"Ponton Planet People"

Jeff,

By writing the below paragraph on the IPOG (International Pontons Owners Group) forum you woke up in me old feelings I used to have back in the late 1990s and early 2000s when once school ended I would run to Kfarhata, put my ponton's battery on the charger, take off the famous Carcoon and "launch the season"!

Days have passed, my ponton's odometer flipped back to zero and I admit I still enjoy my car as much as the day I first bought it.



Jeff Miller's 1957 190
Note the fender's turn signals and the 190sl fog lights

"Ponton Planet People":

 "My 1957 190 sedan finally saw daylight this afternoon. Put the battery charger on it for an hour, and it came to life in less than 30 seconds (not bad for not running at all since last October). The original Blaupunkt tube radio (refurbished last year) played well. Brought the tire pressure up to 32 pounds, shifted into first, and went for a nice country drive. The heater was nice because it was only 46 (albeit sunny) degrees. Brakes worked well (no pulling, etc.), lights and blinkers all functioned. Even tested the cigar lighter, heater fan, and windshield wipers just for good measure. Next step (if it ever warms up): put some soap and water to the body – it was real dusty looking. Looks like 2013 is off to a good start!"



My 180b in the old streets of Batroun

 

Blown Head Gasket

Les Caprices of the Pagoda "sont revisited"...

That is how I elected to start this post! I read once in my favorite magazine Auto Retro, that an old car "fait des caprices quand elle est maltraitée". So here we are..."she" was left alone for many years and suddenly we are trying to "get close to her" again...What would you expect?

New shift lever bushing

I finally got the new shift lever bushings when Bechara (refer to the previous post to know who is Bechara) called me:

"Ramzi, how are you"?

Me: "I am fine and you"?

Bechara: "I am fine too...but the car isn't fine"

Head still installed
Note the water dripping from the 3rd plug hole

Apparently, the engine was misfiring. Upon inspection, the 3rd spark plug was fouled with...water!!!

When water sneaks to a combustion chamber or mixes with oil, the head needs to be removed, maybe repaired and of course the gasket replaced. I was hoping it did not need any major work.

We finally took off the head, and to our good luck, all the water holes were intact. The problem lied in the gasket itself! Extremely thin machining was needed though.

The oil and water holes are still intact

I am still waiting to find a new gasket on the local market! If I succeed, the car will be running in a matter of days. If not, I will have to order one from the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center.

I hope the car stops "caprice-ing" after this reparation...

The fuel pump is worrying me for no specific reason...

"Les Caprices" of the Pagoda

Following the route towards a perfect pagoda; unexpected surprises come along the way! Hence, a month ago, while taking the car for a short drive, I suddenly felt that the automatic shifting gear lever became too loose. I tried shifting from 4 to 3 but nothing happened! The gear was stuck on the “4” position making it impossible to shift to P or to N or to R.

 

Luckily I wasn’t far from my cousin’s home; I succeeded to make a U-turn and to park the car.

Then Christmas came with its usual festivities all preventing me from effecting any reparations.

Like all cars freaks, I didn’t want to stay in the dark regarding this issue especially that my cousin mentioned that few years ago the same problem happened with the car!

In fact, and after a preliminary examination I discovered that the bushings (# 760 on the exploded diagram) connecting the lever to the gearbox detached from their male connection due to the normal movements of the engine and gearbox when the car is running.

Why do they detach? After careful inspection and analysis, I discovered that this happens for two reasons:

1. The bushing itself is weak
2. There is play in the whole lever mainly due to worn bushings number 728 in the exploded diagram.

 A quick fix would consist of re-attaching bushings number 760 to its correspondent “head” or “male” and tightening the whole with a metallic wire! Will I do so? I might if and only if I am unable to find bushings 728!

 

Yesterday, I decided to finally take the car to the repair shop; the same one who had put it back on the road.

Bechara Ghsoub will decide what will be the best and most practical solution. Personally I tend to change all the worn out bushings if new ones are available…Yes! If new ones are available! That is the challenge!

Observing a 1953 Buick Roadmaster Coupe



And comes the time to try something new! I admit I have never driven an American car older than my dad's 1988 Pontiac Bonneville that he owned from 1992 till 1997. I wonder how driving a 1953 Buick Roadmaster with automatic transmission would feel like.

Acquired few years ago and completely restored, this car belongs to my uncle who has kept it sitting for few years. A quick look at it shows that it might only need new tires, some normal fluids change and the usual tuning.

The year 1953 marked Buick's Golden Anniversary year. On this occasion, the old straight eight engine was replaced by a legendary new, smaller and more powerful V8 engine that would fit the newly designed Buick Roadmaster.

Simple yet rich in chrome, this Roadmaster gave Buick the needed momentum to venture into the golden era of the 50's.

The car will need waxing to give the red paint its usual amazing shine and the chrome will need polishing to take out the dull spots in some areas. I will be tackling this issue as soon as I start the car and take it for a short drive.

The interior of the 1953 Roadmaster is spacious and simple. The emblem on the center of the steering wheel was specially designed for the Golden Anniversary: It has the Buick's logo in gold surrounded by the famous "Power Steering" in gold too. In fact, the power steering became a standard equipment as of 1953.

My favorite part in the 1953 Buick Roadmaster's interior is its radio and the chrome speaker housing. The radio operates only on the AM band and is provided with the "Selectronic" also known as the "Wonderbar" among the Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts. The "Selectronic" is an electromechanical system that allows the radio to automatically search for, and stop on, available stations. I can't wait to start the car to check if the radio functions, if it has good reception, if the "Selectronic" works...etc.

Those are my preliminary observations vis-à-vis this car. Certainly, driving it will be a unique experience. I can't wait to have it running, waxed and cleaned.

