[TTG*]

Been working on the mechanics (almost there) for a while and it is now time for cosmetics.

We got all the dents pulled out and she is straight as an arrow now.

Next, she is being dropped off for dry ice cleaning.

Here is a quick snap of her getting 2nd tank of ethanol free gas since arrival in the US.

 

[JackBarlow]

first time I've heard of dry-ice cleaning, looking it up and sounds like a great idea.

 

[luckymike]

Been working on the mechanics (almost there) for a while and it is now time for cosmetics.

We got all the dents pulled out and she is straight as an arrow now.

Next, she is being dropped off for dry ice cleaning.

Here is a quick snap of her getting 2nd tank of ethanol free gas since arrival in the US.

Oh my. Gorgeous. Looking forward to before and after pics of the dry ice process.

 

[TTG*]

Oh my. Gorgeous. Looking forward to before and after pics of the dry ice process.

Thank You!

Yes, I am looking forward to it as well. The shop that specialize in dry ice cleaning, documents everything including before and after pictures. They will also be doing the engine bay along with door jams. Car is with them now and should be ready early next week.

I am really excited to pick her up.

 

[MT_Merc]

Been working on the mechanics (almost there) for a while and it is now time for cosmetics.

We got all the dents pulled out and she is straight as an arrow now.

Next, she is being dropped off for dry ice cleaning.

Here is a quick snap of her getting 2nd tank of ethanol free gas since arrival in the US.

Great-looking car! Are you in WA? I don't remember being able to get ethanol-free anywhere other than marinas and airports back when I lived there.

As for me, not so much today - more a summary of the last couple weeks - but Liesl is running pretty well, and I capped things off last week by taking her up the Beartooth pass for a spirited drive. I'd mentioned it in another thread, but she wasn't running right because something in the FD is causing a few cylinders to stop delivering more fuel, or even deliver less in response to the air flow plate being deflected past 10-15% of its travel. I swapped the FD off Ingrid, and it seems to run pretty well, but I have a feeling something's not right on the electronic side. Starts and runs well though, and full throttle mixture seems pretty good (I've got a wideband hooked up temporarily).

I also got the AC going. I bought new genuine pressure switches before I charged it. One is definitely something different from the Behr aftermarket; more substantial and has a "TRW" marking. It's the bigger of the two that's something like a 24mm hex. The other has MB markings, but is made in China and inspires less confidence in me. Anyway, charging was uneventful, and the AC is working well. I stopped a little short of the spec'd charging capacity because the sight glass was clear. The performance isn't anything to blow your socks off, but as long as it doesn't drop off on really hot days, I'll be pretty happy with it. I might have a line on a better back glass (mine's started the dreaded clouding) and a straight hood, and I'm hoping to get the bumpers fixed up in the coming weeks (strip and repaint the front, and do the same with the Gen II I've had for a while to replace the Gen I it's got on it now).

 

[bflobob8]

Rebuilt the monovalve in my 91 SEC, took about 45 minutes and worked like a charm. The hardest part of the job is getting the two screws out of the false firewall that hold the OBD1 code reader out of the way, they are right behind the tranny dipstick tube which doesn't move. $20 well spent.

 

[ianrandom]

SEC annual MOT test. Passed without problem. I realised I hadn't used it since some time in April! Oops. It started straight up and was it's usual awesome self.

Also borrowed the ramp to put another good coat of Dynax rust proofing wax underneath it. The weather here is boiling at the moment so it's a great time to do that stuff. 34°c today.

 

[luckymike]

SEC annual MOT test. Passed without problem. I realised I hadn't used it since some time in April! Oops. It started straight up and was it's usual awesome self.

Also borrowed the ramp to put another good coat of Dynax rust proofing wax underneath it. The weather here is boiling at the moment so it's a great time to do that stuff. 34°c today.

Ian, your cars are so lucky.

 

[ianrandom]

Ian, your cars are so lucky.

Thanks. They do definitely get looked after, but it's easy on these.

The SE is still in paint hospital having its roof repainted. Probably from me using a cover previously. I really miss it, I love that car. But I popped in on it the other day and it's looking really fabulous, so it's in the right place.

When this SEC went there it took 3.5 years! Was a big job, but wow. A hospital job, meaning in between his main work.

I have the best paint guy. A little back street place, only him working there, no spectrometer or anything like that, but his eye for colour is like nothing I've ever seen before!

