Styria's 450se

[Styria]

As I have made reference to, I was indeed going to fit black carpet to the interior of 'Goldie'. For some reason or other, I did have some new black carpet on hand, but I have no idea as to its origin and obviously the trimmer that was responsible for 'starting off the job' - (I only had two front and the left hand rear section.

Trying to be practical, I made the decision to choose a different colour, and some pics have already been posted. However, when making up the rears, I thought I'd take the opportunity to compare two identical left rear sections, i.e. the black and the beige/caramel. It makes for interesting viewing...



Obviously I need to say that the beige/caramel has the correct dimensions.

Regards Styria

 

[Styria]

Hi Bill, thank you for your observations regarding the carpet. As soon as I get an opportunity, I shall photograph and post a picture of the rear section - I am really pleased with the work carried out by Parks. I will also have some details soon as far as the rust repairs are concerned.

Regarding the splitting of calipers - yes, I split all of them for a number of reasons. First of all, I am mindful that reference has been made in ROVER Cars workshop manuals that calipers should not be split. To be honest, I see no earthly reason why this should not be done. It is simply a matter of undoing four bolts of various descriptions (depending on type of caliper) and at times one may need a special type of 'star socket'. I have never experienced any calipers leaking from within, whether before or after dismantling, and the benefit of splitting is manyfold. As with most calipers, surface rust and brake 'sludge' are an ever present problem when rebuilding the units, and it is just so much easier to clean the internal body of the caliper, including the groove that locates the inner square sectioned rubber 'O' ring.

Bill, ATE calipers are relatively easy to reseal, even with calipers that haven't been split. However, when it comes to the Bendix units as fitted to my 450SE, even with calipers split, I spent virtually hours in an effort to correctly seal the caliper pistons. I honestly don't think it would be possible to fit those dust seals unless the calipers are split. Regards Styria

 

[Styria]

Picture of rear carpet....



Regards Styria

 

[WGB]

The carpets look absolutely beautiful.

By the way the spring compressor cost US$ 199 in June 2008.

Postage via USPS for the three items in the picture was US$96.75.

Please be safe if you fiddle with those front springs - they are lethal weapons.

Bill

 

[TJ 450]

I concur with Bill regarding the danger. You weren't replacing the suspension bushes though were you?

The ordinary spring compressor kits you can buy from all the usual places are not up to the task at all.

Tim

 

[Tony66_au]

My GOD what a ripper car!

I love the interior colour BTW, the seat colour really lifts the interior.

As for the smooth power I too was really surprised at the sheer majesty of the acceleration.

Tony

 

[Styria]

Thanks Tony. It really has the makings of a fine car when all finished. Presently, I am still looking for a 450 valve body in order to get the transmission working properly. All the valve bodies I have seem slightly 'faulty' in one way or another.

I had had hopes to finish 'Goldie' for the time when Gleaming Beauty went in for her rust repairs and respray with Michel's Auto Body Shop (news), but Michel has been kind enough to make available his 690SEL until GB is back on the road. The job's been done, quite splendidly, in the minimum amount of time with pictures to follow in another thread. Mind you, I am still lokking forward to getting "Goldie" mobile and actually driving her. Soon ! Regards Styria

 

[Styria]

Well, the last post dates back to 12th October last year, of course ! Only eight months have passed since then. It's not long, is it ? Dear, oh dear, oh me. Anyway, I do have, at long last, some further news. I bought a replacement valve body a few weeks ago and it was presented as a "good valve body". Guess what ? It turned out okay, so far. When I say so far, I can convey that 'Goldie' has now completed about fifteen kilometers without a whimper and no major issues. Well, at least none that I already knew about.

The auto tranny was of some concern, as I had only ever driven the car (after purchase) about, say, two kilometers. That was about eight years ago ! Then the tranny worked well, there was one slightly noisy lifter, a worn out steering coupling and a slightly 'jittery' front suspension. Well, nothing has changed since then. It's still all the same. BTW, the valve body that I had removed from Goldie went into a 450SLC that had valve body problems, and that would have been four years ago.

So, what is Goldie like ? Well, nice ! The transmission is faultless, the big bore 450 engine pulls strongly with a surprisingly decent amount of power, and the suspension is quite remarkable in its smoothness and sure footedness. All in all, I am more than impressed. During the last two weeks, I spent some time on finishing off a number of interior items, and I also spent a great deal of time on the central locking - that part is still not quite finished. Incidentally, I am quite paranoid about the timing chain and guides - naturally, I have heard of the consequences of chain problems, bent valves etc. and I am obtaining a new chain and guides to be fitted as a matter of some urgency. I'd hate the engine to blow up after all the work that's been put into Goldie. Will keep you posted about future progress. Regards Styria

 

[SEL_69L]

I am glad Goldie is now roadable. I have got to see it on the move. Next the timing chain, then I guess that it will be your drive car until GB is back on the road.

