seat cover, or was there springs and steel exposed?

You can get replacement number plates with the same number you currently have.  For around $40 you should have a new set within 2 weeks.

You're doing some great work there!!!  And all in the open on the dirt!  For extra bling, give the parts a quick clean with some kero and a pressure washer, followed by some spray paint from a can.  It'll make all that hard work look more impressive and give you a smile on your dial.

Those brake rotors might benefit from a skim and it might be a good opportunity to clean and repack the front wheel bearings.

You could've left those new upper arms in place, but I guess they're not that hard to pull out anyway.  An air chisel with a forked bit is a good tool to separate the ball joint tapers from captivity without the need for any heat.  But like any power tool they need to be used with care.

Replacing all the fuses with quality new ones will avoid many electrical issues in the future.....

What bar is bent?  Is it the top radiator support or the lower crossmember between the chassis rails??  Any pics?

Well done pal!
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

zook

re: the seat, you could see the steel frame, but only if you dug around a little :-/

haha the dirt may well get to newly 'blinged' parts before anyones eyes do, but i defs clean em. just heard from my dad, he had a go at compressing the front bushes with a sash clamp and a hydraulic jack..bushes are in, clamp is bent!!!!! so cleaning parts might be all i can do lmao

did briefly consider new fuses, but questioning availability..they easy to find, or only a stealership thing?

its the lower crossmember :-/ some fool looped a chain around it and gave the old girl a tow at some stage..bit ocd of me perhaps but i'd really like it done to be as original as possible :P

Cheers!
[url=http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/1978-mercedes-benz-280s-'amg'-4spd-manual/]| '78 280S 'AMG' 4spd |[/url] [url=http://ozfoz.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=34858]| my daily; '98 Subaru Forester |[/url]

TJ 450

With the front bushes, all you need to press them in is threaded rod and a collection of large sockets (OK if you happen to have some large washers, such as the ones off power line hardware, these things are invaluable for this sort of work). I pressed mine in (on the 280S) using this method (both front and rear), but the rear bushes on the lower control arms are very difficult to get in straight, and I needed to persuade them in a little.

http://forum.w116.org/mechanicals/280s-suspension-refurbishment/

The ball joints are the PITA part, but as long as they're in square that's all that matters. 8)

Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500