Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Ted170]

Hi guys, I've been visiting the site and reading for quite a while, enjoyed very much reading about your restorations! Found here many interesting stories and photos of some great work done! Now decided to show you my own restoration. Last year got a rusty henhouse, but it was not enough and a few months later got a second one Both are the same model, 170v, one 1938 and the other one 1940.

The first one looks like a car, at least from some distance. From closer, it is a real tragedy. Here it is at the previous owner, 300 miles away from home...



Loaded and ready for a long, long journey:

[Rick]

It looks like a great project Do you know when it last ran?

Rick
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[Ted170]

The engine was very nicely decorated



Bad outside, but inside.... words fail me!



...inside, it had not only been worn completely, but then it had been overhauled by someone, who had a very foggy idea about the job! Crankshaft polished and new babbit bearings done, but the metal chips from the work not well cleaned and scars left in the soft metal when the engine was turned! The valve shaft had its bearings not babbit-cast, but some plastic rings put instead?!?!? Valves and their guides - bad! Original piston rods, but pistons from some later diesel and fitted to the rods with inserts because of the larger size of the rod bolt opening /!/, plus the piston rings having 0.5 - 1 mm gaps! Oil pump in poor condition. Not to forget cylinder sleeves with ultra-thin walls, good for nothing. Plus many more smaller repairs, done in the most wrong way possible. Cool!





So, after: new cylinder sleeves, new pistons and rings, new babbit bearings to the crank shaft, whole new bearings for the valve shaft, brand new valves and guides, oil pump overhauling........ ok, everything new or repaired, every single piece toughed , finally the result is an engine in great shape and possibility for a very long life, if well taken care of All happened thanks to my friend, engines specialist, who made a miracle returning this dead thing back to life!

The big moment: finished and running! /here it is still dark green; now it is much lighter color, closer to the original/:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZP2ChMeXeE

No pictures of the dynamo and starter, but both came in the shape of bags of spares. New bearings, brushes and insulation to the stators and now work as new.

[Ted170]

Hi Rick, not sure when it last worked. Probably in the 80's? I think the tragic engine overhauling was done in the 1990's. One bad thing, according to the factory records, it was produced in June 1938 as a Cabriolet B. As seen, through the years someone got rid of the opened body and put an ordinary 4-door coupe. No big deal, but I'd be happier if manage to find again an opened body.

But the car I'm actually restoring now is the second one, produced in January 1940. It was delivered to Mercedes-Benz in Budapest, Hungary, then somehow it made it to Bulgaria, either as war trophy in 1945, or as a tired 2nd /or 5th / hand car later. No idea about that. About 1977 or 78 the previous owner purchased it and drove it till 1988. He made some cool improvements - replaced the rear axle with one from Lada 2101 for higher speed! Dropped the original engine and fitted a Mercedes OM diesel - good that it's developed on the block of the petrol engine, so fits in the car with zero modifications! Also put inside modern seats, cool Russian speedos and last but not least, killer Gold Metallic paint from one of the leading brands, forgot which. It all ended on 14 January 1988, when a traffic policeman pulled the car, noticed very worn tyres and stopped the car as technically unfit. Then the owner took it completely apart to restore it and... that was all!
....22 years later, I found this:





and this:



Fortunately all else was kept indoors all the time, so it came to me in better shape:

[Ted170]

So, the work on that car began last spring. The chassis was rusty on the surface, but in very good shape. Cleaned very well and looks good, primed and painted.





The rear axle was a big headache. Or rather the lack of it. I had some parts, in fact almost all, but less the most important: crown, pinion and some smaller parts related to them. Fortunately found a cache of 170V parts just half way across the country , so one good day returned home with some spares, including a complete middle section of a rear axle. So, after some work, it was ready!

[Ted170]

Lump of dust, aka Gearbox Sealed with rags With the help of a donor box, it became usable.











But it's no longer with the terrible red sealant. A small detail escaped my attention, someone "improved" it, removing a small but important piece. Fortunately I have a spare shaft. Took it apart again, replaced, now the box is ready, I think. If not, at least I'm already very well trained in its disassembly

[Ted170]

Now working on many small things. Like the break cylinder. Of 2 very rusty, fortunately one cleaned well and will work. Looking good, after some work:





The 4 wheel cylinders are ready, too. Recently removed the handbreak wires from the other chassis and will be replicated.

On the front the engine was attached that way... But with the original pad it will be better! And so on, many things to be done...

[Ted170]

That is all I can say for now. As soon as finish the chassis, the real hard work will begin - the poor coupe. That will be some challenge! And not just the rusty iron, but the rotten wooden structure, too! Fortunately the doors have been made by a good carpenter back in 1988, but the coupe has to be done. I have patterns from the two cars for quite all the wood, but it will be a real difficult work to fix the tin, the wood and in end to achieve a car with good lines and closing doors. A bit scary, but I'm eager to make it a good and all original car! As soon as I have some progress, will show you photos.