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My first W116 here at last

Started by gavin116, 10 April 2011, 01:54 PM

KenM

Hi Gavin,
Nice work as usual, I have to say though that I am astounded that anyone would put R22 into a vehicle a/c system. It's just not suitable for that purpose and the problems are several;

1. The operating pressures will be vastly higher than with R12 or 134a. This will cause problems with leakage eventually, from hoses, the compressor shaft seal also I imagine.

2. Depending on the type of hoses you have R22 could cause scouring of the inner lining and deterioration of the hoses.

3. I imagine you might have icing problems in the evaporator when running on low fan speed, causing flooding at the compressor and washing the oil out of it = big problems - $$

Take some advice from other local vehicle a/c specialists, but I would get the stuff out of there tout suite.

With the compressor oil, it is fine to run R12 on synthetic oil (not that you can get 12 now anyway), just can't use 134a with mineral.

Cheers,

gavin116

#181
Hitch your skirt 'n run

We started latish on Thursday evening, refueling in Roehampton, and making our way down to Folkstone.  The trip went well, we arrived safely, had a late dinner, and off to bed.  The morning began at 6am, by 7:20 we were on the Eurostar making our way under the sea to France.

We travelled from Calais via Belgium and then on to Germany.  We stopped in Verviers for a spot of lunch, and a further stop just short of Luxembourg for a re-fueling.  I managed about 320 miles on 74 liters of fuel, I don't think too bad?  I also discovered that my washer tubing had got trapped, and this was the reason that my windscreen washers were not working.  A quick re-routing of the tubes, and the washers are working as intended.

We entered Germany in the mid afternoon, made our way to the Moselle Valley, and on to Bernkastel-Kues where we would be based for a couple of days.  We chose this village as it was the most 'happening' of the villages, including the €18 ticket to see the Riesling museum where you have the opportunity to taste well in excess of 100 Riesling wines.  We managed to get through about 70 of the more trocken or dry types, and avoided the semi-sweet and sweet.  Naturally, we weren't downing the wine, and used a spittoon to avoid getting absolutely legless and possibly hospitalised.  There was indeed a sweet Riesling, sporting the number 116!

I did come across a few nice classic cars on the road and in the parking lots in Bernkastel.  Mrs W went down very well with anyone who saw her: mainly older German folk on tour, and although I did spot a C107 (aka SLC), sadly no other 116's.  The closest we came was a W126 with a really cool number plate!

Monday morning was time to say goodbye to the land of Riesling, and just as well, I don't think I could drink any more white wine...  And so, an opportunity presented itself.  Whilst making our way back to Calais, I though I would hitch Mrs White's skirt, and see how she could run on the Autobahn.  Well, Mrs White got the better of me, and I chicken out when the speedo needle touched 200.  She still had some go, and although she felt rock steady and at ease, I just wasn't game enough.

The rest of the drive home turned out to be very slow cruising, as there was an absolute deluge from the Belgium border.  We encountered the usual trouble of slow moving traffic around the Brussels ring road, and again near the Tunnel in Calais.  I once again refueled, returning similar results as before.

Would like to spring Mrs White one last time this year if possible before she goes in for her bodywork.  Ken, I will certainly look into the R22 situation.  I shall quiz the garage, and ask how many vehicles they have charged with R22, and what problems they have encountered.  Not sure what other drop in gas could be used, other than R417a?  I will have the opportunity to change the gas when I have the bodywork done, as the radiator will have to be removed, ipso-facto the evaporator.

Keep 116'ing

Gavin

P.S.  I discovered, that you can click on the photo attachments to see a larger good quality version of the photo.
1979 450SE "Mrs White"
2022 Touareg-R 3.0TSi Hybrid
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KenM

Fabulous pics Gav, quite a few grapes on that thar hill...

With the 417a, this is another replacement for R22, mostly used for domestic and commercial a/c and for commercial refrigeration. Haven't seen it much here, I think it is fairly expensive. Being a blend would be a pain if you had a leak, you couldn't just top it up, come to think of it this doesn't apply to vehicle a/c so much though. I'll be very interested to hear what information you can find out about the R22 situation.
Cheers,

jbrasile

Hi Gavin,

Haven't posted in quite some time....

Reading through your progress reports on the 116  I second Ken's opinion with regards to R22 being used in your a/c system. Make sure the a/c shop  DID NOT use it or you run the  risk of ruining your brand new compressor if not worse. By the way I saw this new "version" of the A-6 from Retroair and really liked the concept, that's probably where you got yours  from right?, I may try it on the 450SEL soon.

Going back to the R-22, what Dupont reccomends as a direct R-12 replacement is the Isceon-39 which is R423A if I am not mistaken. I tried it a while back when I thought R-134A wasn't cutting it and to be honest, it didn't do much better. If nothing else I noticed my original A-6 was working harder and became noisier at certain rpm's

I have e-mailed Retro Air to see if they make a multi-flow condenser for our cars and will post the answer here. If we can get a more efficient condenser and compressor + a proper R134A expansion valve I am pretty sure we can overcome the lower performance of R134A in these older systems.

