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My 380SL project

237K views 1K replies 85 participants last post by  bandit96 
#1 ·
History:
Last month I purchased this 1981 380SL from a gentleman in Michigan who had inherited it three years previous from his wife's father.
He had purchased body replacement panels for the rough spots :((before and behind the rear wheels and behind the front - see pics) but had never progressed further than removing the trim moldings as his son went semi pro on the 4wheeler racing circuit, so I guess that chewed up all his free time and $. It then sat in his garage until I bought it.:thumbsup:
The car has 132K original miles and had been parked indoors her whole life, I was told. The pics he provided of the interior, floor pans, undercarriage and body basically confirmed that.
I did quite a bit of research on the vehicle (excepting a carfax, which is what I REALLY should have done) (I know, I know - stupid) (I got lucky) and decided it was a pretty good investment. It runs but is very rough, doesn't want to stay at idle (probably due to the fuel system processing old gas) and has a tapping noise coming from the valve cover on the pass. side (valve or lifter, maybe?) that goes away as the car gets to op. temp. Other than that it is in pretty reasonable shape for a 27 year old!
Things missing:
Radio (I think he may have had an aftermarket installed and then he removed), top wrench, all the manuals, two small "fins" on the grill, the muffler and (I think) one trunk panel.
Things included:
Replacement panels, trim and moldings, tool kit (or his own tools if MB didn't provide as std equip).
My Plan:
I bought a maintenance manual and plan to go through it this winter cover to cover. I am told this is what MB mechanics do on level 1 & 2 service checks. Make sure all mechanical systems not listed in the manual are in good condition. Once that is all taken care of, weld in the body panels, get it ready to paint and start on the interior. She needs new seat covers (whew$$$), the ashtray cover put back on and the center console replaced (lost a piece of wood down by the hazard button). I think the carpeting is salvageable, will have to wait and see - first things first.
So that is that, here are the "beginning" pics and if anyone has any pertinent info, suggestions or comments I will be glad to hear from you. Belly shots (from Jody or any other female BW member) are also welcome. Anyone in the northern ohio area that wants to stop by and see my progress and down a couple cold ones is also welcome, give me a shout!
Da Bandit
 

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#3 ·
Whoops, sorry I missed a couple of pics.
 

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#5 ·
Well, if an expensive hobby was what you were looking for then look no further.
Restoration is fun and rewarding but ghastly expensive. If a great looking SL is the ONLY thing you're after then I suggest dropping your project and buying something decent.
If you love working on cars and take pride in the outcome then have at her and good luck.
Please include lots of pics of your progress.

And remember.... the dealer parts department can be your friend. You will be pleasantly surprised at availability and price of most parts. AND they are OEM.
 
#10 ·
Picked up some shop supplies yesterday. 30-50-80-120 grit sanding discs, some 4-1/2cutoff wheels, 3" wire cup wheel and about a dozen spindle mount wire brushes. Thank God I work for an abrasives mfg co. - this would have cost me over $200. Didn't cost me 1/10 of that.
I wonder, since I have NO maintenance records on the car, if I should go ahead and replace ALL the hoses and vac lines as I go. Any thoughts on that? I will be replacing anything that looks questionable, of course.
 
#11 ·
UPDATE
I decided the best course of action was to get the possible major issues out of the way first. Figuring that I have to rebuild or replace the injectors as well as have my brother check the valve/lifters so that's where I'm heading.
I think I will check the forum to see about the injectors.
Here's the latest pics.
Da Bandit
 

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#12 ·
More pics
I also was going to take the hardtop off to check the condition of the ragtop.
The guy I bought it from said he hadn't had the top off since he had owned it (3 years). I searched around the forum and finally found an old thread about how to take the top off.
So the top came loose fairly easy - but since I didn't have anyone there to help me, I didn't take it all the way off. Anyone know what the little lever behind the crank lever does? I have seen quite a few bad posts about what happens if you try to take the top off with the holddown cable still attached!
Anyhow, here's the pics. Check the fridge, CLK! Still full AND has a couple bottles in the freezer (ice 101 and jaeger)(even with the heaters, you still need antifreeze!):D:beerchugr:
 

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#94 ·
The little lever?



What a read! Brought bask a lot of fond (and not so) memories! Didn't see an answer to your question, but that little lever pulls back the top latch so the top can be removed. The big lever pulls the latch down so the top fits tight. There is a cam and lever arrangement behind the well cover that activates the latch release through a cable. PLEASE check the cable and cam/lever set up thoroughly before replacing the top. Replace any circlips and the cable if in doubt. Check the ends of the cable and replace if any sign of wear. If the little lever can't pull the latch back all the way, you can't get the top off. The solution is a lot of wire bending and poking to get the latch retracted. Takes a while to learn the technique!
 
