Mercedes W114 250 Coupe - help!

[C240Sport97]

sensational interior .. I cannot wait to see this machine

 

[trapperjohn]

Saw a 114 skulking around these parts yesterday. It must have been out on a pre Christmas run. It was blue in colour. A deeper blue than my 124 estate but not a deep as my old saloon. It looked incredibly "right" on the road, didnt even catch the Reg No I can say they were the old pressed type true to its age.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Apart from the exterior colour (a psychodrama and a half) deciding upon the quality of the interior was the most difficult decision. With little left of the original apart from the vinyl fittings (fortunately), I agonised over this (and the cost) as I have seen so many poorly restored interiors that just look rubbish. Getting the seats restored before re-covering was vital, seat covers are designed to fit a notional shape, and you can see the results of fitting them to poor condition seats all over. It has probably cost me about a grand more than buying covers, but the result is clear in the photograph - it is spot on.

(an admission - I have always loved the rabbit ear headrests and my car didn't have them. I found a set of seats in Germany with headrests that was cheaper, collected and delivered by me, than buying a set of head rests).

 

[Charles Morgan]

This colour John?

 

[Bellow]

Excuse me for a moment - I want to sit down....

he has also fabricated two wheel arch liners for me, ......
...... It will go over to Simeon to have a Christmas break (when I shall have a ramp to do some cleaning and sorting) later today and I shall have a look tomorrow!

While it is on the ramp, you can decide whether it would benefit from an undertray. Take a tape measure if you think you might want to modify an existing tray to fit.
A bit of a faff, but depending on how you intend using the car, there could be worthwhile improvements in slipperiness and stability to be gained.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Interesting idea Mr B. Certainly seen no sign of original ones, but the benefits are worthwhile. Stability should certainly be improved by the lower stance, but it will still be quite a top heavy car.

 

[trapperjohn]

This colour John?

Brighter and more vivid. More like the blue (but gloss) on a Help for Heros wrist band.

 

[Charles Morgan]

I didn't manage to get to D&M to see the finished wheel trims, but the car is now on a ramp for the new year.

and wearing its correct 15 inch wheels with proper tyres

 

[Bellow]

Ah, an undertray lined up already!

 

[Charles Morgan]

I fear it might make the handling a bit wooden...

 

[Druk]

You join some illustrious former company on that ramp

Ahem.

 

[Charles Morgan]

This sort of illustrious company?

 

[brucemillar]

I didn't manage to get to D&M to see the finished wheel trims, but the car is now on a ramp for the new year. and wearing its correct 15 inch wheels with proper tyres

Hmmmm. Liking those tool chests.

Sent from my iPhone using MBClub UK

 

[Charles Morgan]

I had two trips up to Simeon this week (Classic Car Project Shop - CCPS from now) to look at the car on the ramp and work through the plan of tasks with Simeon. Springs, shocks and rear suspension the first to be done, the rear sub-frame to come off to do all the bushes and get in to the metal above to rustproof and stone chip. A few brackets needed for the fuel lines, track rods need replacing at the front, but that's all we found underneath.

Next job to start machining the bits for the fuel rail and sensor mountings.

 

[Charles Morgan]

A productive day. Cleaned up the instrument binnacle and worked out how the feeds for both the oil pressure and the water temperature connect to the engine. I also re-discovered the heater fan, water pump and plumbing that I had feared lost (buried under W124 parts in one of my cars). However, discovered disassembling the steering column to attempt a re-paint is not happening without further study, and the box of bits from the engine bay that Peter removed many months ago aren't exactly organised or labelled.

I also have the joy of trying to work out which rubber grommets* to order to fill all the holes in the bulkhead. As half are missing I am going to have to do some exact measuring when next up with the car.

*if anyone is looking for grommets for their car, certainly older Benzes, SLS in Germany have a dedicated section devoted entirely to them.

 

[Iceviolet]

Great find for the grommets! I was wondering where the best place to get them from would be, as I was pulling the cables and hoses through my bulkhead. Most were perished,only a few salvageable.
I also discovered that my blower fan motor is goosed! Seems a little stiff to turn, I would imagine it should be very free spinning.

 

[Bellow]

Grommets, Clips, Ties Straps items in grommet store on eBay!

 

[Charles Morgan]

Great find for the grommets! I was wondering where the best place to get them from would be, as I was pulling the cables and hoses through my bulkhead. Most were perished,only a few salvageable.
I also discovered that my blower fan motor is goosed! Seems a little stiff to turn, I would imagine it should be very free spinning.

My blower fan was seized totally. The replacement, from a low mileage car, is lovely and smooth. Having seen the replacement cost from new, I was delighted to stumble across it yesterday having mislaid it for a month or so! Rust has also accounted for my horns which I discovered today are knackered. It's not just the bodywork that's the problem!

All the holes through the bulkhead have now been measured, now to identify the correct rubber bits as replacements. The vital thing is to ensure all the holes are properly stopped up so water can't get in and the whole rust process starting again.

Edit - a very useful link to the bulkhead of the R107 on the SLS site. It's not radically different to the W114/5 so many grommets are the same.

 

[Iceviolet]

My blower fan was seized totally. The replacement

Do you still have the seized blower at all? If so would you be willing to sell it to me? I am thinking that maybe I could make a good one from two not so good.
I am going to do some tests on mine today to try determine the fault.
Thanks,
Sam

 

[Charles Morgan]

Happy to send it to you for the cost of postage Sam, but I would counsel that Billy the auto-electrician at CCPS thinks the bushes are so degraded they will need replacing.