Evan

However PA10 is whats saved the bottom 4 inches of Gregs Valiant.

I should add that the rear bag mounts aren't my original idea, they're based off this photo: Which belongs to this car, which lives in Wanaka

Context: Factory rear upper spring perch looks like this: Mount slots over the top like so: just need to bolt it to the floor to stop it falling out/moving at full droop (which it shouldn't anyway as it's tight on the cone of the perch). the weight of the hanging arm, axle, wheel etc will be supported by either the shock at full extension or a limiting strap if the shock isn't fully extended - I don't want it hanging off the bag, in which case the rivnuts only have to hold the weight of the top mount. Obviously a captive nut on top side would be ideal but the bit of floor directly above that is buried under the box section between the back of the seats and shock mount, which I want to avoid cutting into if I can The cert man might not like my ideas so it might still come to that...hopefully it seems like a good idea?

A couple of weeks ago I was window shopping for a welder, it was one of those things I'd been putting off in favour of paying/bribing someone else to do it. Anyway after scrolling through various brochures there was a Weldtech unit I was going to go purchase, Coincidentally I caught wind of one of the guys in the workshop at work had just purchased the same unit along with an additional tig torch for doing his own tig welding; however after he got it he realised it didn't do AC Tig so was no good for the Aluminium welding he was wanting to do. So he offloaded it to me along with a trolley and tig torch for less than the retail cost of the unit itself, score I thought considering he had only turned it on twice and the mig torch was still in the box. So with some larger diameter tube, the aforementioned welder, a new helmet, gloves and bunnings gas bottle I was more or less able to finish off the top mounts for the rear bags Bolted everything together for a test fit I just need to drill a hole through the side of the top mounts for the airline and a hole in each of the 3 tabs you see at the top of the mounts, these slot into 3 recesses in the factory spring perches on the car, by drilling a hole through the spring perch and fitting a rivnut the entire rear bag setup is a bolt in affair, no cutting or welding to the body necessary - which means it can be swapped back to coils at the drop of a hat. Now for the fronts....

Probably worth trying to get as many glow plugs out as possible (even if only one bank) and then spin it to verify that it will spin over freely (preferably by hand to avoid junking that starter more then it already is if there isn't another one on the Island)

Are the glow plugs still doing their thing? EDIT: Beaten

he lives in the states now and doesn't come on here so you probably won't get a reply

I figured as much

Air bag (cup) mounts, do they need to be tig'd and crack tested or just mig away?

Awhile back I picked up a pair of Slam Specialties RE6s for the back and set about drawing some circles on the computer and getting them laser cut, then I countersunk some holes into them so they can be bolted to the rear arms via the two threads you can see sticking out below I loosely put the diff back in the car today and tricked Dave into coming around by promising him a swim. Put one of the original 13in wheels on it and mounted the bag to the lower arm then dicked around with bits of wood as spacers to work out how tall the cups for the top mounts were going to need to be. Came up with a number but turns out the tube I purchased is too small in diameter to fit over the upper springs perch - must have been holding the wrong end of the ruler or something. Anyway will come up with a work around tomorrow. I won't be running the 13s, I've got some 14in steels from a W108 Mercedes which run the (IMO) better looking single piece hubcap apposed to the 2 piece items that 13in rims run, but the 14s don't have tyres on them so for measuring purposes the 13s will have to suffice etc. will muck around with it some more tomorrow.

Kia Ora, I decided to pull the diff apart a couple of months ago is it was 5 star manky and the rubber bush on the pivot rod and boot that joins the two halves were perished. If you ever hear of anyone saying they're going to pull apart a Mercedes swing axle stop them immediately; they're the biggest pain in the ass to take apart and an even larger one to get back together. Way back when I got the car I put an order through to Pelican parts and brought a load of new seals and bearings (along with shocks and bushes etc). I raided this stash for a new pinion seal. The pinion nut on these is some stupid castle nut thing, which the Special Mercedes tool for costs something like $120 from the states, flagging that idea I picked up one of these from Aliexpress for approximately $7, it's for removing some motorcycle clutch or something but it just so happens to be the right size and did the job, fingers and toes are crossed that the preload on the pinion bearing is right, I think it's close enough. the bearings inside all looked ok. Regreased everything and smushed it back together with some new bits, it's now far tidier - but hasn't gotten any lighter.

Will jingle jingle tomorrow

Thanks for checking Yeah I've had a google, trying to avoid buying one for the 30mm of thread I want to clean up. all else fails I might just try putting a new bolt in it and call it good.

Hi Hi Hi, long shot but would anyone in Auckland have an M20 (1.5 pitch) tap I could borrow it re-cut a thread in a tube i have? Can bring a beer around for you to drink while I sort my shit in your driveway etc. Ta, Evan

Yep

Nah I paid all my bills

Waiting for the invoice isn't as fun as waiting for a package from the couriers though

when do you want it looked at?

Ta da! That's the last bit of rust on the shell taken care of, you can see some pitting on the parcel shelf but meh, it'll be ok. The whole thing is in primer now and at home while I save some more money before having the actual panel and paint done.

Also the new sills have been fitted to both sides, both front jacking supports were replaced while they were off along with new inner front sill sections. Repairs have also been made to the front right corner of the drivers floor pan, left hand side of the front passenger floor pan and replacement of the whole rear left floor pan The next step is to fix this gem. The previous owner had begun cutting out sections of the rear parcel shelf/bottom of rear windscreen area including the lip that the rear windscreen seal sits on. Originally I thought I could still get these panels new from Mercedes like I did the boot floor which would of meant a simple(r) case of drilling out spot welds and welding in a whole new panel. Turns out I was wrong on the availability of replacement panels and this guy is going to need to be repaired, oh yay.

Some more cutting and welding has taken place, this time in the rear seat/ C pillar area. I haven't got any photos of these bits all sealed up but they aren't holes anymore.

Did you know it takes 2 weeks to get sills through Customs in this country? TWO WEEKS.

These photos are hot off the press from the panel beater, received these this evening, haven't seen this in person yet. And what I reckon is the best bit.. A FLOOR! Left hand side: Right hand side (spare wheel well) Have asked them to take a break on it for a couple of weeks while I wait for the new sills to arrive, and to give my bank balance a breather so will have more in a month or so.

Some progress pics