Not foolin' around with this car anymore...

No, I'm not getting rid of the Mercedes. On the contrary, I'm finally getting some serious momentum on this project. It was January, 2013 when I started tearing into the passenger side floor. I'd say I did the bulk of the passenger side floor and rocker repairs just in this past month. I now have all the patches in, welded, and seam sealed.

On top of that, I was able to cut out the bad portions of the rear passenger wheel housing lip and weld in patches I cut from the larger Klokkerholm patch panel. It still needs a little bit of filler to even it out, but it's solid and actually looks pretty decent for what it is. I still need to weld it closed inside the trunk.

But, the passenger side of the car is nearly done. I still need to make a patch inside the wheel well and rebuild the passenger side hood spring perch. But, the floor and rocker are solid again (though they still need finishing - paint and truck bedliner).

Now that spring is here, I'm hoping to be able to work on the car most evenings when I get home from the office, which should help speed the project along. My goal is to be driving it this summer.

rusted wheel well lip and formed repair panel

rusted area cut from rear of wheel well lip

checking fit of the repair patch

weld-through primer

patch piece, clamped in place for butt welding

patch tack welded in place

welds ground down

front of wheel well lip - spray paint is from previous owner

crud and dirt caught inside the panel - needed to clean it out

patch welded in place

repaired wheel well lip - still needs a small bit of filler to smooth it out

patches inside the car, seam sealed - still needs final coating

Starting to patch up the Mercedes' floor

Well, with the Outback all taken care of and the garage cleaned out, it's finally time for me to get to patching the Mercedes floor. First, I had to wake the car up. I charged the battery last week (strictly as a precautionary measure), so I hooked it up, and the car started on the first bump of the key.

I backed it out into the sunlight for the first time in 2013. The name of the game this weekend was patchwork, so I started by making straighter cuts in the floor:

Once I had the holes cut, I made some templates and started cutting patches out of my donor panels. First victim, a dented door from a Jeep Cherokee - given to me by a co-worker when I helped him bolt on some straighter doors.

Once I had the first patch cut, I fitted it (roughly) with a few pop rivets...

...and then started welding.

I worked through the weekend, and have the passenger side of the floor almost 2/3 of the way patched up now.

Hopefully, by the end of next weekend, I'll have the floor patched up, and will then move on to make the rest of the repairs to the rocker panel and wheel wells on the passenger side of the car. It's nice to see those holes finally starting to close up.

The daily driver search and Mercedes project update

As is to be expected, it's been a busy month for me, in terms of my automotive life. I've been going back and forth on whether I should fix the Subaru (this would require, at bare minimum, a used engine), or replace it with something else.

Logically, the easiest thing to do would be to find a better EJ22 Subaru. I kept this one around so long because they're generally very easy to work on and because I know them in and out. But, this second one, which I've had for almost two years now, has been trouble since day 1. Here's the list of stuff I REMEMBER replacing since buying it two years and 45,000 miles ago:

• muffler
• front CV axles
• radio
• rear portion of the steel brake lines
• rear brake rubber lines
• tires
• spark plugs
• wires
• alternator belt
• alternator (several times, due to defective rebuilt units)
• rear brake pads and rotors
• timing belt
• water pump
• driver's side cylinder head and head gasket
• valve cover gaskets
• intake manifold gaskets
• ignition coil

...and that's just what I can remember off the top of my head. I'm sure the list is longer - MUCH longer.

So, I'm not really keen on trying to fix the car again. Seeing as how even damaged Subarus tend to have surprisingly high retail values around here, I'm leaning towards selling it and getting something different, especially as my cylinder 2 misfire returned yesterday.

I've looked at a Toyota Camry. I liked it, but found the seller was a dealer posing as a private seller on Craigslist. I walked away on principle. My search has shown that most local Toyotas (and Hondas) on Craigslist follow this pattern. So, there's not much for me to choose from in the way of cars genuinely for sale by private owner.

I looked at a 1999 VW Jetta, but it wouldn't even start. Last, but certainly not least, I've been looking at Volvo 850s and V70s. The ones I've found in my price range so far have been a bit lacking in terms of condition. I may go back for a second look at one of them. 

Basically, my second choice after a Subaru is a FWD car with a reputation for reliability. I know the Jetta doesn't quite have THAT, but at least I know VWs. Bottom line, the search has been occupying my time, and keeping me away from the Mercedes.

But, I did get a lot done this past weekend. I finally started in on welding and closed up the rivet holes left by the previous owner:

I did most of my work outside, to minimize the risk of fire and because of some fumes from the welding.

Hopefully, if I'm not too occupied with the car search, I can get back to the Mercedes this weekend and continue with repairing the passenger side bodywork. Here's some video from this weekend: