Life with a 450SL :)

[Tom]

Super nice July California day here, so took the top down and drove my 92-year-old father-in-law to the local old-school hardware store. Proof positive that cars can be fun even if not especially fast.

C85542FB-7365-4BC1-97D7-5268E068628A.jpeg (3.77 MiB) Viewed 1454 times

[Tom_N]

Ah, that interior, classic Merc! What are (were) the engine output specs?

[Tom]

Ah, that interior, classic Merc! What are (were) the engine output specs?

It was rated at 180hp. When I first started working on it, I bet it was making about half of that. It's way better now, but will never be a barn burner. I think the factory claimed 0-60 in 10.5 seconds when brand new. Some day I should test it. I'm feeling sub-13's all day long.

[Tom]

Took the 450SL to a cars and coffee this weekend and it motivated me to do something about the driver seat. I never felt like I was sitting square in the seat. Turns out the inside latch was pretty worn out. Rather than take the seat out and apart, I came up with a nice and easy little fix.

Here's the before:





After some investigating, I saw that the latch clips over a post in the corner of the seat (yellow arrow). When latched, the hook keeps the seat from tilting forward. To keep it upright, the round piece on the seat is stopped by a screw-on shoulder on the post (see red arrow). In theory, the latch and the stops work to lock the seat in place nice and tight -- not able to tilt back or forward at all.

corber-seat-latch.jpg (1.35 MiB) Viewed 1332 times

The problem in my case is that the stops have worn down over the last 40+ years and have developed flat spots. Together, the flat spots create a 2 or 3mm gap between the stops when then latched is fully hooked. Picture shows flat spot on seat bracket, and flat spot on the post shoulder (removed from the car). That gap is what is letting the seat rock back and forth on that side (and let's that side of the seat recline enough to feel out of square while sitting in it.

worn-flat.jpg (1.2 MiB) Viewed 1332 times

Rather than take the seat out and apart, I made a little cover for the post's shoulder, so that it was 2-3mm closer to the stop on the seat. My first attempt was 3D printed in ABS plastic. It worked perfectly at first, but predictably the plastic did not hold up to the pinching action of the stops.

3d-printversion.jpg (1.32 MiB) Viewed 1332 times

So next I decided to make that same part in aluminum using my little DIY CNC router (Genmitsu ProverXL 4030). It's the first time I tried it on metal, and was thrilled how well it worked (think of the possibilities)! hard to say how long the aluminum will last, but I'm hoping for many many years of light use. If the aluminum doesn't hold up, my plan would be to just tig weld a bit more steal onto the factory shoulder piece. Bottom line, the seat feel so much nicer now -- no more constant shifting trying to get comfortable -- feels like a proper vintage Mercedes seat now!

router.jpg (991.58 KiB) Viewed 1332 times

cover.jpg (608.75 KiB) Viewed 1332 times

installed.jpg (852.26 KiB) Viewed 1332 times

[blueline]

Problem solver extraordinaire!

[RDMcG]

Nicely done!..The 107s are wonderful cruisers.

[Tom]

Problem solver extraordinaire!

It's honestly kind of a Band-Aid, but I didn't have the stomach (or back) to pull that heavy seat out of the car and start disassembling it. I drive the car so infrequently, I'm hoping this holds up for as long as I'm still taking it out for Sunday drives.

[Tom]

Well it took me over a year, but I finally got new wood trim installed in the old Mercedes (with lots of while you're in there projects along the way -- rebuilt the Becker Mexico tape deck, rebuilt an original Hirschmann power antenna, new speakers, etc.). It was something of an epic struggle to make everything fit, and I ended up cutting some of the pieces on my little CNC router to make it all work. Compulsory before and after shots below...

before1.gif (517.12 KiB) Viewed 1133 times

before 3.gif (985.08 KiB) Viewed 1133 times

before 2.gif (1.05 MiB) Viewed 1133 times

z1.gif (649.81 KiB) Viewed 1133 times

z2.gif (791.84 KiB) Viewed 1133 times

z3.gif (678.13 KiB) Viewed 1133 times

[blueline]

It looks great! Nice job - I guess we can add woodworker to your many other master titles.

And by the way, the before and after photos definitely put it all in perspective. The old trim was a bit needy.

[Larry C]

They don’t make Mercedes like yours anymore.. The interior of the new cars are super techy and plastic. Nice job, Tom.