My Cars Or.. An extended Intro

[Tony66_au]

And a few more

[Tony66_au]

Und Finally Ze plate!



If anyone can decode the hard bits for me id appreciate it!

[oversize]

Gosh is there any boot space left???  LOL!  Turf the LPG and get the Kjet going!  Or if that'll cost too much go aftermarket EFI.....  Like what I'm planning! 

[Tony66_au]

For the time being the LPG stays until I get the K jet running properly and one of the K jet jobs will be to remove, clean and reinstall the fuel tank so obviously the LPG bottle will have to go.

The WUR is suspect but my Vac pump and dial kit seems to have disappeared from my garage so I cant check it but as per usual with LPG installations the fuel system gets seriously neglected and gummed up so I have to do a disassemble and clean n test of components im betting.

So a cheap source of working K jet bits is on the cards down the track.

[Tony66_au]

Well yesterday was eventful!

The SE is now in my garage and was looking very chalky paint wise, Knowing the Daimler Benz are not shy with the paint I tested a few sections to cutting compound and found it really needed something harder I hit it in places with commercial cutters which were a tad too hard, Clay blocking was out as well as there was too much oxidised paint so I went the whole hog and decided to use an old trick I have used before.

The trick........

Caustic Parts wash/Degreaser concentrate........

A light mix of degreaser (Non petroleum) and water, an old car wash brush and a good hose.

Wash the car with the mix, in sections and in full shade keeping the car wet.

Yesterday was good for me because it pissed down with rain all day.

The mix does a few things really well, Degreases, Removes lime scale and water marks from brightwork making it shiny again, it also removes the cloudyness from anodised alloy work and helps break down and remove grunge from gutters and behind trim. it also removes all waxes adn polishes both silicone and wax based and removes oxidisation with brush agitation.

So the car is now in a state similar to washing with prepwash and a tak cloth.

[Tony66_au]

Still a bit wet last night

[Tony66_au]

I also removed the rear trim from the buggered door and the handle so I can repair the paintwork AND I tested a small patch of paintwork with cutters and wax for shits and giggles with the help of a few Wild Turkey and Coke's.

[JasonP]

Mercedes mud-flaps? That's hilarious!

[oversize]

WOW that seems to have come up a treat!  I'd be interested to know if the anodized trim becomes cloudly again as she dries out...

[TJ 450]

That does look quite respectable indeed.

Once the repair is done, that will be great.

Tim

[Tony66_au]

WOW that seems to have come up a treat!  I'd be interested to know if the anodized trim becomes cloudly again as she dries out...

Well Mr Smarty pants Goanna legs..............

the last set of pics is a day later and totally dry.

Still shiny mate!

[Big_Richard]

.

[Tony66_au]

Speaking of repairs...........



Hitting the surface rust with Dioxidine (Phosphoric acid) today and im also going to seal and hit it with a smidge of hi fill once the temp in the shop comes up past 15 celsius to seal the deal.

Dilute Phosphoric acid is the best I have seen in removing rust and gets right into any pitting in the ferrous surface, I then wipe with a wet rag (Wet with Metho/Ethanol) and again 5 mins later.

ALWAYS wear Nitrile gloves and FFS dont let it touch alloys as the reaction is spectacular depending on the strength.

[Tony66_au]

So what your saying, Big T, is that you've found the CURE for milky anodized trim?!

I believe my Nobel prize is in the mail..........

Anyway I didn't cure it, detailers and coachworks (As opposed to panel beaters) have been stripping anodising for years using a light caustic solution.

The differences being they usually use a precise mix (Mines a splash in a bucket), their mix is warm to hot which works better and they take their stuff off the car first whereas im a slackarse with low care factor.

The last time I did this properly it involved an immersion heater, temp probe (65 Celsius), a plastic bristle hot wash brush and repeated soaking and scrubbings.

