1978 Mercedes Benz 280S 'AMG' 4spd manual

[Tony66_au]

Geeze Zook yer on fire mate!

Im impressed, Now heres a tip for new players mate!

Those ceramic fuses come in a lot of different qualities but the 2 things to aim for are Brass fuse elements and ceramic cores.

The plastic cores often get soft and melt when warm which causes intermittent connections you can chase for weeks and the same goes for the aluminium foil type elements.....

So make sure your fuses are brass element as they 99% of the time have ceramic cores....  (I have a few here left over from a Biz I had years ago)

[oversize]

Geeze Zook yer on fire mate!

Im impressed, Now heres a tip for new players mate!

Those ceramic fuses come in a lot of different qualities but the 2 things to aim for are Brass fuse elements and ceramic cores.

The plastic cores often get soft and melt when warm which causes intermittent connections you can chase for weeks and the same goes for the aluminium foil type elements.....

So make sure your fuses are brass element as they 99% of the time have ceramic cores....  (I have a few here left over from a Biz I had years ago)

I see what ya did and I'm watching you!!!  LOL!!   

[Tony66_au]

HA! you just want some real fuses!

[zook]

Righto, made some progress this weekend! One side is back together, the other ready and waiting for an eccentric bolt that doesnt have a stuffed thread



so thats one corner of the car done! new brake hose and all..just don't look at the twinkle of rust through the hole in the stonechip!!

had a good fiddle with the interior, took apart the centre console and surrounds to try and figure out a few electronic mysteries..

like what this button in front of the hazards does? initially thought it was some aftermarket thing, but on closer inspection it might be OEM? anyone else seen this?


also discovered a second antenna cable?? the one connected to the radio is black, and connected to the antenna..but theres also a white one  not connected to anything..maybe the car originally had one in the back and it was changed for some reason..anywayyy....

got the tacho wired up properly through the fuse box very satisfying

taken when idling cold, choke pulled fully out

had a quick look at the gear shifter too..the PO said it needed a new bearing, its certainly very loose. this aint the culprit, but will need attending to at some point


pushed it back in, and all seemed fine

but then it exploded. hahaha. oh well. another thing for the wreckers

started to consider getting the front bar repaired by someone qualified..dont think I can subject the old girl to half-arsed fixes

TOP^^ BOTTOM \/ \/

bit of a sticking point I reckon.

also thinking of sending a pic of the data plate to MB Spares in Canberra, as I've heard they may be the key to finding out whether ive got a Euro import or and Aussie delivered car..

what ive been able to decipher:
_____12_8518006_12
116020_20_00162__8
_____7376________-
_______437_580_592
unsure about a couple of those though..

thats all for now! off to watch some ronin and dream about 6.9s..
Cheers
Chris

[TJ 450]

Looking good,

I'd be getting that front bar cut off a wreck and welded in, it should be too much trouble for a pro job. Then all you need is some paint on it.

With the tacho, do you have the transistorised ignition system installed? It's really set up for that I found out, as I fitted one to mine. I just grabbed the whole ignition system from a 280SE, and fitted that in an afternoon, then you never have to worry about setting the points again.

Yeah, that plastic piece likes to explode out, the spring force is quite extreme behind that.

Tim

[zook]

Looking good,

I'd be getting that front bar cut off a wreck and welded in, it should be too much trouble for a pro job. Then all you need is some paint on it.

With the tacho, do you have the transistorised ignition system installed? It's really set up for that I found out, as I fitted one to mine. I just grabbed the whole ignition system from a 280SE, and fitted that in an afternoon, then you never have to worry about setting the points again.

Yeah, that plastic piece likes to explode out, the spring force is quite extreme behind that.

Tim

thats what i thought!! but everyone ive talked to about it says its overly fiddly.

i lucked out, ive got electric ignition

[gavin116]

Hi Chris

Good progress! Your build plate tells me that the car was ordered in 1978, and possibly built in 1978 too. It was built as a right hand drive car, 737G tells us it was originally painted classic white. The other codes you can look up for yourself in the library!

Keep up the good work

Gavin

[TJ 450]

It doesn't look like yours has a country code, unless it is 580L    SLOVAKIAN REPUBLIC, which I would doubt.

Possibly, if you ever get to removing the rear seat backrest, there might be a proper data card glued to the bottom, or under the parcel shelf in the boot, or possibly other places. MB Spares might be able to look up your chassis number on the EPC as well to find the original place of delivery.

Tim

[zook]

slovakian republic? i think the original owner was eastern european, it  might be correct, you never know
shooting off an email to mb spares now, we'll see what they say

[zook]

hmmm. all i got from mb spares is that it doesnt have code 625- ie AU delivered, and that 580 says it has AC, but i already knew the latter from the library here

[oversize]

It doesn't look like yours has a country code, unless it is 580L    SLOVAKIAN REPUBLIC, which I would doubt.

Possibly, if you ever get to removing the rear seat backrest, there might be a proper data card glued to the bottom, or under the parcel shelf in the boot, or possibly other places. MB Spares might be able to look up your chassis number on the EPC as well to find the original place of delivery.

Tim

Oooh that's some good info there!!!

Great job Zook!!  The crossmember is a pain and if it's bent, nothing will line up properly.  I have the same problem with one of mine and fortunately I have a donor.

That switch does look kinda genuine and might be for a heated seat.  But the wiring doesn't look standard.

She's gunna be a great car when you're done.  Any comments from your GF about your progress?

[zook]

That switch does look kinda genuine and might be for a heated seat.  But the wiring doesn't look standard.

She's gunna be a great car when you're done.  Any comments from your GF about your progress?

heated seat? fancy ill hafta inspect that once i figure out how to take out the seats

haha the GF thinks its a very pretty car, but it should be her that i talk about constantly and visit every weekend

[TJ 450]

Also, You can pull up the full data in the EPC, by using the chassis number only... The one on the crossmember only provides limited info.

Tim

[zook]

awesome, sounds like the go. how do i do that?

[oversize]

That switch does look kinda genuine and might be for a heated seat.  But the wiring doesn't look standard.

She's gunna be a great car when you're done.  Any comments from your GF about your progress?

heated seat? fancy ill hafta inspect that once i figure out how to take out the seats

haha the GF thinks its a very pretty car, but it should be her that i talk about constantly and visit every weekend

Get her involved every now n then!!!  She'll then appreciate all of your hard work....  And she'll probably learn something too!  It'll make the first drives even more special when you take her along because you'll both know what was involved