Back in Dallas for the Final push, March 2014, (part 8)

Well here she is down by the lake - We got stopped loads of times and constantly had people waving and saying how great she looked.  A few small things to fit plus the installation of the hood and then we will be good for the 190SL Group 2014 convention down the road in Fredericksburg in October.

Back in Dallas for the Final push, March 2014, (part 7)

The engine had the air log fitted, very fiddly and not something to do on a daily basis. the air cleaner paint was cut back for a better finish and a new rubber pad created to go underneath it plus a new washable filter was installed.  Decals yet to be installed in the engine bay.
For driving the car over in Texas it now has the loan of a set of period plates.

Back in Dallas for the Final push, March 2014, (part 6)

Here is the completed interior, it is fantastic! I love the contract between the dark blue paint and the carpets\seating.  Door caps and panels to go on once the convertible top is fitted and windows have been adjusted.

Back in Dallas for the Final push, March 2014, (part 5)

New correct rubber floor mats were fitted in the front along with replacement of some of the original floor insulation which had disintegrated due to age.

Back in Dallas for the Final push, March 2014, (part 4)

The interior received its square weave carpeting in the rear compartment including the loose fitted mat in the foot well for the rear jump seat passenger.  The seat runners and seat belts were also fitted.

Back in Dallas for the final push, March 2014 (part 1)

March saw me back in Dallas to se the progress made by Will and Steve on the car and to lend a hand, get to know the car and help move things forward.
By the end of the week we had the car 95% finished and driving around which was a fantastic feeling. This is one quality restoration.  Here she is with the European licence plates in place; drilling the rear trunk lid took time to make sure it went on perfectly aligned. The US rear reflectors have also been replaced with great quality reproduction ones, including the correct interior trunk mounting rubber with recess for the mounting bolt and nut.

Back in dallas for the Final push, March 2014, (part 3)

A number of the seat height adjustment chrome flippers needed replacing along with the central plastic rests and rubber buffers.
One feature we have added to the car is that of a rear jump seat to enable our daughter to occasionally come with us in the car.  The seat has been created with correct parts and fittings and looks superb.

Back in dallas for the Final push, March 2014, (part 2)

Here is the inside of the rear trunk.  It now has a new 2 piece rubber floor lining and complete tool set.

Slow but progress

Since our last trip out to see the car at the end of 2012 it has been waiting in the queue to get back into the body shop for final works. These include getting the headlights to fit properly, attention to a dent that has appeared in one of the doors at the body shop, inclusion of closing panels between the rear wings and side structure plus a few minor other small points. The car went across to the body shop a few weeks ago and is now slowly making progress which is great.
Once it has been finished it just needs to go to the trim shop to have the new hood fitted; meanwhile Will is looking to replace some of the nails in the chrome trim that goes above the rear window as a few are missing or weak.
In the meantime I tracked down a replacement original spec speedo drive on e-bay to fit to the car as mine is a non original one. I also sourced some of the rubber buffers to go on the chromed seat side adjuster flaps. Will is also sourcing the correct style exhaust tail pipe trim and the internal parts required to rebuild the main light switch as it proved to be faulty when we test drove it.

November activity 6 - On the road

Well, both Theresa and I managed to drive the car around the lake next to where Will lives.  Neither the lack of windscreen or doors and front bonnet deterred us or the lack of passenger seat for Steve to sit on.  You couldn't get awat with this in the UK and even the passing police patrol cars took no notice..... which was lucky.  A fantastic experience and the car drove beautifully and Theresa thought it was dead easy to drive which is great news.  Here is a photo of Theresa in the car and also a video clip of us each driving it.

 

November activity 5 - Trim

The rear jump seat is ready to be fitted and has the correct brackets etc waiting. For the front seats I have ordered some new pieces to replace broken elements of the chromed seat side adjusters and the plastic centre plugs from Chromeshraub in Germany. Theresa cleaned up the original sun visors and we will see what they look like when fitted to the car before deciding it they need recolouring - definately too good to replace. I fitted the rear retainers for the hard top in place and also for the hood cable retainers.  I have aso taken the plunge and asked Will to order anew 7 piece rubber matting kit for the car from K&K.  Additionally I am going to investigate ordering a cocoa mat carpet set for the front of the car from Cocoamat.co as I have these in other early 60s German cars and really like them.