The issues are many though and it isnt a spray n wipe solution which is why its not common knowledge, It isnt a fix for cloudy anodising, it removes the cloudy anodising completely which then means you have to coat the alloy with something else AND you often have to give it a light buff as well before you re-coat the piece.

Or in short.... A job for an anal retentive OCD freak with waaaaaaay too much time on his hands and an eye for detail.

Me? I just wash the car with caustic degreaser lol

I do have to give the alloy trim a bit of a wipe down though because its a bit spotty still and may need another tubbo but it looks heaps better than it did after sitting in the paddock for 2 years.

[gavin116]

Hi Tony

In response to your question.

Und Finally Ze plate!



If anyone can decode the hard bits for me id appreciate it!

There can be a single number separated by a space before the 5C, I don't know the meaning of this sometimes present/not present number
5C
5 = sequence number, after every 999 999 vehicles produced on a specific assembly line, this number filps over to the next digit, and the production number re-sets to 000 001
C = a factory code for a production line in Sindelfingen
A-E is for Sindelfingen, production of saloon cars
F-H is for Bremen (no 116's produced here)
All letters are for German production facilities, whereas numbers designate production facilities in other countries in the case of the 116 Barcelona, Brazil and Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
7176782
7 = the year in 1970 your car was ordered ie 1977
176782 = production number, the 177 682 car produced at the factory 'C'
52 = TBC (to be confirmed)
116032
116 = the chassis code for our car type i.e. W116
032 = indicates: 0= petrol fuel requirement (c.f. diesel = 1) 32 = 450SE
22
2 = Made in Germany, RHD version (c.f. made in Germany LHD version = 1, can also be a 5 or 6 for overseas produced LHD or RHD cars respectively)
2 = Automatic transmission (c.f. manual transmission = 0)
00257 = Construction serial number, the total count of 116 032's for that year i.e. yours must be an early example from 1977
5 = Continent code for where the car is destined
(2/3 = Germany, 4 = NATO, tourist, Diplomat, 5 = Europe (outside of Germany e.g. UK, Spain, The Netherlands...), 6 = Africa, 7 = America, 8 = Asia, 9 = Australia)
424H = Paint code
424 = Topaz Brown
H = manufacturer: H = Herberts or G = Glasurit
Just before the '-' there is a blank for flat colours, but if your car had metallic paint, there will be a "M" to signify that the paint code is metallic, as there were a few paint codes that could have been both metallic or flat.
'-' = No sunroof fitted, (c.f. 0 = sunroof)
531 = AUTOMATIC ANTENNA
586 = BEHR AIR CONDITIONER, AND ELECTRIC WINDOW LIFTERS (FRONT AND REAR DOORS)
599 = HEAT-INSULATING GLASS, BAND FILTER (there was more than one option for this code, but all have to do with glass colour and tinting)
625 = VERSION FOR AUSTRALIA
877 = READING LAMP IN THE REAR
220 = REAR DOOR CONTACTS
320 = ADDITIONAL PLATE AND REAR SEAT BENCH STOP FOR GREAT BRITAIN
466 = CENTRAL LOCKING SYSTEM
480 = SELF-LEVELLING SUSPENSION
511 = BECKER RADIO CASSETTE STEREO MW/USW (there were three option available for this code, all various Becker radios)

Interestingly your car's build plates shows the country destination code as 5 = Europe, outside of Germany, code 320 would confirm that this car was perhaps destined for the UK, but then code 625 confirms that your car was specified for the Australian market, for which you would have expected a country code of '9'.

A word about codes:
Always three numbers long = option code eg, headrests or rear window demister
3 numbers suffixed by an A indicates Ausstatting or Upholstery code, as seen on data cards eg 006A, the 0 = cloth, then next 0 = plaid, and 6 = black
3 numbers suffixed by an L indicates a country code, as seen on code lists or the first three digits of the Auftrags number or Order number

Hope this helps shed some light.

Gavin