Tks

Joe


gavin116

#184
Spotted in Auckland
On holiday visiting my brother and sister-in-law in Castor Bay, Auckland.  Whilst driving trough Takapuna, we spotted this 280SE.  Does it belong to a W116.org member?  (I couldn't find the 'spotted' post to upload the photo.)


Season's Greetings


(Forgot to add, its been a real 1970's Benz day, also saw a silver 450SLC coming out of Victoria Square car park in Auckland.)

1979 450SE "Mrs White"
2022 Touareg-R 3.0TSi Hybrid
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gavin116

Spotted in Spain


Not really done much on the Benz lately, but working on a new air-box project, thinking about getting a FrankenCIS, and of course awaiting my slot at the body shop.  I did however come across these guys today.


Enjoy,


Gavin
1979 450SE "Mrs White"
2022 Touareg-R 3.0TSi Hybrid
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gavin116

Air-box finished and first 116 spotted in UK

Finally finished my new air-box project today.  I cobbled together an air-box form a W126 500SE and a R107 500SL to make a new double snorkel air-box.  I chose to do it this way rather than use a double snorkel air-box off a W126 (gen II) 500/560, as my version now has equal sized snorkels.  I finished painting the air-box and lid with heatproof black paint, and re-riveting the snorkels just this morning.


I have also got some air intakes from a R129 500SL, and will need to figure out a way to mount these in the air dam-area.  I will need to cut the LHS snorkel at the time of fitting.  I need to get a new smaller battery to allow routing air intake ducting (will need to be deformable) to connect all the components together.  Still a long way to go, but getting there slowly but surely.  There is also a great weight saving using the ally air-box vs the metal one.


Whilst heading off to work late this morning to do a little gardening on our roof top terrace, I spotted my first ever 116 (a 6.9) on UK roads!  It was seen sailing serenely by just after the Harrods store on Brompton Road.


Keep 116ing  ;) ,
Gavin
1979 450SE "Mrs White"
2022 Touareg-R 3.0TSi Hybrid
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littlefin

Quote from: gavin116 on 17 May 2015, 11:17 AM


Whilst heading off to work late this morning to do a little gardening on our roof top terrace, I spotted my first ever 116 (a 6.9) on UK roads!  It was seen sailing serenely by just after the Harrods store on Brompton Road.


Apparently driven by Kojak  8)
110011 1967 230
108057 1972 280SE3.5
116024 1979 280SE
126037 1983 500SEL
124030 1989 300E

gavin116

     The new cold air intake

For a long time now I have been pondering the idea of increasing the amount of air available for combustion, and at the same time to deliver cooler more dense air to the engine too.

The plan of action had to be a double snorkel set-up as per a W126·560 SE/L/C, and either relocating the battery to the boot, or to use a smaller battery to enable the ducting to pass forward to the lower grille area.

Where to start?  The Internet and eBay of course, where I discovered several options.  I finally decided on getting an air-box from an early W126·500SE/L/C, and another from a R107·380/420/500SL.  The advantage of using these air-boxes were twofold: the SL air box meant I would get a large intake on the left, and at the same time the lower part of the housing doesn't need plugging where the SE/L/C air-box has a pollution air injection filter thing.  The air-box and lid need capping off where the KE-jetronic air flow meter spike protrudes.

So, I removed the snorkel from the W126 air-box, traced the outline of the holes to be cut into the R107 air-box.  I used a Dremmel tool to do the cutting, and a pair of pliers to slowly tease the aluminium into shape.  Some cleaning up with a sanding disk and a file, and job done.

Next the air cleaner housing was painted with a few coats of matte black heatproof paint, followed by a few more coats of heatproof satin clear lacquer.

Some 80mm flexible ducting and a few air intake scoops from a R129·500/600SL, and I was ready to do business.   Still missing is some silicone ducting (83mm inner diameter) to connect the snorkels and air ducting together.  The LHS snorkel will need to be trimmed to remove the rim to facilitate the marriage of the two components.  I may yet go with the ducting from a W126, may be neater and more factory looking in the end, time will tell.

I visited the local M-B dealer in Brentford and acquired a new 74Ah batter, and the red cover for the positive terminal, and I was all set.  The changeover was relatively straight forward, but routing the hoses will be a challenge.  Mounting the intake scoops will also be difficult.

I think I will need to direct the intake ducting to the rear of the headlamps where they meet the radiator.  There is a small factory gap – an air dam, which will let in cooler air.  Perhaps when they are doing my new paintwork, I could get the paint-shop to enlarge these openings.  I will need to see if I can somehow mount the air intake scoops in this area, but it will not be plain sailing.  The earth cable to the battery sits in the way too.

Speaking of earth, I now have a bouncy fuel gauge.  It is annoying to say the least...  I have cleaned up the terminals under the first-aid kit to no avail.  So it has to be an earth, but that doesn't explain why the rest of the gauges are rock steady.  Anyone care to shed a little light on this?
Not long to go now, and she'll be wearing new paint.

Till then, keep 116'ing. ;)

Gavin
     

1979 450SE "Mrs White"
2022 Touareg-R 3.0TSi Hybrid
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oversize

Nice work!  What about the REMOVABLE panel below the headlights?  I'm sure your panel shop could rig something up that is semi-hidden....