A Visit to the Homeland of Pontons

While surfing the net, "ebaying" for ponton parts I allowed myself to save some old pictures proposed for sale on eBay.
What I liked about those pictures, is the fact that they reflect genuinely the daily life in Europe back in the 1960's and early 1970's.

Here above, the legendary taxi driver stands proudly next to his ponton! The Mercedes-Benz pontons remained the taxi drivers' faithful companions for years!

A typical old european country side road. The Ponton is part of the decor. Note the old style street light; this same model was used in the streets of Beirut back in the 1960's.

Modernity by the 1960's standards: A 180b parked behind a VW Beetle and what appears to be a gray Fintail in front of a luna park in Berlin. All three cars are legendary.

A picture from the late 1960s or early 1970s. Youngsters selling dairy german products. Note the relatively tired 190b with the "Germany" badge on front grill. The architecture of the building on the right is typical that of the late 1960's early 1970's.

A policeman in a German village. The serenity of the countryside is explicitly shown in this picture. Again, popular cars parked next to each others; a ponton, a beetle and what appears to be a Fiat Cinquecento.

Band members? A folkloric group? The 190 ponton with the remarkable "D" (for Deutshland) metal oval plate, the big square license plate and the roof rack seems to be a reliable and comfortable car for the group.

Beetles, VW Samba, an Opel Kapitan station wagon and a 190b. Note the extremely tall antenna! What was the radio this ponton had? A Becker Mexico? LeMans? A Blaupunkt? A Philips? Or perhaps a rare Telefunken?

The 220S/SE was the top of the line of the Ponton series. Note the large white wall tires; an option on all the Mercedes-Benz models of the era.

An austere looking hotelsilber (silver hotel) with the typical late 1960s architecture. The 180b or 190b is as usual there...

A typical European "Auberge" or small hotel most probably in Germany or Austria. Note the 2 Mercedes-Benz ponton, the VW Beetle and the popular Renault Dauphine.

A group of tourists contemplating the mountains. Which mountains are these? The ponton is a rare two tone painted car. An amazing scenery that makes me want to drive my ponton there!

Hoping for Syria

I still clearly recall the old yellow Syrian taxis traveling on the Beirut – Tripoli highway. As a kid, obsessed with cars, I used to ask my dad, every time we crossed one, about the brand, type and year of manufacturing of a specific car. I used to cross old Desotos, Buicks, Chevrolet…etc. Of course there was no need to ask about the Mercedes-Benz fintails (often seen) and the Mercedes-Benz 180/190 pontons; I was already an expert…
My dad had always a story or a remark related to each model. He used to give me the exact year of manufacturing and how the model was perceived when it first appeared.

Back then, owning a car in Syria wasn’t something easily accessible because of the economic restrictions. People used to preserve their cars and pass them from one generation to the other. Today, years later, these cars have disappeared; replaced by new Hyundai, Kia, Toyota…etc.

Looking back at those days and at the memories I have from the few times I traveled to Damascus visiting some relatives, I wonder if, God forbids, the Syrians lost the unique spirit their cities (Damascus and more precisely Aleppo) had, in the same manner Lebanese lost the unique spirit of Beirut!

Looking at the ruins of the Aleppo’s old souks, I see myself, and without any effort, comparing them to those of Beirut’s old souks! The places where all the people from different background mingle and mix together, these fusion hubs that fortify and unify the society, that make the identity of the Syrian society, are being destroyed!

I can’t but wonder if these destructions are made on purpose! Only time will tell and only the reconstruction process will show!

I hope the Syrians and with the help of strong Syrian public institutions will be able to rebuild their cities “from crap and not from scratch”, as Naomi Klein says! I hope the extremely rich Syrian/ Arab heritage will be preserved, the original roles of the old Souks will be safeguarded and the productive society relying on its resources and creativity will be shining.

Hope and faith are all I have! Till then, I will be once again looking at old yellow pontons, fintails…etc., associating them with gone good days…

Route to Perfection: Episode 1

The 1970 280sl Pagoda I am writing about in this post belongs to my cousin. It has been "sleeping" since 1998. Few months ago, she decided to restore it and re-use it. A close inspection of the car made me realize the following:
• The engine still turns
• The interior is still in very good condition with the exception of the dashboard wood
• The body contains what looks to be some deep rust spots under the 25 years old dull white paint
• The weather strips are shot
• The tires are extremely dry

After pulling the car out of the garage, and turning the engine manually to get some oil pressure, I poured gas into the tank and tried to start it. I had to crank the engine a lot only to get some brief and non-continuous firing.

Obviously, the Pagoda needed a specialist's intervention. Few days later, I transported the car to Bechara Ghousoub's repair shop. Bechara is a mechanic with more than 40 years of experience in Mercedes-Benz cars.

Bechara started by examining the fuel tank. Indeed, it seemed full of old fuel and blocked by rust. The cleaning process was long and painful since two helpers had to fill it with a cleaning product, sway it then let the liquid out. They repeated this process around 10 times until no more rust was coming out!

Once done, Bechara re-installed the tank with an additional fuel filter before the fuel pump intake in order to collect any remaining residues. Once re-installed, we poured some gas and tried to start the engine. Two or three cranks were enough to let it start after almost 15 years of "sleep". The engine ran smoothly with absolutely no smoke.

Now that the engine was running, we started doing the usual maintenance work such as changing the engine's oil and filter, brake pads and seals, gearbox oil, thermostat and coolant. We will install four used tires in good condition and grease the suspension.

Once completed, and the car running flawlessly, my cousin will decide on the right time to paint it and change all the weather strips! Definitely, this is an amazing experience with a unique car! Stay tuned as the journey to reaching perfection has just started…