Christmas eve/ Julaften

Today, I just had to!!! It is christmas eve with cold dry weather and snow. A good opportunity to drive the Mercedes.

Merry christmas to all of you, and a happy new year!!

Best regards

Dag.

End of summer.

Finally applecake!

Ten years ago, when I started the restoration of Silkesvarten, I promised my wife to take her to Frognerseteren in Oslo for applecake with cream when the car was finished. Now I have kept my word. Last saturday we took the 200 km drive to this famous restaurant in Oslo, next to the even more famous Holmenkollen ski jump.

Whow, this was good!!



My wife is waiting to be served....

This is the view from Frognerseteren. Oslo is below us, and we can see Oslofjorden all the way to Drøbak.

We had a really nice travel without any problems. A total of 400 km this day. I missed seatbelts. Maybe I will try to install belts this winter.

The famous (at least in Norway) Frognerseteren, Holmenkollen Oslo. A great place to visit with a classic Mercedes Benz.

Strandheimtreffet 2009

The first "Strandheimtreffet" was arranged two weeks ago. This was a small local classic car meet. About 35 cars showed up. And Silkesvarten did well!

1.th price for best original car.

Silkesvarten with a 58' 219 behind.

Egils 76' Jeep CJ7 Levi's edition. Original and not restored!
The Cadillac in the middle won "Peoples choice". A beatiful car. 5,73 meters long....

An old norvegian "kiosk".

A very nice day at Strandheim. This meeting will now find place the first weekend in september every year.

Classic car race debut.

Today my wife and I started in our first classic car race. "Lillehammerløpet" It was a great experience and a lot of nice cars to study. Of 108 cars, the oldest a 1909 model, it was three 220s and one 220s cabriolet. And some 180 and 190's. The race was about 60 km and there were 4 posts with different topics to solve. My restorationfriend Egil and his wife were passengers. We were all dressed in clothes from the 50's. Really fun!!

The weather was ok from the morning, but unfortunately the rain came just after the start. I felt sorry for all the people in cabriolets.

Myself.

Silkesvarten before start.

Cars are waiting for the start.
Can we have a look at the inline six? Of course..

Many different cars in this race.

A 180 arriving.
Nice!
A 219.
This is a 58' from my hometown.

My wife.
The last post. As you can see the weather is not the best for classic car driving. We are now at a historic olympic area. This is were the cross country skiing found place at the olympic games in Lillehammer 1994.
The race is over. We had a fantastic day, and now we just have to wait for the results. I think (hope) we collected a lot of points..



It's amazing to see so many beautiful cars at once. I am willing to accept the fact that other brands than Mercedes Benz also have made nice cars......

I washed the car yesterday, and now it's time to do it again. But that's nice work!

I am still going strong!

I am sorry there have been few updates this summer. I have been to busy driving Silkesvarten, sailing with the boats, painting the house and other things.

A few days ago I passed 1000 driven kilometers. The car is a dream to ride. And especially at small roads. I try to stay away from the highways. And I stay away from rain and wet surfaces... Unfortually we have had a lot of rain this summer. I haven't done very much maintenance, but last week my big brother was visiting, so it was a good opportunity to do some work on the car.


As I wrote earlier, I had some problems shifting to 3.rd gear. An IPOG member from Sweden gave me a tip we wanted to test. After a small adjustment the shift became perfect. And I meen PERFECT! When I installed the engine,I didn't adjust a thing, so I also wanted to do some adjustments. Well, I had done a valve adjustment earlier. And also checked the timing chain tensioner. So we started with the timing point. It was correct. Then the dwell angle. Also correct. (35,7. Should be 36). Now we just had to balance the carburettors. With a good tachometer it was easy to follow the instructions on my dearest webpage. mbzponton.org.

The result was really satisfying. The engine runs smoother than before, and I can run with a lower idle and less need of choke at cold engine.

Yesterday I also gave the car a inside "enginewash" from Würth, and new oil and filter. The oilpressure at idle rised a little. It's about 1,5 at idle, going up to 3 with a small touch on the throttle.

The only problem left is that I have some firing in the exhaust when the car is going down a hill with no throttle. If you have a tip, please leave a comment! In Norway we call it "pottesmell". I don't know the english word. It sounds: pa pam pa pa pam pam pam pa pam.

A little update

I have had many fantastic trips with Silkesvarten so far this summer. Aproximately 500 km until now. Most of them in my hometown, but last saturday we went for trip to "Skafferiet" at Helgøya in lake Mjosa. The car works perfect!! We travelled at the small local roads. It gives time to look at the nature. The only problem so far is a small brake fluid leak in the brake booster. I have been in contact with Will Sampler at S & S imports who is an expert on these boosters. I have now removed the vacum hose and the leak has stopped. I will rebuild the booster with Wills help next winter. Now I have to push a little harder on the brake pedal. (it feels like driving a ordinary car..... )

The feeling of driving a Mercedes Benz from the 50th, is the feeling of quality, luxury, comfort, joy and happyness!

Actually I think I should go for a ride right now!!

What a beautiful day!

