Today I took advantage of the mild weather and installed the new Bilstein shocks and H&R lowering springs. It is such a pleasure working on a low mileage car that came from Texas. Not a single rusted bolt on the car.
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1984 Production Euro Spec 280CE 4-speed
New to me and just arrived from Texas. September 1984 production 280CE 4-speed, European spec as confirmed by the VIN. 43,193 document miles. I am now the 3rd owner. The story on the car is that the original owner was a Doctor who ordered it and took delivery of the car in Belgium, drove it around Europe while on vacation and then shipped it to Texas. According to the 2nd owner who worked with this doctor he found himself on the wrong side of the law and went to prison for 7 years. The story was told to me that when he was released from prison he drove the car, presumably without checking the oil, and blew the motor. The 2nd owner paid $500.00 for the car, I have a copy of the bill of sale, and purchased a new short block from Adsit, which I have the receipt for, swapped everything over from the blown motor and had it installed in the car.
The Good: The block has only approximately 10,000 miles on it.
The Bad: It is no longer a matching numbers car.
When imported the car was federalized and US spec headlights, taillights and bumpers were installed. And at some point in the vehicles life the front manual window regulators were swapped for power ones.
The car came with its original owner's manuals, complete tool kit, original Pirelli Cinturato spare (I don't think it has ever been out of the car), original first aid kit, and even a mint working Becker Europa radio.
To Do:
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The Good: The block has only approximately 10,000 miles on it.
The Bad: It is no longer a matching numbers car.
When imported the car was federalized and US spec headlights, taillights and bumpers were installed. And at some point in the vehicles life the front manual window regulators were swapped for power ones.
The car came with its original owner's manuals, complete tool kit, original Pirelli Cinturato spare (I don't think it has ever been out of the car), original first aid kit, and even a mint working Becker Europa radio.
To Do:
- Swap in Euro headlights (already have a set).
- Go back to manual front windows (already have the manual regulators and cranks with trim).
- Swap out US spec bumpers for Euro spec. Low priority right now.
- The car came from the factory with a rear seatbelt delete option (I found this to be an odd option and even more odd to select it). I am missing and need to source one of the rear panel seat belt blanking covers. Done, I found the second trim piece in a box of spares in the trunk.
- Replace all the wood trim. I have already ordered a complete set from W123 I am going with burl rather than the original Zebrano as I feel it will look nice with the black/grey interior. 10 to 12 weeks to make.
- Source a crack free or less crack free dash.
- Give the paint a good cut, buff and polish.
- Possibly go back to Euro taillights.
- Replace shifter bushing.
- Replace cracked exterior window wiper rubbers.
- Tune up with new plugs, cap, rotor, injectors with new cups and O-rings, adjust valves and replace all fluids as well as a good cooling system flush.
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The only issue I ran into was with the front coils. The factory access hole in the fender that allows the spring compressor to slide through and down into the spring had to be slightly enlarged. It appears that when the panels were welded together at the factor the two panels didn't line up perfectly. A little work with a half round file and all was good.
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Thank You Ebay. NLA new from Mercedes door strap arrived today. New old stock. Other than used there isn't a choice on the coupes as the aftermarket companies like Meyle, Uro, Febi, etc don't make these for the 2-door cars and they are different than the ones in the sedan. Not inexpensive, but I do appreciate original MB quality.
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Euro bumpers arrived.
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Rear bumper mounted. The rubber center rub strip will get installed in the summer when the temps get warmer. I need to order the side locating brackets and rubber isolator that mounts to the body and then on to the front bumper.
I will also have to address the overspray on the underside of the body once it gets warmer. Something that replicates the OEM color, but not necessarily more undercoating.
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I will also have to address the overspray on the underside of the body once it gets warmer. Something that replicates the OEM color, but not necessarily more undercoating.
And another small project was to remove the exhaust manifolds and give them a good cleaning and a coating of POR-15 grey high heat paint prior to re-installing. The rusted manifolds just didn't go with the otherwise fairly clean engine compartment. While off it will be a good time to clean up the body shop dust that is everywhere.
I had read that removing these could be a pretty tedious job, but I had them off in a matter of 45 minutes. I did have jack up the passenger's side of the car to gain access to one of the manifold to exhaust bolts, but other than that a 1/4" drive 12mm socket made quick work or removing the mounting nuts and the manifolds slipped off without having to remove anything else.
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I had read that removing these could be a pretty tedious job, but I had them off in a matter of 45 minutes. I did have jack up the passenger's side of the car to gain access to one of the manifold to exhaust bolts, but other than that a 1/4" drive 12mm socket made quick work or removing the mounting nuts and the manifolds slipped off without having to remove anything else.
Manifolds all clean and ready to be installed with all new hardware.
The process:
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The process:
- Had manifolds sandblasted
- Clean with brake cleaner
- Once dry coat with POR 15 High Temp Paint. I used a foam brush
- Let air dry for 24-hours
- Apply second coat
- Let air dry another 24-hours
- Heat in over at 300-degrees for 20 minutes
- Let cool
- Heat in 300-degree oven a second time
- Install
About the rockers, yes they should be grey. I think the color is called "galinit grey" (DB129), but you may want to verify prior to making a decision.
By the way, is interesting how the rockers and front valance were painted at the factory. The finish is kind of rough, there is only one tape line hidden by the rubber seal attached to the rocker itself and the edges of the grey areas aren’t well defined (look like overspray). I find it quite rough for such a high end car.
This picture is from a 43K miles sold in BAT sometime ago and gives and idea of the color and finish:
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As for the center caps, perhaps you can consider 3D printed ones. I have seen a few small companies offering 3D printed center caps that are impossible to find.
By the way, is interesting how the rockers and front valance were painted at the factory. The finish is kind of rough, there is only one tape line hidden by the rubber seal attached to the rocker itself and the edges of the grey areas aren’t well defined (look like overspray). I find it quite rough for such a high end car.
This picture is from a 43K miles sold in BAT sometime ago and gives and idea of the color and finish:
As for the center caps, perhaps you can consider 3D printed ones. I have seen a few small companies offering 3D printed center caps that are impossible to find.
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