1978 Mercedes Benz 280S 'AMG' 4spd manual

[zook]

pretty nice either way! just add about 3 grand for black chrome and thats what i plan to turn mine into one day!!

[Tony66_au]

Papyrus White is the colour you want Zook, its not a hard white and lends itself to the shape and style lines well plus its good with dark bits like Mafia Staff car Tinted windows and tasteful blackouts like Black chrome etc.

[TJ 450]

If done well, the black chrome should look awesome indeed against the white.

Tim

[oversize]

Jeez you almost had me fooled Tony...  Almost!!!!   

[Tony66_au]

LOL yeah im not that fast Mark, In fact the car is still in the previous owners shed mate lol

[zook]

Papyrus White is the colour you want Zook, its not a hard white and lends itself to the shape and style lines well plus its good with dark bits like Mafia Staff car Tinted windows and tasteful blackouts like Black chrome etc.

okay, cheers! i was just gonna go with classic white- is that one of these 'hard whites' you speak of?

[Tony66_au]

Maybe Zook, Hard white are usually blue whites.

Papyrus is a creamy white not unlike old english white and yet it is still a "white" white and not an off white.

Paint colour is hard to describe and tastes vary but if you want to blend with black or charcoal id not use a very hard white but something softer.

Go check the colour charts in Tech mate and that will give you some idea but at the end of the day its something you need to see in person because camera's dont convey colour all that well.

[oversize]

Make sure you spray a test panel first.  You don't wanna find you hate the colour after the whole car's been done!!

[zook]

haha well, cross that bridge when i come to it, i dont think itll be happening for a while!

finally got the spare parts i was promised off the PO... cylinder head, intake manifold, a couple of busted water pumps...and side skirts!! but they look rather strange, dont think theyll be going on..

[zook]

Pretty productive day today!
got a good start on the rear suspension, tailshaft and clutch..including finally getting the pressure plate


before i started though, got the important stuff outta the way...she looks a tad weird with two wing mirrors now


so, armed with some mighty big spanners (with a teeny 10mm for scale)


i was able to attack the sleeve nut on the tailshaft and get the whole thing out, and have the bearing and couplings on by lunch


after which, i 'carefully' removed the rear suspension assembly...without spring compressors be interesting getting it back in there lol


over the course of removing the rear shocks, i had a look on the reverse of the back seat, and sure enough there was a little data card



i suddenly wish i spoke/read german.
437, 580 and 592 i already know from the engine bay plate: seatbelts, AC and heat insulating glass respectively
461 is mysteriously missing from the library of codes;
613 returns 'LAMP UNIT, ASYMMETRICAL, L.H. TRAFFIC' - reffering to the driving lights, between the indicators and main headlights?
668 is missing too
674 is a tropical version, high capacity battery. ohhh how i giggled at that couldnt help imagining it in the shape of a pineapple, with hybiscus flower terminals.... *ahem* moving on

that was the easy stuff, im guessing that the '8 82300052' gives more detail to its origin..ie where in asia
737 is the paint code, so i guess 'Lack' means paint (lacquer?) OT then must be metallic, and UT non-metallic
not sure what the 402 under 'Ausstatt.' means, if its an option its the bench seat, but if why isnt it listed in the 40- box

Google says wenig gewünscht means 'little wish', so these might be extra special options? if so, 212 refers to a rear axle ratio 1:3.92
..and no, it isnt a ratio that the AMG diffs have  but that reminds me, i shall hafta check the part # of le side skirts, and see if theyre for the SE or SEL. either way, theyre about 5-10mm too short 

here it looks like a 33 and 34 on the ends...which isnt on the list  ill double check when it aint so coldddd

continuing on.. 'layer' # 6283 (i wonder what the little K is for);
im guessing the SE- box refers to the model? ie filled with an L for SEL. possibly not, seems a bit useless;
production # 8518006;
Aufbau (construction) # 00162, 162nd car, thats a no-brainer;
Baumuster -> model #, and Fahrgestell -> chassis #.
fairo.

Google also says that 'Hinweis' means hint
..and I havent got any.
GOD DAMNIT CAR WHY MUST YOU MOCK ME!! lolol.

think ill leave it there, as it is 2am
Cheers!
Chris

[s class]

THe UT and OT for "lack" means 'unten' and 'oben' (lower and upper) - for two-tonw cars.  Your car has only one paint code so it was originally all 737 (white).

ausstat is the code for interior trim. 

[KenM]

Car was originally delivered to Hong Kong Zook, the 52nd 116020 for 1978. Option 461 is speedo in miles and english lettering, option 668 is packing for transport.

[John Hubertz]

Here's what I can make out from the data cards:

1.  You are a lucky

2.  a lucky bloke

3.  this is one of the most interesting internet stories I've followed for a long time


I wish you nothing but fun and success on this project.

[zook]

THe UT and OT for "lack" means 'unten' and 'oben' (lower and upper) - for two-tonw cars.  Your car has only one paint code so it was originally all 737 (white).

ausstat is the code for interior trim. 

Car was originally delivered to Hong Kong Zook, the 52nd 116020 for 1978. Option 461 is speedo in miles and english lettering, option 668 is packing for transport.

good grief! shes travelled around a bit then! all very interesting stuff, thankyou

Here's what I can make out from the data cards:

1.  You are a lucky

2.  a lucky bloke

3.  this is one of the most interesting internet stories I've followed for a long time


I wish you nothing but fun and success on this project.

cheers man

ive had quite the fun and successful weekend.. (didya like that segue )

get the old bushes out/new ones in was an absolute BREEZE, however putting the suspension back on the car was a slight pain the derriere. took me yesterday arvo and the best part of today, but i did it, and still didnt use any spring compressors something cool that i found out was that the rear springs have got the lowest thickness spring rubber available (9.5mm) which was a pleasant surprise. saves me all of 30-odd $ when i get around to lowering the beast!

one snag i hit was the LHR shock absorber..thought i was done, lowered the jacks....D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D!!!! thread = stripped. well and truly. lucky for me dad invested several hundred of his hard earned dollars in an enormous tap and die set the other week... so hopefully thats that sorted!       ..and one of the jack points might be rather rotten

so only got the new clutch kit and some fresh brake fluid to go in before mechanical repairs are done and i can go hooning around the forest even faster than before. structural repairs are another story, but i expect to get (or at least put a deposit down) for a front bar from the wreckers. god knows how long itll take em to get around to chopping it off ill console myself by stealing more hood ornaments from them, they seem rather popular hahaha

Cheers!
Chris

[oversize]

OMG Zook you're a machine!!!!  If you find yourself bored when you're finished you can always come to my place!!!  Drinks n food supplied!  LOL!

I'm curious to know what mechanical experience you've had, or are you simply prepared to give anything a go?

BTW great find re those data tags!  And just be careful re the driveshaft; don't separate the halves (unless they're carefully marked) as you'll get balance and vibration issues.  And the coupling bolts must be installed so if the nuts come loose the bolts won't slide out and chew up the front of the diff, or the back of the transmission!!!