New project - what to do? Ideas please!

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Quincross

Active Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
118
Car
E-Class, S-Class
So I've pretty much come to the end of my restoration of my W210 E Class - the E is such a beautiful shape I decided to take it back to original condition and restore it like I would one of my classic cars - not regretting the decision, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea to go 'original' but for this model I think it looks beautiful.

However, I've now bought an S Class W221 with all the toys (and I do mean all...well every option bar sunroof and blinds!). Couldn't resist as it's in great condition although as usual the full service history by Mercedes has left some minor work needing to be done - Mercedes services seem to suck! The question is what to do with it? Any ideas or suggestions? Ideally it should be something for light relief as I'm maxxed out welding, spraying and coach building a 70s Spitfire at present too.

Photos attached and all/any ideas welcome!

QX
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Wow... I love them all lol.
Where do you even find the time for one never mind three ?
 
Lol - I've just been restoring and modding cars for so many years now that I'm pretty slick at it now - that said, with young kids 'slick' is a relative term; I used to turn out a complete rebuild every 6 months on a classic, now it's at least 18months or more.

Oh and the worst bit... my other half makes me get rid of them now when they're finished....I got rid of a 1973 Merc 280CE earlier this year and she's told me to sell that E after Xmas...gutted, but that's marriage for you I guess! They never seem to see the value of boys toys....
 
What's your problem, its a 70's car with a 4 pot motor, its not the kind with a 27 litre V12 Merlin engine...:)

Seriously the S looks real nice so following your plans and progress with pictures would be good. Good luck.
 
What's your problem, its a 70's car with a 4 pot motor, its not the kind with a 27 litre V12 Merlin engine...:)

Seriously the S looks real nice so following your plans and progress with pictures would be good. Good luck.

I reckon a full on Merlin engined spitfire would have been faster - too much ******* interior in this one - everything in that photo was hand built, stitched, veneered, milled and reupholstered - A small bare cockpit would have been soooo much easier! Next project I guess...

Add to that that the thing may look old and original, but has a whole load of hidden tech - the 'old' radio I rebuilt with Bluetooth, WiFi uplink, digital radio; the seats are now heated; there's a CPU controlled smart overdrive, Led mood lighting; hidden usb charging ports etc etc. And it all adds up to a lot of hours....

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Mind you still got to think of what to do with that S... Been looking at some fancy stuff for the engine today, but I doubt the wife would like the bill - ok the thing only cost £8k but I doubt that'll swing her in my favour!
 
Me too, I think they are all great, the colour of the S Class really appeals to me.

Well done, I wish I had the time and your skills.
 
What a great colour. If it were me I'd change the alloys to these 4 x 19" Mercedes Alloys Wheels E S CL Class W212 A207 W220 W221 W216 22 Spoke | eBay or at least a stock rim.

Love those rims - pretty much exactly what I was thinking although I've got to find some that won't kerb easily as we have high granite kerbs round here that eat rims. Love to stick some 19" on there but then there's the rubber cost and I do a lot of miles...think I may just do it anyway though!

Me too, I think they are all great, the colour of the S Class really appeals to me.

Well done, I wish I had the time and your skills.

Yeah, bizarrely I love the colour too - it's almost black when the sun isn't shining! I was looking for a black S but so many are ex-company cars and are minimal spec...but when I saw it in the flesh I soooooo much preferred this colour than the bog standard black or silver even if it has given me more of a problem of what to mod as I can't go for the complete blacked out look
 
So I got onto the first job today - replacing a failing indicator.

When I bought the car it was obvious that the off side indicator in the mirror was failing as there was fogging at one end. Common issue in older cars.

These are easy and cheap to replace and you can upgrade the puddle lamps while you're at it. A new assembly is £8 inc p&p from eBay, is just as good and indistinguishable from the original - don't pay dealer prices! It takes about 10mins to fit - I'll try and write a guide when I have time, but the pics tell you pretty much how to remove the mirror glass and where the clips are you need to lever up to do it.

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Oh, and I've just ordered some new front discs and pads as the original discs are near (if not past) their limit.

