190 2.6 Sportline or no

[mackydacker]

Greetings, newbie's unite!
I have just bought a 190 2.6 that looked standard but the service booklet has its title as a Sportline. Can anyone tell me what are the ways to determine if this is so? There are no badges.
Also, just a few pointers to the area's to check out? I have heard rear suspension bushes should be looked at...any advice really.
She has 135k and nearly full service history. Virtually rust free and feels fairly tight but needing some tuning/servicing. I think I am falling in love ...again

 

[trapperjohn]

Welcome along. The "Proffs" will be along shortly to sort you out.
Love the 190 shape.
Good Luck

 

[d w124]

Hi and welcome to the forum.A sportline should have the badges on the cladings at the front wings,gear knob and it should have a smaller steering wheel i think.

 

[Will]

Hi Mackydacker,

You could specify the sportline steering/suspension setup (that's all it was - no engine power/brake upgrades) with or without the sportline interior bits.

Basically, the suspension should be lower, and there's fewer turns lock-to-lock on the steering. You could pay more money and have the bucket seats (2+2 F/R) and even more still for full leather with the 2+2 seats (as in the 2.3-16/2.5-16 models).

Easiest way to check what the spec of your car is would be to post some pics and stick the VIN into this car checker:

Mercedes-Benz Club Russia | Mercedes-Benz / VIN

Post up the details of what the VIN decode comes up with and we can advise on the spec/options of your car

Will

 

[grober]

POP your chassis number in here. Mercedes-Benz Club Russia | Mercedes-Benz / VIN that should tell you if it has the Sportline suspension option. You could get chassis alone or chassis plus trim options.

 

[mackydacker]

Excellent, thanks for that useful link...just put in the details and there is no mention of 'Sportline' however it does have sports chassis (Option 650). Is this the same? No badges anywhere incl steering wheel...which is a 400 mm apparently. Have only just got it and am bonding a little just now so will put up some pics shortly. Thanks again

 

[Will]

Well basically that means that your car has the slightly different suspension/steering setup to the regular cars, but the standard interior.

IMHO a proper 'Sportline' has both that and the interior package - when both are specified the car becomes a proper Sportline and the car is badged as such from factory (gearshifter etc has a Sportline logo)

Still a nice car though, and they do drive a bit tighter than the standard cars

Enjoy

 

[bolide]

To my mind the important bit is the Sports Chassis

Nick Froome
the independent Mercedes Estate specialists

 

[Will]

For reference - I think this it how it works:

Sports chassis - option code 650:

650 sports chassis with 15-hole light alloy rims (ñ 01.12.1988 ïî 28.02.1993)

Sportline interior + steering wheel - option codes 243 and 281:

243 sports seats, front and rear (ñ 01.12.1986)

281 trunk set, (280 SL)
steering wheel (390 mm) with sports design (ñ 01.03.1989)

Both together = Sportline car - option code 950 is applied:

950 sportline (consisting of codes 650, 243, 281) (ñ 01.10.1989 ïî 28.02.1993)


Will

 

[mackydacker]

...phwoar all this info! Where do you get it from?! Not used to the world of internet forums like this and will take a bit of time to zone-in. Many thanks again. Are there any obvious area's of the car that would be worth inspecting for wear first? Basically I drove the car back from Carlisle and she didnt miss a beat...it feels as though all the necessary oil changes were indeed done but that was all. Stuff like control linkage, and bush wear and fuel injection maintenance went by the wayside. Car feels a bit flat for 2.6 and I could spend a lot of money on it, gladly just for the hell of it.

 

[grober]

What is often not mentioned is that together with slightly lower stiffened ( approx 30%) suspension the "sports chassis " has a slightly higher ratio steering box leading to sharper steering. As Will says the car would probably only be badged Sportline with the full package. Nothing stopping you from buying some badges and sticking them on legitimately tho . In 1990 the full Sportline package with leather seats was a whopping £3931-80 [£2546-00 cloth seats] The suspension package was a mere £1503-96

 

[Will]

To be honest, there's lots of little bits and pieces that would be worth checking on a W201 of this age.

As an initial start, I'd be checking it over for any obvious problems to start with - look carefully for rust - jacking points on the sills (clean out the drain plugs of mud/gunge), clean all the mud out of the wheel arches/inner lips etc, look for rust on the inner wings too, under the parcel shelf at the edges where it meets the rear 1/4s etc.

Look for any major oil/fluid leaks - rear diff, engine/gearbox etc. Replace the fluids if you don't know when they were last done too.

Have a look at the condition of the various bushes - front ARB ones tend to wear, have a look at the strut top mounts (they tend to crack and collapse over time), check the rear suspension link arm bushes and subframe if you want to go to town. Front lower wishbone ball joints will be tired by now if they haven't been replaced before. The steering damper maybe tired/leaking if it's original/old too.

You can get carried away looking for trouble though IMHO - car sounds like a nice one so just keep on top of maintenance and enjoy it

Will

 

[mackydacker]

Will, this is great stuff matey. Will let you know how it pans out. Thank you, Ian

 

[stwat]

A 2.6 with the sportline chassis is a wonderful thing

Enjoy it mate.

Stu

 

[neilrr]

To my mind the important bit is the Sports Chassis

Absolutely spot on.

Option 650 out of the three which comprise the full Sportline option is far & away the most important.

You can find the seats & 390 mm steering wheel with relative ease & install them in less then 2 hours. It's the suspension changes of the sports chassis which absolutely transform the car.