Electrical

   This is the Bosch generator and starter for the Mercedes 220S. All starters and generators are completely disassembled and the armatures are put in a lathe to turn the commutator and correct any runout. Runout is common and causes the brushes to bounce, causing arching and premature wear. The armature windings and field coils are then checked for insulation failure anywhere due to damage or age and are repaired where ever needed then painted to insulate. All components get bead blasted and painted with epoxy primer and the appropriate sheen of black urethane, carefully masking so as to not get paint on those mating surfaces that should be metal to metal. Assembly is done with all new bushings and bearings. I NEVER use any bearings other than those made in USA, Canada or Germany with the exception of some European vehicles, where I will use that country of manufacture such as Spain or England. NO REPACKAGED, "we don't know the origin", junk! Yes, this means I don't buy what's cheapest, easiest, or local.

   I fabricate all my accessory harnesses out of the correct color original type of wire (lacquered cloth or plastic), connectors, and braided loom. All wire ends are soldered on brass with heat shrunk tubing.

   This is a rather rare, two eared Prestolite which came as original equipment and I was very happy to see still on the vehicle, even as worn and abused as it was. It also set a new shop record for the shortest brush (3/16") still functioning in an electric accessory!! The rear bushing was run dry for quite some time and had worn deep grooves in the shaft. While turning the commutator we also turned the end of the shaft undersized about .015" and then reamed to fit an undersized bronze bushing to .001! Now it's better than new, and the original generator is still in the vehicle. I also made an authentic generator harness for this vehicle, patterned off the original.

1-2  Many older accessories are wired with lacquered braided wire which dries, cracks and shorts out, possibly causing catastrophic electrical damage. Here, I went into the Lucas wiper motor and rewired it with quality plastic wire in the correct gauge, colors and bullet ends as original.

3-4  Rewired the pigtails for the tail lights on a Willys Wagon with the correct gauge, color and bullets. The sockets and springs were very lightly cleaned with glass beads and there was little failure of the original plating, none of which was inside the socket so I just gave them a few light coats of clear and they will most likely fare at least as good for the next 53 years as they did for the previous 53 years. If they were worse I would have re-plated them.

5-6  A close up of a typical aging wire connection, and restoration. This one was the ignition wire to the coil...... of the same Willys Wagon. I went back into the main harness and spliced in 24" of new wire where it couldn't be detected, then soldered on a new brass eyelet coating the entire surface of the eyelet with solder. This is what Mercedes did during the 50's and beyond. It adds strength, prevents corrosion, aids in conductivity and allows the fastener to lock on better. I do it to most, if not all of the connections I repair. Some shrink wrap and new 3/16" braided loom and this hot lead to the coil is like new...... or better!

Brakes

   A typical very worn out manual hydraulic system. I usually re-sleeve the cylinders in stainless however someone in the past, whacked the wheel cylinders with a hammer perhaps in an attempt to loosen the pistons..... they broke the cylinders instead..... no kidding! The joke about getting a bigger hammer is just that .... a joke folks! This time I went with new wheel cylinders and I rebuilt the master cylinder by bead blasting, light hone, new kit, good to go. I always use DOT 5 silicone fluid in completely new or rebuilt systems. Every reason to use it, no reason not to use it if it's compatible with the systems rubber. I've heard cost is an issue ....... please ..... $30 a quart means $15 every 3-5 years to change out the fluid in a car. THESE ARE YOUR BRAKES! GOOD GRIEF!!! I've been using it solely in my vehicles for thirty years with NO bad outcomes.

   These brakes where on a Dana 44 so it's a good time to adjust the endplay on the axle shafts. This one had .006" excessive play.

   I can't believe they actually had me drive this 220S to the shop. I don't think it had too many stops left in it. The fluid reservoir had some very nasty stuff in it but fortunately it didn't rust out. There are only plastic ones available or very poor Chinese (is there any other kind of Chinese) reproductions. I thoroughly bead blasted the can in and out, checked it for pitting, then had it copper and nickel plated. It looks a lot like cadmium or zinc however it last a lot longer ...... another sixty years at least.

   There is a lot to be said for old German iron castings which don't pit as readily as newer manufactured ones, possibly a higher nickel content like engine blocks. This master was leaking due to old rubber and contamination but no pitting when honed. Same thing on the wheel cylinders which were quite pricey for good quality replacement ones, yet only $5 a kit to rebuild. If any of the cylinders would have been pitted then I would have sleeved them in stainless rather than replace them. The slave on the power booster did get sleeved in stainless, which before doing so I made up the correct original color of blue to paint it with when completed. The booster was rebuilt and finished in all the original bare castings and platings. All lines flushed with denatured alcohol and guess what kind of fluid was used? ........

   I bet you guessed right........ DOT 5 silicone

Exhaust

   Stainless is by far the way to go on exhaust systems, especially on vehicles that either sit outside or get driven infrequently for short distances. The only down side is that they are not original in most cases on vintage cars. This Mercedes had excellent condition header pipes and front resonator that I bead blasted and painted in the original grey high temp paint. I cut off the rusted down pipe and welded on a new one in stainless at the factory weld. From there back where the heat gets less and rust gets more it's all stainless. It'll last forever and still looks original under the hood, just what we're after in a nice and usable, original looking, restoration, right?