Michel's 450SEL

[260ebenz]

Michel how is the blue 450SEL going?

 

[Styria]

Michel how is the blue 450SEL going?

Funny you should ask. The car was indeed the subject of conversation earlier on yesterday (Sunday). Perhaps Michel will be able to bring us up to date a little more. Regards Styria

N.B. Just a thought - Jerry drive the Clue One to the TK get together, and MIchel piloting the Red Terror ?

 

[Michel]

Funny you should ask. The car was indeed the subject of conversation earlier on yesterday (Sunday). Perhaps Michel will be able to bring us up to date a little more. Regards Styria

Well, the Blue 450SEL has been sitting outside my office/factory since before Christmas when it arrived ignominiously on the back of a flat bed having overstayed its welcome at the Godfather's residence.

Was it a tiff with Goldie? perhaps...

However, the car was NOT running and would not start.
The Godfather, sadly incapacitated by his previous fall and sojourn in hospital, wasn't in full health nor did he possess all his faculties to search and find the drama.

All we knew was there was no fuel (or intermittent supply) coming up to the injection unit.
Styria had replaced the fuel pump with a used, albeit bench tested, unit and realised that it was more electrical than mechanical.

An electrician was beckoned and his diagnosis was :"Replace the fuel pump'.

The car remained in its spot for months as I did not have the time or energy to spend on it until Saturday afternoon, when a friend of Jerry (my body man) and an acquaintance of mine turned up to say hello.

Ziad is one of those 'old school' mechanics from Lebanon.
A guy who's the type to be left on his own to 'fix' problems.
He grew up , maintaining and repairing W116s and W123s as well as a plethora of other European cars.

I threw the question at him: "would you have time to have a look at my poor old baby sitting here for almost six months?"

He asked what was the problem and went about diagnosing and eliminating item by item until he found that there was an intermittent earthing problem at the fuel pump (by now, he had fitted a new one that Styria had kindly supplied me).

As it was getting quite dark outside, he simply by-passed the wiring harness and earthed the pump on the chassis so we could move the Blue car and get it out of the elements.

Ziad will come back one Saturday and go through the Blue car again and trace the 'broken wire'.

Otherwise, Bluey is ready to be driven and enjoyed.

 

[260ebenz]

Bluey looking good Michel and good news bluey is running again.

 

[Lukas]

Lovely colour - my parts 450SEL was the same, and even with all the clearcoat gone, rust, etc - it still looked great.

 

[Michel]

Lovely colour - my parts 450SEL was the same, and even with all the clearcoat gone, rust, etc - it still looked great.

I have to agree.

It is not a colour I would go searching for, but the finished product is very pleasing to the eye.

The car had factory light beige interior, but was shot when I got it.
I was lucky to be able to pick up a complete (98%) interior in dark blue from MB Spares and it just looks stunning as a combination.