Blog
December 16, 2021

1980 Mercedes Convertible


Featured image for “1980 Mercedes Convertible”

Mercedes-Benz is a global automobile marque and a division of the German company Daimler AG. The brand is known for luxury vehicles, buses, coaches and lorries. The headquarters is in Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg. The name first appeared in 1926 under Daimler-Benz.

1980 Mercedes.jpg

Mercedes-Benz traces its origins to Karl Benz’s creation of the first petrol-powered car, the Benz Patent Motorwagen, financed by Bertha Benz and patented in January 1886, and Gottlieb Daimler and engineer Wilhelm Maybach’s conversion of a stagecoach by the addition of a petrol engine later that year. The Mercedes automobile was first marketed in 1901 by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (Daimler Motors Corporation).

In the 1980s, Mercedes built the world’s first robot car, together with the team of Professor Ernst Dickmanns at Bundeswehr University Munich. Encouraged in part by Dickmanns’ success, in 1987 the European Union;s EUREKA programme initiated the Prometheus Project on autonomous vehicles, funded to the tune of nearly €800 million. In 1995 Dickmanns’ re-engineered auutonomous S-Class Mercedes took a long trip from Munich in Bavaria to Copenhagen in Denmark, and back. On highways, the robot achieved speeds exceeding 175 km/h (109 mph) (permissible in some areas of the German Autobahn).

In October 2015, the company introduced the Vision Tokyo, a five-seat self-driving electric van powered by a hybrid hydrogen fuel-cell system. The super-sleek can is touted as “a chill-out zone in the midst of mefacity traffic mayhem.”

Before…

We will be working on getting the engine running, the convertible top working, electrical, exhaust and some other key components to this car.

Click on the picture to see the details in each photo!

During…

We have braced the interior of the car to cut out the rusted floor pans.

Click on the picture to see the details in each photo!

The donor floor pan has arrived for us to cut out sections for the vehicle.

We have the car up on the rotisserie so that we can more easily access the rusted floor pans for removal.

Click on the picture to see the details in each photo!

We cut out front and rear foot wells and seat pans from the donor floor pan.

Both floor pans have been replaced and sealed.

Click on the picture to see the details in each photo!

Just got the car back from the media blaster.

Working on patching up some of the rust spots that were found after the media blast.

Click on the picture to see the details in each photo!

Removed everything from the dash to replace the firewall.

We removed everything from the firewall to cut it out.

Click on the picture to see the details in each photo!

The front sub-frame structure has been completely removed from the body to access the donor firewall. Then we will have to remove everything from the donor firewall to cut it out.

The donor firewall has been aligned and welded into place.

Click on the picture to see the details in each photo!

The donor firewall has been primed for paint.

Fresh Too Deep Black paint has been sprayed on the vehicle.

Click on the picture to see the details in each photo!

The new inline 6 Mercedes engine has arrived.

The hard top and convertible top cover has been primed and will be painted Too Deep Black.

Click on the picture to see the details in each photo!

The new 2.8 L Straight 6 Mercedes engine being uncrated.

Prepping the engine bay for the new motor.

Click on the picture to see the details in each photo!

We are preparing the new 2.8 L Straight 6 Mercedes engine to be installed.

We will be removing this old cover to clean up the hardware and put a new top on.

Click on the picture to see the details in each photo!

Here is the convertible top frame all cleaned up.

Preparing to tear down these seats for some new upholstery.

Click on the picture to see the details in each photo!

The new 2.8 L Straight 6 Mercedes engine has been installed.

Removed the old wiring harness from the vehicle.

Click on the picture to see the details in each photo!

We have begun installing the new wiring harness throughout the body of the vehicle.

After…