Car shows in the northwest in September are a bit of an unknown. Sometimes you’ll get a sunburn and sometimes you’ll get wet. And apparently sometimes your wheels end up with a high tide mark. Had fun anyway.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Aluminum corrosion
The aluminum thermostat housing and related tubes on my original motor were in terrible shape with major pitting and corrosion, but fortunately the ones from the replacement motor are much better. I still spent some time cleaning them up. I’m not exactly sure why, but these aluminum parts tend to corrode more often and more …
Holiday upgrades
My Christmas present to the R was a new set of Volvo rubber floor mats. Though I prefer the look of the carpet mats, life in the northwest makes the rubber mats a much better choice, if not a necessity. From this: To this: Installation could not be easier of course. The only complication is …
Heat shields
The R did not have exhaust manifold heat shields when I bought it. It has the upgraded late model exhaust manifold and an aftermarket downpipe so the stock heat shields do not fit. Finding the right heat shields for the new manifold on the old car turned out to be harder than I thought it …
Head work distractions
Spent more time today working on pulling the head, but really didn’t get very far. The radiator is now removed, and that was a lot more work than I expected. The oil cooler is attached to the radiator, so that had to be drained and removed as well. Plus the transmission cooler lines going into …
Introductions all around
I’ve always loved the lines of the classy 60s & 70s Mercedes sedans and coupes, so in November 2010 when I found an inexpensive 280 SEL for sale I jumped on it. I knew it needed work, but I thought it would be a great project car that would keep me from tearing apart my …