I'm new here so go easy on me. Many thanks to Brent from Columbia Rovers for suggesting this wonderful community. I hope to become an active member as time goes on.

Onto my sharing my rig...As some of you on ExPortal may know, I purchased this wonderful rig at the end of last summer. Still VERY happy that I did. I've found a few surprises but overall I'm very pleased, especially since the PO(2nd owner) had all the original federalization paperwork/pics/notes from the 1st owner, original bill of sale from Germany to the USA, customs importation invoice, most all of the receipts (LOTS of $$ on maintenance), etc. Anyways, it's been kept in great shape (no typical rust whatsoever) and been a local Portland, OR rig since its importation in '81, but there was still room for clean-up.

Stage 1 consisted of;
--De-chroming front Mercedes star (I still need to do this to the antenna)
--Painting silver factory Mercedes(Puch actually) center caps "military black"
--De-rusting lugs and painting "military black"
--Painting side and rear Mercedes-Benz emblems "military black" (I'll purchase OEM emblems when I fully resto it)
--Painting rear Puch license plate frame "military black" (was faded)
--De-ambering signals (flows better IMHO with the military black theme)
--NOS Oregon license plate
--Upgrade all fasteners associated with above items to stainless steel

Onto the pics...

When I bought it;

First step was black Plasti-Dip'ing Mercedes star(if you're scratching your head about the winch, it's a rare factory-optioned Rotzler ER1500 winch from Germany);


Next was wire wheeling the lug bolts and then painting them(next time I'll have them powdercoated but paint will do for now) and sanding/priming/painting the center caps;



Next was sanding/priming/painting rear Puch plate frame and rear badge;

I was going to remove the front mirrors and treat the side emblems to the same, but due to a time crunch before NWMF that weekend, I painted them on the G (still turned out great);


Next was waiting for the clear front markers(thanks for the swap Hunter!), new Mercedes clear side markers, and amber section of factory tails, to be professionally smoked(lightly) and then clear'd over by Bill at East Portland Auto Body(the best)!!

Updated daylight pics;

I still have some items to take care of before it'll be on the trails(rebuild f/r lockers from years of little use, try to find a 2pin winch controller, etc), but I'm aiming to make it my overlander to get me exploring the PacNW a lot more.

I look forward to meeting you guys,

 Jeremy

Sweet rig! First time I seen one of these was 1987 @ Spangdalhem A.B. West Germany! Always loved them! (Yes I know its just Germany). O yea Welcome!

Thanks Todd, Craig, Mike!

 That is a very sweet rig. Almost seems a shame to take it on trails, and based on your comment of having to rebuild the lockers from lack of use the PO may have had that same feeling.

I just finished working on my lockers and it was an interesting time, especially since I really didn't know what I was doing. I ordered a maintenance book but it hasn't arrived yet and one of the locker activation arms was broken. I seem to have a propensity for breaking things. Seems like every time I work on it I manage to break something. It's a curse.

Enjoy your time, its a good group.

A few more for you Mike;

LMK if you'd like to see something more specific regarding it.

Thanks Morris. Well, let me be clear that my intentions are not "wheelin'" it but overland exploration; probably quite a bit of freeway until the non-paved road which leads to a destination...hence my current frustration with it's 88hp and jadedness of being used to quicker rigs. Some of you may be able to relate here; I did have an epiphany 2wks ago in the am while driving on car-less Sunday morning roads, enjoying many sights I don't normally see(duck swimming alone in a pond, people being tugged by their dogs, etc) when I'm driving my daily driver and maintaining a faster speed...my frustration with my 300GD isn't so much that the power-weight ratio is low(although I would like more power so that it's capable of whatever I throw at it terrain-wise) and that the rig is slow, it's that I assume that(sympathize with) drivers behind me are frustrated with me being a hazard in the roadway since I can't keep up with the speeds of modern traffic from a standstill or up hills. So, if I change my perception towards others behind me (perhaps they're not ALL frustrated? ;) ), then I can just sit back, relax, let the G go at it's pace, and enjoy the gorgeous view.

The G's lockers are basically just slave cyl's so shouldn't be too difficult. I haven't been under a Pinz so unsure how they're different. PS--Was dreaming about Dave Dunn's 716S TD!

