Never had the horn button for this wheel, so I got one. Needed the girlfriends touch to the car hahaha
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Project 42: DIY Rear Camber Arms
Made some rear camber arms for the car, fully adjustable for more or less camber. Less than $90 shipped for all the parts I needed. Came out looking great. Can't wait to see how they hold up to track abuse.
Project 42: Wheel Update
Just got my ECS tuning PCD variation bolts in (wobble bolts) to put some 5x114 wheels on the 5x112 bolt pattern Merc. Looks like the R33 Skyline wheels will be the new set for this pig. Just needs to be lowered like 5 inches.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Project 42: Engine Bay Attack
Slowly starting to clean up the engine bay. Did a terrible job on the valve cover, but it's just a test of color.
Friday, March 21, 2014
Project 42: Rear Leather Seats - Facelift
The 1st GEN leathers in the car were absolutely beat to hell, I couldn't stand looking at them and I couldn't stand someone sitting in them. They were torn, hard, cracked and overall gross, so I tossed 'em.
Found a MINT set of rear 2nd GEN facelift leathers and had to grab them. Leather is so supple and soft, came out of what seemed to be a very well taken care of car. Shame to have seen it at the junkyard, but while one gives its life, a breathe of fresh air is given to another.
Found a MINT set of rear 2nd GEN facelift leathers and had to grab them. Leather is so supple and soft, came out of what seemed to be a very well taken care of car. Shame to have seen it at the junkyard, but while one gives its life, a breathe of fresh air is given to another.
You can see how beat these were, just gross.
AAANNNDDD we're golden. Now the passengers that I never have will be comfortable! Atleast the car looks somewhat presentable in the rear now.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Project 42: Trans Mount Reinforcement
The factory Mercedes transmission mounts are hollow and allow a LOT of flex in the drivetrain. On 5 speed cars, this gives way to a lot of sloppy shifting and overall terrible driving experience. One way to remedy that is to fill the hollow spots with a polyurethane. It reinforces the rubber for a greater driving experience. Great and relatively cheap mod at around $15 - if you can find it, 3M Window Weld is a good urethane to use.
I'll be drifting the car and taking it to the track often, so having a solid but comfortable drivetrain is key.
I'll be drifting the car and taking it to the track often, so having a solid but comfortable drivetrain is key.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Project 42: Bride Brix I Installed
Had some time to burn today so I installed one of my Bride Brix I's into the car. Used the factory sliders (forward/backward, and up/down) so I can still use the switches on the doors. Reclining is done on the seat itself.
Some 1/4" flat stock, a couple holes and the seat is in. I think I saved close to 30lbs by removing the factory seats. Not only the weight savings, the factory seats in this car were trashed, torn, splitting and the horsehair padding was shedding. Not a pretty sight.
You can see the Racing Dynamics steering wheel that's installed. I think I lost about 4" of total height in the seat base, so it sits very low. Which makes it great for me being so tall, heel toe hero to the max. I also retained the factory seat belt, it's comfortable and I don't need harnesses so we're good to go. Just need to clean the fabric on the seat and add some additional foam underneath and we're good to go!
Next up: Passenger side
Next up: Passenger side
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Project 42: I have a woody
From the get go, the car's interior was gross. Baking in the California and Arizona sun for nearly two decades did the interior a number. Leather is cracked, vinyl is cracked, wood trim is faded and cracked, and everything else that could have been affected by the sun, was.
So I have to start from scratch with the entire interior, I definitely have my work cut out for me. The whole thing has to come together and has to look presentable, be comfortable and perform when called upon.
With that, I started with the steering wheel. I tossed the old 400mm factory ship wheel and replaced it with a period (1985) Racing Dynamics by Momo 350mm wheel with Momo hub. I'm looking for a period horn button or Mercedes button for it to tie it all together. Drove the car a bit and the gripping is much better, the car "feels" more responsive and feels much more agile. The loss of 2" in steering wheel girth did me a favor too! My 6'3" frame can get into the car much easier.
The old piece that was in the car is on the bottom, new polished and non faded piece is on top. You can see how burnt up the interior was just by looking at that climate control piece.
With some poor lighting, you can see the difference between the faded/cracking pieces and the non faded/updated pieces. The ashtray is updated to the late model 92+ push style rather than the pull style of the earlier models. Nice little update to the interior. I'm keeping the old Alpine headunit in there, I just need to replace the face plate as the LCD's seem to be burned out.
I need to find a nice crack free shifter console now to complete the set and then set everything off with a snazzy shift boot and weighted shift knob. Excite!
So I have to start from scratch with the entire interior, I definitely have my work cut out for me. The whole thing has to come together and has to look presentable, be comfortable and perform when called upon.
With that, I started with the steering wheel. I tossed the old 400mm factory ship wheel and replaced it with a period (1985) Racing Dynamics by Momo 350mm wheel with Momo hub. I'm looking for a period horn button or Mercedes button for it to tie it all together. Drove the car a bit and the gripping is much better, the car "feels" more responsive and feels much more agile. The loss of 2" in steering wheel girth did me a favor too! My 6'3" frame can get into the car much easier.
Turned my attention to the center climate control and ashtray wood pieces.
With some poor lighting, you can see the difference between the faded/cracking pieces and the non faded/updated pieces. The ashtray is updated to the late model 92+ push style rather than the pull style of the earlier models. Nice little update to the interior. I'm keeping the old Alpine headunit in there, I just need to replace the face plate as the LCD's seem to be burned out.
I need to find a nice crack free shifter console now to complete the set and then set everything off with a snazzy shift boot and weighted shift knob. Excite!
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Project 42: Picked up
Picked up the 1986 Mercedes 300E with a 5 Speed from Cicero, IN a few weeks ago. Totally rust free California/Arizona car. Brand new engine, brand new clutch, brand new owner. Going to have a lot of fun with this one in the coming weeks. Going to be the new daily and weekend track rat, should be a blast!
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Circa 1985 - Racing Dynamics by Momo 350mm
Complete with W124 Mercedes MOMO steering hub, found this old 1985 Racing Dynamics wheel. She'll be going on the 300E when I finally get some space in the garage to transform the car. They're almost from the same year (Wheel/1985 - Car/1986) which makes it all more nostalgic. Period correctness is a great thing, screaming 80's.
I'll be using the wheel without the horn pad as it's a tad torn up, but I'll be recovering it and restoring the Racing Dynamics horn emblem. Overall, I think I'll like this wheel enough to put it in the Datsun when this cars time is up!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Life Hack: W124 Facelift Ashtray Mod
If you're not a smoker and find yourself using the ashtray for your coins or for holding whatever you can fit in there, there's a small tip to make life easier to remove whatever's in there.
This only applies to the facelift models, the pre-facelift models have a molded plastic insert in their ashtrays, the facelift models have a chrome trim ring around their plastic inserts.
This only applies to the facelift models, the pre-facelift models have a molded plastic insert in their ashtrays, the facelift models have a chrome trim ring around their plastic inserts.
The chrome rings have little tabs that hold the ring to the plastic molding. You can bend these back a tad and remove the ring.
Then you end up with this. If you have big hands like me, you'll be thankful that chrome ring is gone.
