R107 Rusty Bulkhead

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Good luck with that. i'd be very interested to hear what he says.

Derek.
 
He says the bulkhead is ok in the middle, either side will need to have fabricated sections welded in. He has quoted me £450 to do the work which i am very surprised but happy about. He has checked the rest of the car and confirmed its solid elsewhere. Even the sun came out while he was here!
Restoration is back on!!!!
 
Bite his hand off at that price. :thumb::bannana::bannana:

It might be wise to get the front wings off before he starts cos the water spills outwards over a cill into the void there and it will make repair that much easier if he can gain access from the start.




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i wouldnt trust "its rust free elsewhere". How can he tell without going back to metal?

whats the area around the front and rear of the sills like? What about the rear arch/side bumper area like in druk's photo? Floorpan?

Good luck with the restoration. I've done a fair bit on mine, the whole frontend is now rust free, luckily my bulkhead wasnt very bad at all and the standard "fibreglass" repair in situ to the side was applied from the vent area. still got to do a fair bit of stuff on the rear of the car but its not that bad and i've lived with it for 2+ years so i'm not going to rush myself.

keep us uptodate on the resto...

my rolling resto bloh here may be of interest:

Mercedes R107 SL Restoration
 
I would never quote in advance for that kind of work, you just don't know what's going to be involved until you get stuck in.
If you take the front wings off you will only expose the outer part of the "A" post. You will have to cut a panel out of this in order to gain access to the inner part where the rust penetration is likely.
You have the dash out already so this might not be necessary as your access to the "A" post will be unhindered by it.
Likewise you may have to cut an access panel out at the top of the scuttle at the air intake orifices because otherwise you won't get access.
 
My main concern would be providing correct alignment for the wiper through shaft. iirc it's held at it's seal to the inside surface of the outer scuttle by pressure from the bulkhead fixing. Getting that distance and alignment right is going to be clever. There's also the grommets for wiring, vacuum pipes and bonnet pull on both sides to consider. Pulling the wiring back to the inside of the car prior to welding would make things easier but needs headlights et al to come out.
 
I would never quote in advance for that kind of work, you just don't know what's going to be involved until you get stuck in.
If you take the front wings off you will only expose the outer part of the "A" post. You will have to cut a panel out of this in order to gain access to the inner part where the rust penetration is likely.
You have the dash out already so this might not be necessary as your access to the "A" post will be unhindered by it.
Likewise you may have to cut an access panel out at the top of the scuttle at the air intake orifices because otherwise you won't get access.
Access via panel as you mention. I have had to arrange a low loader to get the car over to him, the low loader is coming from 20 miles away. When he asked me for the address of the welder he said that he had heard of him, he is known for doing high quality work! Seems i may of struck lucky! All arranged for wednesday. :thumb:
 
hi
New here but would be interested to see how the welding went as i've just discovered a similar (but not as scary) issue with my 500sl.
 
Hi New to this site so be gentle with me

Yes the bulkheads are a common fault with the 107s seen lots which have been rusted away.
But thay can be all sorted it just takes time :)
As you will know thay are grate cars :thumb:
 
Hi there - I have a similar issue on a 1986 300SL - would you be willing to share the details of your welder? :)
 
Hi olro.

If your question was directed at Colgate he was last active on here in May 2013 so will be unlikely to see your post.

If you post up where you are based someone may be able to help.
 
Hi there - I have a similar issue on a 1986 300SL - would you be willing to share the details of your welder? :)


This is a five year old thread. The OP's last activity on here was in 2013 so maybe not around any more.
 
Don't listen to them "nay sayers" here's the plan...

Years ago I had a 735 and it must have been in a delivery "Love touch" resulting in a new real panel.. fast forward a few years and the seams hadn't been treated and started to rot through.. It was going to cost over £1500 per side as it involved a new wing and quarter panel to rectify .. so a pal said see if you can find the corners and I'll deal with the rest... as luck would have it I was buy spares of another car and I happened to ask what he was doing with the shell "Oh its just going to the crushers once all the good parts are gone.." I asked about the rear panels, they were mint not a hint of rust in sight. £10 per 10" square corner and I was on my way.. took it to my mate and all the rot was gone and the panel re seam sealed.. into the BMW body shop and again the mate that was working there at the time asked who had done the welding on the car and I asked why... "Usually we have to fill over such repairs but your panels were so perfectly aligned we didn't have to touch them.."

Moral of the story: Look around and see if you can find a panel that's in good nick and see if the breaker will cut it out for you , then find your welder to fit / install

I think I still have the photos of the repair of my car somewhere, if I find them I'll post them up, the Before & After shots...
 
Hi olro.

If your question was directed at Colgate he was last active on here in May 2013 so will be unlikely to see your post.

If you post up where you are based someone may be able to help.

This is a five year old thread. The OP's last activity on here was in 2013 so maybe not around any more.

Damn!! Should have read that first..:doh: :(

Looks like the forum echo has returned. :wallbash:
 
When this appeared on my car I had to replace the two inner side stiffeners with new parts and both side chromes with second hand parts.
 

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