1975 Mercedes Benz 450 SEL (W116)...

[Clean Dean]

This week I had a 10 hour “project” that I wanted to share, because of the cars all original beauty. This 1975 Mercedes Benz 450 SEL (W116 Chassis) is not widely considered a collectible due to their high production numbers, it is very uncommon to find them in the condition as this one. This car is in my opinion represents Mercedes Benz engineering at its finest. These cars were years ahead of comparable cars of this era in regards to performance and safety.

I spent 3 hours under the hood refreshing an already fairly clean engine bay back to as close as it did back in 1975. Much of the original cosmoline was present, and all of the motors aluminum and stainless components needed gentle polishing (0000 steel wool) after carefully removing the cosmoline and cleaning all of the painted surfaces under the hood. I used some of Eastwood’s Engine black paint to touch-up where needed.

Original signed paper antifreeze coolant tag installed in Germany in 1975 !!!

Removed all of the vehicles carpeting and rear seat and thoroughly cleaned and treated all leather and carpeting prior to replacing. Used Meguairs APC diuted (20 : 1) on leather and treated with Colorplus Leather Softner. Carpet was thorough vacuumed shampooed and extracted. Look at the condition of the rubber pad under the gas and brake petal !!!
The vinyl door skins were also cleaned with Meguiars aAPC (10:1) and then treated with Stoners Trim Shine then wiped down with a MF towel to a matte sheen.

The exterior was gorgeous !!! I did a three step on the paint and waxed it with Collinite’s Marque d’ Elegance. The hardest part about detailing this exterior was removing compound splatter that was in every nock and cranny and under every piece of trim and emblem. Some “detailer” really did some rush job on here sometime ago. The paint was a red metallic known as Inca Red. All chrome was then hand polished with Mass Metal Polish and 0000 steel wool. I have only worked on this color once before on a 1976 SL, and it is gorgeous !!!

 

[Beemerboy]

CD..nice to see you posting...I love working on older MB ..its nice that the rugs and seats come out so easy...nice job on the car

Again good to see you posting again!

 

[Stephan]

Nice work...that car is in amazing shape...

I wish my seats and carpet would come out like that.

 

[Redwings97]

Looks factory new again. Great job!

 

[cwcad]

When I lived in Juneau, Alaska a former boss had a blue 450 lie this one as her daily driver. She would have been very pleased to have such a nice looking vehicle. Alas, hers was riddled with rust from the salt air and terrible winters of Southeast Alaska. I agree that they were ahead of their time.

You certainly made this one look appealing.

 

[Beemerboy]

I would be interested in the process used to clean that engine and bay...Those are cars are not water friendly as the new ones are...I know I've worked on quite a few of them...Parents friends back in the day all drove MB...I detailed / washed really a lot of those cars.

Come on CD what's the process?

 

[9D4E420]

Wow now that's what I call a car! Great job CD the car looks flawless.:rockon

 

[sal329]

Amazing job Dean, what happened to the girls? lol jk

 

[Clean Dean]

Beemerboy,

I started the engine detailing first thing at about 5:30 AM and warmed the engine up for about 10 minutes while I hand washed the exterior and cleaned the wheels and wheel wells. I then shut down the engine and proceeded to remove the carpets and the rear seat while the engine cooled down a bit.

Then I removed and covered any original factory tags, and covered engine decals with duct tape. Masking tape is pretty much useless due to the amount of moisture that these areas will be subjected to.

Next, I lightly pressure washed the engine and degreased the topside of the engine with a diluted APC solution (3:1) and a soft bristol wheel brush. I then prepared for battle with the 34 year old cosmoline and grease residue with a combination of full strength APC, mineral spirits, acetone and for the real tough stuff lacquar thinner. The paint on the absolute lowest section of the engine bay was cleaned carefully with Easy off oven cleaner (I stress carefully). I highly recommend the use of chemical resistant gloves and eye protection. I then repeat step one with the (3:1) APC and again lightly pressure wash. This process took about a solid hour before the entire engine bay was 95% free of cosmoline and baked on grease.

Next I removed the air filter and went to work on cleaning the center metal components with 00 and 0000 steel wool. I spent a considerable amont of time on the valve covers, because I love the look of well polished valve covers, but not over polished. Again any remaining cosmoline was removed in this area with steel wool and an old tooth brush. When detailing these old MB engine bays I always make every effort posible not to remove the painted markings on components the were painted at the factory. Most of the bolts on the engine have a specific painted code on each head, which most likely represents the size of the bolt for easy identification at the factory. Even the valve covers have a painted marking on on each one. All of the hoses and wires are cleaned by hand with the diluted APC solution.

At this stage, I start at the back of the fire wall and clean and polish all painted and metal surfaces as well as the resevoir tanks. The front and rear of the radiator as well as the areas in front of and behind the radiator are thoroughly cleaned.

I then replace the air filter cover, and give the engine one last light pressure wash, then start the engine and let it run for about 10 minutes. I dry all areas and crevices with some old MF towels and compressed air. Now the engine is clean and dry and ready for some light touch-up paint where needed with Eastwood's black engine paint.


After the touch-up paint is dry. I thoroughly dress the engine with a heavy coat of Stoner's non-aerosal water based Trim Shine. Start the engine again and let run for about 10 minutes. Allow the engine to cool down then wipe off any excess dressing and touch-up with aerosal based Trim Shine. Remove as much dressing as possible to give the hoses a like new sheen, and not a wet artificial looking high gloss. Wipe down all painted surfaces with a spray wax (Stoners Speed Bead is a good choice).

I actually enjoy detailing these older engines, and are quite a bit more involved than "detailing" the plastic covers of todays engine bays.