my 72 280SE 4.5 [heavy w108 content]

[lewda]

Awesome car man. I always think 108s stand out amongst all the other cars at the shows. I' biased though as I have one myself. Not as nice as yours, but its a work in progress.

Just went through the whole build and I love this. Just so classy looking. Great work bringing it back from the dead.

This car is so classy. I love it!

Thanks guys! Its still very far from being done, just waiting for that warm weather!!

ID108 thats a pretty sweet whip you have, what year is that, what are your plans?

[ID108]

It's a 72 same as yours. As for my plans, right now i'm working on restoring all the wood on the interior so far I have just done the trim around the doors and the dash bow. I need to take the whole dash off, but it looks like a pain in the ass i'm not looking forward to it.

[fpsthomas]

an old dutch saying,
liever een ster in mijn vooruit dan op mijn motorkap.
translation:
rather a star in my windshield than on my hood :P

no but seriously. its a sweet ride bro!

[lewda]

It's a 72 same as yours. As for my plans, right now i'm working on restoring all the wood on the interior so far I have just done the trim around the doors and the dash bow. I need to take the whole dash off, but it looks like a pain in the ass i'm not looking forward to it.

Ah the wood, yeah i will be doing the same thing soon, the ones surrounding the windows on my doors were shot, so i tossed them all, I actually prefer the look without them personally, dont like too much wood and have no plans to replace them [im sure this has purists rolling over, although my car is far from being pure :-P].

Ive heard that its not that hard to pull the dash apart, just time consuming, check out this link:

http://www.jaimekop.com/108Wood/

Ive only redone my glove box and ash tray [as it was the easiest to pull ]. I'll probably pull the rest out next weekend, thats if my heater levers come in by then, my dash bow is somewhat trashed, I build furniture too, sure Ive managed to get most of the laminate layers back in place, just need to re-veneer it. Then...i have to figure out what to do with my cracked up dash pad

[lewda]

an old dutch saying,
liever een ster in mijn vooruit dan op mijn motorkap.
translation:
rather a star in my windshield than on my hood :P

no but seriously. its a sweet ride bro!

thanks!

[Xavi0n]

Can you sereously be pulled over in the US (and A) for beeing too low?
Is there a regulation for what is too low?

[ID108]

Hahah yeah i've done my ashtray and glove box too just because they were easy to pull i've actually been to http://www.jaimekop.com/108Wood/ several times. I just redid my dash bow I just put the last coat of veneer on and got it back in a few days ago. My heater levers were all broken off when I got the car so I don't have to worry about pulling them off but I go have to find a new one to go back in. As for the dash cap I need a new one too I found a place in cali that makes plastic ones that I hear look pretty good I got a quote from them and they want 220 for a new one.

[lewda]

Can you sereously be pulled over in the US (and A) for beeing too low?
Is there a regulation for what is too low?

oh yeah, at least here in Virginia, by law, they require the bumper to be 14" from the ground, but i think its the top of the bumper? Not too sure where on the bumper they take the measurement, sort of convoluted, I have heard its from the center of the bumper, from the top of the bumper bar....there is even a law for how high your truck can be lifted. Virginia is for lovers

[lewda]

Hahah yeah i've done my ashtray and glove box too just because they were easy to pull i've actually been to http://www.jaimekop.com/108Wood/ several times. I just redid my dash bow I just put the last coat of veneer on and got it back in a few days ago. My heater levers were all broken off when I got the car so I don't have to worry about pulling them off but I go have to find a new one to go back in. As for the dash cap I need a new one too I found a place in cali that makes plastic ones that I hear look pretty good I got a quote from them and they want 220 for a new one.

220 isn't too bad...but does the dash cap actually wrap around to the front bottom? Ive seen some dash caps and they do not look nice...I've been debating on recovering mine myself or holding out for a used one in good condition.

When you veneered your bow, did you throw it in a vacuum bag to glue the veneer down or did you use a adhesive? I have some mahogany veneer laying around that looks identical to the stock wood that is stained, I've been debating on using it for the bow to see how it looks, although i think a birds eye maple would look killer with my dark brown interior.

Ive never owned a 280 that didn't have all the levers broken off, lets just say the heater lever materials wasn't a strong point on these cars for Mercedes thought for the long haul....shouldn't been a metal tab.

[ID108]

The Layers of my bow were starting to separate so I had to glue them back together before I started with the resto. Other than that I just used some chemical stain remover and 0000 steel wool to get it ready to stain. I used a red oak stain which looks really good with the brown interior. I guess the dash bow is supposed to be a different color than the rest of the wood, but I just made it the same.

[240sx]

great car man i also have one and slowly working on it. I had a question though i was wondering if you had any issues with exhaust leak and smelling it in the car.? I replaced my exhaust system with new one from the headers down and i still smell exhaust in the car.

[Xavi0n]

oh yeah, at least here in Virginia, by law, they require the bumper to be 14" from the ground, but i think its the top of the bumper? Not too sure where on the bumper they take the measurement, sort of convoluted, I have heard its from the center of the bumper, from the top of the bumper bar....there is even a law for how high your truck can be lifted. Virginia is for lovers

You are welcome to move to the free land of Norway

[aLaFleur]

right now I am researching a wheel setup, anyone had any success putting American wheels 5x5 or 5x4.5 on a Benz? I read a little and found that either the 5.5 or 5.45 will bolt right up, but I am not sure, anyone tried this?

I'm running 5x114 (5x4.5) wheels on my w115 with hubcentric rings and wobble bolts. I couldn't get the lug bolts to thread up. Wobble bolts cure the issue though.

[lewda]

great car man i also have one and slowly working on it. I had a question though i was wondering if you had any issues with exhaust leak and smelling it in the car.? I replaced my exhaust system with new one from the headers down and i still smell exhaust in the car.

hey man, sorry for the late reply, yeah, I did some... but it doesnt help that it gets thrashed going in and out of the garage and down the highway even after the tuck. Im pretty sure it leaks from the down,pipe from the header, but its not real strong. I honestly dont smell it anymore though, although I have only taken the exhaust apart from the center back.

[lewda]

I'm running 5x114 (5x4.5) wheels on my w115 with hubcentric rings and wobble bolts. I couldn't get the lug bolts to thread up. Wobble bolts cure the issue though.

awesome, thanks for the info, im gonna have to look into that, although i still cant make up my mind on the what to do wheel wise and Im still dumping money into the wifes 190 project....stay tuned...