Yes you'll get cold air and improve flow but there's no avoiding the fact the K Jet air boxes have a design flaw.  The internal hump that fits over the fuel divider blocks at least 1/3 of the flow making parts of the airfilter almost useless!
1979 6.9 #5541 (Red Bull)
1978 6.9 #4248 (Skye)
1979 6.9 #3686 (Moby Dick)
1978 6.9 #1776 (Dora)
1977 450SEL #7010 white -P
1975 450SEL #8414 gold -P

oversize

Oh the 'spotted'  thread is actually listed as 'Sightings'.  How did you spot the 6.9 from so far away and have you camera at the ready?  I'd be struggling to get my phone out of my pocket, let alone have a camera handy so quickly!
1979 6.9 #5541 (Red Bull)
1978 6.9 #4248 (Skye)
1979 6.9 #3686 (Moby Dick)
1978 6.9 #1776 (Dora)
1977 450SEL #7010 white -P
1975 450SEL #8414 gold -P

gavin116

Good suggestion Richard, but I have headlamp wipers, and the motor sits behind those, so not feasible. :-[
1979 450SE "Mrs White"
2022 Touareg-R 3.0TSi Hybrid
[url="http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/my-first-w116-here-at-last/"]http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/my-first-w116-here-at-last/[/url]
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oversize

Does the motor take up all the space?  Where'd you get Richard from?

Mark...
1979 6.9 #5541 (Red Bull)
1978 6.9 #4248 (Skye)
1979 6.9 #3686 (Moby Dick)
1978 6.9 #1776 (Dora)
1977 450SEL #7010 white -P
1975 450SEL #8414 gold -P

oversize

You could try a guard vent W124 diesel style?  Or bring a vent up from under the car (but the road surface will be hot on a hot day).  Or bite the bullet and go through the bonnet!
1979 6.9 #5541 (Red Bull)
1978 6.9 #4248 (Skye)
1979 6.9 #3686 (Moby Dick)
1978 6.9 #1776 (Dora)
1977 450SEL #7010 white -P
1975 450SEL #8414 gold -P

gavin116

Bare you say?

Today I went to see how things are progressing with my light bare metal windows out restoration.  Thankfully, the car has few hidden surprises, and is in remarkably good shape considering the nature of our weather.  The car is wearing original paint only, and I was shown the layers: original factory "e-coat", primer and paint.  The doors are all good, only minor surface rust in both rears where the ¼ window meets the bottom rear of the framework.  I am replacing the driver'd door with a new M-B part, as the window frame is kinked (I suspect from rolling it out of a garage and catching it on the opening).


The rear fenders are really great, but we have to part remove them as the inner fenders are rusted.  Such a pity to have to cut into a virgin panel, but what can we do?  I see the sills are as yet not stripped, but early indications are that they are good.  The left boot tub will need work, which I knew from before.  I'll know more at my next appraisal visit.


New pattern part fenders have been sourced, originals NLA from M-B.  I let them source the fenders, as there are pattern parts, and then there are pattern parts.  I have in addition bought quite a lot of new trim, for example side rubbing strips, main part of rear bumper, all new grill components etc.  At the same time, I have also sourced an entire new lock set, as ignition tubers are NLA - I don't know what M-B or Huff expect one to do when these pack up...


The ally boot (trunk) lid is unfortunately a no go.  It was a little accident damaged, but the main problem being it's shape and fit.  Panel gaps vary from 3.5 mm to 8 mm, and it is a little short where it meets the tail lights.  Having never worked with 116 ally parts, it is an unknown quantity for the body shop.  Stuart (my project manager) tells me on Pagodas for example, new ally bonnet and boot lids are oversized, and trimmed to fit the opening of each specific car.  Perhaps that's the way it was with 300SDs, who knows?


If the rear fenders were being replaced in their entirety, then it could have been made to fit more uniformly.  As I am going to all this expense, and given its accident free, I want the car to be as near perfect as possible, so, I am sticking with the original boot lid.  I will try sell the ally one on ebay.


The ally bonnet (hood) is yet to make it's way to Goring-by-sea, but should be less of a problem.  As we are fitting new front fenders, this will leave us with a little leeway to get panel gaps correct etc.  The front end however has rust in the LHS headlamp bowl, and behind this on the inner fender too.  I have taken the decision to remove the front end completely, and refit a brand new slam panel.


I have been given five shades of 737 to choose from.  The 'number 1' shade from the factory doesn't look as cold as what the car wears in the door shut areas (i.e. unexposed and nicely protected, near original), and is quite a warm colour.  It is the first of the three cards.  Had the car not been so original, it would be wearing 702 Smoked Silver.  As such, I am leaning to going with the stock shade, instead of the bluer or yellower shades.


Now if I could just try and keep to the budget...


Keep 116ing  ;) ,


Gavin
1979 450SE "Mrs White"
2022 Touareg-R 3.0TSi Hybrid
[url="http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/my-first-w116-here-at-last/"]http://forum.w116.org/test-drive/my-first-w116-here-at-last/[/url]
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