 

[MT_Merc]

Coincidentally, after a fairly cool July, it's been pretty warm here too this week. That's given me a chance to test the AC I recently put a bunch of work into. I drove into town in the mid to upper 90s yesterday, and at speed it held duct temps in the low 40s. Idling and low speed, there is some drop-off, but it's still pretty good. Also, unlike Ingrid, the temp gauge didn't move much until I got into town and stop-and-go driving; never got over the 100 degree mark though.

I also swapped the ECU, and finally got it to output some duty cycle readings, but it still doesn't give me fuel cut-off when coasting down. It also repeatedly gives me the throttle switch idle contact code, even though that's adjusted and checks out with the ohm meter. Maybe there's a wiring issue - I'll definitely have to investigate that. Also, the mileage isn't quite as good as I was getting with Ingrid. Not terrible, like 17ish vs. 18ish, but it's another thing to indicate it needs attention.

 

[SwissBliss]

Picked up car from Audio shop after an intensive 2+ month Tesla-style multi-camera system upgrade.

After the car had sit for that long, it started up on first turn of the key, with zero hesitation. It was like a perfect warm start -- the three of us were in awe and I still can't believe it!!

Maybe the top end overhaul I did on the heads last year spruced her up more than initially thought!

Its going to be a shame swapping out such a strong engine, but I take solace in the fact she will still be purring in the (debadged) SL600.

More to come soon

 

[TTG*]

Great-looking car! Are you in WA? I don't remember being able to get ethanol-free anywhere other than marinas and airports back when I lived there.

As for me, not so much today - more a summary of the last couple weeks - but Liesl is running pretty well, and I capped things off last week by taking her up the Beartooth pass for a spirited drive. I'd mentioned it in another thread, but she wasn't running right because something in the FD is causing a few cylinders to stop delivering more fuel, or even deliver less in response to the air flow plate being deflected past 10-15% of its travel. I swapped the FD off Ingrid, and it seems to run pretty well, but I have a feeling something's not right on the electronic side. Starts and runs well though, and full throttle mixture seems pretty good (I've got a wideband hooked up temporarily).

I also got the AC going. I bought new genuine pressure switches before I charged it. One is definitely something different from the Behr aftermarket; more substantial and has a "TRW" marking. It's the bigger of the two that's something like a 24mm hex. The other has MB markings, but is made in China and inspires less confidence in me. Anyway, charging was uneventful, and the AC is working well. I stopped a little short of the spec'd charging capacity because the sight glass was clear. The performance isn't anything to blow your socks off, but as long as it doesn't drop off on really hot days, I'll be pretty happy with it. I might have a line on a better back glass (mine's started the dreaded clouding) and a straight hood, and I'm hoping to get the bumpers fixed up in the coming weeks (strip and repaint the front, and do the same with the Gen II I've had for a while to replace the Gen I it's got on it now).

Beautiful C126!

Yes, there are plenty of gas stations that carry ethanol free gas in WA these days. By no means they are easy to find but if you know where they are, you are all set.

 

[John350]

By no means they are easy to find

Pure-gas.org - ethanol-free gasoline in the U.S. and Canada

Pure-gas.org is the definitive web site listing stations that sell pure gasoline in the U.S. and Canada.

www.pure-gas.org

 

[PlaneCrazy]

The car is slowly coming together, but she's been dismantled for so long amid so much chaos that my memory is failing me. I have tried to label everything before disassembling or disconnecting, but I may have missed a few items here and there.

What does this thing do, and does it connect to anything? It seems related to the vacuum reservoir in the left fender and is located on the left wheel well behind the headlight.

 

[luckymike]

The car is slowly coming together, but she's been dismantled for so long amid so much chaos that my memory is failing me. I have tried to label everything before disassembling or disconnecting, but I may have missed a few items here and there.

What does this thing do, and does it connect to anything? It seems related to the vacuum reservoir in the left fender and is located on the left wheel well behind the headlight.
View attachment 2945744

Goes to the charcoal canister in the fender well.

 

[1783pictures]

This (and the next one or two) threads have been a long time in coming. I've just been so overloaded with work, there's been no time to post. I have a new exhaust, which was completed by Whooops Motorsports in Melbourne, Florida earlier this year. The Timevalve gent was supposed to do it and my car waited for him, down in FL (I live in NC), for months and months, when he suddenly decided, nhaaaa. I'm not doing custom jobs anymore. I was not pleased. That's where my guy down there, Jesse V (who works with Pierre Hedary) came to the rescue and said he would find me someone. Whooops cost me, but it was worth it.