November activity 4 - Lights and front grill

The front grill was rechromed locally in Dallas and unfortunately the finish was not as good as we hoped.  I opted to buy a new 2 piece surround and wings in Stainless steel from Harringtons who produce them out in Vietnam. The grill fits well and looks much better than the original - I will keep it and see eventually if I can get a better job done in the UK or sell on. The barrel for the star has yet to be finished with the correct blue translucent hue.  I had shipped a pair of European spec headlights across to Will for fitting, the car has always had US spec ones fitted and whilst I got them to fit much better there may be some remedial work to do on the locting hooks for light unit and trim ring to get a better end result.  The amber indicator lenses were swapped back to clear ones with amber bulbs to help in ensuring that the electrics comply to UK regulations.

November activity 3 - Convertible top

We have agreed on a black convertible top as was originally fitted to the car.  The one on the frame at present is excellent, except for where the mice chewed a large hole through the rear whilst the hood was stored folded down with the hard top fitted before I bought it. Theresa concentrated on cleaning up the hood frame and removing all the aged lacquer which combined with cigarette smoke left it looking a brown colour.  It was tackled with fine wire wool and paint thinners to remove the laquer and get it back to its original un anodised aluminium finish.  Will advised that a new coat of laquer will be needed to stop any marking of the new hood happening as a result of contact with the frame. So next up will be fitting of the new top and all rubber seals etc.

November activity 2 - doors

An area of focus for me was the reassembly of the doors. The insides were cleaned out to reveal the nice original paint inside them; this was however covered up with Dynamat to give some additional sound insulation. The small interior chrome lock latch was replaced with a new one as one of the locating tabs had broken off. The window winder regulator was degreased and then lubed up before re-installation. New rubber gromets etc. were used to connect the regulator to the glass. The check strap, external door handle and locking mechanism were installed before the regulator\glass were fitted and finally the two external shoulder trims were fitted along with new felt and clips.

November activity 1 - Engine

Myself and Theresa had another trip out to see Will and the car in Dallas in November with the hope that it would be nearing completion or at least driveable. Whilst the final body work and trim has not been completed the car was driveable and there were also still things that I was able to do on the car myself.
Here is a shot of the installed engine just awaiting the air cleaner, transfers and choke cable to be fitted, it runs very smoothly and is a joy when driving the car.

Dash instruments

The dash instruments have just arrived back from refurbishing - a general clean and touch up of the faces, check and overhaul of the interals and new glass and bezels - they look great.  The clock still needs to be sent for repair.

Rear end work

Once the wiring loom was in place the reflectors for the rear light units were treated to some chrome spray and then fitted along with the lenses.  The fittings for the rear booit lid were then added and the boot lid was attached to the car - if you block out the view of the front car then it almosts looks like a completed car.  Other external work ioncluding fitting the detachable sills\rockers and spacers was also carried out.

Front end work

The eyebrows above the wheel arches were all in very good condition and have been refitted. A new red tip ariel was fitted with bracing bracket and the closing panels for the front innet wings were then put in place along with new rubbers.

Air cleaner restoration

The snorkle on the air cleaner was very battered.  Will showed me an clever fix - a replacement snorkle that you insert from inside the air cleaner once you have sawn off the old one.  I removed the old one, cut the new one to size and it was then brazed in place.  The whole assembly was blasted and then primed for paint.  I also cut out enough of the mesh holding the old horsehair filter to allow a new modern style one to be fitted and the msh to be wired back in place.

Floor insulation

The old floor insulation was stripped out during the body restoration.  I fitted new modern equivalent to the floor area and will probably need to add more to the tunnel and bulk head.