so uh..yeah, after a week or so of poking around this smelly old relic, i bought a massive new battery, which got it going long enough to get it to a servo so i could dilute whatever **** was sitting in there. headed back to my parents place, took it for a roadworthy test, which it failed spectacularily. i was also told in no uncertain terms by the mechanic to quit while i was ahead.
the list:
1. Driver's seat cut - got a cream upper section as a quick fix

2. RH Brakelight n/w
3. LH Driving light n/w
4. Rear door seals u/s- got some new ones, put em in. quite simple, and satisfying
5. windscreen washers u/s - there is garden hose an other chunks of rubber hose conncting the washers to a non OEM pump. i fixed it, went back the next day, and the air is back in the system
6. windscreen wiper blades u/s
7. Battery not secure - bought one without the lip at the bottom. damn!
8. brake fluid u/s - another easy fix! drained out the old crap, in with the new, bleed it, done!
9. Front cross member behind bumper bar bent - tow point snapped, so they wrapped a chain around the bumper

fools


bent bar^^ straight bar from wreckers \/\/


still need to get it welded in!
10. front upper inner control arm bushes u/s - replaced the whole damn control arms haha

11. front and rear driveshaft couplings u/s - easy with the right tools! out with the driveshaft, on with new couplings, as well as:
12. driveshaft centre bearing u/s

done in a morning!
13. all 4 brake hoses to calipers u/s - another simple, satisfying, swap-in-new-parts, job.
14. front exhaust muffler leaking....bastard old exhaust system, doesnt have flanges!!! argh. had to use a tree and a hacksaw and a hammer to get the sections apart, and got it welded up at the farm i occasionally work for

15. front suspension cross bar bushes u/s
16. front trailing arm rear bushes u/s ....sweet mother of god, what a job.new bushes can suck a big one, frankly.



getting the old bushes out using any means nessisary. the blowtorch wasnt pictured


front suspension out.....and back in
17. oil leak from power steering pump - mechanic's BS, more likely to be dirty \/ \/
18. wash engine oil leaks and inspect - at least it has had a new head gasket recently, by the looks of the blue sealant drips
19. rear control arm bushes u/s - lol this was fun. i needed special mercedes spring compressors to do it properly, which are expensive and hard to aqquire..so i didnt use any compressors at all. prop shaft off, unbolt the diff, lower on a jack. wasnt 'smooth' but it wasnt a disaster

20. both left & right boot wells rusted out
21. gear shifter boot not fitted - technically its still not fitted, but only coz there is no interior in the car atm haha
22. left front ball joint split - not split now! its melted

blowtorch got it out, some bloke of dads got the new one in. turned up on the weekend to find it all done for me

last but not least,
23. Clutch slipping - gah. doesnt seems like much, when described with those two little words..
had to take the starter motor out the get the exhaust out, so i could get the prop shaft out, then had to undo bloody everything, gear linkage, speedo cable, unbolt the slave cylinder.
my two years of mechanical engineering have paid off \/\/ (or is it just from paying with lego)

supporting the engine while lowering the 'box. tiny bloody thing it is xD

gave it a clean with some kero

old vs new friction discs

no wonder it was slipping. got the full kit installed fairly smoothly

put the car back together, went to drive it off the ramps, but it wouldnt go into gear....
bled the clutch, but nope, nothing. cant be the cylinders, they were near new. a bloke on the w116 forum is currently having similar issues, used a pressure kit putting 2bar into the fluid reservoir, that yeilded nada. was tempted to take the 'box back off again, and check everything was lining up, but its unlikely to be the problem in BOTH our cars. currently looking for a kit that'll suck it out the slave cylinder nipple, as that has worked on a similar age benz.
if i can get the clutch fixed, she'll then get $300 of lowering springs. if im feeling rich, some BBS RS rims, 3 piece if i can find em. If im feeling really rich, my long term plan is to eventually spray her back to her original colour, and get all the shiny metal bits coated in black chrome. that, would be effin sweet.
but as she is now, it aint looking great. if she wasnt so rare i wouldve sold long ago..but thanks to the foz, the benz lives on! been out of rego for over 3 months, since i cant renew without a RWC..im planning to put it on a club permit, allowing me to drive it 45-90 days per year, at a tiny fraction of a normal rego's cost.
she'll get there eventually, just might take some time!