 

[Styria]

Well no, Gleaming Beauty will be my drive car. Goldie ? I really don't know at this stage. You may recall that I was just going to dismantle her (after initial purchase) after removing the interior to put into a gold 6.9 - BTW, that car is still for sale - see another thread, with brand new black leather upholstery. Anyway, I am digressing. I had always felt, after initial inspections, that Goldie was simply too good to dismantle, and obviously I am still of that opinion. I wouldn't have carried out all that work otherwise.

So at the moment, I am just going 'easy' and let it all soak in. I will still finish her off properly, and I'll let time decide her fate. If I was ever to want to sell her, I'd like to see her go to a good home, but that's further down the track. Regards Styria

 

[WiSeGuYY]

Hi Godfather / All

can't resist to post this pic as example of two tone , might be the opposite of what was said but looks just great, you can look and judge.



REGARDS

TAREK

 

[Oversize]

Great looking car! Dunno about the chopped roof, or the yellow fog lights. I intend to experiment with a black grille & chrome bars. My thoughts re colours are that the lighter shades should be on the top of a two tone car to reduce cabin heat & the darker shade on the bottom to reduce the visible bulk of a larger car.

 

[Michel]

Please finish off GB Godfather...

I miss my 690SEL

 

[SEL_69L]

Rather like the colour scheme, but I don't know about the chopped roof. Seems a bit odd. I post a great deal on the

coin community forum,

where very close examination of coin images is necessary, to examine coin errors. Have developed quite a skill at this. You will find my posts under the same user name as here, i.e. 'SEL_69L.

On close examination of that red car, I quickly noticed the 'B' pillar. Seems to me, if the image was photoshopped in some way.


Oversize: I am fortunate enough to have the pieces for three complete different coloured grille assemblys, which I have made up. It takes about five minutes to change one for another. I have three colours:

1. colour coded silver blue
2. black
3. original silver

The donor cars were my own, a 450 SEL and a 350 SEL.

I can now make a fashion statement, and change the grille colour to suit my mood, a bit like choosing which clothes to wear!

 

[Styria]

Just some further news on "Goldie". She's travelled about a hundred kilometers now, and if one considers that she had hardly ever turned a wheel in about ten years, it is nothing short of remarkable that she has not let me down at this stage - and whatsmore, has never looked like doing so thus far.

I can't readily recall all of the work over the last few years in relation to the various components. Obviously, I have changed engine and gearbox oil and filters, replacement discs and rebuilt Bendix calipers at the front, I think calipers at the rear (re-built), new plugs, checked leads (may not be 100%), etc.etc. Of course, I fitted a replacement dashboard, and some other jobs that obviously I can't think of at the moment. There is one immensely gratifying feature - despite all the heavy rain Sydney has endured, Goldie DOES NOT LEAK WATER ! So, I'll just gradually refine her to the stage where I am going to be happy overall with her condition. Keep you posted. Regards Styria

 

[Styria]

In relation to the picture posted by Tarek in Egypt, I really like the colour scheme. It looks DIFFERENT to the standard colours, and of course I have always advocated that 6.9s should have had a twin colour scheme from the manufacturer - hence duo tone on Gleaming Beauty.It's my way of perhaps lifting the image of 116s in general, but 6.9s in particular.

Regarding Goldie - I have had to press her into some sort of everyday service as both Gleaming Beauty, and now the 'Red Terror' (Michel's 6.9) are now in hospital. GB out of intensive care now, and the Red Terror for minor surgery. Thus, 400 miles have passed in Goldie without problems. Sure, there are some issues, with the main one being difficult starting at any time other than when cold, a noisy lifter, and a couple of small things interior wise. There is a slight water leak from the radiator (I think), but I have already had another unit fully serviced by my radiator people, and this will be installed when I get around to replacing the timing chain (real soon !). Also, the steering coupling is badly in need of replacement, but then again how much time do you have in one day, and how many days per week - it's not easy. All in all, however, I really like the feel of Goldie, and she has the makings of an excellent car.

One aspect that I also wanted to attend to was the paintwork. It had rubbing marks from the various tarps she had been covered by over the years, and polishing made absolutely no difference. Thus, the other day, Michel's paint man Jerry buffed the car all over and honestly one could be forgiven for thinking that she has been resprayed - the shine is that good ! More to come in due course. Regards Styria

 

[Styria]

It's now time to take a short breather before taking some further steps. Goldie has now done about a thousand kilometers without any undue concern, although I have had a couple of moments that, if nothing else, have made me think. First of all, starting after an initial early morning start can be somewhat tedious. It becomes a procedure to keep the key in the "start' position whilst in reverse (to keep petrol pump working), pumping on the accelerator pedal, and eventually the engine would fire into life. Replacement of an almost blocked fuel filter has not solved the problem. This situation affects various components - firstly, the Starter Motor surely is not designed to keep churning away, secondly of course the strain on the battery, but more importantly, at what stage is the timing chain likely to jump a tooth, or some other problem be created ? It's a worrying aspect, especially as Goldie's engine has developed a constant rattling (?) noise - not sure if that description is totally correct nor did I know the source of the noise. I thought it came from the timing chain area - if nothing else, this re-affirmed in my mind to at least lift the rocker covers 'to have a look'.

I had also noticed that the rear brakes were binding, especially the one at the left hand side. This usually indicates internally swollen brake hoses not allowing the fluid back to the Master Cylinder, or sticking caliper pistons. I chose the easier of the two options by replacing the brake hoses, although the calipers seemed to show unwanted symptoms of advanced age. Some squirting with INOX in the caliper area seemed a good idea to try and lubricate components, and it would appear that the binding problem has eased. Thus, we now come to the more interesting exercise of timing chain replacement in the next post. Regards Styria

 

[Styria]

Maybe fourth time is lucky, having lost the post on three occasions with a frozen computer screen and no response other than switching off the power supply. Very frustrating, and time consuming ! BTW, I should point out that Bill (WGB) has already prepared a very detailed synopsis of this job, and it is my hope that he will be able to post his article to the Technical Section in due course. It is excellent. My work in this instance has taken me a little deeper intom the overall work involved as will be seen in due course.

A strange continuous noise had developed in the engine, and quite frankly I was petrified that some problem could arise from the chain area which could well render 'Goldie' a liability despite its very good overall condition. So it was off with the rocker covers, to be greeted by a somewhat dirty valve gear on both sides, and a further look revealed the remains of the guide nestling towards the bottom of the timing chain on the left hand side. See the broken bit - broken in half....



Thus my fears were justified, but I was lucky that no damage had been occasioned. This was the state of the valve gear....





Surprisingly, there was very little stretch in the chain itself, but the camshaft lobes on the right camshaft indicated that oil changes had been somewhat neglected and, in addition, there was no connecting link in the chain. This would indicate an original item, with a mileage of about 204,000 kms. The previous two pictures already show the new chain that had been installed. Naturally, the chain tensioner, held by three Allen headed bolts, had been removed and plastic ties were utilized to hold the old chain onto the gear wheels whilst the engine was turned to feed in the new chain. Incidentally, in order to remove the pins locating the three guides, it is necessary to remove the alternator on the right hand side, and the distributor (after marking its position on the retaining bracket !), as well as the plate secured to the left hand head and used to mount the power steering pump.





Further information in the next post. Regards Styria

 

[SEL_69L]

Looks like that you have got to that chain guide problem just in the nick of time.
Your ears have served you well.

Goldie has a lot to thank you for.....er........ for saving her life, no less!
You can thank yourself also, I guess!

I have seen an alloy 380 engine that was not so fortunate, where the valves were speared through the top of the pistons. Engine no more.

 

[Styria]

Yes well, that was the sort of calamity I needed to avoid. Anyway, getting back to the task on hand. I was less than impressed by the state of the valve gear, even though oil pressure was good, and the engine never showed any sign of blowing smoke - thus I decided to remove the valve gear, camshafts and camshaft towers as I had replacement units, hardly worn, that I have been saving for years from a mechanic's engine whose car I had bought. The engine was just sitting in the open (with some timber covering over it) but thinking that I may have to have some spares available, I initially removed the cams and the heads as well - one just never knows. Anyway, upon closer examination, the cams turned out to be virtually as good as new, and you may take a look at the pics showing the installrd units - sort of, as depicted.



You will agree that they look just that much better. When removing the cams from the other engine, one of the bolts retaining a camshaft tower just would not budge, and I finished up having to grind off the Allen head. Thus, I was a bit apprehensive, in case I'd strike the same problem with the heads in Goldie. Luckily enough, I experienced no real difficulty, although it seemed close a couple of times. Invariably, some hard blows on the bolt heads seemed to do their job. However, there was one little surprise, and it came in the shape of the last bolt on the right head - there was no way that one could get a tool onto the bolt, let alone removing it. Guess why ? The power brake booster.



So out comes the instrument binnacle and the knee roll, and a good rest on the front floor with legs stradling the front headrust to remove the four nuts securing the booster to the fire wall, and also nut and bolt that connect the brake pedal lever to the back of the master cylinder. A bit tricky this job, as one also has to disconnect the three brake lines from the master cylinder that's attached to the booster. After some effort and tugging, the booster was out to reveal a real mess under the booster, and the booster body itself can do with a good spruce-up.



The booster - not a pretty sight...



Another potential problem to raise its head is the water pump - it never leaked, but boy, I don't think it is in brilliant shape.....



So, probably another item that will need to be attended to - it is just so much easier to do it now rather than later. That's it for the time being, more to come. Regards Styria