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Finished restoration 280 SE 1979

Started by Silkworm, 17 April 2013, 09:53 AM

Silkworm

Hello,

I'm new to the forum but have been following it closely over a year now, when I bought from Turkish customs a 280 SE(1979) and started to restore it. I'm not a die hard classic fan but I do love old Mercedes and finally I could afford to restore one. I'm ahppy to share the results with people who share the same enthusiasm.

I'm not a mechanic myself and had it restored thanks to some very skilled mechanics in my city. I tried very hard to restore the car to original. However somethings had just to be replicated new.

We stripped the car and all rusted parts were either replaced or repaired or replicated. With anti-rust coating on top, it may last a good while.

Main reason for posting is to see if there are any apparent mistakes which will be obvious to some of the posters here. I would be happy to hear and will try to correct. (Becker Radio/casette player will be delivered shortly)

I have hi-res photos as well if any one is interested. PM me and I can send them.

First this was the day when we bought the car.

 

Silkworm


Silkworm

#2
And result. Click on the photos for bigger images.


 




s class

Well done, Milan Brown is an excellent choice!


[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

arman

Outstanding work! Good taste. Have fun!
BR Arman
1974 W116 450 SEL 340.000km
Black exterior (040), olive green velours interior (966)
[url="http://gallery.w116.org/v/show_room/Armans450sel/"]http://gallery.w116.org/v/show_room/Armans450sel/[/url]

Squiggle Dog

Your 280SE is stunningly beautiful! Such attention to detail, with all of the nice yellow zinc plating on the hardware, to the custom steering wheel and shifter to match the burlwood. I like the two-tone door panels. I two-toned mine, but only hope to have it looking as nice as yours some day.
Stop paying for animal cruelty and slaughter. Go vegan! [url="https://challenge22.com/"]https://challenge22.com/[/url]

1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Heated Seats, 350,000+

ptashek

Amazing result. Milan Brown is by far the best color choice for a W116.
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

ZCarFan

Wow, and double-WOW!

can you detail the materials and techniques used in the interior? 

karmann_20v

That is a stunnig result, well done Silkworm!

One question: Your headlights appear to be new. I have noticed there are Ebay sellers from Turkey offering new replica headlights for W116. Did you buy those made in Turkey, or do you have any experience with them (build quality, fitment, sealing, etc)?

Thanks!

Squiggle Dog

I have also been curious about the quality of the new Turkish W116 headlights. They appear to be just like the original Bosch units, to the point of the parts possibly being interchangeable. I wonder what brand they are.
Stop paying for animal cruelty and slaughter. Go vegan! [url="https://challenge22.com/"]https://challenge22.com/[/url]

1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Heated Seats, 350,000+

John Hubertz

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]

Depa77450sel

Very nice looking car, congratulations on a great job! :)
1976 450SEL off the road for now
1977 450SEL ZMQ642 (SOLD)
1979 450SEL  W116MB (SOLD)
2003 C180 KOMPRESSOR (WRITTEN OFF )
2005 C200 KOMPRESSOR  (SOLD)
2010 E250 CGI current daily

Silkworm

#12
Thanks for the nice comments.

- Original color was light green. Since the car was completely stripped we decided to change color as well. I was in love with this car since I watched Rhonin. So when it was time to choose color, the choice was obvious. Also the original interior cladding was brown. So they matched nicely.
- Interior cladding is completely original, seat covers were very badly damaged due to exposure of over 20 years in customs outdoor park. It was impossible to find original dual color cloth so we used artifical leather beige. 
- The wood burnish, I preferred the original horizontal pattern one but then the interior guy insisted on the swirling pattern that is now standard on MB.
- After very detailed clean-up of the dashboard, they covered it with this dark brown covering. It was done a few times over because the covering shrunk from points and looked crumpled.
- The A/C was stripped from another W116 which we had to scrap (sadly) So many small parts under the hood and in the chassis came from that one.
- The sun roof was broken and not working. Repaired and working perfect now.
- Also electric windows were taken from the stripped car.
- I think centralized lock was not standard but since its such a practical thing, I had to have it.
- The motor needs an overhaul but is running fine for now. We decided to leave it to next year as we will not be using the car daily anyway.

I bought almost all nickel plated parts, head lights , rubber fittings etc from a guy that I found on a Turkish second hand web site. First I did not trust him but I was wrong. I know he charged me high for most of the parts, but I simply did not have the time to look around for cheaper alternatives. If anyone is interested I can help you get in touch with him. But I can vouch for him if you buy anything from him. He is trustable.

According to him, he brings most parts over from Syria.(Can be lying outright) But it makes sense since there are still a lot of W116 running in middle east, particularly in Jordan,Syria and Iraq. So there still is a very lively after market for them. I don't know where individual parts are made, but their quality is OK. Almost everything I bought came in nice factory packaging and brand new. They did not look stripped from scrapyards. It is possible the head lights are made in Turkey but their market is very limited. You can not buy them from the parts sellers here usually since there are so few W116 running here. I imagine they sell them to Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and Iran. Rumor is there are still a few manufacturers in Hungary and in some other eastern European countries producing parst for these cars. Unless you are looking for thr real original part and be prepared to pay for it, these ones are acceptable.

Silkworm

I will try to find the boxes of the headlights we used and also if possible I will try to learn where they are coming from. Then I will see the ebay ads myself and try to help you.

karmann_20v

Quote from: Silkworm on 18 April 2013, 04:19 AM
I will try to find the boxes of the headlights we used and also if possible I will try to learn where they are coming from. Then I will see the ebay ads myself and try to help you.

Hi, that would be great if you can share the supplier you bought your lights from.

I had a look at Ebay and couldn't find the Turkish seller anymore... It was there last week.