Restoration Article: 1982 300D Sedan Interior - Challenges and Solutions

The blue vinyl MBtex interior on this 300D is not too bad. Other than some cracks in the dash it is mostly dirty and recently unloved. That means I will be looking at a cosmetic restoration. Not difficult - just time consuming. Along with cleaning up the interior I will be inspecting/ and fixing all wear items related to the interior, ie, door check straps, window mechanisms, vacuum door locks, seat belts, etc.

The first thing I will be going after is the smell inside the car. Most difficult smells to remove are caused either by mold or by a dead rodent somewhere in the car. Each one can be a real pain to remove. It is obvious that this car has a mold problem. I will be posting the products and procedures I will use to get rid of the smells.

I started by removing all the carpets and the rear seat. The padding under the rear seat will have to go.  Obvious signs of mold and smell are coming from that pad. The upper part of the rear seat has the horse hair type fiber that is breaking down.  One of the common causes of smell coming from these older diesels (kup through early 80s) is the breakdown of the fiber and the smell of the deteriorating glue coming from inside your seats. I will have to remove the rear seat cover and get rid of this old padding.

Next I removed all the door panels in preparation for what i will call door systems service and restoration.  Opening up the insides of the doors gives you a chance to inspect and do maintenance on a number of common problems. These include the following:

• Window mechanisms and motors/cranks
• Door check straps
• Vacuum door lock actuators
• Door pull and latch assemblies
• Rust inspection and repair
• Rubber seals and window channels.

While I am working on the doors I am also going to tackle some other obvious interior problems.

GLOVE BOX:

123 Chassis glove box doors are notorious for having latch problems.  This 300D is no different. Sometimes the door will latch and sometimes it won't. It also does not close completely flush with or line up properly with the dash cutout. These problems are so common that I have written a manual specifically for adjusting and repairing this door. I even designed a modification to keep the latch from falling off the swivel pin. I am going to pull the door off now and make this modification. Even if your door is currently working, I recommend you make this modification before the swivel pin brakes off. To minimize problems never slam the 123 glove box door shut. Always close it slowly and lock by hand. To view my glove box door repair kit  CLICK HERE.

INSTRUMENT CLUSTER:

I am also going to remove the instrument cluster to inspect the dash light tunnels, replace the instrument light potentiometer and bulbs, and look for other potential problems like oil pressure gauge leaks, cracks in the circuit board, loose wiring, etc. 123 Instrument lights are well know for being too dim. Everything has to be right in order to get dash lighting that is acceptable. Check out my new Instrument Cluster Service Kit if you need help doing some of the same repairs on your Benz. CLICK HERE