[Carlos]

[quote=”Evil-i” post=169560]I don’t know what the collector value of your car is, but ’62 was the last year of the “pontoon” body style. With that in mind, I’d be inclined to keep things as original as possible.[/quote]

Absolutely correct. I haven’t made my final decision yet because that is precisely what is coursing through my mind right now. I’d really like to keep the car as original as possible, because that is what preserves the collector value of the car for these classic Pontons. Although the 180c 120 chassis does not command nearly as high a market prices as say, the 300D Adenauer ($100k +), I still would not like to cause it to be worth less. The W120 chassis Pontons if well-restored, generally go for between $7k up to $20k. Most good examples sell for around 8k -10k.

I called the Classic Center today @ 10:30 am California time and left a voice mail. Hopefully, they’ll return the call promptly with some info on this part.

[Carlos]

I’m leaning towards just cutting the fittings off.

Just wanted to know what would be your recommendation for cutting the pipe – a steel pipe cutter like the kind used in plumbing, or an angle grinder? I don’t have a pipe cutter but I think it might be worth getting/borrowing one if it makes a cleaner cut, if that even makes a diffierence.

All help greatly appreciated,

Carlos

[Carlos]

Eric,

Excellent suggestion. Thanks! I figure I could just use my angle grinder with a metal cut-off wheel to make the cut. Then just deburr it with a reamer.

Yes, it’s carubureted. And yeah, low pressure I guess. My only concern would be a vacuum leak or loss of prime to the fuel pump (?). Would that even be concern here in this scenario? I guess I could use some Hylomar just to be safe at the hose and pipe connection. Not sure.

Thanks to everyone for your help!

I’ll report back with what I ended up doing.

C

[Carlos]

Evil-i,

Yes, I kept an eye our for any corrosion, but thankfully, I did not find any at all when I removed the part. The white residue you mentioned I think must be an effect of how the photo came out when I took it with the flash. The car has been kept in a dry garage during its life and thankfully it had very little corrosion in the tank when I inspected it and the gas I removed.

I did clean up both the male threads of the pipe and the female threads of the fitting. I used a brass bristle brush as well as a regular toothbrush. When I cleaned up the “nipple”, I took care not to damage the threads and only hand washed and soaked it a bit in 100% pure lemon oil, which worked a treat to get it really clean. I was tempted to take it to get it beaded, but decided against it since it’s aluminium.

The “nipple” threads are not chewed up.

“When assembling, try sliding the threaded nipple backwards along the line, and pushing the “naked” fuel line into the fitting to seat the flare. Then slide the nipple up and begin hand-threading lightly.”
That’s an interesting idea. I’d have to jack it up again and disconnect the fuel pipe at some point to do that. Hmmm. might be worth a try.

Thanks!

C

[Carlos]

cam0888,
Not a bad idea at all. I actually have heard of MB Classic. I guess what initially set me down the path of getting a modern replacement instead of an OEM part, or a high-quality repro of the OEM part, is the pricing on this particular part. I did search several suppliers’ online catalogs, but this part is appears to be always out of stock. The ones I’ve seen on Ebay are sold as is (not a problem really) but are also pretty pricey.

I will neverthless will contact the MB Classic Center in Irvine for exact pricing on units. Maybe they have NOS.

Thanks!

C

[Carlos]

Thanks, supercar14, you make some good points. I did notice that most of the members of the IPOG email group I belong to definitely are interested in maintaining, rebuilding, and to the extent possible, restoring their own Ponton benzes. While I agree that there’s a ton of people doing it, because of tv, the internet, etc., I think that the country in some ways has become a lot richer, at least for the uber-wealthy segment of the country who collect classics. I do have a passion and searching the internet, I’ve found many businesses that cater to classic Mercedes parts and service, but I also see that several of these took years, if not decades, to grow into sizeable companies. I do realize that having the fire in the belly might not be enough to pay the bills…

I also see the investment in equipment and tools that goes with opening a real shop as a genuine hurdle to be overcome. Taking care of the family and also establishing a fund for tools and a future shop is a daunting challenge, the more I think about it. To conclude, I suppose the best way to approach my goal is take the long view…It will happen in due time, no sooner. Meanwhile, I will definitely try to enjoy the journey. It’s also how you work, not the destination. If I can help others maintain and own these beautiful classics, that’s satisfying in and of itself.

Over and out.

C

[Carlos]

Thanks, Eric, for your insightful reply. Your comments and help are immensely appreciated. I’ve noticed through several months of viewing your youtube vids that you don’t sugarcoat anything related to either the joys or challenges of the technical side or business side of automotive work. I enjoy your teachings for their instructive value to me in my journey to develop a foundation as an amatuer car mechanic, but I respect even more that you don’t tell us somehting that’s not true just because that’s what we want to hear. You respect us more than that. Needless to say, I will keep watching.

After reading your post (and supercar14’s), and giving it some more thought, I think I’m going to just stay an amateur mechanic for the time being, but an amateur in the original sense of the word “amateur”, a lover of the craft, and not in the sense of “substandard skills”. That’s what caught my attention with the classic car mechanic thing, that it seemed that I could lead an artisan’s life, working on cars on my own terms, picking and choosing to work on certain cars (non-modern ones), and being more a craftsman and not part of a team of techs, disposable and not in control of how I work. But as you said, I’ll have to build the restoration business up before I leave my day job (actually, I’m a small biz owner myself – language services). As you imply, this wil ltake time. It will be a slog to attract customers, parts may be a challenge too, although Ebay has alleviated the problem somewhat as compared to pre-internet days. At any rate, I will have to build a name for myself, somehow stand out..

Thanks for your encouragment and thanks for all you do for educating us here at home.

Carlos

[Author]

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