1957 Mercedes 300SL front end restoration: Part 1 Metal Shaping New Headlight A 1957 Mercedes 300SL was the first project for The Metal Surgeon upon arrival in Denver Colorado. Classic Restoration of Englewood, CO had contacted me 6 months prior to starting this project as for my help on the body repairs, as their employees were not up to the task. At the time I was living in Orange County, CA and in the middle of a client’s 1929 Ford. When the Ford was completed, I agreed to fly out and help them with this project. The car had been restored in Mexico City some time ago, to a low standard where the headlight housing even had body filler on the inside. The first set of pictures show the front end stripped down to bare metal and an attempted restoration on the headlight housing to the stage where the previous restorer gave up. From that point we begin work on the left-hand headlight housing, by shaping new metal ready to graft in. A picture taken from the first meeting with the Mercedes. The rear end had fresh body filler from a more recent restoration. Decayed metal around the left-hand headlight housing. Right-hand side had already seen a couple of failed attempts on the metal work. Weakened metal showed here from the left-hand side. An attempt of the headlight housing restoration. We will fix this area up. From this point we take the restoration into our own hands. We make some reference markings before cutting away bad material. Old material cut away and new shaped material made to replace. TIG welded and metal finished. Moving around to the outer mouth, a lot of shape in a small complex area. A new hand made headlight housing face and mated to the trim ring. Clamping and fitting time prior to cutting in and welding. The completion of this head light housing restoration will be continued in Part 2. For more information check out the automotive restoration services we provide at our workshop in Denver.
