Restoration of a Mercedes 190SL W121
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The pictures above and below display the rear tail light housings for the light assemblies. With the replacement parts in hand, We cut out the old and corroded housings and weld new ones in.
The pictures above and below are of the new  OEM Mercedes Benz panels.	The panels above and below will be fitted and spot welded in place to match the factory correct look.
The light shining through are actually perforations in the trunk floor.
These pictures display the new panels being fitted together and prepped for spot welding.
With the fender and rear valance hung in place, we then spot weld the panels to the match the factory look, fit and feel.
The pictures above are of the new  rear tail light housings welded and fitted into place.
The spot welds above show the attention to detail that is involved with a quality panel replacement. We spot weld every panel to carefully match the craftsmanship that originally left the factory some 55 years ago.
The pictures below display the progress in our body shop.
The pictures above and below display the progress during the engine and front suspension rebuild.
The front suspension has all new bushings and new hardware.	Freshly rebuilt Solex carburetors
The pictures above and below show the base coat painted sprayed over the primer coat. This coat helps to sand and eliminate any and all imperfections.
These pictures below display the paint process at the finished stage.
Notice the hard top, trunk. and hood. All the panels are done with the paint process and ready for re-assembly.
The pictures of the wheel wells below show the  refinished state with body color. Scroll down further to see the undercarriage pictures with the correct paint finish applied.
The differential has been rebuilt and  fitted with all new rubber boots and bushings, also refinished in the correct semi gloss black.
The engine bay starts to take on a more presentable appearance with the correct semi gloss black paint.
These pictures highlight the trunk and its newly refinished floor and trunk lid.
Now with the undercarriage floor finished in "sandalwood" (DB169) we will start the assembly process underneath. All brackets, clamps, rubber buffers or fasteners will be replaced or renewed.
A very important step in completing a proper restoration is to use the correct engine bay and firewall grommets. A snug fit eliminates the road noise, wind, and engine temperature from entering the cabin.
The front parking light lenses pictured below are new and ready for wiring , The brake and clutch pedal pads are pictured above.
The dash wiring goes in and routed to the fuse box.  Installed with the correct waffle pattern insulation the dash underside will be complete and correct.
The doors pictured below, will receive new guides onto the mechanisms,  clips and fasteners to eliminate any rattles.
The lights are wired in and lenses are installed.	The wiring goes thru the protective rubber boot. These rubber boots (sleeves) protect the wiring from the outside elements.
The photos above and below are displaying the new wiring and new grommets.
All new grommets and seals will seal the engine bay and reduce the outside noise as well as protect from corrosion.	Below are some of the new grommets that are going in the engine bay, notice the wax still covers most of the grommet.
The pictures above show the heater boxes arriving and the initial stages of assembly.
The pictures above are of the new OEM brake and OEM fuel lines.  The photos below show progression of the engine bay.
The photo above shows the junction block and lines ready for further installation.	The new heater boxes and ventilation parts will make this engine bay a sight to behold.
The picture above is with the gas tank and rear end in place and ready for the final installation surrounding components.
The soft top frame is shown above and below in the before state. We will strip the soft top down to the bare frame and repair any and all issues. The securing frame bolts, wood pieces, and frame will all be replaced or refinished to look and service like new.
The pictures above and below are of the front and rear bumpers before any re-plating has been completed. After plating the bumpers, we refinish the backsides with white-grey paint to look absolutely factory correct.
The photos shown above are of the new heater pipes along the firewall. The photos below are of the rubber sleeves to the vents.
The OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) windshield is new and chrome windshield frame is re-plated to look like new. A close up of the windshield logo is pictured below.
The new windshield is then set into the chrome channels and frame surround with the new seal in place. The A-pillar posts are also installed onto the frame surround.
These pictures below show the engine bay progression. The engine, transmission and front sub-frame are all in place. Heating pipes, hoses, fuel lines and such will be installed next.
A view of the motor and transmission, from the underside.
The pictures above and below show the engine bay progress. The exhaust manifold is media blasted and recoated to look factory correct. Also the fuel hoses, and surrounding parts are installed.
These pictures shown above and below, display the progress of the carburetors installation.
The interior floors are lined with a sound deadening material. This material (available through Mercedes Benz) looks sort of like heavy tar paper. The above pictures show the material being cut and applied to the transmission hump and center console area.
The floorboards are also covered with the sound deadening material.
A close up picture of the shifter linkage and cover. All bushings have been replaced.
The pictures shown above are with the dash in place. The leather that covers the dash top will be skived (split) to allow for the compound curves that need to be wrapped.
The pictures above shows the progress of the dash and wiring. All the connectors are ready for installation.	Notice the accelerator pedal, shown in the correct metal (unpainted) finish.
Shown on the picture below, the windshield frame sits flush with the body.	The windshield frame is set into place, after the skived leather is wrapped around the dash. The remaining interior panel installation can begin.
The dash indicator lights ready for installation.
Below are pictures of the reconditioned tail light assemblies, outfitted with all new bulbs and ready for installation.
The photos above are with the tail light housings fully assembled and then installed onto the car. We also show the new OEM tail light lenses.
	Windshield pads sit below the frame against the body.
This car will have an ivory steering wheel and shift knob combination.	The picture below is of the horn ring in its original packaging.
The new center cap and new ivory steering wheel are pictured below.
The above pictures show us the chrome before it is re-plated.
The pictures of the booster above and below show the new seals being installed and the brake booster going together.
Shown here are more engine bay progression pictures. Fuel supply lines are now in place, then mounted to carburetors.
After rebuilding and testing, the brake booster is mounted into place  and ready to receive the surrounding hardware.	All the correct style of clamps are used to achieve a factory correct look.
Another look at the correct style of "wind up" clamps used all throughout the engine bay.
The photos above and below showcase the radiator installation. Notice the correct type of clamps at the radiator hoses.
The photos below highlight the new wood made up for the dash restoration.
The door panel and armrest wood pieces are also constructed.
Before	After
Pictured above and below are the new wooden floor covers for the interior.
The dash chrome is pictured above. The set shown is for the topside and lower ends of the dash.
With all new T- bolt fasteners, washers and nuts, the dash chrome pictured above will go into the car.
The sun visors are shown above and below. The swivel type brackets (shown below) mount to the chrome windshield frame.
Water temp gauge	Fuel and oil pressure gauges
A close up picture of the clock	All gauges are serviced then tested.  As shown above, any mechanical parts within the gauges or clock showing wear, are replaced.
The tachometer and speedometer/odometer gauges are shown above. The complete set of gauges shown below.	The close up picture above shows the detail of the gauges, all the gauges are show quality. The picture below shows the headlight trim rings.
The picture below shows the wheels before sand blasting and refinishing.
The wheels shown above are correct for this model car. Notice the date code stamped into the wheels? A close up picture to the right, shows 5-56 (May 1956).
The pictures above show the wheel caps before the re-plating process. Notice the picture above right, you can see the traces of the factory white paint on the backside of the wheel cap.
The pictures above show the wheels after the stripping and sand blasting process. The image below displays the steel hubcaps after the re-plating process is completed.
The 190SL badge pictured below affixes to the trunk lid.	The star emblem will proudly sit on the trunk lid as well.
The washer bag ( front and back) is shown below.
The images displayed above and below are to highlight the new side glass for the car. All OEM Mercedes Benz parts ensures a proper fit.
New leather hides are pictured above. One hide is shown skived. That is the process where leather is split or shaved down, thus allowing us to wrap the dash and other interior components that possess compound curves.
The dash is wrapped with the skived leather and soon will be ready to accept the windshield and frame surround.
The photo above shows the dash gauges being installed .
The surrounding pictures are of the folding top stowage area.
The photos above and below are of the rear partition panel for the cockpit (in the before state). This light weight aluminum panel separates the interior cockpit from the folding top stowage compartment. We will strip all the old leather and glue from the panel and recover with new leather shown in the rows above.
Below are pictures of the rear partition in its newly wrapped leather.
	The photo below is of the backside of the NEW door panels.
The new door panels shown here, are fitted with new rails and pull handle trim.
With the seats disassembled, we start on the seat back panels. Made from aluminum, they must be completely stripped and cleaned of any old glue or materials. The images above are before the glue is removed. Notice below the seat back panels are stripped and ready to be re-wrapped.
The seat pads show above will need some custom fitting.
The seat springs and frames are shown above and below. These seat spring frames will be sandblasted and all the rust will be removed.
The seat pads shown below, highlight the difference between the old pads and the new pads. Notice the contoured shaped of the old pads? We will fit the new pads and add some padding to fill in the seat skins correctly.
During the disassembly, we document all progress to show the details that go into completing a full restoration. Below we have the seat bottoms during disassembly.
The photos shown above and below are of the floor, trunk and side threshold mats.
The exhaust system pieces (shown below) are arriving from the factory and will be mounted into place.