First of all. Happy birthday to all norwegians!! And to the foreigners: Today we celebrated our national day. The 17th. of may is always a great day for all of us, but this year it was very special for me. I have been looking forward to this for many years, and worked hard the last years to finish the car. To drive around in a classic Mercedes at this day is very satisfying. People are dressed up, everybody is happy and the city is decorated with the norwegian flag and flowers. The car behaved as it should, with no technical problems. I am so pleased!!
These pictures are taken at our local marina. It is going to be a busy summer. Drive the Mercedes, or go with the boat? Is that what they call a luxury problem?

A beautiful rear end.
Lunch in the garden.
Proud owner and his wife.

"Drilltroppen" in front of the parade.

A lot of people in the city. No beer for me today, but that is ok!

I can't wait...

......for tomorrow. 17th. of may is Norways nationalday, and a big day for us with classic cars. I have spend half the day in the garage cleaning and polishing Silkesvarten. A friend of mine came over with some magic swiss products costing a fortune. But I have never seen a better result. I can use the hood as a mirror and read the newspaper! I will take a lot of photos tomorrow, so you foreigners can see how we celebrate "17. mai."

Back to the beach.

Tomorrow it is one year since last time we had a photoshoot at this place. I called the post for "Time for a break and outdoor activity" Last time the pictures showed Silkesvarten and Egils Austin Mini. The Mini is sold, but today Egil proudly could present his new car. A 1976 Jeep CJ7 Levi's edition, imported from California. A car in very good original condition!! Egil have been my helper the last two years. I couldn't done this without his help. Thank you Egil.

I hope you will enjoy the pictures of our cars.

Heaterboxes part eight-thirteen

In the morning today I finished project heaterboxes. Both boxes are in place and the flaps inside operates as intended. My brother did an exellent job with the repair, and I just had to do the finish. The flaps for floor/window regulation had to be a little modified to move free. After days of thinking and testing I found out how to connect the correkt wire to the correct flap.. (Without cutting a big hole in the innerfender.)

Here is the result of the heaterbox repair:


Water hoses and wires in place:

Right side. As you can see there is not much room between the box and the body.
Left side. The fan is not in place yet. Maybe today. After som gardening...

99,99%

The observe reader may think "where are the heaterboxes?" Now I am at part twelve, and not finished..... They have to get in place. Mercedes guys: Why did you make it so damn uncomfortable narrow?

Ok, when we are waiting for part thirteen, mounting the heaterboxes, we can look at some pictures.

Waiting for the painter

The painter is not yet ready, so I have used the time to do some work under the car. Gear and rear axle oil change, (shit, it was in time) valve adjustment, greasing up all nipples, tightening and checking bolts in suspension and steering, mounted the plate under the main brake cylinder, mounted the bracket between the gearbox and the front silencer (I hope I don't have to do that again!) and then I took a testdrive. The test drive is always the most fun part!! Surprised....?

Some pictures of my work on the heater boxes.

Sit back and enjoy!

The last details

After spending the eastern holiday in Copenhagen, Denmark, it is time for the last details. My brother came with the heaterboxes, and he had made a great job. Today they had one layer of etch primer, and a couple of layers with dark filler. It is just a few spots I have to grind before I am satisfied with the finish. I am also working on the inside details.

On Sunday I take the car back to the painter. He will make some paintrepair, and fix some small paintfailures. And finish with a real polish. When the car returns I will mount the front and rear bumper. And hopefully I have completed the heaters, so I can get them in place.

I will then spend some time on engine adjustments, change gear oil and rear axle oil, and grease all the service spots. Then the car is ready for the road!

Updates will follow.

The heaterboxes arrives tomorrow!!

Follow the story of my brothers heaterbox repair here.

Impressive work. I look forward to my brothers visit tomorrow, and to see the result of his intence work. A few months ago I didn't think the heaters would be ready at this side of the summer. Now it looks promising. I just have to finish the work on the air intake pipes. More cutting, welding and grinding. Can you hear me Egil.......?

Wheels

This looks like an almost completed car. I didn't put money on that in october 2008.


Look at this! Are they nice or what?

Should I have painted the nuts?

A taste of spring in the garden. And four nice rims.

Say goodbye to a Ponton

My donor cars job is done. It is just a very rusty body left. Here it is on its way to the car graveyard. Take a moment and say goodbye.

I have used a lot of parts from this car. Small parts and big parts. And I also have many parts in the garage. I would not be able to finish the restoration without it.

Rest in peace.

A picture update

A sneakpreview of the wheels. 185/80 R 13. Yes, I know it is not original!! Maybe when I get old an rich....

Panels at the firewall in engine compartment. Soundinsulation on the backside. The old was totally broken, so it took a couple of hours to reconstruct the shape. And some cardboard in the garbage.....

From the right side of the car.
New sunshades in place. The same fabric as the headliner. Different type on newer models.

New rearview mirror in place. Nice.
Repair of air intake tubes for the ventilation. Still a lot of work on these.

Heater boxes

My cardboard heaterboxes where in bad shape. A year or two ago, my big brother offered to fix them. I gave him the job without any doubts. Right man for the job!

These days he is working with a close deadline....

You can follow the progress in his blog.

Heaterboxes part one.

Heaterboxes part two.

Sandblasting metalparts on boxes.

Heaterboxes part three.

Heaterboxes part four five and six.

Heaterboxes part seven.

Heaterboxes finale.

This man is a genious! I am sure this is going to be the strongest and most weatherproof heaterboxes in the world! Thank you Tor.

I will put the next updates in this post.