1963 Mercedes Benz 190DC Fintail. First start 2024.

[Dyslexic Viking]

6 minutes ago, Blue 850 said:

Ok, I saw a guy on YouTube taking a pump of a W115 240D and it was a 2 bolt 

This is strange as the pumps I believe to have seen on these newer ones are 3 bolt?

[Dyslexic Viking]

I have done research and if the information I have is correct, I have now found out more about the first owner of this. He was born in 1926 and died in 2016. He ran a bus/taxi company which his son still runs. The son was born in 1962 so he can mayby remember this car. So I wonder if I should contact him, has to think about this.

But for someone interested in history like me, this is fantastic.

[Popsicle]

56 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I have done research and if the information I have is correct, I have now found out more about the first owner of this. He was born in 1926 and died in 2016. He ran a bus/taxi company which his son still runs. The son was born in 1962 so he can mayby remember this car. So I wonder if I should contact him, has to think about this.

But for someone interested in history like me, this is fantastic.

There is no harm in contacting the previous owners son, he might have some useful info for you about the company/car, if someone came up to me with one of the vans I used to run 30 years ago I'd show some interest/intrigue.

Whats the worst outcome? He ghosts you or tells you to bugger off, at least you will have tried.

[Dyslexic Viking]

8 hours ago, Popsicle said:

There is no harm in contacting the previous owners son, he might have some useful info for you about the company/car, if someone came up to me with one of the vans I used to run 30 years ago I'd show some interest/intrigue.

Whats the worst outcome? He ghosts you or tells you to bugger off, at least you will have tried.

Yes, I should probably do it while he's still alive. But I'll have to think about it as I'm not very good at things like this.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Not much going on here now waiting for parts. But the lift pump was sent from Germany today so I hope to receive it next week.

But I got to work a little on the boot floor today. This is among the most rusted parts of the car and it is probably thanks to the gasket on the boot lid being bad.

So started with this.

Started first with the fun job of removing the sound dampening mats

This was the result afterwards.

The next step was to remove the plate for the towbar

Which I'm glad I did as this was under.

The next thing was to wire wheel everything and this was the result after that

There were 4 small pin holes that appeared from this, but apart from that it is very solid in this area. The next thing is to grind down the difficult areas with the Dremel and then clean everything and then follow the instructions for what I will apply.

[Dyslexic Viking]

One problem that I am having a bit of trouble finding a solution to is that there are many rods on this engine and they have angel joints and they are tired. And I can't find new ones. One of these has already been changed to a plastic one but this is already bad and was the one that had fallen off.

I managed to fix this temporarily with a new ball and the hose clamp is something that others have put on.

And the original angel joints looks like this.

I have tried to replace these with new universal angel joints but the problem with them is that the threaded part on the rod does not go in far enough. So it doesn't line up with the hole at the other end. A solution to this would be to cut the rods down a bit, but this is not something I want to do.

So I've been looking a lot in the last few hours but I can't find anything that I think will fit and all the universal angel joints I find are the same size and look to the ones I have which are the ones below. And both threaded parts are M5.

So do any of you have any ideas? Because that would be appreciated. And posts a picture below of the internal threaded part on the old and the new angel joint.

[HMC]

I wonder if stuff of a later mb diesel would be interchangeable to a degree? That looks very familiar to my eyes from experience owning a 1983 w123 300d. Many of the “rod” elements also had threaded bits so the length could be varied.

MB tradiationally cover their older models well so it might be a route to a solution.

[Dyslexic Viking]

It is possible that parts from newer MB could fit so that is something I will have to investigate.

And I am thinking of sending an email to several companies and a MB dealer to hear about these joints. But my hopes are not high as no one has them for sale.

[Dyslexic Viking]

24 minutes ago, HMC said:

I wonder if stuff of a later mb diesel would be interchangeable to a degree? That looks very familiar to my eyes from experience owning a 1983 w123 300d. Many of the “rod” elements also had threaded bits so the length could be varied.

Thanks for giving me this idea. I now know what to look for but hopefully at a lower price than this as I need 8 I think.

They also come without balls, but if they are too worn, I can take the balls from the universal joints and use them, I think.