Thanks Ben. There are actually a LOT of G's in the PacNW. Oregon especially seems to be G-Mecca as we call it.[/quote] I will keep the group posted. I have lots of plans for it including a '98-99 E300TD (606A) turbo diesel swap which will over double the power.

Damn, you guys are on top of it. This is all new to me so for those others in the dark, I'll post my original questions (to the G forum) here too;

"Sorry for the newb questions;
#1 The 10/11/12.5/15 measurements...is that with the (black ball) lever pulled out one, two, three or four "positions?"
#2 The KN(show kN in the above pic) measurement...I was thinking that was knots but 15knots = 25.32ft/sec which is WAY too fast for a winch from what I've seen. What what does KN refer to here?
#3 I translated the 7mm "wire" dia, 25m lenth, but what does the 2060N/mm^2(that's a pressure measurement) and 45KN calculate least breach power[rechn Mindestbruchkraft] refer to?
#4 What does the "6x19+1SES" style[machart] mean?

Answer from a G owner who works on a drilling rig;

#1] Typically, a winch it's maximum rated line pull is quoted with the first layer of wire rope on the winch drum. With every layer of wire rope spooled onto the winch drum your winch becomes less powerful. As a general rule of thumb; for each layer of wire rope on the drum you should deduct 10% off the rated line pull. The figures on your winch plate don't exactly match this 10% rule of thumb but this is where it comes from and as Bram_r stated it all has to do with pretty simple mechanics ... torque = length of the lever arm x force applied.
#2] 1 kN = 224.808943 lbf so 15 kN = 15 x 224.808943 which equals 3372.134146 lbf. That may be, as you've stated, not so much but still sufficient to help you out of trouble. Remember that there is such a thing as "double line" technique which will double your line pull but halve your winching speed by making use of a snatch block. Bear in mind that there's approximately 10% friction loss for every snatch block in use.
#3] The 2060 N/mm^2 refers to the minimum required steel wire rope grade. The term "Grade" is used to designate the strength of the wire rope. Plow steel- ,improved plow steel- and extra improved plow steel wire rope are commonly known grades. Tensile strength (resistance to lengthwise stress) ranges from 220.000 to 260.000 psi for plow steel-, 260.000 to 280.000 psi for improved plow steel- and 280.000 to 310.000 psi for extra improved plow steel wire rope. This means that the minimum required steel wire rope strength grade for your Rotzler winch falls into the EIPS wire rope category (2060 N/mm^2 = 298777,752428 psi).
The 45 KN refers to the minimum breaking load required for the steel wire rope in use. In other words, the steel wire rope should be able to withstand at least 45 KN (10116,402439 lbf) of pulling force before it breaks.
#4] The design of the cable, 6x19+1SES nowadays would be referred to as 6x19S+IWRC. A steel wire rope is build up out of wires, strands and a core. For the required wire rope this means as much as 6 strands of 19 wires each around an independent wire rope core. All this according the 'Seale' type of design for wire rope construction. I could go into detail here but that would be a bit much. Just do the Google thing."

Keep in mind this winch is 31yrs old now so it's a bit archaic technology.

Some more thoughts from one of the G guys;

"The Rotzler looks good and performs well, although extremely slow. If you want the original vintage look, it's the way to go.
If you want performance, go with something newer like a Warn. Warn is now the factory OEM."

I'm still torn on if I'll ever use it as a new 3pin controller (similar to a Ramsey) is $1300!!

Some of you Rover guys may find these pics interesting. A guy on a G forum has a Ramsey on his old Rover and it looks very similar to my Rotzler. So, we're not sure if Ramsey licensed the Rotzler design from Rotzler or vice versa;

Ramsey underside;

Rotzler topside;

Ramsey from top side on Rover w/ homemade solenoid box on left;

Since that Ramsey controller looks exactly like the Rotzler unit, I contacted Bob at Ramsey to see if they offer a 3pin controller (Rotzler is a 2pin connection). He suggested the #251110 Ramsey controller. However, upon looking at the pic of it's connector, it's a 4pin(1dummy hole) not a 3pin-only like the Rotzler's have.

Might you guys know of a 3pin winch controller? A pic of the 3pin connection on my Rotzler;

Factory NATO-style cable (ground) connector for those of you interested;

Connector on winch that plugs into the (ground) connector;

More pics on this thread if you're interested;

pointedthree.com/disc/forums/showthread.php

Hey Justin,

I thought you'd like them. :)

-Jeremy from Matrix