Topic: 280" Concourse; Diary of a layman

[floyd111]

Been searching the net for a long time to get 2 complete sets of all available MB booklets for the W116 280 that normally come with the car.
Success!. A guy in Holland has endless stockpiles of every possible car-booklet possible.
I bought 2x3 different manuals in German for 133 euro inc shipping, all of it in very nice condition!

Now all I need is the black glove compartment manual for 280 (x2), and the Chassis & Body 2-book set.(x1)
If anyone has those for sale, let me know!
Also, if you need other manuals, I'll send you the link, so you can check Holland yourself.

[ptashek]

Feel free to post the links here. I don't think anyone will mind if reliable sources are linked to by fellow members.
Well, I won't for sure.

[floyd111]

 you can write to ;bertvoorbij at casema nl
Here are SOME of his manuals
http://www.marktplaats.nl/verkopers/5964032.html

[floyd111]

Work has slowly started, with the arrival of ED, the mechanic from New Orleans

[floyd111]

Oh, it's gonna be a loong, long time before this thing is done.
Where Ed was supposed to focus only on my 3 cars FIRST, the garage owner has annexed him and I am on the back burner again.
Luckily I understand. The other classics that need to be done have owners that are less patient, and there's almost no end to the list of projects.
We still very much need a second mechanic, as well as a panel beater.

Still, at least one of my cars is now getting some part-time attention. Dis-assembly of the engine, and then the complete car.
They're making step-by-step photos, and I will share them here when I receive them.

With little else to do but wait, I have continued shopping for NLA and NOS items, and I have made some great advances.
By now it's a daily chore that goes automatic with great effect.
The list of items I scored since the last update is far too vast to remember completely, but I am really happy with my original glove compartment catalogs "A", "C" and "K". All absolutely mint and all of them twice. I scored 2x the original MB W116 "wiring diagram" single-sheet. Most expensive sheet of B3 paper ever.
Then there's the original plastic folder for the car papers. Lovely.

In the meantime I bought yet another Becker, and I scored 2 sets of original little clamps to hold the deck in the dash.
Also, yet another Bellino gas tank, be it that this time the tank was dirt cheap and in need of a spray paint job.
Anyone looking to buy one, you'd need to check ebay.DE, and look for "mercedes kanister" Mostly well under 100usd.. On ebay.COM you'll be shown USA sellers at 300+usd each.

The hunt was also on for head light reflectors. You'd be surprised how hard it is to get these NLA items new-in-the-box. I scored 2 lefties from eBay, one rightie from Germany and a rightie from Italy. -With pain!
LOTT.DE had 8 righties yesterday morning at 0900. They had NONE left when I was ready to hit the buy-it-now button at 12.00
That's how fast they go when they pop up. All mine, and theirs were selling around 60 bucks each. That's a good deal!

Scored an original Valeo alternator, new for 75 bucks, rather than 200+ from MB

Oh, and a very nice American dude on eBay sold me the Chassis & Body book set, + the maintenance manual, an epic 3 book set as good as new, for 60 bucks. Not a mark on them.
Guess they won't be so pretty anymore after my mechanic has used them.

[floyd111]

some more goodies

[floyd111]

and more

[slfan]

Courageous and impressive.

Enjoy and good luck!

Slfan

[floyd111]

got stung by the eBay seller who sent me the mouldings. Made in Turkey, and 3 out of 8 damaged.
Now trying to get a refund from eBay.

The tool bag is brand new, but I accidentally bought too many of them.
I'll sell it on for 25 bucks if anyone is interested

[floyd111]

And then there's a whole pile of stuff bought outside of eBay..
Another NOS Cruise Control actuator... 200 bucks! Fatone sold me the first one for 500, and I already thought that was sweet..
Also, 2x cruise control cable..NLA, but still available NOS! 30 bucks each
Now I need the triangle mounting bracket, 2x. That is a tough one. Nobody sells such a cheap, simple part online. Also, NLA.
So, if anyone has 1 or 2 to spare..please let me know!

