[mt94ss]

Thought that I'd post what I am doing since I can't work on the '55 until this is finished.

It's an OT (off-topic) '72 MB 450SL that has Chevy running gear. It's a hot rod for my cousin, Carol, who also has a '37 Ford and a Harley trike. She's pretty crazy (in a good way)

This was the start:

side_0375 by mt94ss, on Flickr

So I've been working on this for the past couple years when I have time. I think that the only system on the car that I haven't touched is the wiring and rear brakes. I built a mild 350 and a turbo 350 trans. Had a custom driveshaft made locally at Driveline Service of Portland. Good guys there. http://www.driveshafts.com/ Got some custom 16" wheels to replace the 14s and did big & littles to give it a bit of a rake.

Had a 2" dual exhaust made with a Borla 2-in 2-out stainless muffler and a Corvette stainless tip. Hear it run here-> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIFRCSmXSlo

I repainted it. That doesn't sound like much, but that took sooooooo long. Had to strip off the old bad lacquer paint job and then fix all the dents and dings (about 50+ door dings!!!!). The paint is white with a purple pearl that really shines in the sun. I had to add 'stripes' on the hood and deck because the first time I closed the hood, the air cleaner bolt hit the bottom of the hood and cracked the paint. If you've ever painted a pearl clear over white you'll know, it's not forgiving. So rather than have a splotch on the center of the hood, I borrowed a theme from early race cars and did a stripe with a thin chaser on the hood and deck in heavy pearl. Put the Chevy 'V's on the front fenders.

This was 'finished'...

72Benz by mt94ss, on Flickr

 

[mt94ss]

Then I found out the person who originally did the conversion was a flippin' hack! The front suspension was so cobbled that when I took it in to be aligned the guy told me I shouldn't even drive it home. The steering box would move opposite the steering direction about an inch. The geometry was so bad.


bad_steering by mt94ss, on Flickr

Some people shouldn't work on cars.

I got ahold of Art Morrison and he built a bikini clip for it. The clip will hopefully bolt up to the existing 4 mounting points (like a K member) and fix the major problems. It has power rack, GM discs, a sway bar, and coil-over adjustable shocks. The only problem now is that the engine rides very far forward compared to other cars. I had to get a Hamburger's Oil Pan #1099
(for S-10 conversions) and even then I had to trim the front of the pan. Here's the modified pan powdercoated purple to match the rest of the coated engine parts.

Before:

What it looks like by mt94ss, on Flickr

After:

hbop by mt94ss, on Flickr

 

[mt94ss]

The x-member.


The problem. by mt94ss, on Flickr

 

[1937Austin]

Boy is she gonna owe you big time! That's gonna be the most hi tech Benz in town!

 

[mt94ss]

Finally, after all this time (about 2 years) I can see the end for the Benz. I took it out for a spin tonight and all worked well. I need to do a few minor things like figure out why the brake lights don't work and adjust the headlamps then get it aligned. But it's just about outa here! I can't wait to have that pressure gone. It's OK if it takes a long time for my projects to get finished, but it bothers me that I have been working on my cousins car for so long. I know it will be a safer car for her to enjoy, and it sure looks cool.

Here is an in-car ride along. I'm holding my iPhone while driving down my street. Sound is good...

 

[Whiplash03]

That's pretty sweet, I always liked that body style. She is lucky to have you stick with it. I bet it will shock a lot of folks.

 

[OpelGasser]

What a GREAT build..... I am sure she'll surprise a LOT of people when they pull up next to her MB at a stop light..... sounds & looks GREAT..... Nice work

 

[1937Austin]

Nice work Mike! I can attest from seeing it up close that it's even better than the pictures!

 

[mt94ss]

The Benz is going home to Sumner tomorrow. I am planning on driving it up there. Drove it around for a couple hours today with no problems! Bye, bye MB, hello shop! Not that I haven't had a good time building this, and doing other side jobs like painting the bus for our church last month, but I think it will be fine to have only my junk to worry about.


One of my buds here in Vancouver lent me a rotisserie that I will modify so it can roll around. I'll have the '55 body on that soon.

 

[1937Austin]

Nice work on the bus Mike! Must be a lot of Trinity Lutheran Churches? I see a couple down here also, and my grandaughter attended grade school there also.
Now you need to get going on your '55! I want to see that thing done and go for a ride soon!

 

[mt94ss]

Thanks Vall. That thing was huge! And it's four colors - white on top, black around the glass, then green and white. I jammed it too which meant taking apart the doors and all the rubber but it looks right. I think that must be the most common name for Lutherans, that and St. John's Lutheran.

I just got back from Sumner and it drove great all the way there. It's been awhile since I drove a car without an overdrive trans and it was kinda weird. I kept hoping for another out of the turbo 350. I think a 200r4 would have been the ticket but it was way over budget anyway. She drives mostly around town anyway and she's fine with 3,000 rpm at 70. I think I got close to 20mpg out of it though. Less than 1/2 a tank and 127-ish miles and the tank is only 13 gallons.

I have to do some major re-arranging to get the '55 going - probably take a week of evenings to get ready. I want to sell my Impala and the T-bird by the swap meet to get the room and the $$$.

Mike

 

[1937Austin]

I assume you mean the old Impala, not the newer one!!!
I'm always excited about the swap meet, but this year my list is shorter than usual. I hope to find wheels/tires for the Falcon, a scoop or something to top the carbs, MSD distributor, 6AL box, and a driveline with Ford flange, plus a TH400 yoke to fit the ST10. I'm sure some things I didn't know I needed will pop up too. Not sure how I'll pack all that stuff to the truck if I find it!!!!