It amazes me peeps will happily spend £400+ on a service and then turn down an obviously needed disc replacement when these things are needed to stop the car!
Eurocarparts have a 36% discount code. (XMASCLOUD36) so £170 all in for decent pagid 335's and pads is an absolute steal at the moment! I'll have to do a fairly quick inspection and see if there's anything else I need to buy while the deal is still on...

Anyway it's another simple job that's next up when the discs arrive next week.

Boring stuff I know, but I like to get the mechanics back to showroom condition & out of the way before messing visually with the car itself.
 
Not much is the answer - it's the OM642 diesel engine without bluetec so it's pretty much bullet proof despite what you may read. These are the same engines that are in Sprinters. Really good lump. The only real weak spot are the injector hold downs, but in a case of black death I've simply retapped or helicoil'ed many with larger bolts/threads if they have been chuffing. Otherwise as long as they are not bluetec'd and operating at their limits they are usually trouble free for 200k at least if servicing is performed on time. Most engines with manufacturing faults have been weeded out by 50-70k so as long as you're buying a car with a milage between 70k and 130k you're pretty safe usually - just ensure its been serviced and keep to the service schedule.

My car has 94k on it. The car has a full MB dealer service history, and the last owner recently did the full oil/filter change as well as the 7g gearbox oil/filters (but not the brakes....numpty!). So not much to do - although the engine sounds fine, I will lift the air filters and check for blowing injectors - I do that on ever car - but that's just me being over cautious. Catch a blowing injector early and it's a simple 25p fix, catch it late and it's £200+!

The only other thing is to wait and see if the auto fluid change screws the gearbox adaption - sometimes happens on 7g boxes. If so that's a visit to the MB indie specialist as it can be a pita to fix through Star unless you're doing it day in day out.
 
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Maybe a slight headlight tint would take the edge off the bright silver headlights and give it a subtly modern tinge? I probably wouldn't go as dark as in the photo but you get the idea.
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Maybe a slight headlight tint would take the edge off the bright silver headlights and give it a subtly modern tinge? I probably wouldn't go as dark as in the photo but you get the idea.

That's a cracking idea - my car runs the night vision option so there will be IR transmitters in the front lights, hence I'll need to do a bit of research I guess first.

I'll need to Photoshop my car up to see it properly, but the pic below shows it well. Wrong model but right colour and the tint makes a real difference.
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Unfortunately it looks like most tints are designed to block up to 95% of infrared light....

I'll keep looking but if that's the case I can't use them on my headlights due to the IR transmitters for the night vision option....b*****!!!
 
So it should have been an easy job replacing the discs and pads but as always the the God of New Cars has to play with me..... One siezed piston in the caliper on the near side *@#£#@@!!!!

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So after an hour of swearing I'm jacking it in for today and will free it up tomorrow (or spend £60 on a second hand one). At least that probably confirms my decision to paint the calipers - if I'm going to take one off I may as well pop them all off!

So off to grab a brew and decide the colour - black, silver, red....???
 
Love the look! The problem I have is the InfraRed transmitter ringed in yellow below which is part of the headlights - if the paint/film/coating absorbs InfraRed light I'm effectively blocking my night vision camera which uses these transmitters to illuminate the road. What I need is a paint or film that does not block infrared light, but most do as they are adaptions of standard window tints that are designed to block almost all the infrared light to keep the interior of the car cooler. Least from what I can work out that seems to be the case.IMG_20171220_104541.jpg
 
So the brake disc and pad change turned out to be a total PITA - but 5hrs (yup really that long), a siezed caliper piston and a completely welded in brake pad pin later and .... it's done!

The caliper piston turned out to be nothing compared to the welded in pin - I shattered (really!) my best punch, and for the first time ever used a sledgehammer (very carefully) on a car. Eventually, it shifted but this has to be the most stuck pin I've ever encountered - I tried all the usual tricks.

When I get half a chance I'll post up a guide as while frustrating this kind of job is very simple and hard to screw up - plus you spend £170 rather than 5hrs of dealer service time and £300 ish on parts....I don't even want to think what that would amount to!

Anyway thank **** that's over, the God of New Cars has been paid. Beer calls!

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Thanks for your reply in #12, should i be worried about the bluetec bit and future problems, hopefully a long way off, as I have the E350 cdi engine on my coupe? Or with regular servicing which i have, wil it remain "almost" bulletproof? P103. :(
 

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