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Rose, The Saga Continues; The Arizona files......

11K views 76 replies 18 participants last post by  ianrandom 
#1 · (Edited)
I thought it was time to continue Rose's Story in a new thread.

Go here for the beginning of the Saga up to today:
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w126-s-se-sec-sel-sd/1612585-rose-saga-begins.html

Hopefully we can keep some of the crapola out of this ongoing thread to document the time, effort, blood sweat and tears and grief, to bring Rose from the Auction yard where Bondavi saved her to getting her right once again.

I had depredations driving her to AZ the first time, as I had not driven her on a trip before. She, as usual surprised me with how well she di. Now she has made two RT from CA to AZ and will be making a third next week a RT from Chloride AZ Back to Acton.

Both Jonwhite99 and myself know how it feels to drive a great, but not very pretty, (read bad paint), car for a while. It is heartening to get good responses from folks along the way, that pay no matter to the paint, but to the car.

Bondavi is right these Gen II Euro 500SEC's are rare, great cars.
 
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#2 ·
Unloaded the BBS Lorinser 5 Spoke 3 piece 9J X 16 wheels and looked closely at the markings inside the lug cover. Clearly marked BBS for Lorinser. Also twoo are 8J X 16 wheels, but all measure 8 1/2 inches inside lip to inside lip. They are ET 11.
All marked Made in Germany. Chrome peeling badly on a couple outside barrels, but all will be stripped and polished, Centers will be stripped of the gold and powder coated Padgett Red to match Rose's body color.
I need to find the correct BBS sockets to remove the bolts and I need to find one complete bolt and nut as one is completely missing.
 
#14 ·
"look ma... no cracks!!!" :D

nice score on the wheels. bbs rt :thumbsup:

i think they look "period correct" in the gold but will look even better when you shoot the centers body color

what "nuts / "bolts" are you referring to???

(now time to start hunting some more lorinser bits)
 

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#3 ·
Update: 11/07/2013
I have a call into James P. Baldwin, the person that is thought to have imported Rose. I talked to his executive secretary just now, gave her all the info I had and what she asked for. She will search her files to find any records that the Baldwins may have pertaining to Rose. She will call me back with her findings.
This is the last niggling piece of info will complete the research on Rose.
 
#4 ·
Talked to James P. Baldwin yesterday. unfortunately he is not Rose's importer.
Pleasant gentleman.
So Rose's importer in now unknown except for the import sticker on the door jamb.The detailed carfax will have to do for the present time.
 
#6 ·
I think I have one on Photobucket, but all it says is J. Baldwin. All of the early Smog tests were done in Yorba Linda. I do know for a fact that the car was in Niguel Shores development in Laguna Niguel in1997 because there is still the Niguel Shores Community Association Sticker on the inside of the winshield. Everything else is Dana Point or that area.

No big whoop, most do not know who imported their cars nor so much of their histories.
.
Carfax tells me the day she got off the boat and the day she was sent to G & K and the date the DOT Bond was dropped. a lot more information than most get. Quite frankly I was amazed to see that info on the Carfax. Dr. Sternstruf(sic) did tell me the day she was purchased in Hamburg Germany,by a German Citizen. I do know who the last PO was.
So all in all a lot of information.

Feels good to be turning my attention to Rose.
 
#7 ·
Baby gots new shoes!

Long story short, Blue's 220/55/390 Michelin VRX tires are so old that they are loosing air,weather checked and really not safe to be on the road. Coker makes new ones for $514 each, so I needed wheels and tires for Blue to be safe to drive. New wheels and tires were not in the budget. so I swapped the wheels and tires from Rose to Blue.
Rose's 3 piece staggered BBS/Lorinser 5 Spokes(don't know the correct Lorinser designator.), were pressed into action, even though they need to be stripped and refinished. I elected to go with good tires now, instead of just throwing something cheap on the rims. 225X50X16 fronts, 245X50X16 rears. I'll knock them down in the spring and get the wheels refinished, polished rims, Color coded centers. However Rose wears Gold centers nicely, but Chrome or Gold plated wheels is not my thing.
Rose will be lowered, that front wheel arch is tooo much.
[/IMG]
 
#9 · (Edited)
Thanks Ian.
I can't wait to get the paint and body work done and have Rose presentable.
I think this color is about the only color that can pull off the Gold "bling." They're pretty nasty in the chrome peeling department up close and some of the Gold is peeling as well, but they are 1986-87 vintage. When I knock them down, I will have the lips stripped and polished, NO CHROME!, and the Centers Stripped and powder coated if they can Powder coat Pagett Red Metallic.
 
