Post-It-Notes (TM)

A side benefit to this blog is that I can use it as a place to virtually store good information about repairs I do, or plan to do for the car. On other posts, I've been compiling some ideas for longer term projects, but after driving it for approximately 1000 miles, I've developed a pretty good feel for driving it, and I've found some real specific things I could do to improve it even more. After some more research, and a discussion I had with another 107* driver who works out at my gym, I'm convinced that the car would drive really great with a suspension rebuild. At first, before I replaced the tires, I thought the car would always be a little soft on the handling. After new tires, with the right parts, I think I could get it to stick to the road like a go-kart and handle more like the Bimmer than a Buick. The roadster driver at the gym has an '86 560SL (it's beautiful), and shortly into our conversation, he suggested having some of that work done. One symptom of wear in those components is a little clunking sound when coming to a stop, or braking, which I do hear a lot. I did some searching, and found a great list of items to repair, replace or check, and I wrote them down on a sticky note, which I keep in my calendar. Now, given the amount of work already done to the car, taking into account the amount of actual sunshine remaining for the year, and funds alloted to car repair, this will likely be a winter or spring project. So, I need a place to keep some of these notes that won't get lost when I look for them in March of next year when I'm ready to go forward. If you are wondering, this is not a do-it-yourself project. It will require very special tools and a lot of under-the-car time, which I get freaked out about because I don't have access to a lift.

If you know me well, you'll know that I thrive on to-do lists on sticky notes. In fact, if I finish a project that isn't on a to-do list, I'll add it to an active list, then immediately cross it out, because I like the sense of accomplishment. At any given time, I have a row of sticky notes across my computer monitor at work with things like bus schedules, important phone #'s, or other work-related things that I refer to often. I also have 3 or 4 active notepad sheets that I use to keep track of current projects (one for quick notes about the current day, one for client birthdays, one for outstanding tasks and another for random scratches). It's a major milestone when I knock one of them out, but I usually create another one right behind it.

Needless to say, I'm developing a sticky-note collection for the car, but I'm running out of places to keep them. So, in the interest of saving trees and having the information readily available, I'm declaring this blog my Post-It (TM) repository for the Benz.

*107: The official M-B designation for this chassis.

If you don't care about suspension rebuilds, you may stop reading at this point. Enjoy your evening.

Note to self:
Suspension overhaul to-do-list:

F/R Subframe Mounts
Steering damper shock
Sway Bar bushings
Lower Control Arm Bushings
Upper control Arm/Bushings
Shocks
Drag Link
Wheel alignment
Check and replace if needed:
Ball Joints
Tie Rods

One less sticky note.