Newly Acquired Mercedes w115

commited

Hey folks,

Bought a w115 in a moment of madness this weekend! Always wanted one and it fitted the bill nicely.

Anyway - I need a few parts for it, such as new windscreen rubber, door rubbers and I want to give it a full fluids service.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?
I've always been a Mini & BMW man, so I have no idea where to start looking!

Also, none of my dashboard lights work.

Thanks,
Mark

Max_Damage

commited wrote: »

Also, none of my dashboard lights work.

Check the fuses.

Blue850

OTTO are a good source of service items, got everything I needed for my 230.4 of them except points and a local autofactor had them. I've seen a company advertising rubber seals for Mercs in the Mercedes enthusiast magazines.

commited

Max_damage - cheers will do so, just need to work out where the fuses are!

Hi Blue850,

Thanks for the reply. What are good enthusiast magazines to buy?

Brought it into the Garage today to start prepping it for the bodywork. Found some grot, but could have been worse. Hope I don't find more!

Blue850

Hi committed heres the link for door seals

Any pics??

commited

Cheers for that. OOF they're expensive! Gonna have to check which ones really need to be done.

No pics yet - it's a white 230.4 auto with red leather interior. 55k from new with service history that has a few gaps. Original fit radio too

Only mechanical problems are:
Auto choke doesn't seem to work - cuts out when cold if drive is engaged.
Steering column seems to be rubbing

Do mercedes offer classic spares from their dealers? I want to get some simple stuff like bushings etc.

Blue850

are you pushing the accelerator to the floor once and then letting it up, before starting when cold? This activates the auto choke.

commited

Blue850 wrote: »

are you pushing the accelerator to the floor once and then letting it up, before starting when cold? This activates the auto choke.

I am!

Am I meant to do it with the key in position 2 or before I turn the key at all?

Do you have to hold it down for long?

Blue850

I just pump it once and she fires up no bother, mine stalls at the first stop I make when cold or if I slow quickly cos the vacuum governor on the carb is not working, and I can't find one.

Anan1

commited wrote: »

Also, none of my dashboard lights work.

Give the rheostat a wiggle, that sometimes helps.

commited

Blue850 wrote: »

I just pump it once and she fires up no bother, mine stalls at the first stop I make when cold or if I slow quickly cos the vacuum governor on the carb is not working, and I can't find one.

The carb has just been rebuilt, so it's weird that the auto choke isn't working. I'm wondering if the auto choke was hooked up wrong.

The cutting out was a real PITA because the battery is fried! It's good to be back in Classic ownership again.

tc20

well done Committed, i had a W114 as my first classic, and carb problems aside, they're a sound, simple enough no-nonsense Merc.

I sourced a lot of parts (and seals - i replaced all door seals & the front windscreen rubber) from www.dbdepot.de and i can also recommend www.lichtenberg-classics.ie for parts and service.

I picked up a parts katalog for my W114 on the web from the MB Classic Centre in Stuttgart, cost about €20, but is very handy - exploded views and MB part numbers.

commited

Thanks tc20! Do you know if there is a haynes manual equivalent for this car?

I moved it into the workshop earlier and it takes up more room than the 2 Minis I used to have parked in there! Huge.

Will hopefully run this thread as a little restoration thread but I keep on forgetting to bring my camera.

Another question - anybody know what the craic is with Engineers reports?

tc20

AFAIK there isn't a Haynes for the W114/115.

The katalog i got from the Classic Centre has exploded diagrams for most parts except the engine. I think these (incl engine) are now available on CD.
They are quite a long car, but surprisingly nimble. Mine was LHD, and had no PS. Anything above parking speeds though and she was a doddle to fling around. Very comfy too, and so solidly built.

re engineers reports - do you mean for your insurance co? Who do you have the MB insured with?

It might also be worth your while joining the MB Club. I know MercMad will probably be along soon, but heres the linky www.mercedes-benz-club.co.uk

What year is the car btw?

Blue850

There isn't a english text workshop manual for the 230.4, Haynes cover the W114 6 cylinders under the Pagoda manual and Autobooks do a manual for the W115 220. I got a W114/W115 manual on cd of ebay for a €10 that covers a lot and I picked up a old dealer parts book with exploded diagrams of everything.

commited

I think I'll order one of those CDs, I want to make sure everything is ok, and also what part no's etc I may need!

Luckily the one I've bought is RHD & PAS so it's even more relaxing to drive. Quite a fantastic car in it's day I'm sure.

Engineers report - yes I need to have this done for the insurance company. It's for a hibernian policy through a broker, the only company that seem to want to quote me as I'm under 25.

I'll look into the Merc club alright!

The car is a 1974 (think it's October), so just less than 10 years older than me! Came with a bit of history, enough for me to think that the mileage is genuine enough.

commited

One more question - do Mercedes still stock parts for these cars?

carchaeologist

commited wrote: »

One more question - do Mercedes still stock parts for these cars?

As far as i know mercedes parts availability for older cars is quite good.

Max_Damage

Spurious parts would be much cheaper, and easily available from most motor factors.

commited

Excellent stuff.

Any recommendations for classic friendly motor factors in Dublin?

Max_Damage

commited wrote: »

Excellent stuff.

Any recommendations for classic friendly motor factors in Dublin?

East Coast motor factors in Greenhills in Tallaght are good at getting in parts for older cars, so is that place near the Walkinstown roundabout (can't remember the name of the place though).

carchaeologist

Max_Damage wrote: »

Spurious parts would be much cheaper, and easily available from most motor factors.