[PhilA]

If finding that style fails, would a Rose joint do, with a bolt through, replacing the ball?

[Mr Pastry]

That looks a reasonably standard part.  Try a motorsport or kit car supplier - in the UK, Merlin Motorsport, Demon Tweeks,  Burton, or Car Builder Solutions.

 

[GregZX]

On 8/12/2022 at 10:49 AM, Dyslexic Viking said:

It was a purchase

That’s absolutely mega. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

2 hours ago, PhilA said:

If finding that style fails, would a Rose joint do, with a bolt through, replacing the ball?

It's possible, so I can look into that if I can't do anything else.

And I bought 2 of the original Mercedes joints from someone in Lithuania that was a little cheaper than the ones I first found, so I can check if they are the same as the ones on the car.

[Mally]

2 hours ago, Mr Pastry said:

That looks a reasonably standard part.  Try a motorsport or kit car supplier - in the UK, Merlin Motorsport, Demon Tweeks,  Burton, or Car Builder Solutions.

 

We use M6,  to make accelerator linkage.

But M5 female rose joints and M5 stainless threaded bar are available on ebay. You would also need 5mm bolts, plain nuts and nyloc nuts.

Original is the way to go if you can.

[Dyslexic Viking]

4 minutes ago, Mally said:

Original is the way to go if you can.

That's what I think too. If the ones I have found are the right ones, I just want to buy them and use them. It will be expensive but the old ones lasted 59 years so the new ones should be able to last just as long.

[Dyslexic Viking]

The product I want to use on the boot floor and several other places are POR 15. I have no experience with this, but I have read and heard nothing but positive about it and several YouTubers who are experienced car restorers use this, so therefore I chose to use this on this car as this car deserves the best.

And since I have no experience with this product, I managed to buy too much Degraser and Metal prep.

So after a bit of sanding with the Dremel today in the difficult places, everything was soaked in Cleaner Degraser which is recommended. After this, I scrubbed everything thoroughly, rinsed it with water and then sucked up the water. Will let this dry until tomorrow and then it's Metal Prep's turn.

[PhilA]

It's good stuff. Just make sure you have good ventilation when working in there.

 

[Dyslexic Viking]

Yes, others have also said the same, so the garage door is open for good ventilation and I use and will use a proper mask.

[Dyslexic Viking]

I have just read about Ralf Werner who had Berlin's oldest taxi which was an identical Mercedes to mine. The interview I have read was in 2012 and Ralf was then 74 years old and had driven it since 1990 and in 2012 had driven it almost 1 million kilometres. I can't figure out the time he stopped driving. But this is a good example of how good these cars are. And that it can still be reliable and economical enough for taxi operation after all these years is impressive.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Today I treated the boot floor with POR 15 Metal Prep and this was the result.

This took much longer than what they have stated. But now it is ready for painting tomorrow.

And while I was waiting for this, I changed the ground cable on the battery

[Dyslexic Viking]

Almost forgot. I got some parts for this today including a new oil filter and this is the most unique/spesial oil filter I have seen.

And the text on the filter is translated to  wegweripatrone is  one use cartridge  and  nicht reinigen is  do not clean.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Today was a long day working on the Mercedes. Had a lot of small spots of rust fixed in the boot area and I had the boot floor painted with Por 15 and between the coats of paint I had other things done which I post som of in a other post.

And after 3 coats of Por 15 with 4 hours between, this was the result which I am very happy with.

[Dyslexic Viking]

And I mustered up the courage today to examine the bottom of the passenger wing and the shelf behind which is a known rust trap on these.

And what I found was a lot of filler and a bodged rust repair.

The bottom of the archliner, which is made of steel, has rusted away and some idiot have pop riveted over a plate above both the archliner and the sill. And this was done recently as the plate was marked with the name and bar code of a Scandinavian hardware chain and I know they didn't start selling steel plates until less than 10 years ago. The back side of the plate, which was untreated steel, had also not started to rust properly yet, which was another sign that this was recent. Who does that to a car like this?

The person who did this didn't even clean the area behind the wing and all of this came out.

But the big question what kind of condition is the sill in this area and the notorious shelf?

It's not bad it could be a lot worse and it looks worse than what it is but it's pretty solid. So when the wing comes off I'm going to sand down this area and see what to do next.