No doubt people have noticed I am going for the Tool kit outfit now. Regrettably, after buying 1 big and 2 small kits, all I have is a rather expensive  mish-mash. I really hope people will join the "Great Tool Swap"

[floyd111]

Thanks to a tip here, I also scored a sun roof tool! Would have never thought of it.
Next up: The great sticker quest.
Thanks to a tip here I can now go and collect all the right stickers for the car.
It also allowed me to find out that the eBay sellers offer these stickers at 15x over value! Just buy from MB!

One of these weeks we need to do a stock take in the warehouse, and list all the items I scored, outside MB.
That's gonna be quite a job, and quite a photo collection.
At that point we pray that the Euro dropped again, so we may order the final pallets with  regularly-available parts from MB
Gonna be quite the ocean cargo shipment.

Also up these days...the new interior.
I am waiting for the complete sample books from UPH, so I may finalize both cars' outfit.

First car (mine to keep) will be burgundy red outside, and parchment vinyl inside. Very simple and happy, with full Zebrano trim inside.
Carpets still missing after receiving green instead of parchment.

Second car (to sell) will be 904 Dark Royal Blue outside, and palomino leather inside. Again, full Zebrano outfit.
None of it ordered yet. Combi shipping front seat pads with the bioth car's leather, vinyl and carpets should be a big saver.

I also need Bosch Fanfare Horns for both cars. I want the 400hrz version.
Quick question.. Can I simply fit this set, or is there a current issue if I do not install the exact part?

I got lucky with a very friendly German retailer that sells replicas of the thin blue/gray user manuals, service manuals, etc that come with the car. Getting 2 complete sets in mint condition proved very expensive, and after getting tricked once, I found out it ain't even sure you will actually receive a mint one.
So, i ordered 2 complete sets in Germany, for 10 bucks a piece. They are really excellent! Even the mild fading that would naturally occur is there. Can not tell it from the real thing.
But yes, a small concession..

This is from his email:
Für den W116 habe ich mehrere Betriebsanleitungen, daher müßte ich noch das Baujahr wissen, damit ich Ihnen die passende zusenden kann. Andere Unterlagen habe ich nicht, ich habe nur Betriebsanleitungen gesammelt.
Ich habe Ausgaben von:
280S+SE+350SE VIII/1972
280S+SE+350SE+SEL+450SE+SEL II/1973
280S+SE+SEL+350SE+SEL+450SE+SEL I/1974
280S+SE+SEL+350SE+SEL+450SE+SEL II/1975
280S+SE+SEL+350SE+SEL+450SE+SEL I/1976
280S+SE+SEL+350SE+SEL+450SE+SEL VIII/1978
280S+SE+SEL+350SE+SEL+450SE+SEL VI/1979
450SEL 6.9 VI/1975
450SEL 6.9 IV/1979
Der Preis ist jeweils 10 Euro, die Versandkosten 2 Euro (Ausland 3,60 Euro). Bei Sendungen über 500g etwas mehr.
Es sind Reproduktionen in erstklassiger Qualität, vom Original kaum zu unterscheiden. Siehe Bilder im Anhang. Wenn ich sie
nicht vorrätig habe, dauert es etwa eine Woche mit dem Versand.
Bei Interesse teilen Sie mir bitte noch Ihre Postanschrift mit.
Die 12 Euro können Sie dann überweisen:
 
MfG
Jürgen Hollmann
An der Steinach 12
95466 Weidenberg

He only accepts bank transfer or cash in a letter.. No Paypal.

Also found a window lifter motor for 150 bucks, NOS.. These keep popping up once in a while, but not cheaper than that..
Still, bought one before at 125 bucks..
2 down, 2 to go!
That is, unless my mechanic is right. He says he can send the old motors to an address in the States to have them refurbished at a fraction of the price.
Anyone done that before?
I will let you know the outcome!

And then there are the computerized/electronic gadgets that are impossible to find, or incomprehensibly expensive.
So, enter ProgramaInc.
1 00157 000 835 01 57 A/C Servo Unit Amplifier
2 51232 005 545 12 32 Cruise Control
3 08432 000 545 84 32 Ignition Control Unit
4 20032 002 545 00 32 Engine Control Unit

Hell of a lot cheaper!

And then there was a brand new left mirror I got from ebay Holland.. 55 bucks!
In Germany someone was sitting on a W116 specific blind-angle mirror glass for the driver mirror. 20 bucks..and the box really  looked like it would suit a 70's Tiroler movie.

Also in Holland, a real copper expansion vat from a 6.9 -The second one I found. 30 pop.

Biggest miss of the year: Holland eBay: Brand new head light assy L/R and brand new rear light assy L/R just over 100 bucks, 4 pieces together! Missed it by an hour. Still sick of it, now 2 months later.

 

[ptashek]

You're building an impressive collection of parts there Stan. Makes me think my project is half-hearted. But then again, I'm not building a museum piece x2

[floyd111]

I wouldn't be calling your project half-hearted, shipping the chassis to Germany for a tin-dip, haha!
If only I could...

Another issue that I have is that the papers will not match the car's outfit.
The handful of 116's that ever arrived in Taiwan have been subjected to swaps and DIY for the last 40 years, with no respect for quality or originality.
The data cards that came back from MB USA only show the Dutch imported car I have, to be original in detail. But, no license plate.
The 2 Taiwanese cars make no sense at all.
I would still have to choose to outfit the car based on engine number, or based on chassis number.
One of them is original Maroon, the most god-awful color ever chosen for a w116.
That's not gonna happen either.

So, what I aim for is to go brand new, with 5 year full warranty for the buyer, and every possible original gadget and option ever made available for the 116 retro-installed. Cruise control, booklets, key wallet, spare tanks, center pillow, leather interior, velours, foot rests, Zebrano outfit, elec windows, elec sunroof, elec antenna, Becker, head rests front/back, right side mirror, reading lights, seat belts rear, copper expansion vats, etc.
I gave up on ABS for reasons known and electric seat serve no purpose where you get 320 days of sunshine per year.
I thought about adding the original MB picnic box and the MB suitcase outfit, but the first just seems silly, and the second is more expensive than a second hand W116 -and not brand new.

On top of this are the upgrades that are invisible. High-end audiophile equipment, stainless exhaust, Ohlins custom-made suspension and sound/heat proofing all around.
Yes, it helps to be an Ohlins distributor, but even for me it's not cheap. It'll end up between 3000 and 3200 per set, cost price. Ouch!
This cost alone will cause an extra year of delays..
I also will copy the airco-upgrade that is explained on the forum. Effective and (almost) invisible, it seems.

If anyone knows of original Options that I missed, I'd like to know about it.

[slfan]

Floyd,

There is a factory installed Becker refrigerator in the trunk that was available on the W116.  My former 6.9 (5614) came with this option.  It sits on the left front portion of the flat area of the trunk on a rectangular aluminum base.  It comes with an MB suplement manual (similar to that of the early climate controlled cars, factory anti-theft systems, etc), 2 locking keys, authorized Frenzel repair outlets (the manufacturer that produced this unit for Becker) and a long eletrical extension  cord that permits you to keep the refrigerator running while the car is parked in your garage and also performs the funcion of maintaining the cars battery charged while parked.  All of this in a 1979 model year car:  amazing!

If you need pintures of the unit and manual/papers, just let me know.

Regards,

Slfan

[slfan]

Floyd,

Here is a picture of the factory installed Becker refrigerator in my former 6.9:




In addition to my 1979 6.9, I have only seen this refrigerator in another 6.9 (a black 1977 or 1978 car).

Regards,

Slfan