#11 ·
Update: I am on the midst of changing out
The TC and upper guides. Waiting on parts.
So I thought I would clean up up the distributor
and rotor bug since I have the distributor out.
The cap had a lot of carbon on the posts. Cleaned
the posts with my Dremel tool. I picked up the rotor
bug to clean the carbon off the end. Toy amazement
the end was discolered,like patina, but NO carbon!
In all my years of working on vehicles, I have never
Seem a rotor big not carbines up, especially if
the cap posts are full of carbon.
Any thoughts on this?
 
#12 ·
Huh? Auto correct messed you up here.
 
#16 ·
Thanks guys.
Probably go body color on the centers. I feel
that Rose's color may be one of the very few
colors to pull off the gold bling.
Lots to do before I worry about Lorinser bits
and center"s color.
Nuts And bolts I referred to are the center ririm
bolts. BBS has them and the sockets.
 
#17 ·
copy that. gl with the car.

now wondering who else is rolling on these -- you, me, kodiak (his are 17s).. anyone else??
 
#18 ·
I and Rose are proud to be in such company.
If I. can just get Rose to the level of your rides.
I do really like these wheels. They turn heads here in
Kingman. Would really like to know the correct designation
for this pattern Lorinser. All I know is Lorinser 5 Spoke 3 piece.
 
#20 ·
I just caught it.
Mapearso called it,
BBS-RT, and not Lorinser even
though they were made for Lorinser.
These are different from the one
GreenT posted.
 
#22 ·
night and day.

i'm admittedly uber-biased, but the bbs-rt is imo at the top of the period-correct wheel list for the 126

first of all it's a 3-piece wheel. then, it is a design hybrid, taking the best of of the two other sweet a## 3 piece wheels -- the bbs-rs and the amg-oz... but no cracks!

anyway, nice score chadahar. don't wanna hijack
 
#24 ·
Rose has new TC and Guides! YEEE HAWWW!

Finally I am on my computer.

I spent Monday and tuesday putting in new upper guides in preparation for installing a new TC.

I want to shout out to Mike Ramay who talked me down yesterday afternoon. Thought I had done a big screw up, but it turned out I didn;t. Took Mike a few minutes to straighten me out and get me back down. Turns out I had done a rookie mistake by taking BOTH cam sprocketsoff at once,but in removing the driver's side my cam lock slipped and the cam moved backwards a bit. I had marked the chain and the sprockets on both, but when replacing the passenger side I inadvertantly put it on 2 teeth out. Luckily nothing bound up but I could not get the marks to align on both cam towers, Drivers side was dead on. pass. side was off a bit. I thought sure I had EFFED the whole thing. Quick call to Mike and we figured out I was out a tooth or two and no big deal. :crybaby2::thumbsup:

This morning I fed the new TC in and was out one tooth on the Pass. cam. pulled the Cam after marking both the chain and the the one tooth I had to back up. Backed up the cam and the cam sprocket the one tooth. Replaced the tensioner. Rolled her around and.......Dead Nuts On both cam tower marks and TDC. WHEW!!:bowdown::bowdown:

I proceeded to replace the cam oiler's and had cleaned the tubes. It pays to have gun cleaning equipment as I used bore brushes and such with the cleaning rod and got them sparkly clean inside annd out. Put on the new oiler bits. Replaced the oilers bak on the cam towers and buttoned up the engine. New VC gaskets. Replaced the Distributor and it went slam bang in place the first try. Pays to mark the pointer (rotor bug) to something on the engine, (A mark on the water pump at TDC number 1, There are marks on the RB and the Dist, body for number 1, I also marked the Dit. Body where the RB pointed when removed. I set it to that mark and the Dist. slid right in and the RB lined up dead on!

Tomorrow I will reassemble the front of the engine. Alternator and Mtg. PS unit and Mtg. Belts, Fan and the radiator and she should be good to go for another 100,000 miles.

Some thought . If Rose has never been worked on, this is one of a few that made 200,000 miles on the original TC. The innards of the heads are discolored from oil but the TC was only 7 1/2 Degrees stretch. the guides were discolored, but not brittle or worn , a bit on the lower ends, the tensioner arm liner was worn about half way through at the lower end that contacts the chain first.

Anyway this is my What did you do to your 126 today post.
 
#25 ·
Finally I am on my computer.

I spent Monday and tuesday putting in new upper guides in preparation for installing a new TC.

