As work progressed on our 1970 Mercedes SL 280, Ben carefully rebuilt the front grille, beginning with the original three-pronged star, which had broken away from its surround. He secured this first, using it as the foundation before assembling the rest of the grille with a new surround and replacement centre fins. Prior to installation, he replaced the black grilles positioned behind it, ensuring everything sat correctly before final fitment.
He then moved on to the lighting, fitting new headlight bezels with fresh fixings to properly secure them in place. At the rear, the tail lights were removed and cleaned, with the nearside lens replaced while the offside lens was still on its way to us. During this process, he found the nearside reflector plastic had been damaged, so he repaired it using Araldite.
Ben’s attention then turned to the engine bay, where he installed a hose kit, although not all the required rubber hoses had been supplied. He sourced correctly sized hose and cut it to suit, ensuring proper fitment throughout. Two coolant pipes, which had been powder-coated and stored in the boot, required careful assessment to determine their correct placement and orientation before being installed with new hose clamps.
Continuing under the bonnet, he replaced and neatly routed the HT leads before fitting the expansion tank. The power steering reservoir also required attention, as its clamp was not sealing correctly. Ben resolved this by cutting and fitting a new rubber washer for the top, draining the system in the process and refilling it with fresh fluid once the seal was restored.
Inside our Mercedes, Ben installed the seatbelts, machining and fabricating new top mounts to allow the reel belts to be properly secured. He also addressed the idle control solenoid, which was missing its linkage, by fabricating a new linkage to restore its function.
To complete this phase of work, Ben fitted the battery using a new clamp and modified threaded hooks, cutting them down to prevent fouling on the bonnet. Meanwhile, the hub caps were sent away to be refinished in body colour, ready for installation once returned.
