C124 refurbish

[del320]

Apart from the wings being shot, as you can see, most other panels have some minor damage. There is dink below the n/s rear window, scratches below the aerial, and touched in paint on the bootlid and below the o/s rear light. The bonnet has 13 years of stone chips albeit religiously touched in and there are a couple of spots where the top lacquer is peeling.

Yes, the car is in good nick and most blemishes would not really be noticeable to others on a casual glance, but as discussed with Rocco, by the time he blended the new wings half way along the doors, then mucked around trying to blend these other blemishes, really, only the roof would be left.

The side cladding and the sills in particular also have numerous chips.

Overall, though, he's working off such a good base, that I'm hoping for stunning results.

 

[Highway Star]

Great stuff and watching this thread with interest. My engine bay will be getting its first going over this weekend.

 

[WDB124066]

del320 has got a good point here!

Earlier on in the year I snatched off the driver’s door outer panel to crank the windows over a bit. Sure as eggs the paint had worn through the colour coats where the plastic panel rubs on the painted steel door panel.
Previous to that I had noticed that the paint was down to the primer especially noticeable when the sun shines directly on the door, this can be seen when the panels are on, so at least you can inspect without having to take the panel off.

There is a multi layered rubbing strip that sticks to the plastic door panel that is available new form MB - at a hefty price. I believe with this strip in good condition the abrasion will be much less. I say this because the damage was in the area of where the rubbing strip had slipped off its location. There is more than one layer to this rubbing strip, again an example of just how well these cars were designed.

Anyway, if this abrasion mechanism is allowed to continue it will make your doors look pretty shabby as the rust will initiate and grow from here. Mine was not too bad and had not worn through the primer, so it was simply a matter of using touch-up paint to rectify. I plan to do this a few times as the miles go by, as I am not totally convinced there really is a way to totally stop the abrasion. I am very happy that I caught it in time and would recommend to anybody with the plastic panels to inspect the car for paint abrasion in this area. If you are down to the primer get the panels off and the touch up paint on - ASAP. You might want to get a new rubbing strip too.

You will almost certainly break a few clips when you remove the panel, this is expected and even pointed out in the MB workshop publication. I bought a bunch of clips, all four styles, so I have a handy supply for the future.


I wasn’t too happy at the state of the weather curtain either, so I bought a new one from MB ( very cheap) and attached it to the door trim panel, not the door itself, as was originally done. I did this because I get much better access to the door if the curtain comes off with the trim. Also by fitting it to the trim panel it is easier to ensure the lower edge of the curtain is below the upper edge of the trim material where it is returned around the wood trim panel. This is important as water will sit and decay the wood trim panel (makes it look like Wheet Bix) if it regularly comes in contact with the wood. In fact I got a bit carried away here and re glued the leather trim where it returns to the back side of the wood. It had lifted and made a nice little channel to hold the water next to the wood. After re-gluing I glued duct tape to the leather and wood for about an inch above the lower edge of the trim and made sure the lower edge of the weather curtain was well below the upper edge of the duct tape. You can see this if you look closely at the pictures. I think this should stop the Wheet Bix problem common on so many cars.
Took a while, and it is trickey to fit the weather curtain to the door trim panel, but it is worth it if you are planning to keep the car for a while.

After del’s post I think I will take a few more of these plastic panels off and have a look-see underneath. Car has done 185,000 kms. A nip in time........

 

[tim74]

coming along nicely

 

[ecossebev]

How far along are we? Anywhere near finished yet?

 

[del320]

Update:

I'm expecting to get the car back this Thursday or Friday, so looking forward to nailing it all back together again this weekend:

All nuts, screws, washers and bolts (punchline of a very old joke in there ) now cleaned and polished to within an inch of their lives...

 

[d w124]

Looking good.My project will start soon and is going for full respray.It might take a while,but pictures will follow every step.My car is light blue,but i`m thinking to go 040

 

[del320]

Got the car back this afternoon and am well pleased! Apart from putting all the parts back on, I've a ton of work cleaning it inside and out.

Here's a teaser for starters -

Until I've gone over it with a fine tooth comb I'll not say too much one way or another. It's so damn shiny I can't tell if any marks there are are just down to the final wash down or fingerprints or dust.

New windscreen is a revelation - can see where I'm going now!

More pictures ASAP.

 

[del320]

It's all starting to come together now. Frankly, yesterday was a bit of an anti-climax.

You see, unlike Jay's Widebody, my car went into the bodyshop looking like a "minter" - apart from the obvious frayed wheelarches. So when I got it back with the engine bay streaked and dusty and the interior dusty with the odd shard of glass under the seats, the initial impression was that it was in poorer shape than when I last saw it.

This is in no way meant as a complaint - eggs and omelettes etc, but should be taken as a warning to anyone thinking of having this sort of work done. Last year, a major refurbishment of our living room involved getting rid of an artexed ceiling and a full replastering with cornicing. What a bloody mess - was I depressed? So I've got to get things into proportion.

The car originally looked immaculate - clearly it wasn't - see pictures above. It still isn't immaculate - its coming up for 14 years old. But Rocco and his team have done a superb job and as I gradually wear my fingernails down picking out all the detritus of a full respray, the old gal is, as The Boss might say "The Best"

A few clips and fasteners have to be obtained, there's a tiny nick in the rubber round a rear window and a tiny dimple below the driver's mirror, but apart from the fact it is unfeasibly shiny, there is little evidence of a respray. :bannana:

I'm taking my time so I've not started on the interior yet nor re-attached the cladding, but the boot and engine bay are done and the body wants a final polish.

So:

Check all the rubbers round the door and new windscreen.

This is what the wings, bumper and wheel should look like.

The rear screen was not removed. Neat finish here.

More to come during the week, but you'll have to wait a while for a picture of the whole car!

On and ever upwards...

 

[blondebier]

That looks amazing! Can't wait to see a shot of the finished article.

 

[Will]

Looking good Del - I know that you'll have all the little bits cleaned up and perfect and then it'll surely be one of the best 124 coupés around

It'll be worth the inconvenience

Will

 

[Triple Star]

This is a great thread, I have learnt a lot already. what did you use on your Gunsight ? Keep the photo's coming.

Rob.

 

[del320]

The engine bay is more or less back to an acceptable condition:

... and a slight mod here - I've painted the the grille a darker shade - Fordy Sea Gray:

The wheelarch liners are refitted and the interior has been deep cleaned. I took a photo but it's blurred. I'll try again later. Meanwhile, compare this one with the third picture back on Post#3 :bannana:

Can't deny it's shiny - it keeps fooling my autofocus

I've been stymied by the weather, but hope to have it finished by Friday. I'll post a full set of photos if/when the sun shines!

 

[500E]

Looks amazing. Possibly one of the best E320's.

If you want to make it perfect, clean/replace the side indicators and the headlight lenses. You can get them from EuroCarParts. Certainly updated the front of our old E500.

 

[Bill_33]

A really interesting thread

Thanks Del

 

[Smiley]

looks super; well done.

how much has his cost to do if you dont mind telling us.
Did the roof get sprayed as well?

 

[Bill_33]

Another question, Del

Maybe I will be "brave" and remove the plastic door and sill panels on my 300CE.
I expect to find corrosion under there, (it is a 124?)....there is only one very small "scab" that has crept above the plastic panel line on the n/s door

I do not want to have the car fully resprayed

What do you recommend? - rub any corrosion down to the bar metal, prime and then spray with Hammerite etc., coat in protection wax, (waxoil?) and then replace with new clips and fitting

 

[del320]

looks super; well done.

how much has this cost to do if you dont mind telling us.
Did the roof get sprayed as well?

Oh yes! And the sunroof panel was taken out.

How much? - a lot!

When everything is completely done, I'll do a short résumé.

The interior was really quite dirty with evidence of the windscreen having been replaced. It's come up well using Autoglym leather cleaner and conditioner as well as their carpet cleaner.

Who said the armrest was knackered? Who said that! That's patina, mate, patina!

Bill: I'm sorry, I really wouldn't like to advise... I explained earlier in this thread what happens if grit is left between the door and the cladding. If you've now got evidence of rust there, you'll make nothing of it trying to do a localised rub down and touch-up.

The trouble is, I would expect far worse when the cladding is removed so nothing short of a full panel respray will do. The problem will otherwise just return.

 

[kth286]

The following panels on the 124s were all galvanised (Zinc plated):

* bonnet

* doors

* sunroof

* boot lid

* fuel filler cap

Therefore if the paint is chipped down through the primer into the galvanised layer, the zinc will electrically migrate accros the bare metal and cover it.

So Bill you should not have much trouble with the doors.

Shame the wings were not galvanised.

 

[WDB124066]

Crickey. She's a pearler mate!

You seem to be missing a couple of rubber strips in the engine department, not sure if you knew but forgot to fit them or what, but they fit on the inboard edge of the front wings inside the engine bay.

I hope the wife is doing her bit and keeping the house clean!

W.