Valve job

Next on the agenda was a rough idle issue. After replacing the fuel injectors, I was concerned that things still weren't exactly 100%. We adjusted the lambda at the same time. My amateur analysis was an air leak or idle control unit. The plugs were oiling up as well.

To get a better handle on what was happening, we did a compression test. The results were not encouraging. Large discrepancies across the cylinders with #1 down a fair way. "Valve job" was probably not what I wanted to hear, but that's what was needed. Before I could change my mind, Pete had it in bits and had sent out the heads.

The top end was a bit of a mess. The valley manifold gasket was shot and leaking water. The heads were gunked up with 20 years worth of exhaust crud. The guides were toast. All the rubber bits were rock hard and were likely sources of air leaks. Not good.

After disassembly, the heads were sent off to be cleaned up and crack tested, the cams were examined for any problems and the manifold was also sent for a good cleaning. As part of the "while we're at it" theory, the exhaust manifold and rocker covers were HPC-coated to bring them back to new.

Repair items included three welds to the heads, polishing the cams and bearings, hot tanking the heads, intake manifold and plenum, cleaning the piston tops, new hoses and a check of the fuel head.

Then of course, there was the matter of the collapsed motor mounts, the timing belt and sprocket that needed to be renewed, gaskets, clamps, fluids ... did I ever listen to those people who said don't play around with old Merc's, it will only cost money? Nope.

At this stage, it's almost reassembled and we are waiting for some smaller parts to finish up. This should be interesting. With an upper end rebuild and all the air leaks gone, I might finally get to see how a real 560 engine performs.

It's been good to see that my mechanic is really getting into this project. So much so that he's actually been sniffing the boxes that the parts came in. Is that weird?

Gettin' down

October, 2007

Now that the rims and tyres were on, it was high time to get the car lowered. We dropped the car a couple of inches by replacing the stock coils with some H&R Sport springs that I imported from Germany. These are progressive-rated springs, so they 'push back' as you drive the car harder.

Around the same time, I fitted clear indicators to the front and rear to update the look of the car to European standards. Also found a place that could do a four-wheel or 'thrust' alignment and had the car set up so it tracks straight.






























before lowering










After resetting the height, the car looks more modern and has some attitude. There are no rubbing issues with the bigger wheels as the offset is correct and places them just where the MB engineers intended. Funny how there's a lot of room in those wheelwells. Almost like they meant for it to be fitted with plenty of meat.

Some might argue that it could go lower, but for a daily driver it's about right. The combination of H&R springs and lowest factory rubber shims set the height where it is and it would take a lot more fooling about to get it down further. I'm happy with how it looks.




























after lowering

Gearbox refurb

October, 2007

The auto transmission needed attention next due to harsh shifting and it was pulled out and stripped. No major components but plenty of smaller items to check and replace throughout. Smooth now. Starter motor, fuel pump and filter and ring gear were also done.

New rims and tyres

October, 2007

After waiting an eternity for the container to come in, the new rims finally arrived. A replica set of AMG Hammer style wheels which were usually bolted up to SL's of the period, rather than SEC's. Apart from some refurbished 3-piece AMG wheels from the UK I looked into, the market for these has slim pickin's, so they were the best option available.

We slipped some Falken ZE 275/35's on the rear to cover the 10" rims and some 235/40's on the front 8.5" rims. Massive improvement in looks. I'd never had Falken tyres before and they are very quiet compared to say, Michelins and Dunlops. Probably a bit less grip, but with 10" of rubber on the road, not a big concern.

Custom plates and test fitting rims

September, 2007

As the car was a Sydney car, I needed to re-register it locally. After some research on the VicRoads website, I discovered I was in luck and could get a set of custom plates that read 'SEC560'. Perfect.

One of the cars that was at Doe Prestige had some very cool 18 x 10" and 18 x 8.5" R129 SL style rims which my mechanic Pete thought would fit. We did a quick swap and they looked sensational. Right offset, and as Lyndsey loves to remind me: "Now THAT'S a dish!"

Finding a matching set turned out to be a massive pain, including overseas enquiries. Eventually, we sourced the right wheels locally at a great price. Despite the fact that the car is only 20 years old, certain parts can be scarcer than rocking horse shit.

While the car was in the shop, we did some basic mechanical stuff like fluid changes, new plugs and all new fuses . Then we got a bit more serious and looked at some brake issues, the power steering pump and changed the tensioner, cam sprocket and rails on the timing chain. We even managed to get the original Piranha alarm module working again.

The arrival

September, 2007

The new machine arrived a couple of days later and we wheeled it into my friend's shop at Doe Prestige. There, we could see what I'd actually bought. It was in need of a basic clean up but was generally very good. The stock wheels had to go and it needed a stance, but we were off and running.

Of course, there was the small matter of my older 380 SEC to get rid of. For a brief time, I was able to claim that I was 'running a fleet of high end Mercedes'. I eventually sold the white 380 SEC to a fruiterer for cash. A fitting end to my previous Mafia staff car.

A word of thanks to the team at Doe Prestige Automotive would be appropriate. Peter was previously the head wrench at a large MB dealership but took the jump into the world of the self-employed and is now enjoying the daily challenges of running his own shop. Just to make sure he's busy enough, he has a supercharged W116. His partner Lyndsey is the parts chaser, office manager, kid wrangler and therapist. Mia is a kid and is really good at it. I mainly go there to hang about while Pete makes working on complex pieces of machinery look easy. Thanks, team.

The raw material

August, 2007

The starting point was an Australian-delivered 1989 560 SEC. After a series of initial false starts, I sourced a genuine one-owner car in Sydney and flew up for a pre-purchase inspection at the local MB dealership and a test drive.

The car had around 100,000 kms on the clock and was blue-black in colour with a grey interior. Seemed like a good, clean and honest car. It had all the service records from the dealership and drove well. Only real issue seemed to be the typical delaminated rear screen.

The seller was reluctant to part with it as it had been his trusty steed since new. However, with failing eyesight, he made the tough choice to let it go. The fact that I was an enthusiast made him feel like it would go to a good home. We did the deal and I flew home. The original plan was to drive it back, but I ran out of time and the car made its way to Melbourne later by transporter.