Billy's W124 Coupe Project

[brigadier]

afaik the cruise is easy to fit on later m104 with electronic throttle.

 

[BillyW124]

Nice!

In the first pic imagine wood grain in the vertical parts of the heater vents...

Really W? I'm not too sure about that one?

Looking awesome billy. You should be proud of what you have achieved.

Two requests please:

1. Side on picture with the new wheels on.
2. Bolts - what are you or have you done re your wheel bolts- are they new or have you painted them?

Cheers. Scott

Pictures are being up loaded as we speak, Kept the old bolts mate, haven't done anything to them.

Really looking good Billy, have you considered all red rear lights for the rear end, think they would look great against the blue paint!

View attachment 36602

I like the facelifted rears on the car currently but if i were to change it, it would have to be amber to match the fronts.

Was the cruise a pain to retro fit?

Well, we haven't got it working 100%!! Typical. I'ts a little intermittant so it cuts out when you dont want it to. Now its not engaging at all.

I've done a bit of reading and it points to the cruise control ECU. They say the joints inside the ECU circuit crack apart so it may need re-soldering together. Pretty much the same way N10 Relay's on these cars get faulty. I'll open it up and see what the deal is. I'm sure its not going to be a PIA! The actuator is working, the cruise loom is new, the other possibility could be the stalk itself? Lets see.

afaik the cruise is easy to fit on later m104 with electronic throttle.

I believe so, however the donor car didnt come with cruise, could have just used the same electronic throttle body the big massive ECU in the footwell and the existing loom that's tied into the main engine harness and probably bingo.

..I had the components for retrofitting the cruise a la m111 so used these instead on the M104.

Its totally independant to the engine wiring. Its good in a way because you only have a handfull of things to check, whereas the electonically controled cruise could be a PIA as it goies through different channels.

 

[BillyW124]

'Quicker than a 3.2... knocking on the door of the 3.6' The inbetweener!

Got the car back yesterday, really pleased with it, certainly gets off the blocks in a hurry and keeps on going, its seriously fast. Faster than i was expecting....Had a good blast on the M40 on the way back home.

I used cars doing circa 75 -80mph as a marker to guage the pickup for myself kicking down just as i pass them. The pick up from here over 100+ is tremendous i must say.

I've got quickly used to the throttle and pedal sync' from the first time I drove it. The sound of the Sebring plus the beefy straight 6 noise is quite addictive and I've found myself depressing the pedal down all this weekend with a heavy foot! Weather has been cracking and the pillarless look is the one!!

Noticeable is the local roads i've driven on so far. I can clearly feel the difference in the way the springs and shock combo is working compared to the same roads with the old combination. Much, much easier over bumps and damps them very well, again wasn't expecting this much difference. I still want to go progressive on the rear - just needs to be a tad bit softer at the back i think with the possible change of spring cups to a 2 nib instead of 3.

It was i nice day so i gave the car a little clean, I wanted to tackle a little engine bay detailing today as well but figured it will need quite a bit of time. If the weather is good next weekend its going to get the treatment and will post pics. It will pay Simons effort a great compliment.

For now heres pics of the car back home..A big thank you to Simon and Mazza for their expert input with the first phase of this project and all who have contributed to this thread. There will be plenty of thread updates as i go on to complete the car.

I will post up a summary of all thats been done in this phase as soon as i can remember where i saved the doc!

 

[brigadier]

Beautiful! Just to change the user panel settings and enjoy the last inline six mb made (shame)

 

[millo777]

How come you're planning a full respray? I thought cklclive had already done a lot of body work on the car, and it certainly looks in great shape in the pics.

 

[BillyW124]

How come you're planning a full respray? I thought cklclive had already done a lot of body work on the car, and it certainly looks in great shape in the pics.

Thanks mate, Clive did rust proofing to the inner panels and the usual 124 hotspots. Its rust free now, I want a spray jobby done as i'm not overly happy with some area's of work carried out by previous owner.

Its been re sprayed already at one point which is done nicely but can be done better i feel.

..besides it will be a shame not to use all the brand new MB rubber seals I bought for this job specifically. In order to fulfill this it will be an all glass out job.

 

[BillyW124]

Summary of work completed

1. Diagnose original fault with donor engine
2. Old ECU diagnosis
3. Strip down engine
4. Clean empty engine bay
5. Install replacement VDO engine management ECU
6. Re fitting of M104 cylinder head - swapped out 3.2 for 3.6 head.
7. E320 Front hub, control arms and four piston brake installation
8. All 4 brake calipers vapour blasted Silver – new disks and pads
9. Sebring exhaust back box
10. Cruise control fit
11. Run looms, plumbing and wiring for HLWW / heated washer bottle
12. Swap instrument cluster to show correct engine mileage and dial for econ’ gauge
13. Fit and polish Stainless steel manifolds
14. Braided HEL brake hoses x4
15. Rocker cover/steering reservoir cap, painted black with centre cover polished aluminum
16. Engine block re painted in black enamel and all aluminum engine/piston head surfaces cleaned
17. Gearbox casings cleaned
18. Front rubber shims for tweaking ride height
19. Electric steering column installation
20. Run Pre wiring for electric and heated memory seats
21. Relocate oil cooler/upgrade to w140 oil cooler
22. Installation of steering box cooling pipe
23. Swap out front down pipes (de cat) and centre box
24. Re locate lambda sensor for 320 fitment
25. Engine and gear box re installation and run all wiring
26. Install Bilstein B8 shocks
27. 320 front ARB powder coated with new bushes
28. Front wings pulled out slightly
29. Fitting of new coolant expansion tank
30. Fitting of new brake booster cable
31. Laser four wheel tracking alignment
32. Engine X member corrosion treatment
33. Steering box casing cleaned up and black enamel painted
34. Match up rear propshaft to fit existing 2.2 differential with new rear couplings
35. Major service including fluid service
36 Fitting of new springs (testing)

