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The "Goldilocks" restoration thread

Started by ptashek, 28 March 2014, 07:56 AM

Malaysian

Oh man..
Goldilocks is sweet.

not too big and not too small, not too hot and not too cold.

She's just nice.

Well done sir!
1977 280SE (M)
1977 280SE (M)
1978 280S (M)
1982 280SE (A) W126

2007 Porsche Cayman S
2010 BMW 320d SE
2012 Toyota Alphard 3.5GL MPV

ptashek

Quote from: s class on 08 June 2016, 02:08 AM
Not to be difficult, but your brake fluid reservoir is mounted the wrong way around.  THis means that the small chamber feeds the front brake circuit, instead of the large chamber as it should be.

Yeah, already being looked into.
Thanks, and please do call out anything else you spot not being right :)
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

ptashek

Quote from: Malaysian on 08 June 2016, 02:39 AM
Oh man..
Goldilocks is sweet.

Thanks! She sure is.
I can't wait to be back behind the wheel - I'm picking her up next week, doing last tests and fixes, and then it's off on a road trip 2000km across Europe to catch a ferry in France on the 26th.
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

w116john


wow exiting times, we will have to have a meet up in ireland to celebrate. before the summer ends

all the best

ptashek

Quote from: w116john on 08 June 2016, 08:06 PM

wow exiting times, we will have to have a meet up in ireland to celebrate. before the summer ends

all the best

I'm game :)
I've also promised the last UK owner, Tom, that I'll drive her up North.
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

ptashek

She's back on the road, with final testing over then next few days. There's a few smaller kinks, and a fuel system issue to sort out, but other than that she's a rocket ship :)
The underside is a work of art. There's no picture that can convey how damn gorgeous it looks. I may have teared up a little a few times today :D

We've had her on the motorway as well, getting her warmed up, and run in again, gradually going faster. About 120km in, and I know that this whole thing may have been borderline madness, but it was worth every cent of it. The only sore point are the door panel frames and the dash - the only interior pieces that would benefit from, but have not been re-trimmed or replaced. Even madness has its limits. But I'll hopefully get these done over the next couple years.

Meanwhile a local MB dealer has asked if they could do a small photo session with the car for their marketing dept.
I guess I shall negotiate a decent discount in exchange ;)
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

karmann_20v

What a feeling that must be! Congrats and post a photoshoot/video of her!

w116john


thants amazing, to be at the end of the process and see it through. great feeling to be driving and knowing that, what went into the car was all quality parts and workmanship

well done

ptashek

1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

daantjie

Very nice engine note congratulations!
Daniel
1977 450 SEL 6.9 - Astralsilber

Zaxxon

Congratulations! That's always an incredible feeling when you're finally going down the road in something you put so much effort and time and certainly money too into!!! Enjoy the ride and here's to always clear roads ahead of you!!!

--Zax
---
Mercedes: '99 CL500, '86 500SEC, '96 SL500, '06 R500, '02 ML320, '78 450SEL
Porsche: '80 928S 5-Speed, '86.5 928S RogerBox '86.5 928S 5-Speed, '83 944
Others: '84 Callaway Alfa Romeo GTV6, '83 Tiara, '87 FZ

Peter


floyd111

Yeah, it's quite something! Happy to see you are that close to the finish. Gives me  some more energy to push forward and get there myself one day but damn, it's a long road!

beagle2022

Hearty congratulations and thanks again for your generosity in sharing the journey.
Sydney, Australia

ptashek

Thanks everyone :)
It's quite unbelievable how a hunk of metal can restore that boyish grin to ones face. It's almost like a first date all over again, LOL :D
She's passed 70k miles yesterday, making it the first 10k miles under my ownership.

We're still fighting that one fuel system gremlin - the car refuses to start on the button when left to stand warm for 10-15 minutes. System pressure should keep within 2.8 - 3.2 bar with ignition off, just under the 3.3 bar injector opening pressure. But here it drops to 1 bar and lower. After much testing we think we've narrowed it down to the fuel pump and it's return valve. Both are getting replaced.

New MB exhaust is coming in tomorrow, and a CO check and adjustment to spec if needed.
Then a final wheel balance with tracking, after everything has worked and settled on the road. Oh, we need to wash and valet her too ;)

And a side note on fuel injectors and how changing these makes a difference - out of the 8 in my car only two were sweating slightly, six were perfect. These were still the original, factory parts.
Swapping all 8, including all the rubber seals (sockets were swapped earlier in the project) transformed the engine entirely. Idle is as smooth as butter now. I'll post a before/after video at some point.
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE