ocpanther

Went to my local junk yard (auto dismantler) today and found a small pot of gold in a 92 300E that had seen better days.

I figured I would start a rehab thread with the goodies I found (and a few I ordered last week) to document all the repainrs/upgrades I perform on this car.

#1 Find - All the side cladding (similar to what ps2cho put on his car)

#2 Find - The black interior rear seat I have been searching for

#3 - Misc wire/connector ends that have disintegrated on my car.

I will lay them out and snap a few pictures later, but the best of the list I didn't bring home. I found a set of Lorinser rimes (17X7.5 ET 33) I think but I couldn't carry them in the first trip and by the time I got all the stuff in the car it started to rain.

Maybe I can go back and get them? Anyone know what they look like on a w124?

Saijin_Naib

Don't know what they look like at all. I think the ET is close, you should nab them!

Also, could you weigh a bare one? I'm just curious.

BalboaIslanddud

I went to a junkyard in Santa Ana a while back and found alot of goodies. The majority of the time the owners have no clue what they have.

ocpanther

I actully feel bad that this w124 proably got sent to the yard for having a blown OVP. (I got that too) its the replacement one with two fuses, but they were blown.

ocpanther

These are pictures of the items I ordered last week. I have been getting all the things ready and reading all the issues with these cars in preperation to start really fixing it up.

The aux water pump is in, and the spark plugs are installed for now, but I found two really bad wire terminals so now I am ordering those. It does run a whole lot better though with new plugs and no more coolant drips.

ps2cho

When you get the later cladding, grab ALL the clips, both metal and plastic. You can buy the plastic clips online, but you need like ~35 IIRC and will cost about $30. You'll need to buy some, period, but if you snag as many as you can it'll save a couple bucks. The metal clips are the most important to grab otherwise expect a trip to the stealership for them.

In your travels keep an eye open for a Palomino 3rd brake light (the whole housing) as mine broke into about 20 pieces and I am yet to find a color matching one that wasn't smashed either and I'll pay you for the find

ocpanther

Is the Palomino the mid color tan? I think thats the same color my current interior is. I will keep an eyes out for it for sure.

I wish I had known about the metal clips about 6 hours ago. i had a b**** of a time getting the things off in the first place and I left all the metal clips behind. I firgured they were to big a PITA to mess with trying to figure out and I better just go buy new ones. I didn;t know it was from the dealer only though.

Any other good tips for installing them? They look exactly like the ones you put on your car.

BJaltima

I've been to 4 auto dismantlers in the past 2 weeks....where are the OC ones? I need some things on my car, as well as the 450sl I just got.

ocpanther

So tonight I finally got my depo euro headlights installed. I have been wanting the euro looking headlights since I first bought my car several years ago.

So I also thought it would be worth listing what bulbs I used all in one place.

Here is the description of the work and the equipment that was installed. I took a bunch of pictures and will be adding them to the thread when I can upload them.

Lights: Depo Euro 86-93 Glass Headlights
Cornes: Clear Depo (not crystal)

Bulbs:

Headlight - Standard H4/9003 Silverstar (60/55W)

Fog Lamp - H3 - white Sylvania (55w)

Side marker - 2057 for dual filliment (mine) and either 2156 or 1156NA if single.

City Lights - 194 White/Clear

BJaltima

Just went to 2 junkyards today...One in Anaheim, and the other down the street in Stanton. What other self auto dismantler places are there in the OC?

ps2cho

Wow funny I was going through my order history keeping track of maintenance purchases and I found my part # for the molding clips to put the updated cladding on (plastic ones) so was going to search for this thread to update it with part he needs.

Autohausarizona.com part # 0019884981
Clips and Miscellaneous Trim Pieces; Lower Panel Moulding Clip
$0.95/each. I ordered 30. Total: $28.50

I also have written down **$20 dealer clips** ...I can't remember what I meant by that so I'll try to remember which part that was...

ocpanther

Those are the two I have been hitting up. There is also one in santa ana (old ecology) but I haven't tried it yet even thouh it is much closer.

ocpanther

Thanks. I will put that down on the list for my next order. I need to order plug wires too.

Thing I notcied now is the paint looked bad before the new lights. Now it looks REALLY bad. I need a new paint job.

ps2cho

Don't jump the gun and think you need new paint.
Check out how horrible my paint was before I put some real time into it
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3828594
Before:

After:


It is a dramatic transformation!

What you need to do is first go out and buy the following items:
Mothers/Meguiars Claybars
4-6 microfiber clothes
Meguiars Gold Class Car Wash
Meguiars Ultimate Compound
Meguiars Gold Class Liquid Wax

The reason I pick Meguiars is due to their reputation and quality.
First wash the car using their wash (I have used others and I tell you, this one really does look better)
Now run your hand across the paint and unless it feels like glass, claybar it until it does. The reason it HAS to be smooth (ignoring actual chips of course) is because if it is now, there is still pollution and dirt deep in the paint that NO amount of washing will remove. It just doesn't!

Once that paint is smooth, put some Ultimate Compound onto a microfiber cloth and rub it in for a good 30-60seconds then wipe off. Now feel again with your hand it should still be dead smooth and like glass. You may need multiple applications before you get rid of all the pollution and dulled areas. I would recommend SwirlX or ScratchX before UC, but seeing as you are saying it needs new paint, I figure you might as well give the most "hardcore-clearcoat-safe" method first.

Once it is good, use liquid wax to lock in what you have done and put a beautiful shine and smooth texture. I bet that you will NOT be disappointed at the aftermath of what you have done. I couldn't believe how much it revived my paint.

Do one panel at a time because it IS TIRING! Each panel should be taking you at least 20-30mins each.

The Meguiars forum has a wealth of knowledge and videos on it. I highly suggest you go check it out. I learned SO MUCH from that forum that I would NEVER let my car be washed by anybody now. I am very particular after experiencing how much you can actually do yourself!

ocpanther

I thank you for the advise, and will follow it to the tee when it gets some new paint, but I rescued this car frolm an Indy shop in Victorville where it has sat in the parking lot for 4 years. Out in that sun the top of the car is almost paint free.

ps2cho

lol okay scratch that...

Whatever you do, don't go cheap with the paint and take it to Maaco...Get it done nice with clearcoat.

Pics are kinda small...but the sides don't look too bad? Is it just the hood and roof that is toast?

ocpanther

Yeah ... the sides are still really nice. It's the top from the hood to the trunk. I want to do a complete color change though. I am definately going to get a good paint job on it, full works. If anyone knows a good paint shop in south orange county, CA that you have experiance and/or pictures let me know.

I want it factory black. For now I am going to switch the interior over to black also, but a few pieces at a time. I need front seats then I am going to order new black carpet.

this is not the newest car or the best available, but I got it really cheap and it needed a better home than an auto graveyard in the desert.

I like learning the german way ... I am good at american or japanese cars, this is the first euro I have ever owned and the first I have worked on since 1988 (a 68 sunbeam tiger).

So this is my fun and relaxation as I try to restore a great car to its original glory.

ps2cho

Just be aware that going black is going to require a much better quality paintjob to obtain that factory shine that doesn't look like crap.

I may suggest doing the sanding and prepwork yourself unless money is of no obligation. Most of the cost of a quality paint job comes from the prepwork, not the actual painting. You could sand it and remove all the paint ready for them and dramatically cut your costs.

ocpanther

I am seriously thinking of doing that. I can do a much better prep and prime job than most places, but I am not sure I have the time ... thats my only worry. I will post the progress as I go.

ps2cho

It will take a long time, I won't fool you. I've heard that some of the best paint jobs take 100+ hours for prep although I doubt you need that much, but either way it will be a while, several weeks work. I hope you have a DA

BJaltima

ocpanther - I think I saw the most w124's at the pick-a-part in San Bernardino, off the 215 freeway.....I'm pretty sure I saw a few black interiors. However, I went to the 2 pick your parts in Anaheim/Stanton, the pick-a-parts in Ontario, San Bernardino, and Riverside....and one in Indio. I could be getting them mixed up. San Bernardino definitely had the most 124's though. Ontario was second. I plan on going to the Pick-Your-Parts in Wilmington next and maybe this Santa Ana one you mentioned.

Did you happen to see any old SL roadsters (1971-1989, R107 models) in Santa Ana?

ocpanther

no roadsters. a few 123s and a couple of 124s but nothing like what youre looking for. Something i learned though is they turn over the cars every two weeks. so you never know what you might find next time.

ocpanther

Here is a picture of the euros installed. This was pretty straight forward except trying to get the right side in was more difficult than I expected.




Now if I can just aim them correctly. I drove for the first time tonight since I changed the lights and can't believe how much more light there is. Unfortunately its all in the trees. I figured out the vertical, but the horizontal is giving me a hard time. Any suggestions out there?

ocpanther

Here is one, but I am going this weekend and I will keep an eye out for the light in decent shape.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mercedes-3rd-Bra...item2305994be8

ps2cho

Looks great

Now get that grill painted black and the lights will stand out much better.