There's still a lot of stud noise. I'm starting to wonder if it's creeping in around the semi-loose window, or worse yet, channeling up through the door to the window from the big rusty holes in the bottom. Will try sealing the glass in its channel. But tomorrow is the last day I can legally drive on studs, and I no longer have a usable set of non-studded tires for it. I'm not planning to buy any, either! I'd better get busy.
So I had a close look at the window, and the outer lip of the rearward window channel liner (right by my ear) was pretty much gone. I took some tin snips and cut off a long narrow strip of foam rubber from one of the dead weatherstrips I removed yesterday. (From one of the better sections.) I glued this in the window channel in place of what was missing. (Probably fabric, originally.) While that was drying I noted that the outside glass wipe strip was very bad as well, so I removed the aluminized trim strip and pried off the wipe. It was very rusty and decomposed. The top lip of the door's window opening was also getting very rusty, so I wire brushed it, masked it off, and rattle-canned it gray. I set up a radiant heater to help it dry. The fuzz on the wipe I removed was mostly still there, but peeled back from its proper spot. I used weatherstrip cement to glue it back into place. This won't really last, since the fuzz is decomposing and the wraparound cloth that it used to be attached to that held it in place is gone, but it should be better than it was, at least for awhile. I can always glue on a foam strip later. (Or better yet, find a good used wipe to replace it with.) I wire-brushed off the worst of the rust on the wipe's metal spine and painted it black to try to slow down the general decomposition in the area. I put it in the oven to dry, I don't really want the paint on it to fuse with the paint on the door! The wipe and trim strip installed uneventfully, except for the wasp that was living under the scrap wood I was going to use to drive the wipe back on. Fortunately he was cold. The window goes up and down rather stiffly, the foam strip may be a bit too thick. Oh well! ...Yeah, that got it. Now I can hear the skritching from the other side of the car, whereas before it was masked. Good, just in time. I filled the car on the way home, it got 30.5 MPG this last most-of-a-tank, it was probably summer fuel and of course there is the thermostatic fan clutch to help out... I wanted to put it away with a full tank to minimize water buildup. Mission accomplished. I parked it down below in storage and emptied it of everything, then popped the hood and opened the battery cutoff switch. I boxed up the good used weatherstrips in the trunk, and threw the nasty old ones in loose. (I may want to cut some more filler pieces from them.) I put the burned-out fog light bulb in the trunk too, it'll have to wait until next time. I put the rear window heater in the trunk, it won't melt in the hot summer sun that way. I hope. It's ready to wait out the time until next winter. On to the 450 SL. I need to get it out and start driving it to work. I can park it on the very busy intersection where I work and hang for-sale signs in it. -- Jim
