Solving the Mysteries

Lights

 

I have redoubled my efforts to work on the car in the last few weeks. As it gets closer to being drivable I am getting excited. One of the big projects is to get all the lights working. I installed the front turn signal assemblies, which was fairly easy. Only one screw was stuck and I had to drill it out. In order for the turn signals to work, though, I have to install the horn ring which happens to also be the turn signal switch. You turn the horn ring left or right to turn the signals on. This was a strange design that they abandoned a couple of years after our car was built in favor of mounting the turn signal switch on the column instead, like most cars these days.

The order of parts in the horn ring

Because the turn signal controls and the horn are on the horn ring there are five wires hanging out of the center of the steering column. The horn ring assembly is complicated and I was scared of it and was wondering if I should just have someone who know what they are doing put it together for me. I decided to give it a go, myself. After sitting there staring at the parts for a couple of hours I pretty much figured out how it goes together, mostly. There were still some mysteries, though.

How the wires attach.

Fortunately I am a member of the 190SL Group, a club for owners. On their web site is a forum that is extremely helpful. I managed to find a photo of where the wires are supposed to attach and the order in which the parts of the horn ring are supposed to go together. I found out that I am missing a big rubber washer. According to a friend who restores vintage Mercedes, if I were to put it together without this washer I would get shocked when I touched the steering wheel! So I better order that washer.

I got bulbs for the front and rear turn signals in the meantime and installed them in the front but the rear is another mystery. The bulbs don't seem to be the right ones although the technical manual says to use the bulbs I got. I need to ask my friend what the deal is with that.

This car is being restored by my friend

Speaking of my friend, he recently got in a 1962 or 1963 190SL to restore for a client. He has it completely taken apart and the paint stripped off. All the parts are on shelves next to the car. This is great because I can check in with him every once in awhile, as he restores the car, to see how things go together. I am so lucky to have this opportunity. There can't be that many people specializing in restoring old Mercedes. What luck there is someone right nearby!


 

False Floors

 

Template for right rear false floor

Missing on our car are the wood false floor pieces that go in front of and behind the seats. The car being restored has them so I made templates from these so I can cut my own out of plywood. They are more complex than I hoped. The front ones are easy. The rear ones have other wood strips and some metal bits on them. There are two pieces for the rear. The larger piece, which goes behind the passenger seat is screwed on. The smaller piece is meant to be a "door" to a  compartment underneath.

The rear false floor sections cut from plywood

Using the templates I made, I cut and sanded four pieces of plywood. I just tested some black paint on them and it seems to work. The plywood needs to be sealed against moisture and it needs to be black, too. I will be using a primer-less spray paint meant for outdoor use. It should work fine. The pieces shown at left are for the rear floor.

Door Locks

 

A couple of months ago I took the front door handles to a locksmith. I don't have a key for them and I want them to work. They sat at the locksmith's for about a month. They said they couldn't find key blanks and gave them back to me. This weekend, with the help of the 190SL Group forum, I figured out how to get the cylinders out of the locks and managed to find a key that fit. It fit but it wouldn't turn.

With the locks apart I was able to file down the pins so that the locks now work. Well, not quite. There are two springs missing. They cost $50 each  but I think I can find generic springs that will work. We will see.

Down inside here is the retaining washer I made

One of the locks was missing a locking ring that keeps the cylinder assembly from spinning around and from falling right out of the door handle. I looked up getting a new one of these and this little ring, only an inch in diameter, is $90! I made one instead. I took an old washer that had approximately the right outside diameter and used a Dremel tool and a die grinder to make a new one. It worked!

License Plate Mount

 

The holes in the rear of the car are spaced for European license plates which are longer than U.S. ones. The mounting holes don't line up. I fabricated a bracket that will allow me to mount my license plate. Yes, I now have a license plate. I finally registered the car. I guess I am getting optimistic that the car will be on the road soon.

Brakes

 

The brake cylinders are in California now being re-sleeved. They are at R. Karp Sleeving in Upland. CA. He is putting stainless steel sleeves in them which will make them better than new since stainless steel is less susceptible to pitting. I should be getting them back in a week or so.

I still need to order some steel brake line parts and the brake booster probably doesn't work so I will have to take that apart and see if I can fix it. It will probably take me a full day to get the brakes back together once I get the wheel cylinders back from the sleeving place. When the brakes work I will be able to drive it around our yard! I will have to get the lights working before I take it on the road though.