Mercedes 380sel restoration

[roondog]

hello people,
I'm now the proud owner of a 1985 mercedes 380sel which I got for £900, 12 months mot, taxed nice condition.
unfortunately water has been getting in most probably around the bottom of the back window for some years due to a slightly poor resto job. This has corroded a small section of the metalwork directly underneath which is visible from inside the boot. (please see attached pictures) would anyone know what kind of work would be involved to restore this and the estimated cost?

I'm only 24 years old so my knowledge of these kind of cars is lacking some what so some feedback would be great!
Also does anyone think I did alright paying £900 for it? I just saw the car, loved it, heard the v8 and bought it! lol

thanks, roondog

 

[Giantvanman]

I think you got a great buy for the money; welcome to the forum!

 

[roondog]

Cheers mate thats good to know, I'm hoping to get my fun out it and sell it on for a profit so I'm still trying to find out its true value??

 

[jaymanek]

Its not an easy job... Buy the repair panel from MB... Then its remove rear screen... Weld in new section, repaint and wax protect...

Will most likely need new seal for rear screen... In most cases its a job that will cost more than value of car.

 

[roondog]

Its not an easy job... Buy the repair panel from MB... Then its remove rear screen... Weld in new section, repaint and wax protect...

Will most likely need new seal for rear screen... In most cases its a job that will cost more than value of car.

Cool thanks for the info jaymanek, I knew it would be a big job to do. I think in my case I will just look into just getting a new seal for the rear screen to prevent further leakage and corrosion.

 

[John Jones Jr]

Hi & welcome. Lovely old bus. What I'd do first is remove the back seats & parcel shelf, this should give you a better idea of the corrosion. Keep the faith.

 

[219]

Hi and welcome .

Sadly this very common fault is the achilles heel of the W126

As Jay says , it is a case of remove the back window ( carefully - they are expensive if you break the glass as they are laminated ) . Cut out the rotten metal and get the repair section from M-B ( quite reasonably priced at £100-odds ) , weld it in - the labour tends to be the pricey bit , unless you can , or know someone who can , weld . New rear seal ( they were in short supply a year or two back ) and after painting , refit window .

Paying someone else to do that will probably cost more than you paid for the car , but if you can DIY then it could be a viable proposition .

Your car looks otherwise tidy and if mechanically OK then well worth doing . Although W126's can still be picked up cheaply , prices are on the rise as fewer good ones are left , and a decent one will be worth hanging onto .

I paid only a little more than you for my 500SEL and had 5 years good use out of it before body deterioration made it uneconomic to repair and I gave it away . I enjoyed every minute with it .

Good luck with yours .

If it's any encouragement , I was about your age when I bought my Ponton back in 1982 ( the car was about the age of yours back then too ) , enjoyed driving it for the first 15 or so years , then parked it up my mum's drive where it still awaits restoration as I collect parts ( it still starts and moves up and down the drive a couple of times a year ) . Look after yours and you might see 30 + years ownership as well

 

[neilrr]

I looked this up only yesterday for a friend with a 560SEC - # 5 below.

Inchape list it at £777!

 

[tali]

An SEL with original wheeltrims is a sweet thing indeed!

 

[roondog]

Hi and welcome .

Sadly this very common fault is the achilles heel of the W126

As Jay says , it is a case of remove the back window ( carefully - they are expensive if you break the glass as they are laminated ) . Cut out the rotten metal and get the repair section from M-B ( quite reasonably priced at £100-odds ) , weld it in - the labour tends to be the pricey bit , unless you can , or know someone who can , weld . New rear seal ( they were in short supply a year or two back ) and after painting , refit window .

Paying someone else to do that will probably cost more than you paid for the car , but if you can DIY then it could be a viable proposition .

Your car looks otherwise tidy and if mechanically OK then well worth doing . Although W126's can still be picked up cheaply , prices are on the rise as fewer good ones are left , and a decent one will be worth hanging onto .

I paid only a little more than you for my 500SEL and had 5 years good use out of it before body deterioration made it uneconomic to repair and I gave it away . I enjoyed every minute with it .

Good luck with yours .

If it's any encouragement , I was about your age when I bought my Ponton back in 1982 ( the car was about the age of yours back then too ) , enjoyed driving it for the first 15 or so years , then parked it up my mum's drive where it still awaits restoration as I collect parts ( it still starts and moves up and down the drive a couple of times a year ) . Look after yours and you might see 30 + years ownership as well

wow thanks pal that's all the info I need and a bit more!
I 'm certainly going to keep and drive the car for as long as possible so at least I know now how to tackle this issue.

cant start driving it though until after my 25th birthday (2 weeks away!)

I'll get some decent pic's of the merc up soon!