Big Apple is a new member of the family in 2024. In the order of joining the fleet, there are two cars ahead him, Chimera and Cougar, waiting to be restored. But Big Apple is the next because I want to spend a relaxing winter.
Compared to the 18-month restoration for Octavius, the more thorough restoration for Nonna took only 8 months. The entire chassis and engine, which seemed to be the most progressive, took only 3 months. Whether you appreciate it or not, that was almost my maximum speed. In order to eliminate the uncertainty of not being able to complete her before November, I worked as hard as I could. I skipped lunch during the day and continued to work. At night, I ordered parts, prepare records, and studied repair information. All this did not affect my other things. I once told my wife that I might stop picking up my son from kindergarten, which would allow me to work on the car for an extra hour a day, but eventually I didn’t miss a day to pick them up. To be honest, although Nonna is regarded as a family project, I was exhausted physically and mentally.
I have already talked about the rewards of Nonna in several aspects. But some things just haven’t grown on me again. First of all, restoration requires parts, which need to be prepared at least 3 months in advance to ensure the progress after the start of work, some rare parts require years of accumulation. I don’t have the extra energy to order parts for any other cars until Nonna is completed. Chimera and Cougar are both more special cars than Big Apple, I haven’t received enough parts to start them. Big Apple is a relatively ordinary and simpler car, and many parts that are considered scarce can be found in our current inventory. In addition to restoring 3 cars this year, we have also acquired 3 cars and 3 donors, plus rebuild the new workshop. That’s a lot.
Finally, the climate. Now that we are heading into winter, the temperatures have dropped to -8 °C. The low temperatures make necessary outdoor work, such as dry ice blasting and body cleaning, rather difficult. We can no longer use high-pressure washer as we did in warm, and this is all done in our outdoor facilities. On top of that, the low temperatures are physically torturous and reduce the accuracy of the movements. If you work in such temperatures for a few weeks, it will be full of tormenting memories. Even the sun is no longer a good helper to help the paint shrink, because the body can no longer be heated to 50 °C for a long time. So Big Apple, which requires the least work and is the least difficult, is next.
Goal
I have been looking for a silver US-spec 1997 S 420 for a few years now, this is one of the nicest specs in my mind. They are not rare in the US, 160 of them were built with black leather, but they are very rare here. I have only come across one other with a grey interior, I am not a big fan of grey, they look a bit cheap. Big Apple is the first one I have found, I doubt there will be another one here. Since this is my ideal spec, I accept the many flaws. If you can’t buy it, you have to build it yourself. The pros include I will definitely learn a lot in the process of repairing the flaws unnecessarily, I have not touched the MY1997 car yet. Although, I am not a fan of MY1997-1999.
Why silver again? Big Apple is my first restoration project with duplicate colors, him and Nonna I just finished are both 744 Brilliant Silver. You could easily say that silver W 140s are all the same thing, or even that all W 140s are the same. Maybe they are, but restoring Big Apple right after the Nonna was for variety. Number of cylinders, market version, model year. Nonna and the Big Apple are completely different, they represent two different histories. Add in the Japan-spec 1996 S 600 that already exists in our fleet, three cars will cover all the elements, but all in silver. This will lead to a series of discussions later.
Big Apple is in better mechanical condition than other cars I’ve worked on. I like the Check Engine light being on, it’s a real American touch, nothing major. It drives fine, I can see a few leaks, but nothing serious. It’s worth mentioning that the body has some serious flaws, and there are a lot of electronic junk mods, which we’ll discuss in the next section. Overall Big Apple’s inner qualities are much better than it first appears, looking at the warped panels in the sales listing, it scared everyone away. It could have been a survivor, but in its current state it’s likely to be underestimated and end up in a junkyard.
Therefore it has a rather special level of restoration, which I would call “correction”. It is neither restoration to factory new for authenticity nor preservation for daily driving confidence. The car itself does not have much special meaning or value, and will be stigmatized due to the damage history. I just hope that after all this poor car has been through, we will actually fight against those negative thoughts. Using parts from stock we can quickly and economically make it look quite decent, and many people who inspect the car will change their minds. He will have a chance to live, no worse than other W 140s on the market.
Restoration
Unlike past projects, Big Apple is a car that has sustained damage that cannot be easily removed. It is suspected to have been a total loss on 9/11, but we have not yet received a total loss report. I contacted Helms Bros., the dealer who leased the car to the user. The lady manager has worked there since the 80s, she said she has no records of cars this old. So before we diassembly the damage is still unknown.