Spurious parts are ok,but sometimes are not great,factors wishbones for my mondeo were a waste of my time and money,whereas genuine ones never gave trouble.

Max_Damage

carchaeologist wrote: »

Spurious parts are ok,but sometimes are not great,factors wishbones for my mondeo were a waste of my time and money,whereas genuine ones never gave trouble.

It really depends on the make of spurious parts. For the Micra, I always get Japanparts, and I haven't had any trouble with them yet.

carchaeologist

Max_Damage wrote: »

It really depends on the make of spurious parts. For the Micra, I always get Japanparts, and I haven't had any trouble with them yet.

Cool,they must do good quality stuff.

commited

Max_Damage wrote: »

East Coast motor factors in Greenhills in Tallaght are good at getting in parts for older cars, so is that place near the Walkinstown roundabout (can't remember the name of the place though).

Cheers man!

Max_Damage

commited wrote: »

Cheers man!

No bother, they always seem to get parts for my '90 Micra (from head gaskets to piston rings). I'm sure it would be the same with a W115.

RobAMerc

hi,

congrats on the new car - post some pics

Firstly - Merc still stock all parts for their cars thats why they make such a great classic.
Secondly - there wass a guy I met here while I had my old Merc - think hes called MercMadBen or some such - A german chap living in Clarehall who was very helpful and had a source which was reasonably priced - hes handy enough too.
I will pm you if I find contact details for him

hth
Rob

edit : I think it could be MercManBen - defo MercMad knows him, I also had contact with andreas_220 about parts

MercManBen : www.lichtenberg-classics.ie

commited

Excellent - thanks a million for the post Rob!

So some developments today. When I bought the car, I knew it needed a little bit of work - patch on passenger floor and a bit of work to the rear arches.

Took the grinder to it today and My First Benz (tm) has become My First Restoration Project (tm). Both rear arch areas need lots of love, passenger floor and the bottom of 3 of the doors. Arse

It's not terrible. The main bodywork is perfect, it's just grot underneath due to previous owner syndrome. Currently lining up a welder from the UK (anyone know any good deals on Clarke 130+ amp welders?) and gonna learn the hard way!

Have a good bit of time off at Christmas, so going to dive in head first!

Forgot to mention, I also have a Racing Mini to rebuild over the xmas period. Going to be busy!!

Blue850

Hows the bulkhead on it, another rust trap , especially in the corners near the bonnet hinges, and clear out the muck that has built up in the inner arches around behind the headlamps.

You can get repair panels from Hadrians in the UK and they have 2 Irish distributors
Merc W115 repair panels

or Beevers who list prices
Merc W115 panels

MercMad

Hi Committed, sounds like as good car you have there. As the lads say the factory still make parts for every car they made, but they know how to charge. Surprisingly service parts from dealers are quite cheap but there are a number of specialists around for non-service related items.

If you do go spurious just ensure you use good quality well know brands, Bosch, Hengst, Mann,Beru etc..

You are best to hunt around for parts the people over here supplying parts are basically buying from dealers abroad, which you could easily do yourself.

Check out the following link http://www.niemoeller.de/sta-en/index-w114-w115.htm

If you want details on the Irish brances of the Mercedes-Benz Club just PM me your email address.

commited

Blue850, cheers for the links - very handy. I will check the bulkhead - best to check from the engine bay or behind the dash?

Inner arches behind the headlamps are ok from what I remember. I bought the car unseen for not a huge amount so I'm not that miffed, just means that I have to learn the hard way now!

Mercmad, thanks for the post - PM sent!

MercMad

commited wrote: »

Blue850, cheers for the links - very handy. I will check the bulkhead - best to check from the engine bay or behind the dash?

Inner arches behind the headlamps are ok from what I remember. I bought the car unseen for not a huge amount so I'm not that miffed, just means that I have to learn the hard way now!

Mercmad, thanks for the post - PM sent!

.......thanks for that, I have emailed you details !

Blue850

Niemoller....€1000 for a radiator:eek:

commited

I know repair panels are the best route of repair, but if I made my own repair sections and welded them in, grinded them down so they weren't visible and then painted over with stonechip & underseal - would this be considered a "bodge" job?

8~)

If much of the repair work is a small patches, hidden and not structural then I would say it's not a bodge job.

After doing lots of research I settled on a Clarke 150TE to do some welding on my SLC; it was a pretty good deal at the time, sourced from the UK. I could not get anything of a similar spec locally.
I'll dig out the details for you.

commited

Excellent.
A friend has offered me a "stick" welder to test out, claiming that it will weld the world. I think I'll have a go with it, and if not, I'll just bite the bullet and buy a decent Clarke.

I'd also considered hiring one, but unsure if it's worth it.

Kevin_Herron

I presume a 'stick welder' is an Arc plant?

You'd want a mig plant for working on the car.
Maybe buy a small gasless one just to get you started?

commited

Just got offered a loan of a 130A welder for free! Sorted.

Anyway - 2 questions:
1. What thickness of metal should I buy?
2. Will my car run on unleaded fuel without additives?

MercMad

commited wrote: »

Just got offered a loan of a 130A welder for free! Sorted.

Anyway - 2 questions:
1. What thickness of metal should I buy?
2. Will my car run on unleaded fuel without additives?

............not sure about the first one, but yes the car will run perfectly on unleaded, though the timing may need a slight adjustment, if it pings. Most likely this has been done already so just fill it and drive it !