#14 ·
Sorry, cheapass camera phone, 2 christmas ales and a shot of ice101 does not lend to steady, in focus shots. I will try to do better. You just want a better look at the poster with the babe leaning over the Lambo, don't you?
 
#15 ·
#16 ·
Hey, thanks Dave! Are the Bosch injectors the best way to go? I noticed on the fuel distributor that it was a Bosch. And those are priced VERY reasonable. I should probably order the upper seal/guide too, huh?
 
#18 ·
Scrap that last post Dave. I went ahead and ordered a set with the seals. If the old ones that I pull look OK, maybe I'll clean them up and keep em for spares or offer them to some poor soul needing to replace a bad one. Thanks again I appreciate the heads up - I think the cheapest I had seen them was like $29. (plus shipping) on ebay.
 
#20 ·
Yeah, I got your message after I placed the order, so I called them back real quick and added the insulators and a couple of valve cover gaskets.
Thanks,
Bandit
 
#23 ·
OK - More Pics & Update
So last night I pulled the driver's side valve cover and injector lines. I also pulled the injectors and insulators on both sides.
Thanks again for the info, Dave!:bowdown: You were exactly right, the insulators were brittle and a couple of them didn't make it out in one piece. Were the OE ones a reddish color? I am thinking so because 6 were red and two were black, indicating someone replaced 2 injectors at one time.
I checked the rockers and found one on the driver's side that moved. I think maybe the lifter has quit. My brother is coming over Sunday, so I will get his input on it. That is probably the source of the tapping.
So my neighbor came over after all of the above excitement and we took off the hardtop. :eek: Someone did not do a very good job on maintaining that whole business! The cover/lid on the back appears to be locked in place:mad::confused: Is there a catch/release for that?? I couldn't find it. I know I am jumping around a little bit:wtf: but I figured I need to do these things when I have the help available.
Anyhow if anyone has some info on the convertible issue, Please advise!
Da Bandit
 

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#24 · (Edited)
Thanks John! It's a little tighter now that I got the top off(see last post), but as soon as I figure out my ragtop issues, I will put it back on.
 
#26 ·
hopefully, it is rust; cams are not chromed, they're hardened, and if not coated in oil they will rust in days. Hopefully, just on-the-surface rust!

If that's all it is, I would put a little oil all over them upon next start-up or assembly lube, after the oil tube fittings, etc are changed.
 
#29 ·
UPDATE
As always, my luck runs hot/cold. Who was it that said "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction"? Anyhow thanks to several posts that told me how to release the softop cover. I released it easily while I was waiting for my brother to come over yesterday. I started to put up the convertible top but stopped because it was really stiff and I didn't want to damage anything. So my brother gets there and we put the top up and it's MINT!
Now as I was saying about the luck thing. We started looking at the lifters and rockers - several are in very poor condition, so the consensus was to replace them all. A couple of them on the drivers side were LOOSE, so I am probably very lucky that I didn't drive the car very far (just on/off the trailer and into the garage) or I very possibly could have caused some pretty extensive damage.
In an earlier post I had mentioned replacing hoses. Does any one know if there is a replacement set available for the 380? I think I will check Autohaus, but if anyone has a suggestion, let me know.
So that's where it stands right now. Waiting on the injectors, ordering the lifters/rockers and checking into the hose kit/set. Here's some new pics. Enjoy!!
Da Bandit
 

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#62 ·
I generally bite the bullet and get all my rubber from MB, and that is especially true of hoses that could leave me stranded on the side of the road. It goes cost about 4 times as much for genuine MB so other parts I will consider aftermarket if they are easy to replace should I not like them and they will not cause expensive damage should they fail.
 
#31 ·
Oh, it looks SWEET!!:thumbsup:
So far I am doing pretty well on the cost - $208 for the Injectors, Insulators, Seals and a couple of valve cover gaskets. $81 for the air, oil(4),p/s,fuel and trans filters. The lifters and rockers may put a hurtin on me, though. :eek: I am going to look at those in a minute.
 
#32 ·
OH CRAP!!!!!
I just found out new lifters and rockers are going to be about $800.:eek:
On a positive note I stumbled across an older thread that had links to some PDF files that happened to cover valve clearance and adjustment. Apparantly there is a test gauge #117 589 06 23 00 that I can check clearances and see if the tolerances are acceptable. I guess that if it is within 2.45MM that can be adjusted using a different thickness thrust piece in the top of the valve spring.
Now, does anyone happen to have the test gauge?
Bandit
 
#38 ·
Unless you absolutely will feel better about buying new ones, good used compensators are available and are very common (inexpensive). I myself has spares that I'll probably never use, although probably not every one is good.

On the followers (lifters), you can probably get away with using good used ones with a used cam, although I'd feel better about buying new ones for a new cam. Use lots of assembly lube.
 
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