Pre-work inspections revealed moderate damage to the front of the vehicle, but the repair seems not done in the US. It used parts from Japanese cars, most likely repaired in Guangdong, China, so the accident occurred after it left the US. There are not many scars, as many of the body panels can be replaced. What can be determined is that the parts cannot be replaced: damage to the left front corner of the roof, which is connected to the sunroof. There is also a thick washer on the front passenger door hinge, which means it cannot fit with other panels in its natural state. This may be another manifestation of body structure damage. As for the exact extent of the damage, it can only be further confirmed after disassembly.
There is a lot of work to be seen in more visible areas. First of all, the incorrect repairs and modifications have made this otherwise amazing 1997 S 420 very mediocre. You can hardly recognize it as an North American version. In the front, almost all parts are incorrect. Including but not limited to: hood without activated carbon vent, the car left factory with activated carbon filter. Wrong European version headlights and turn signals. Wrong V12 grille. Wrong aftermarket windshield. Bumpers with retrofit Parktronic and wrong license plate holder. Missing headlight cleaning system. Of course, these are no problem for us.
The real problem is the amount of electronic junk in the car. A lot of the original parts were destroyed to install these junk. The center console screen is quite typical of the Cantonese craftsman. To install it, they completely destroyed and rebuilt the center console wood panel, and the radio wiring was cut. Even the evaporator housing was cut. The car was installed with two different aftermarket anti-theft systems, plus the modified Parktronic, reversing camera, driving recorder, and the car was crowded with messes. The modified Parktronic was also messed up. And of course there are the symptoms of every W 140: aged plastics. I have almost given up on restoring any car with beige interior anymore because of the annoying fading. In this black interior we only need to focus on the damaged parts. Of course, the MY1997 cars have their peculiarities, for example they also have grey A-pillars in a black interior. I’ll do some light work on them to make them look better.
Despite the amount of fluid on the floor after eight months in the garage, the test drive turned out to be quite positive. Idling and acceleration are both satisfactory, and the suspension doesn’t seem to need much improvement. This is a significant advantage for American cars, they escaped China’s poor quality gas in the 90s. As a 1997 example imported in 2007, he also saved 10 years of traffic jams compared to its Chinese counterparts. The odometer shows 139,666 miles, which should be realistic for this condition. At this point I have decided that removing the front and rear axles for a complete rebuild is not necessary, but maybe I’ll change my mind later.
Plan
December is almost halfway through. Then the New Year holidays start at the end of January. We have about 60 days available before April. My plan is to complete all interior and electrical system work before then to avoid adverse weather factors. The most important thing for me in painting is to let the paint cure thoroughly at a higher temperature, which requires the solvent to evaporate thoroughly. Not only base and clear, but all layers, it is best to heat directly in the sun and let it heat and cure for at least 1 month. Obviously, there is no such condition in winter, so painting will be carried out after entering April.
The order of work is to clean and repair from top to bottom. Given the urgency of assessing the roof damage, the headliner will be removed first. If the roof damage requires subsequent repair, the headliner will not be installed for the time being. Then the A, B, and C pillars and the instrument panel. I am still considering replacing a better instrument panel, which has some pry marks. The European instrument panel needs to be modified because the knee guards on North American cars have different fixing methods. As for the rear platform, Big Apple is really worry-free. It does not have a roller blind.
Restoring the center console requires more work. Besides removing the annoying display, it is also necessary to restore the wood to its original specifications. On initial inspection I was disappointed to find that the genius who installed the display even cut a part of the rear air vent and evaporator housing. I will see if it is necessary to replace the evaporator housing. The center tunnel must also be replaced, not only because its edges are warped, but also because its plastic bracket was cut off by the genius to install the display.
Then the seats, door panels and carpet. The door panels need some straightening, they have some warping. All the walnut trim needs repair and polishing, some of it is showing slight fading. I will see if there are replacements in the warehouse with similar grain and color. The seats, overall are good, it looks like the driver of this car is a bachelor, only the driver’s backrest has some wear on the outside. But I am not going to re-stain the leather, I will replace the worn backrest with a more decent one from stock.
Theoretically it would only take 1 month to finish the interior, but I want to really relax. So nothing else is planned until March 2025. The rest of the time will be spent on finishing other cars and spending time with my family. I will also look at the possibility of working on a few current leaks. A month of paint prep will start in April, with paint in May for a nice summer. Sounds like a plan. I really hope I don’t have to work next hot summer.