350SE finally registered and on the road again

[zej]

I've been avoiding social media and forums related to Benzes for the past year or so since it just seemed to get me down about the fact that my W116 remained undriveable for so long........ but it's finally here and it's been a much longer and more expensive journey than originally anticipated and shuffled between 3 different workshops who promised various things but didn't quite deliver, 1 workshop who was upfront with saying they couldn't do the work, and finally a workshop who quoted, kept to within 15% of the quote and delivered a roadworthy W116.

My gosh it's an amazing car to drive... $1500 worth of bushings from Rockauto, and Bilstein B4 dampers and it just glides over the road and tracks dead straight at 160km/h (I temporarily forgot that the speedometer was in miles.....).

Mostly small jobs left to do. Find someone who can speak D-jetronic to cure the richness, free up the seized door mirrors and front windows, figure out why the wipers only have 1 speed, fit some new tyres to the original steel wheels and repaint the body coloured wheel covers, general clean/tidy up the interior and eventually look at reviving the airconditioning.

 

[c107]

Well done!
So great to see this car back on the road!

 

[Patrick_R]

Well done and congratulations.

 

[Oversize]

Love the colour!! Well done on staying determined. I’m in the same boat as you were not long ago. Nothing on the road…. Yet!

Where ru located in VIC? I’m heavily involved in the Benz club of VIC & maybe you should consider joining if you’re not a member already?

 

[zej]

Thanks, Mark. Your 450SEL 6.9 adventures have made some very interesting and informative reading!
I'm in Mulgrave - I've been considering joining the Benz Club as I don't see many pre 1990's Mercs on the road nowadays and it'd be great to meet like minded folk. Particularly since the BMW club I'm a part of at the moment seems to be full of much newer, faster and louder machinery.

 

[zej]

Just a few pics of the interior showing the slightly embarrassing state of the centre console.

 

[BenzBoy]

Real progress. Well done.

 

[Oversize]

Stick with us; we have solutions for faster & louder!

 

[zej]

Paid up, waiting for committee approval...

 

[Pete49]

Congratulations and the oops was normal in my 450SEL before I paid out for a gps heads-up display. Luckily nothing turned up in the mail. I was on a highway with low traffic and caught up to a car and wondered why it was only doing 60km/h in a 110km/h zone so I went past and back to 110km/h. As I approached another car doing 60km/h lol the penny dropped. Very sedate drive from then on.

 

[c107]

Nice to see original backer and original leather interior. Leather was an expensive option on the 350SE.

Just a few pics of the interior showing the slightly embarrassing state of the centre console.