Rust Inspection :(

(Left to right: Tim, Dad & Peter)

Today, we went to visit Peter's metal/bodywork fabrication workshop in the afternoon. FINNIE was up on the lift, most of its body panels have been taken off. All four doors have been sent for sandblasting and should be returning very soon. Work has begun on stripping all the paint on the panels. More rust has been pointed out to us and work has been explained to us in detail.

Door sills have rusted through. Peter will be re fabricating these from scratch, possibly with stainless steel.

FINNIE has been repainted twice! The original colour appears to be dark blue as seen on the A-pillar. We have decided to keep FINNIE classic white (unsure of the proper paint name/code). 

Mechanical stuff. Springs, dampers, shocks, exhaust, joints, bearings, etc. will be replaced. All will be brand new, hopefully!

Roof needs to be stripped to bare metal and work has to be done before repainting. The latest repaint job hasn't been done up to standard and thus the paint can be easily scratched off! The headliner is rotting from the rust and will eventually need replacement.

Underside of the boot where water has been sitting. Peter will be cutting out panels and then fabricating new pieces and panels for replacement.

Lower section of the boot lid skin has already been replaced and welded. Filler, from a previous job has been scraped away. The black frame holds the shape of the skin and fits under it so it can be mounted on the hinges when done. 

 Peter has marked out the spots which need repair and prefabrication of panels. The rear quarter panels are in dire need of new panels. Rust is all through the steel panels. The front bumper has been bent on the driver's side (Possibly been hit) and Tim mentioned that the wheel guard was bulging out all the time. The floorpan in the boot seems to be in the best condition. 

Bushings and bearings are worn to their barest of barest. They will all be replaced, all arms and suspension components and ultimately, all mechanical parts will be overhauled.

This panel beating/re-frabrication of new panels seem to be very interesting.

:(

Rust Update!

Tim called this afternoon.

Bad news! He seems to have found more rust around the wheel arches. Previous work has been done on the surrounding area, but has been badly done with bog/filler. Besides that, he has also taken off the front and rear windscreens.

Looks like more money to spend!

Photos will be up, hopefully when I inspect the car late this week.

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Visit To Tim's

Today, we drove down to Tim's workshop to have a look at the progress of FINNIE's restoration.

All four doors, boot lid and driver's side wheel guard/fender has been removed and sent for rust repairs to Peter. More rust spots have been identified, especially around door, boot lid and bonnet hinges. FINNIE has been resprayed once, but not a full respray. Original white paint can be seen behind the rear chrome bumper and around the rear light clusters. Car VIN says "62", the code for the vehicle being manufactured in South Africa.

Seats have been removed. Most trimmings have been removed as well and sent for re-chroming and re-polishing. Decided to have the whole car carpeted and seats upholstered in red genuine leather. 

Rust in boot floor pan in rusting very badly. Tim tells us that the chassis section under the rear driver's side is literally non existent. The section is almost gone and the remaining parts of it have just been held on with blobs of Blu-Tack. Tim thinks Denso refrigeration system is stock. Unsure at the moment. Air compressor is American, not German as expected. Shock absorbers have been changed before and need to be replaced once again. The original rubber coated wires are fraying and need replacement. Firewall insulation has been painted before and needs replacement. Talked about sound insulation for the bonnet. Radiator has been replaced before.

Tim researched and came to know about from a friend, a parts maker in Dusseldorf, Germany that makes licensed and genuine Mercedes parts for 220SE cars, although he is unsure of the name of the company. 

~

It's really heartbreaking to see that rust has almost engulfed the whole car. I have seen worse on other cars, but once it belongs to you, you have a connection with it and it breaks your heart even more, and probably burn a bigger hole in your pocket. 

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Transmission Rod Broke!

We returned from a drive and was parking FINNIE back in the garage when the column gearshift went loose. We soon realised that the linkage rods to the automatic transmission had snapped and the plastic pin had come off.

Called Tim to fix the problem temporarily.

Up on stands. - @antontwang on Instagram.

Tim fixing the gear linkage rods.

Having fun! 

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Taking A Ride.

We took FINNIE for weekend drives along The Esplande, Mount Pleasant, along Canning River, just before sending it in for restoration.

Mechanical:

The 2195cc Bosch Mechanical Fuel Injected Inline six is running on five cylinders and needs a complete overhaul. It seems as if it's a 1.8L underpowered engine pushing a 2 tonne load. Suspension is soft and seems to have a comfortable ride, although when there is a heavy load in the rear, the wheels seem to cut into the fenders when turning. Steering is a challenge since there is no power steering. Steering wheel lock works with ignition. Indicator stalk is working. Brake and acceleration pedals are working fine. Automatic transmission column gear shifter is very stiff and needs care to move it. The transmission indicator reads "P R 0 4 3 2". 0 is neutral. Handbrake is working well. Windshield wipers are 2 speed. They work fairly well, but are stiff. The ivory coloured plastics are cracking. The horn still sounds 1962. 

Interior:

Seats are upholstered in red vinyl (MB-Tex vinyl I believe) and are quite comfortable. Some of the seats may have lost its structural support and need to be reupholstered. Front seats are reclinable with forward/backward adjustment. Seatbelts for the driver and the front passenger have been retrofitted by the previous owner and we plan to have them removed. Floorpan has been carpeted, but not in good condition. Padded dashboard is sagging in some areas and has a crack around the central loudspeaker grille. Sunshades are losing their shape and the mirror on the passenger side is cloudy and rusting. All windows wind up and down properly, only until recently the driver's side rear passenger window got jammed. Door handles (round) are working with all locks. Centrally mounted mirror has day/night switch, works properly. Ashtrays are all intact, but they all need cleaning out! All chrome needs re-chroming and reconditioning.

Electrics:

Radio/Cassette player is not stock, but works properly. Two speakers fitted works with the radio. Centrally mounted loudspeaker does not work. The electric clock does not work. Instrument cluster lights are dim, even with adjustment of the control knob. Light switch works perfectly. All lights except reverse lights are working as normal. The reverse lights seem to only work when the gearshift is in the right position. Heating & ventilation system is working, although is a little bit noisy during operation. There is a rear Denso refrigeration system (I believe it has been retrofitted) with four ugly plastic vents that stick out in the parcel shelf and the refrigeration unit in the boot takes up space.

Beautiful day for a weekend drive. Not too hot, not too cold. Most of all, it wasn't raining a single bit.

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