No Cats. I do like the system and removing those old watermelon cats (they were huge!!!!) has reduced running temps by about 2 or 3 degrees. The system is not loud, but has a nice gurgle at idle. By having kidney beans any drone is greatly reduced.

I went with mild steel to achieve that warmer sound. Stainless would have cost a bit more, but that was not taken into account. It was all about the sound. I'll be dead before this starts rusting.

 

[1783pictures]

I replaced my steering wheel. That turned into a nightmare when I bought this one without any leather. My local upholstery shop was going to do it, then the guy in charge retired and subsequently died. The other employees declined the job (too difficult). No other shops I checked would do it (no templates available). COME ON!!!! Is EVERYTHING with this car like pulling teeth?!?! I had to find someone else, in Texas, and sent the wheel out. It cost me, but I am thrilled with how it looks and feels.

 

[luckymike]

I replaced my steering wheel. That turned into a nightmare when I bought this one without any leather. My local upholstery shop was going to do it, then the guy in charge retired and subsequently died. The other employees declined the job (too difficult). No other shops I checked would do it (no templates available). COME ON!!!! Is EVERYTHING with this car like pulling teeth?!?! I had to find someone else, in Texas, and sent the wheel out. It cost me, but I am thrilled with how it looks and feels.

View attachment 2945765

COME ON!!!!

Sorry, but that cracked me up. It does seem like you've had to fight a lot with this car.

Exhaust and wheel look fantastic. Congratulations.

Video clip of the exhaust note?

 

[1783pictures]

Some of you know I bought 560 SEC Gen II seats from swissbliss. What a nightmare. Getting theme here was a little expensive. But installing them... A near TWO YEAR nightmare of epic proportions. First of all, they were not in any way plug and play. I tried myself and quickly realized it was a job in need of skill. No one local could figure it out. In fact, one shop so f***ed them up, I had to go to their shop, re-install the Gen I seats myself and then bring the car home. Again, Jesse V came to my rescue. Around the same time my ignition locked up. Yikes! I flew Jesse up, he fixed the ignition (NOBODY local would even attempt it... no joke), then drove my car down to FL for two reasons: Install the seats for me and have Timevalve to do my exhaust.

Long story short, the seat job was not easy. The seats were not supposed to have broken springs, but they did. Jesse had to take the seats apart and rebuild them with new springs (I also found a used, but very nice seat pad to replace the shredded pad in the driver's seat). Also, the vacuum system was not functional. I had to buy the pods and Jesse rebuilt the system (otherwise the seats will not lock in an accident, which could be fatal).

Once installed and functional, I felt it was almost worth the stress and time. They look great, feel great and the leather looks superb. At this point my euro 500 SEC is anything but stock, with Gen II seats, a custom exhaust, British Penta wheels, etc. But it's pretty cool.

 

[1783pictures]

Finally, when I drove the SEC back from FL, within days my trans started to leak. Oh COME ON!!!!

The local shop I would have taken it to closed down due to the old guy retiring. He was the one, lone w126 knowledgeable mechanic in my county. I called around and nobody wanted to look at it. Too unfamiliar. OK, so Trent Cadillac worked on some classics and they said sure, bring her in. They had a look and said the transmission was cracked. "There's a gap in the bell housing."

That's what they said.

Uh huh... So I called Jesse... "That's impossible. I guarantee you they are clueless."

So there I was, with my SEC out of commission, again. COME ON!!!!! 👹

As the world turns, Jesse had to haul a car to Virginia. On the way back he stopped in and had a look.

"Confirmed. Those guys are clueless."

He was certain he knew what the problem was and hauled my car to FL. That was two weeks ago. He got her on the lift yesterday and, oh, lookie lookie! The bell housing wasn't cracked!!! It was a F***ING O-RING and should have been obvious to any competent mechanic!!

Pic below. One little O-ring caused me complete chaos.

Meanwhile, there have been gauge cluster issues I don't want to get into. That is another huge nightmare. But my rebuilt cluster is in Jesse's hands. He will install her, test her, and if all is well, haul my SEC back to me shortly and then head to Virginia to grab a client's car to bring down to FL.

Please kill me. With luck I will be driving the SEC again in early October and you can bet your ass it will become my daily driver. I have put on barely a thousand miles in the last few years (not including trips to FL and back).

Not having any local mechanic for this car has turned into a years long nightmare and frankly, everyone I know hates my car.