Newsletter No.027 540K part one, Central locking part two, Data cards, Parts cle...
14 Lyell st Fyshwick ACT 2609
Ph (02) 6239 1099 Fax (02) 6280 4596
Ph (02) 6239 1099 Fax (02) 6280 4596
Supporting Australia's Mercedes-Benz
Owners on the Web since 1996.
Owners on the Web since 1996.
Newsletter Number 27
Hello and welcome to another newsletter.
Lots of interesting stuff this week. The best bit is the story of the 630K found on a beach in Western Australia!! We also have some information to help you look up the history of your car. And at last we have some more cars for sale.
John Green.
Any questions? Or you want to get off the list? E-mail us here.
Website fixed?
Hopefully it is now all over. All the webpages now have the file extension .html except for the old newsletters that don't seem to be a problem. If you find any bad links or have trouble with any of the other webpages please let me know.
Central Locking hassles (Volume 2)
This newsletter will tackle the later style of central locking that is driven by a push/pull pump not the vacuum from the engine. This is the system fitted to all models from the W126 onwards. Even this system has two versions. Both are powered by an electric push/pull pump either in the boot or under the back seat. The early versions up to 1984 could only be operated from the key in the drivers door. The later versions could be operated from either of the front doors and the boot. Both systems operate the same, the switches in the door and boot tell the pump to either suck or blow. There is only one line running to each door and the petrol flap/boot. The one line has either pressure or vacuum in it depending on if it is locking or unlocking.
The pump runs until a certain pressure or vacuum is achieved in the system and then cuts out. I f the system has a bad leak the pump will run for a maximum of 15 seconds and then turn off.
One of the major advantages with this system is that it can cope with a minor leak in one of the diaphragms, all that happens is that the lock in question takes a few seconds longer to close and the pump runs a bit longer. If you are observant, you will even be able to tell that you have a diaphragm on the way out.
Testing is easy, if you remove the r/h trim in the boot you will find the line to the boot lock and the petrol flap. Isolate these and see if the problem goes away. Next lift the carpet in front of the drivers seat and you will find the line going across to the l/h doors. Isolate this and test again. Finally remove the door trims and locate the bad diaphragm. As mentioned before, you should be able to work out which one is the bad one quite easily on this system.
And finally, for anybody who is still lost from last newsletters explanation have a look at this page from the workshop manual that one of the members of the Veterans Mailing List has put on the web. It also includes the vacuum lines for the fresh air/recirculated air system. The diagram is for a W116 280SE but it is the same system on all W114/115/123/116
Hope this has helped.
An amazing story.
Sandra's parents, Barry and Jenny, are away on a 3 month around Australia trip in their 4WD. We receive regular calls from them when their mobile phone is in range. Last weekend we received a call with the news that they had seen a rather strange sight. They are currently near Port Headland which is about half way up the West Australian coast line. At the end of a rather rough and windy dirt road they found what they were expecting a very nice beach. What they didn't expect to find was a 1927 630K Mercedes tourer! Luckily they have my old digital camera and took some pictures. These arrived by snail mail two days ago. Here is the picture:
The owner had the car flown out from the Classic centre in Stuttgart where he has it housed with the rest of his collection. He is travelling around Australia with his wife and another couple in a Rolls Royce of similar vintage.
As you can see from the picture the owner looks set up for a day at the beach. Barry had quite a long chat with the owner and asked if he was going to Canberra as part of his tour and if so that he should call in at his son-in-laws workshop for a service. He reported that he was and that he would be in Canberra on the 22nd and 23rd of September. This is the same weekend as the 25th anniversary celebrations for the Mercedes-Benz Club of Canberra and their annual Concours.
Other information that Barry found out was that the car was certainly well travelled as it came 2nd in the last Peking to London Rally and it has competed in many other international rallies.
The 630 originally started production as the Daimler model 24/100/140PS in 1924. When Daimler and Benz joined forces in 1926 the model was renamed the 630. In the same year a short wheel base version was made and named the 630K (K for Kurz/Short). It has a wheel base of 3.4mts and was availible as a two or four seater. The engine is a supercharged 6.3lt 6 cylinder monster producing 140hp. It was the the fastest tourer in the world at the time. Top speed was 145kmh. Fuel consumption is 25lts per 100kms with the supercharger not running and not worth mentioning with it engaged.
So we are now trying to find this chap and contact him to try and encourge him to attend the Concours. He has no idea that he is going to be in town on the same weekend. We are currently in the process of contacting the Classic centre and trying to see if we can get a phone number of some other contact detail for the owner.
Stay tuned for the next part of the story..........
Site of the week.
This weeks site is one of our own sites. Go to our Datacard site and have a look. We monitor all of the traffic on our pages and this is one of the most visited. Not sure what a data card is? Have a look about 1/3 of the way down the page for an example of the data card from my old 300TE wagon.
For people doing restorations on older models the data card can be very important to workout the original colour scheme for the exterior and the interior. It will also tell you the original brand of headlamps and tyres so if you are really going all out for an "as original" restoration, you can. One other thing that is interesting is that you can tell if the engine has ever been changed.
If you don't have your data card, copies are availible from Mercedes-Benz in Germany. The address is:
G328
D-70546 Stuttgart, Germany
The quality of the copy they send you is not real good but it is readable.
Cars for Sale.
Lots of action this week. The 380SEC from the last newsleter has sold before I even saw it! We have a W123 230 sedan just come in, very neat car with a good history. Has had quite a bit of money spent on it recently including a complete exhaust system, front tyres and brakes and engine mounts. We have just given it a full service and it is ready to go.
The 220b is a car that has been sitting in our wrecking yard for some time waiting for us to find the time to get it in a saleable condition. It is a real find for someone dreaming of a collectable finnie. The body is rust free and it even has the original Becker radio in it. We have overhauled the master cylinder and hopefully by the time you read this it will have a new exhaust system.
We have taken a deposit on the 1980 280SE and expect the sale to go through this week.
220b sedan 1961 model.
This rare version of the Classic Fintail is an excellent find for somebody wishing to restore a classic Mercedes-Benz. Excellent rust free body and great interior. New tyres and muffler, excellent engine. Fold back sunroof. Even still has the original Becker radio. $2990.00AUDMore details 280SE sedan 1980 model.
This must be the last W116 imported into Australia. The compliance plate is 10/80. Silver duco with very neat interior. 206000kms which is quite a low milage for an 1980 model. All the usual features , Air-Cond, Cruise control, Electric windows, etc. $4990.00AUDMore details 280SE sedan 1972 model.
Great car that needs a little TLC. Cream MB-tex interior in great condition. Central locking that still works! Six cylinder fuel injected engine with auto transmission. Would cost an extra $500.00 for a RWC. $1500.00AUDMore details
Specials of the week.
The new Parts Clearance page was certainly very popular with lots of stuff being sold in the last two weeks. We also have a few of the sales brouches mentioned a few newsletters ago left. Have a look at the specials list here.
So that's it for another newsletter. Hope you liked what you saw. If you have any ideas or want to contribute any articles, pictures or other material please e-mail me here. Also don't forget that you can check out the old newsletters here
Thanks, John Green.
