Into the Light!

For Christmas 1998, I wanted most or all of the engine to be finished. So with the carbs. assembled to the manifold, side panels on, oil filter in place and finally a coat of paint on the air cleaner, she was finally looking like the pretty (pretty monstrous!) engine that I always knew was lurking behind all that grime. I wheeled her out of the garage into the sunlight for the first time for a photocall.

Some reflections on the joys of engine restoration

What I have described in words and pictures encompasses 2½ years of hard work. There have been moments of despair, and even fear, particularly of failure. There have also been evenings when one has gone into the workshop, tinkered about for ten minutes, and then come back out again knowing that further work that night without the right mentality is likely to be counter-productive or even disastrous. Yes, I've come to appreciate that it's as important knowing when to stop, and that's the beauty of not being tied to a fixed timescale. One can always turn tail and close the door on the job again until the next night, week, or month. Nevertheless, I have to rank this as one of the most enjoyable and rewarding tasks I have ever undertaken - it has been a real delight from start to finish. The problems I have faced, whilst outwardly severe, have turned out in every case to be surmountable, but often not without the help and skilful hands of others, particularly my dear friend Ray without whom I would have been stuck on many occasions. Together on numerous evenings we have worked together without reference to the clock until far too late, but have we had fun? You'd better believe it!

Rebuilding the Mercedes engine has also been one of the most therapeutic activities I have ever undertaken, requiring an amalgam of engineering skills, knowledge, manual dexterity and improvisation by necessity. The payback in terms of satisfaction and well-being just cannot be matched. I suppose this is why people spend hours building model aircraft from balsa and paper, only to have them wrecked first time out: those outside only see the tangible product of the effort, whereas the prime satisfaction lies within the construction or restoration process. All this has left me eager to get my hands on another engine, but that would be folly when there is so much to be done on 61 ELN. Besides, another facet of this restoration has been the enjoyment from working with a tangible piece of engineering at its very, very best. The craftsmen at Unterturkheim knew when they were making the W186's engine, that it just could not have been bettered at that time. It is a product without obvious compromise in design, cost, weight or quality. Perhaps this sounds absurd, but in handling the Mercedes engine and its components, one feels these values being 'fed-back' to you. In a way I suspect it's no different to restoring a piece of antique furniture or even an oil painting by one of the great 'masters': are not Mercedes Benz one of the elite 'masters' of engine design and construction, along with perhaps Porsche, Ferrari and Rolls-Royce?

On the love of engines and of the future.......

As I said above, I've worked with this engine for about 2½ years and, as perverted as it may sound, I've come to love it and cherish it. To a degree it's become part of the family - even my children have been known to introduce their friends to it in the garage (although their enthusiasm is not always shared by our visitors, I might add!).

But I'm sure I'm not alone with this passion for engines in all their forms. They may be man-made but engines have form, elegant movement and precision which, to those so inclined, is downright irresistible. Add to that the process of combustion and you have the elements of fire, air and water all working in unison, bringing about man-made life. In short, an engine is a living creation.

Twenty years ago I concluded college design project into piston movement in diesel engines with two lines by Wordsworth:

And now I see with eye serene
The very pulse of the machine.

At the time I didn't realize then that in "She Was a Phantom of Delight", Wordsworth was relating to the love of women, rather than the love of engines. Nevertheless, the verse fits both: women and engines are living things that breathe, have rythym and a pulse (and are sometimes temperamental!). That's why, in my view, it's perfectly natural to love an engine!

Here ends the philosophical bit of the website!

Where from here?

The body and chassis are yet to follow: if they provide half as much enjoyment as the engine then I can't wait to get stuck-in. Nevertheless, I suspect that the easy part of the project has come first. The other major problem is that during 1999 I have made virtually no progress on any aspect of the restoration project. The reason for this is simple: having taken on a much more responsible role with my employer, I no longer have the spare time or energy to apply to the Mercedes. Thus, currently, the well being gained from the project is all retrospective. One repeatedly hears that in my chosen field of employment, a cog in Britain's manufacturing sector, managerial jobs no longer exist that allow for spare time outside of the workplace during the week. This is a lamentable state of affairs, and a sad reflection on our so-called 'progress'. What happened to those optimistic days when 'Tomorrows World' would be one of bountiful leisure on the back of technology and automation, not of perpetual downsizing and restructuring, resulting in ever more tasks falling to fewer and fewer people?

Well, it's time to put the balance back into life: working on the 'Merc' is part of that balance so read on and see what happens! Keep loving your engines! Comments and queries to: Stuart Lamb, December 1999

Postscript July 2001

Eighteen months on, reading the above text again it feel a little over-sentimental and 'awkward', but that's what I wrote at the time, so that's how I must have felt, and I can't be bothered to edit it when there's much more to be done. Having said that my engine story has prompted a vast amount of feedback, virtually all of it in sympathetic agreement with the sentiments I expressed.

Reactions to the engine story have generally been most complementary, whilst others have asked my advice on all topics from the highly technical to the deeply philosophical. To those asking me (I think in all sincerity) how they too can love their engines, then I would say this: do it in your own way in any manner you think appropriate...but please keep it all in perspective! By the way, I'm thinking of writing a sequel to a cult book which was essential reading at the time I went to college: keep a look-out on Amazon.com for "Zen and the Art of Mercedes Restoration"...with apologies to the original author of '....Motorcycle Maintenance'.

To Mercedes fans and enthusiasts for Engineering Excellence who have written to me, allow me to say a big 'Thank you'. Your support has been much appreciated. To those hungry for more progress, in short my role at work has changed enough to make a positive difference and I've made more time for the Merc. We're now back on the case.

Read on!!

Chassis Restoration Part One: Separation of Body and Chassis