Well, days are flying by, expecting a call any moment from my man that the 280S has been returned to "drivable"condition.
They basically replaced everything available with Meyle and Febi parts, which included the brake lines, brake disks and the brake pads front and back. Calipers were taken apart, cleaned, and refurbished, to my surprise, with local parts.
Carburetor was taken apart, ultrasonically cleaned, with rubbers and gaskets replaced.
Scores of steel-rubber parts were replaced, ensuring a safe, comfortable drive.
Bumper parts were selected from the 3 available W116's, leaving me with the most presentable set.
Front chairs were taken out, aligned, and when when my OEM front seat spring frame arrives next week, the GAHH pads will go in, and the chairs will be put back in.
Can't wait.. My CRV has now become not only a danger to me and my family, but also for all mortals roadside. It needs to go.
In the meantime I am still banging my head against the EPC. Not that it won't work! It works fine. Problem is my brain can't wrap itself around the countless pages with parts data I only half understand. I am well out of my comfort zone here. If only I could find some help from a professional Benz mechanic that has a day to spare. Since I won't be buying my parts locally, that really is not an option.
Wish I could hope for my restorer to do the work on THEIR EPC, but they have little idea how to work it as well.
Yesterday I went to a classic Benz meeting. People nationwide attended. Over 100 old Benzes there, and 10 times more people. Regrettably, only 1 W116, and more than 95 W123's.
The oldest car, a single W108, stole the show. On the inside, the veneer had fallen off the dash.
It really exposed the levels of restoration available in Taiwan. Nil.
When word got out that I was the designated guy to talk to about Parts, people were almost lining up. Name cards were flying. Orders for W124, W116, W123, W126 Parts followed suit. Apparently, I am the authority now, haha!
Not bad for future business, but it illustrated how much I need to rely on myself.
Even the many Benz-workers, and Benz management that were hovering over the old cars did not want to attempt to dabble in classic cars.
I also found out I am beyond doubt one of the few people in the country with a W116, and the only guy that has 3 of them.
Still, on an even more positive note, I floated the idea of selling a fully restored Concourse W116 with 3 years full warranty for 100.000usd, and people were nodding that might work.
There are no Concourse cars anywhere. Just wannabe-mint imports from Japan, without license plates.
Still, on the W116 front, the one owner I spoke to was delighted to meet a fan.
He had bought his 2-star W116 280SEL so expensive, he could not even utter the figure.
Still, even though the lightly-dented bumpers and interior needed a cosmetic touch, under the bonnet it was a feast for the eyes. Not a drop of oil, not a scratch, not a spot of rust anywhere, and not only the engine bay was mint, but the whole car was absolute rust-free.. The engine bay had never been touched, resprayed or touched otherwise.. It was so clean and new, you could eat your lunch off of it. Amazing. It had been parked indoors for all of it's life. Air conditioned, no doubt.
Now, that is a car I should have found a year ago. Still, it would no doubt have been outside my budget. White interior, and even the seat springs seemed new.
I will post some photos in the next weeks, when he comes and visits me to see my cars at the restorer.
Back to the EPC, for now..