37. **Sport line steering box – did not install

 

[Niks]

That looks great man! I agree with lowering the rear a tad more though. You thought about getting it dyno'd to see what its putting out with that 3.6 head?

 

[RBYCC]

I would leave the stance as is...
Coupes always had a slightly higher rear which to me makes the car look like it's going fast when standing still
Lowering it all around gives it that slammed VW bagged look...

 

[BillyW124]

..they also had a higher front end which overrode the already higher height of the rear giving it that slouch look imo.

The front is sitting perfect and so just need a slight adjustment to the rear spring cup to match it.

I'm aiming for a straight side on look rather than the very slight nose dive stance as is. By doing this, it should counter balance the front raising it just a few mm level.

Here are the differences in rear and front cups:

Rear, 1-point (8mm)
Rear, 2-point (13mm) (proposed)
Rear, 3-point (18mm) (Using this one)

Front, 1-point (8mm)
Front, 2-point (13mm)
Front, 3-point (18mm) (Using this one)
Front, 4-point (23mm)

Not sure about the Dyno thing Niks, guess there ins't any harm, but i'm not all that bothered about output figures tbh. I just know it's got plenty of poke and can be unleashed when the rep mobile gives it large. The 'Inbetweener' !

 

[mazza]

1st Corner weights session

We need to do a new session now

cross weight and left/right are spot on!!!!!!!!!!

mazza

 

[BillyW124]

Recap of the 220 weight..

 

[mazza]

Coupes always had a slightly higher rear which to me makes the car look like it's going fast when standing still

That explains why she looked and felt like she was going around corners rather well and fast...hehehe that's what we'll tell the boys in blue..its a stance thing ociffer..you wouldn't understand...hehe

cheers
mazza

 

[BillyW124]

..you liked that blast didn't you Mazza!

 

[RBYCC]

That explains why she looked and felt like she was going around corners rather well and fast...hehehe that's what we'll tell the boys in blue..its a stance thing ociffer..you wouldn't understand...hehe

cheers
mazza

Looks like you got the weight transfer spot on...
Don't drop the rear too much...
If the motor is making torque it likes to squat down on the rear wheels...
Great suspension at times allows for grip without a limited slip diff...

 

[kth286]

Must confess I like to see the whole tyre in the round, so would 'up' the front
a touch.

When you get into car it will drop a bit at front anyway, and will still be lower than rear.

the aerodynamics and CD figs are better with slightly lower front, which prevents air stream easily getting under car on forward motion.

 

[BillyW124]

Looks like you got the weight transfer spot on...
Don't drop the rear too much...
If the motor is making torque it likes to squat down on the rear wheels...
Great suspension at times allows for grip without a limited slip diff...

For sure, i hate that rear squat, ok so its going to naturally happen, but we've really minimised that with the current set up. 5mm lower won't make too much of a difference i wouldn't think.

The car didnt squat a great deal when I was shown the neat trick used to really get this thing moving..... Really moving

Using first gear by shifting the lever on 3 going all guns with your right foot, all hell breaks loose! The characteristics of the car changes completely. The 2.2 diff works a treat. You can really feel the torque back there in this type of scenario together with the engine pulling hard like a train up front. The engine sound is really noticeably different to that giving it some beans in D.

The car is really nicely balanced, its a joy driving it spirited. The main thing is the car feels safe. All the mods done tie nicely together at the higher end of the rev range to make a huge difference. Im still really impressed with how it comes to a stop, four pot - is the business. With sharp braking and short jabs of the pedal to test from speed, the car keeps steady and straight refusing to do a big nose dive under load.

 

[mazza]

..you liked that blast didn't you Mazza!

Hey Billy

I did mate!! hehehe

You know how much I hate rubbing (its the works of Satan himself)..hehehe

she coped very very well, good to see that.

mazza

 

[mazza]

For sure, i hate that rear squat, ok so its going to naturally happen, but we've really minimised that with the current set up. 5mm lower won't make too much of a difference i wouldn't think.

The car didnt squat a great deal when I was shown the neat trick used to

Hey

5mm drop at the rear is fine mate

front/rear spring rate combination are pretty much spot on.

looking forward to see how she behaves with the rear progressive springs setup.

let her settle a bit..like a fine red wine..it will get better.

mazza

 

[mazza]

Must confess I like to see the whole tyre in the round, so would 'up' the front
a touch.

When you get into car it will drop a bit at front anyway, and will still be lower than rear.

the aerodynamics and CD figs are better with slightly lower front, which prevents air stream easily getting under car on forward motion.

Hi

we did a couple of corner weight checks with driver and passenger to see how the static weights are spread across the chassis and wheel load.

just to help out with the suspension maths

mazza