I want to shout out to Mike Ramay who talked me down yesterday afternoon. Thought I had done a big screw up, but it turned out I didn;t. Took Mike a few minutes to straighten me out and get me back down. Turns out I had done a rookie mistake by taking BOTH cam sprocketsoff at once,but in removing the driver's side my cam lock slipped and the cam moved backwards a bit. I had marked the chain and the sprockets on both, but when replacing the passenger side I inadvertantly put it on 2 teeth out. Luckily nothing bound up but I could not get the marks to align on both cam towers, Drivers side was dead on. pass. side was off a bit. I thought sure I had EFFED the whole thing. Quick call to Mike and we figured out I was out a tooth or two and no big deal. :crybaby2::thumbsup:

This morning I fed the new TC in and was out one tooth on the Pass. cam. pulled the Cam after marking both the chain and the the one tooth I had to back up. Backed up the cam and the cam sprocket the one tooth. Replaced the tensioner. Rolled her around and.......Dead Nuts On both cam tower marks and TDC. WHEW!!:bowdown::bowdown:

I proceeded to replace the cam oiler's and had cleaned the tubes. It pays to have gun cleaning equipment as I used bore brushes and such with the cleaning rod and got them sparkly clean inside annd out. Put on the new oiler bits. Replaced the oilers bak on the cam towers and buttoned up the engine. New VC gaskets. Replaced the Distributor and it went slam bang in place the first try. Pays to mark the pointer (rotor bug) to something on the engine, (A mark on the water pump at TDC number 1, There are marks on the RB and the Dist, body for number 1, I also marked the Dit. Body where the RB pointed when removed. I set it to that mark and the Dist. slid right in and the RB lined up dead on!

Tomorrow I will reassemble the front of the engine. Alternator and Mtg. PS unit and Mtg. Belts, Fan and the radiator and she should be good to go for another 100,000 miles.

Some thought . If Rose has never been worked on, this is one of a few that made 200,000 miles on the original TC. The innards of the heads are discolored from oil but the TC was only 7 1/2 Degrees stretch. the guides were discolored, but not brittle or worn , a bit on the lower ends, the tensioner arm liner was worn about half way through at the lower end that contacts the chain first.

Anyway this is my What did you do to your 126 today post.

That's a helluva lot of work, man. Attaboy.
 
#30 · (Edited)
My Home Internet service was restored this afternoon.
7 1/2° stretch wad old TC and old guide rails.New TC and new guides. Death nuts on both
cam tower marks and TDC.
Got her all back together. Turned her over a bit to build oil pressure, plugged on the coil wire and she fired right up.
Happiness is a sweet engine running and not making any other noises than normal.
Took her for a short spin and we found and passed that Striped Assed Ape. She runs great.
 
#32 ·
When my buddies and I did engine rebuilding and improvement from the ground up many decades ago, it came to be a practical joke to slip into the other guy's garage and put a couple of random, very unidentifiable parts into the gasoline wash pan to create a moment of uncertainty as to whether all of the parts went back in.
 
#34 · (Edited)
I didn't have any extra parts left over. That was the first good sign. The second was the engine turning over freely with the starter. It turned over fine by hand, but one never knows for sure. Third and final good sign, when she roared to life not making any unusual sounds.
I have to believe that this car was well cared for up to the last PO. He let her go to hell setting baking in the So CAL sun from 2001 until I got her in 2011.
The belief is founded in the oil pressure being never below 2 at a light and pegging 3 coming up to speed and cruising. I mention this as now at a light the OP needle doesn't jump around between 2 and 3, leading me to believe that the stretch in the old timing chain attributed to this movement, now very little fluctuation at a light. Though stained by oil residue the components under the valve covers are in very good repair, the cams the best I have ever seen, sans being new. The old timing chain and guides were just too recent to have 200,000 miles on them.
She averaged 9,300 miles a year from 1986 to 2007 with just 100 miles put on 2007 until I got her. Because she would not pass Smog, she sat in disrepair, her Registration paperwork pending at DMV, that ensuing time.
She still has original MB hose clamps on all hoses, except the overflow hose from radiator to reserve coolant tank.
 
#35 · (Edited)
Yesterday I changed the EZL dial to N and did a timing Check. Supposed to be 14-18 Degrees at 600-750 RPM. Had left the Distributor locked on at TDC. Put the timing light on her and she is right on at 18 Degrees. Think I'll leave her be.
Also put in a 6000 RPM FPR like she came with and took a little drive. She acts like a new car, Hardly any traffic last evening so I let the horses out. All I'll say is that she hit the shift points on the speedometer dead on with the E/S switch in the S position. Shifted like it should and had the pavement been the right type, she'd have chirped the tires in Second and Third. She just dug in and went. Fastest I have ever driven Rose, been close, but when she shifted out of 3rd at the marks, I backed off. Good enough for me!

Rose is coming back!
 
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