I was quite keen to have my 1979 280SE at this event.   The fuel injection is finally working reasonably well.     I still needed to do a few things before I was comfortable taking it along.

Firstly, while I was in the USA for work, I had the steering coupling changed, and the car tuned.   I could see the coupling moving on the steering shaft – the plastic bushes inside had disintegrated.   The car could also use a new drag link and a tie rod end, but the coupling was the worst issue here.

With that done, I had a few more things to take care of myself.   The first was the ruined exhaust system.   I need to have this fixed properly, but there was not going to be time before the event.   Armed with $50 worth a exhaust repair kits, I got under the car to try and sort things out.   Between the various putty and exhaust bandages I bought, I managed to close up the worst holes.

I put some putty in the Y piece below the manifolds.   This has slipped in the bottom of the V section, a common problem on W116 and early W123 M110s in RHD.   There were two small holes in the pipes between the Y piece and the center muffler, and much larger holes where the pipes associated with the centre muffler join the rear stainless steel section.  The repairs I did have stopped the car sounding like a crop duster and should prevent fumes getting into the car.    Given my hands were covered in putty, I didn’t take any photos here.

Next, I wanted to change the automatic antenna.   Not only because I wanted to listen to the radio and see if the original Becker Mexico Cassette was working, but because it looked so bad.   The mast was well  and truly past it.   I couldn’t just replace the mast as the old motor was not working and it was not an original Hirshmann unit, so I wasn’t sure what mast to get.   I quickly got the old antenna out and mounted the new one in its place.     For some reason the old antenna had the antenna cable hard wired.   So i didn’t cut the new antenna cable with the replacement antenna, I cut off the last 10cm from the 420SEL parts car antenna cable and then spliced that onto the the original 280SE cable.

After wiring the new antenna in, It extended happily once I turned on the ignition, and I was able to tune into some local radio stations.   The new antenna, standing tall can be seen in the photo below.   While it might not be obvious why I prioritized replacing the antenna, the old one made the car look like a jalopy.

Next I checked the fuses.   A few electrical features in the car were not working.   There was a blown fuse, probably caused by the old radio antenna.   The rest of the fuses were fine, but I decided to replace all the fuses to ensure good connections.   These old ceramic fuses can get brittle with age and have bad connections even when they look fine.    It’s also an opportunity to make sure each fuse is correct.   It was worth doing as a few broke as I removed them, showing how brittle they were.  The old red ones were almost the same colour as the white ones.    Changing the fuses is something I like to do when I purchase one of these old cars.   The fuse box also leaves you a spot to store some spare fuses (top of photo).

For reference, below is the fuse layout for the 1979 280SE W116.   Specifically, and Australian delivered car.   Since the insert is often missing, others may find this comes in handy.   It’s a much simpler fuse box than the W126 second generation cars.   In those cars, everything is electric.

I had removed the carpets from the car, as they were quite dirty and I wanted to vacuum the car properly.   Before I re-installed them in the car they needed a good cleaning.   Otherwise, they were in quite nice shape.    I used my little Bissell wet/dry cleaner to attack the carpets.    As well as the floor mats, I was able to pull out two tanks of filthy water.

The floor mats that came with the car were not a good fit.   They looked like they had been taken out of a rather small car.   They were a bit ratty looking too, not befitting a W116 S-Class.  Luckily, I had some mats in the right colour that were original in my 560SEC.   While they are W126 mats, the W126 is just a derivative of the W116 that they went in pretty well.   They are not perfect, but they came up quite well with a good clean.

With the main work done to the car, a test drive was in order.   I’ve only driven the car on the road once before.   I didn’t want to be running into problems on the way to the show.   I took the car on a good 30-40 minute drive, and filled the tank while I was doing it.   The car drove better and better and after about 20-30 minutes the horrible smell from the exhaust putty went away.   I guess it hardened.

Given the car sat around for a few months, I checked tyre pressures too.   A couple were slightly down, so worth checking.

My final step was to wash the car.    It was pretty dirty from the constant sitting around.   By this point it was already after 11PM, so I didn’t have time for anything particularly time consuming, but I could have the car looking nice and clean for the display day.   The car cleans up quite well.

From there, it was one final test drive, then get the car home and ready for the big event tomorrow.    There is still work to do on this car, but it goes from being a project to more of a rolling restoration.   Getting behind the wheel will help me prioritize.   So far my focus is the drag link and tie rod end, plus the drivers seat.

At the display tomorrow, I am hoping for a large turn out of W116 S-Class models.   There are some very nice ones in the club that almost never come out, and a few nice ones that are regulars at club events.   Hopefully I see them all.   With the work I have done, my car should not be out of place.

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My plan was to remove the after market chrome wheel arch trims.  I have removed them from both the 450SLC and my 300SE.   On this car they have been attached with both screws and glue.  I don’t think I will easily be able to remove them and not have marks on the paint, so I will leave them in place for now.

Next was to inspect the fuses.  This is something I like to do with a new car to ensure the fuses are all correct and in good condition.   The ceramic fuses used in Mercedes of this era become brittle with age.  I’ve also found that sometimes previous owners substitute the wrong fuses.   On this car all the fuses were correct, but a number were quite old and brittle.   Three of them came apart as I removed them.   Therefore I replaced all the fuses with new ones.

The Mercedes fuse box has places to hold spare fuses.  It is also worth making sure the spare fuses are in good condition as well.

Next was to flush the power steering system.   To do this job properly you need an assistant.  Without an assistant you will get power steering fluid everywhere and the pump will suck air for a few seconds.   I didn’t have an assistant today, so when I do this job on the 300SE, I will make sure I do!   I was pleased to see that the car had the proper Mercedes power steering fluid and not ATF.   This fluid is similar colour to engine oil.    I’m glad I ddi the flush as the fluid that came out was very dirty.     I also changed the filter as a matter of course.

From there I turned my attention to cleaning the inside.  The seats had responded well to a clean and feed, but there were still dirty areas in the interior.   The worst was the headlining.   The sunroof panel was extremely dirty and there was also an oily residue above the drivers head.   I can only assume a previous owner used a lot of product in their hair.     The first picture shows the headlining before cleaning.

The spot on the right is above the drivers head.   I used an Auto-Glym interior shampoo.   It made a big difference and the microfiber towels I was using for the cleaning were filthy from the amount of dirt it was able to remove.   I also used it on some other dirty areas as well as the small carpet in the centre console.   The second picture is after cleaning and while it is not perfect, it is certainly a lot better.  

I also checked the condition of the air filter, it is not bad but does need changing.   This has been added to the shopping list.

Originally I was planning to check if there was any residual charge in the AC.   However, I discovered that the system has never been converted to R134A.   This is surprising as it has been in Australia since 2005.   Since A/C systems must be evacuated before import, it is possible it has not worked since then.   That does not bode well for fixing it cheaply.

Also further investigation points to the occasional puffs of smoke as either Valve Stem Seals or Valve Guides.   The Valve Stem seals can be done with the heads in place, but guides require the heads to be removed.

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