And the arcliners on these are steel and pretty solid.

So after this I chose to examine the other side. Which is in fantastic original and unwelded condition.

So this is great. And one thing that was amazing all the flat head screws for the archliners came out without any problem.

So this was a productive day but I need another passenger side wing as the bottom of this one is done. So I'm looking for one of those now.

But overall I'm happy, I could have discovered far worse things on such an old and well used car.

[SH1TE]

On 8/17/2022 at 7:53 PM, Dyslexic Viking said:

Thanks for giving me this idea. I now know what to look for but hopefully at a lower price than this as I need 8 I think.

They also come without balls, but if they are too worn, I can take the balls from the universal joints and use them, I think.

https://www.bearingboys.co.uk/Ball-Joints-3720-c

[MJK 24]

I would replace the hose clips / jubilee clips that the previous owners has used on the rubber fuel lines with proper fuel hose clips.

The jubilee clips won’t contract evenly around the hose and that’s then a potential source of air being sucked in.  Which is bad!

Fuel hose clips will grip the hose consistently all the way around and stop air being sucked in.

Really enjoying the thread!

[Dyslexic Viking]

5 minutes ago, MJK 24 said:

I would replace the hose clips / jubilee clips that the previous owners has used on the rubber fuel lines with proper fuel hose clips.

The jubilee clips won’t contract evenly around the hose and that’s then a potential source of air being sucked in.  Which is bad!

Fuel hose clips will grip the hose consistently all the way around and stop air being sucked in.

Really enjoying the thread!

Thanks. And it's good to hear that you like the thread. And I replace all the hose clamps with these below. Are they the right hose clamps?

 

[320touring]

1 hour ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

And I mustered up the courage today to examine the bottom of the passenger wing and the shelf behind which is a known rust trap on these.

And what I found was a lot of filler and a bodged rust repair.

The bottom of the archliner, which is made of steel, has rusted away and some idiot have pop riveted over a plate above both the archliner and the sill. And this was done recently as the plate was marked with the name and bar code of a Scandinavian hardware chain and I know they didn't start selling steel plates until less than 10 years ago. The back side of the plate, which was untreated steel, had also not started to rust properly yet, which was another sign that this was recent. Who does that to a car like this?

The person who did this didn't even clean the area behind the wing and all of this came out.

But the big question what kind of condition is the sill in this area and the notorious shelf?

It's not bad it could be a lot worse and it looks worse than what it is but it's pretty solid. So when the wing comes off I'm going to sand down this area and see what to do next.

And the arcliners on these are steel and pretty solid.

So after this I chose to examine the other side. Which is in fantastic original and unwelded condition.

So this is great. And one thing that was amazing all the flat head screws for the archliners came out without any problem.

So this was a productive day but I need another passenger side wing as the bottom of this one is done. So I'm looking for one of those now.

But overall I'm happy, I could have discovered far worse things on such an old and well used car.

To make you feel better have a look at this..

My 1959 Morris Oxford. @Tickman is the hero who saved it - giving me space in his workshop, tools and his time!

https://autoshite.com/topic/29795-320tourings-major-morris-manoeuvrings/

[loserone]

No

8 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Thanks. And it's good to hear that you like the thread. And I replace all the hose clamps with these below. Are they the right hose clamps?

 

Those don't tighten evenly on the hose and can end up tearing / distorting them.  Something like this:

https://amzn.eu/7FtGqV4

[Dyslexic Viking]

8 minutes ago, loserone said:

No

Those don't tighten evenly on the hose and can end up tearing / distorting them.  Something like this:

https://amzn.eu/7FtGqV4

Oh shit, I've already bought a bag of those of good quality.

Does it matter that much? I have been working on vehicles for quite some time and have read a lot and watched many on youtube and this is the first time I have ever heard of this.

The hose clamps I have come from Norway's largest parts dealer for tractors and are the only type they sell, which I find strange if they don't work.

[MJK 24]

16 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Thanks. And it's good to hear that you like the thread. And I replace all the hose clamps with these below. Are they the right hose clamps?

 

No I would avoid those.  I would use these which are designed for small diameter fuel hose: