Mercedes Youngtimers

I've got one more project (the newest one, the 3rd)
He's the FatalCoupe.

Not to be immedias res, I shortly tell you the beginning, but the posts will be about the resurrection. I've felt for long-long time, that it's OK, that the w126 is the best car men ever built, but I need a v8 coupe out of it.
The MiamiWeiss I always wanted to rebuild to a factory look (Lataer i added some lorinser optics) so i could not gratify my perverse addictions like AMG widebody conversion, ballon like wheels (means maximum of 16 inches in diameter and minimum of 9-10 inches in width), biturbo conversion, and so on. I was winking towards the w126 coupes, like a centlessdreamer on the www.hasznaltauto.hu when I found this ad:

With the following text:

For Sale, because of material problems a 500 SEC mercedes in part and complete. Perfect to repair and recover an other SEC

At least no bullshit about the blind swiss dentist previous owner
Mostly the price was promissing, because I was cheking these cars for long time and I know it well, that all the others advertised as "in good condition" for 800thousand forint are the same piece of junk. And if I drop 2 millions onto 250 instead of 800, I already won a good half mill. Finally it was much cheaper. :)

As an additional information: I've saved an ad some years ago about the same car and that time the price was 1.2 millions and it turned out that the car made only 2000kilometers since it.
I've sent some specialists from the club and they reported that every word was true in the ad, It's only worth to break it because It's a shitcannon with some paper problems. Of course it didn't deter me. I love to save the junkyardescapees. they deserv a second chance after the preveious owners didn't give them what they need. And I believe, that this disposable, full of credits plastic world will end one day, and people will learn to appriciate the real enginnering achievements. But until this day most of these poor cars will die if everyone wants to sell them in parts because this way the income is bigger.

To turn back: with Zsoltw124 we went to check the car and we also wanted to buy and bring it, if the engine is running. Of course It was not running. The young man from Moscow told that some time ago it was running, but day by day it was harde to start nd the battery is gone, so it will not start. But we tried and it was cranking perfectly but no way we could have even one cough, only two huge backfire. Seeing that the chassis is full of rust, the interior looks like it was used as a dog house for 10 years and the engine is a piece of junk as well, above all it has paper problems, we told: No way, We don't buy it. Maybe... if you give it for 150thousand. (600euro)
OK the seller replied. Quickly we had it signed, in the meantime his father arrived who gave us some additional original accessories. He told, that even his son didn't know about them. Next day I sent a trailer for it and had it transported to Zsolti's garage where we could solve th biggest problems. First we reset the firing order and filled some gasoline in the tank. After those the engine was running like a swiss watch and we had a perfectly useable car with some optical problems.

The first start of the V8 after some years of trying with wrong firing order:



Then we had some months of downtime due to administrational work, but finally we have all the papers but we need an authority technical exam (a special very stict exam) to be able to enroll the property. It sounds easy but Zsolti thanks a lot of grey hair for this process, but everything could be done officially, we only had to be enduring.
The first plan was that after the paperwork I put in a garage and treat it as a long term project. This plan was cancelled by authority exam. Ok let's go to the locksmith, and have some steel in the chassis or some cheap gfk resin, and make some brake on it, then paperwork and let's go to the parking track until I have the money.
The time was passing, and we were thinking with the locksmith how to solve wich problem, meanwhile I was E-baying hard that's why HerrTschik who lives in Germany could not flip back the rear seats in his company Opel Vectra station wagon any more.
Finally we decided, that it makes no sense to waste our time, money and energy for the cheap half solutions, and if we already dismantled the car and it's already necessary to repair the paint on it, we will make the final version. It means, it will be an AMG widebody conversion and we will repaint the original Manganese brown metallic colour. So it will be cut even on the still in good condition places and it will be completely dismantled because of the repaint job. This "If we have already..." principle led to the yesterday engine removal.
Anyway I only wanted to write about this job, but the intro was too long even it was 9 months longer in reality. So, with the locksmith we discussed that if we want to replace the rusty spring towers and the complete car will be repainted, let's remove the engine.

Thats why:

I fuckin didn' want to do it, because I know already where does this path lead. The white one was already out of service for 1.5 years because I wanted to repair everything perfectly if it was already so much dismantled. Quickly we towed it to the other side of the garage onto the pit to disconnect all the pipes, hoses, wires, exhaust, everything and this was the firs time for me to see the bottom of my car.

My first way led to the diff. and what I've seen made my hart beating, the warmth filled my body, becasue I've seen this:



That's a small label written: " Achtung Spezial Öl Sperrdifferential"
Means there's a treasure underneath: Limited slip differential!!! No need to throw out a fortune for it, not telling about seeking for one. Cause It has one!

Disconnecting the things was quite fast and easy. Thanks god, it's a Benz, so despite the age of 24 years, all the bolts clicked one and after it I could remove them by hand. It was time to have the lift and it took 10 minutes to remove the V8.

I have already done a job like this, but if I could remember that it's so easy I would never have thought twice about Is it worth or not. because now everything is well reachable also the most hidden cornes can be cleaned and treated. For example no chance we could reach the places underneath and beind the second fire wall, and there we found at least two shovels of dirt and underneath it, a lot of break fluid dropped in years ago wich destroyed the comlete paint from the sheet metal. Now there is only some surface rust, but it's bad to think about what would happen if leave it this way and my new restored car starts to rotten on one of the worst places.
After all, I worked some on the engine just for fun. Removed some parts wich are better to be overhauled if the engine is already out, and in the next few years I can forget about them, even that they exist. Like crank, generator, and the Harrison aircon compressor, wich is as bis as a smaller car's engine, and of course all the hydraulic hoses, steering servo oil cooler, and so on...

There was no big problem with any of them. All of them were working, only the hoses and pipes were oily, but it's hard to work on them If they are mounted.

The engine itself, was surprisingly dry. For example the Oil pan had surface rost because it have never seen even a drop of oil. If you can find some oil, is mainly from the supplementary systems. The tranny is not in such a good shape. I wanted to dismantle it anyway, first because in reverse it has a strange noise, second, if I want to make a biturbo conversion, it's better to reinforce it to be able to handle the 450hp. Anyway it was working fine in forward so it was useable even in this state.