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350SE takes a knock

Started by s class, 04 July 2012, 01:18 PM

TJ 450

Damn, I couldn't imagine much worse than that!  :'(

I'm at a loss for words.

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

s class

Both the W202 C180 and the W202 C240 got beaten as well.  The C180 all over, the C240 on the bonnet mainly as I managed to get it under a tree.  My blue 6.9 picked up some tennis ball sized dents, but not too many as it was mostly under a tree.  That's not the end of the world as it needs complete cosmetic resto anyway. 

But this brown 350 is the most painful to accept. 


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL

jbrasile

s class,

very sorry to read about what happened!!! A few years back I got caught in a hail storm during a classic car event, they were about the size of golf balls....my 280S faired pretty well, no broken glass and just minor damage. Can't say the same about a few Pagodas and a then brand new SLK looked like a prune... a friend got hit on his 129 soft top and lost the rear plastic window, just a nightmare...

Hang in there...

All the best

Joe

Beastie

Aw, that's such a shame. :(

Very unfortunate. I can't imagine how infuriating and frustrating it must be. Such awful, rotten luck. :(
1979 280SEL

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

Tony66_au

Vacuum cups do a sterling job removing hail damage, a mate had a Dent Masters Franchise for a few years after he got retrenched and I tagged along with him for a few weeks to see what it was about.

3 days at a car dealers in Sydney sorting out hail damaged cars that looked like they'd never been damaged and I was amazed.

Worth a look

adamb

That sounds absolutely awful. A year after the respray I regular obsess over new minor scratches. Sounds like garages are a must where you live.

s class

The damage is pretty grim.  The two front fenders of the 350 are repairable, but wil need paint.  They are beyond PDR.  The bonnet will need to be replaced.  The roof will probably come right with PDR.  I have a new front screen on order. 

So this will cost me :
a) new front screen
b) new front screen seal
c) donor bonnet
d) bonnet lining
e) panel and paint work on :
     i) roof
     ii) bonnet
     iii) right front fender
     iv) entire near-side. 

This will amount to another $2500 - $3000 in expenses, plus a lot of days of disassembly and reassembly. 
If I go ahead with this, by the time its completed, the entire car will have been painted in my ownership. 

:'(


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL

KenM

Oh wow, what a pisser. Still, if the car's a keeper then you know you are making a good decision and in a few years you won't remember the cost but will know every time you drive it you did the right thing.

John Hubertz

Here is the storm in question, I believe:

http://youtu.be/xWzIvuTKmlM

The action starts at about :45

Grrr.  Still can't get youtubes to embed properly. 
John Hubertz
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
(Hunter S. Thompson) 

1977 450SEL (Max Headroom)
[img width=68 height=73][url="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f248/fullhappyfish/max.jpg"]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f248/fullhappyfish/max.jpg[/url][/img]

ptashek

We get some serious hail storms every now an then where I come from, but this one's like a carpet-bombing raid... No wonder the repair list is that long. I guess one has to clinch their teeth and keep going. It's only a car after all.
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

s class

Quote from: John Hubertz on 22 October 2012, 10:25 AM
Here is the storm in question, I believe:

http://youtu.be/xWzIvuTKmlM

The action starts at about :45

Grrr.  Still can't get youtubes to embed properly.

That's it - Dowerglen is about 2km from my house - and yes, thats what the stuff coming out the sky was like.

I lost all the north facing windows in my house, and there are tennis-ball sized holes clean through the guttering. 


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL

Type17

Fuuuuucccckkk!  >:(


Sorry for your trouble  :(


At least all the panelwork will look great when done.
'76 350SE in Silver-Green

ptashek

Quote from: s class on 22 October 2012, 12:55 PM
Quote from: John Hubertz on 22 October 2012, 10:25 AM
Here is the storm in question, I believe:

http://youtu.be/xWzIvuTKmlM

The action starts at about :45

Grrr.  Still can't get youtubes to embed properly.

That's it - Dowerglen is about 2km from my house - and yes, thats what the stuff coming out the sky was like.

I lost all the north facing windows in my house, and there are tennis-ball sized holes clean through the guttering.

Excuse my total ignorance, but is that a typical event for SA to have hail storms, especially of this magnitude?
I've always thought you guys have a relatively dry and warm climate, just like the Mediterranean?

This is a real nightmare come true :(
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

ZCarFan

WOW! now that is hail!  Just be thankful you weren't caught out in that without something hard overhead.

Generally here in north Georgia, USA large hailstones are usually accompanied by high winds and tornadoes.  The hail is your last warning to get underground if you can before the roof disappears ;)

Good luck with the repairs.  Let your efforts be as stubborn and resolute as life itself. 

s class

No, I was out and about in that stuff.  I was running around with bags of garbage, old car covers, anything at hand to throw on top of the cars.  I am covered in serious bruises - looks like a commando of paintballers used me for target practice. 

The Gauteng area where I live is known for hail, and we get hail 5-6 times per summer, but its not usually big enough to panic about.  THis type of hail is a once in 10 year event. 


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL