Resurrecting the dead - W126 560SEL and the insanity of sentimental value... - Auto-Trend Repairs and Service Information Forums

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

RE: Resurrecting the dead - W126 560SEL and the insanity of sentimental value...

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

Well I fired up Goldilocks today! She was dead a few weeks back when I went to fire her up due to the rear reading light being switched on while I got the back apart. Still keeping an eye out for that leak and it's supposed to rain hard tomorrow so maybe I might get some kind of intrusion before I button it back up.

She fired right up the first crank! After she warmed a little I goosed her a few times and man I have always loved the way these things sound when you run them up in the RPMS! Nothing came apart and I still had a little fluid left in the SLS bottle so I just couldn't resist.

I am going to start cleaning her up after the rain, outside and in... meanwhile I have to pretty much clean out a massive horde of parts in my other garage just to get at one of my spare SLS valves. I am not even going to cut a line until I have everything I need on hand. I am also seriously considering pillaging all the nice lines off the blue 560, and while I am considering putting that one back together the temptation is strong! I keep trying to talk myself out of it since it's going to be a PITA either way, and if I just do the lines on Goldilocks I wont even have to fiddle with the lines on the blue 560 when that time comes.

I'd like to have it cleaned and "local" roadworthy to drive it around town the entire month of August (next month) since in Michigan you can drive historical vehicles the entite month of August, even for daily routine driving. Working from home I don't really have a "routine" driving schedual, but still I'd like to get her out rolling around and the bugs worked out. I got 21 days from today to figure it out!

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

Well guys... Obviously I didn't make that 21 day deadline...

It's almost like customers got word that I was slow and working on my own car and they were like, "Oh HELL no!"

I've been double and at times even tripple booked every since my last post! I even got a handwritten letter from someone inquiring about if I would work on their Mercedes since Goldilocks has been standing tall in the driveway with a valid plate and insurance.

Surprisingly enough, I get a few of these a year! Just by having a few old Mercedes in my driveway!

That's what I always loved about the Mercedes crowd... they were always go-getters! And they always stuck together, even if they didn't like each other... if only to use you as a form of entertainment. Most are pretty hard core Mercedes lovers who can't help but to love anything Mercedes, even if it was just some asshole who had a few broken down ones. LOL

I don't respond to off the street inquires for services since I'm strickly private and work with friends and family only at this current location. Should I ever open another shop I'd be sure to forward any such request to my shop, so if the guy who wrote this letter - or any of the other people who may have done so in the past are reading this, I'm sorry I just can't help you right now - but not because I don't want to! I just cant.

That said, I put the Corvette away for the winter on Monday,

And there is poor ole' Goldilocks waiting patiently... But she runs! You can go right out there and she will fire on the first crank! After you hook up the battery of course! LOL

I have not put the back interior together yet as I really want to find this damn water leak! I am for sure going to hook up the AC and get it working so it draws out any future moisture and natually occurring condensation after I find the leak.

I am thinking of switching up to the G2 red interior that I have a super nice set of in the attic, but not until this damn water intrusion problem has been identified.

I'll tell you this, I had someone bring in a really clean 1999 C230 the other day, black on black, and honestly these cars, read that as ANY CAR you want to keep nice should be garaged and not driven in the rain or winter PERIOD

The elements are such that I don't care what kind of car you want to keep nice, it's just not possible! ALL cars will succumb to the elements!

That is perhaps why I love Goldilocks so much... Because really I just want to drive her, I want the other guy to worry when I park my barge next to them at the grocery store! LOL

But honestly... It's what I use to justify keeping Goldilocks around, that she is a work horse and as such these BS repairs that are completly the result of my over-use and day-to-day reliance of over 250k miles in 30+ years of exposure to the elements are what I should expect, and if I get it back running and cleaned up and back in daily service I can expect to be doing these same things again in another 10-15 years! My oldest son was just telling me the other day it's been FIVE years since we last had Goldilocks in regular service! FIVE YEARS! Where does the time go?

Rastus · UNSTOPPABLE!

Time flies SELLC !!!

Just look at how fast Mr.Trumpdt's presidency went-by LOL !!! ( Though not fast enough for some folks )...

I'm surprised that his term wasn't extended, since the country was shut-down there for a while, so you could say he owed-ya'll a few more weeks at least :) !

Re your water-leak...

* Check condition of all door seals. And service-them with vaseline. Use the vaseline as a tell-tale for full sealing confirmation.

* Remember that pressure & heat change from outside to inside the cabin, & this may cause the seals to move out-of-shape, & cause a leak.

* Ensure that the doors are 100% aligned, & square / parallel to the door-frame, so that the door seals are evenly spread.

* Water can travel down a doors wheel-arch, & get either pushed or sucked back-in at the lower-most section, & then fills up the foot-well. Check your skid cover for water traces after a drive.

I'd suggest that a combination of these issues exist, & that it will only happen when driving along in wet & windy conditions. Don't underestimate a powerful wind, & its ability to manipulate a doors seal. I've heard doors in many cars that want to get sucked open in heavy winds, & they move around, & a water leak will exist.

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

I'm starting to think possible door seal also... amazing the trunk isn't taking on any water but it's dry... a little musky from the five years of condensation but no mold or anything showing. Not sure how thats even possible.

The interior of the car is another story... I think it's all got to come out it's been subjected to such moisture!

I now know what causes them white spots on the instrument clusters in a lot of Florida cars! It's fook'n MOLD and excessive moisture exposure inside the car!

Glad I decided to put the transmission in and re-do the timing chain guides first because otherwise I might have been more inclined to put her down and cash in on her parts!

That said, it's ALL got to come out and get tossed or sanitized... I think most of the cloth is done, at least in my mind... but it's the exact reason I sold the mint mustroom interior the car came with and went with a darker more worn Brazil... because I knew it was going to get trashed in daily use!

One thing is for sure, if I do end up going thru all this trouble and put my last red mint interior in this beast I'd probably have to consider painting it whatever color bright Red Mercedes used in them years. I know this is getting pretty far ahead of myself but it's the barrel I'm looking down if I keep going... Maybe I should just call that dude Andy and see if he just wants an engine, but it's not like a sedan engine is a direct fit for an SL... oil pan, filter housing and some other things need to be changed not to mention exhaust manifolds! And then it always ends in "Hey, do you know anyone who can install it?"... And let's face it, I don't want any more projects around here but my own PERIOD.

So that settles that... with the current work load and the work I got around the house it's looking like ole' Goldilocks will be sitting the better part of this winter. If anything it's been a good luck charm where whenever I get slow and start working on it, never fails the customers come throwing money at me. Five years! Can't believe it!

Since it's so close to Halloween and this project is such a nightmare of my own making I'll spin an festive song about resurrecting the dead. LOL

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

Goldielocks is bone dry on the petrol... went to start her up last week and she said "I wan't some $6.00 a gallon premium bitch"...

Guess I'll have to take my ass down to the gas station with a 5 gallon can... $30 bucks! lol

Used to be $10... I think gas is for sure high enough to get ole' girl back on the road...

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

SELLC wrote:
Thanks Rastus, the alternator is remanufactured but still carries the lifetime warranty. $105.40 to be exact.
I went with the Interstate Megatron Plus for the Corvette (because it's black instead of green) and the regular Megatron green top @730 CCA for the Mercedes.

Also talked to my insurance agent... $10 a month for full coverage insurance on the Mercedes thru the historical insurance program! So I can take the Mercedes for a good bath the moment she is done if I wanted.
Turned on insurance for the Corvette too... that unfortunately was not $10! lol
So it's time to see if Goldilocks starts! With 910 CA she should spin with ease! Fingers crossed!

Shoot... I think my 30 month free replacement period has elapsed! Damn COVID and time flying!

I sure hope it's okay! LOL, I disconnected it before putting it up on the concrete slab it has resided since these photos. So maybe a good trickle over night and she will make it thru the cold winter snap for the next few months and be okay for a few more years. I can only imagine this battery cost twice what I paid for it in todays money. IIRC, I got a pretty good deal on it.

Also I haven't been getting any more notes since I moved the Mercedes to the backyard concrete slab. You can't see them from the road anymore so it almost looks like I no longer own any Mercedes! LOL

-- Edited by SELLC on Friday 29th of December 2023 02:34:16 AM

Rastus · UNSTOPPABLE!

Yo,

The battery should be fine, as they're happy to sit for long periods, but there is a life-span here also, where the chemical reaction simply stops taking place. And the more sediment that builds-up on the bottom of the plates, the less endurance she'll have, but this takes years to happen, & generally lots-of-use.

Your biggest worry is that the voltage hasn't dropped below 10-volts, as they're never the same if that happens, though you may still get some life out of it. If this has happened, all bets are that you'll likely need a replacement next winter, as that's when she'll die for good.