C124 refurbish

[Ade B]

Can't say I've noticed any problems on either count, Ade.

Car Wash?

The car does not have Sportline - and having had it, or something similar on my previous 300CE-24, I wouldn't thank you for it now.

Having said that, she is pointing down a fairly steep hill and at the moment there is nothing in the boot - including no spare wheel.

Many thanks to all for the interest taken.

perhaps it's a grey thing on the trim, or a uv thing...

Yes I admit to using a local hand car wash - when ever I go they are full of normal people with jobs and families , they are also the only people who can shift the baked on brake dust (and are dissolving the wheels in the process)

when I wash it myself I just notice all the imperfections (read 18 years of scratches, swirls, stone chips and of late the odd blister) and feel miserable. Who wants that at the weekend...

Can't say I've any complaints with the sports chassis, tyre roar can get annoying on some surfaces but generally we waft about quite smoothly.

Anyway most of the time mine looks lovely, parked next to yours it would look like a shed.

Ade

 

[Smiley]

really cracking job.
Now all you need to do is buy another e320 coupe so you dont have to take this one out anywhere!

 

[MD5]

The car looks absolutely brilliant Derek, can't wait to see it on the 25th.... Nice background of Swanston village....

I only caught up with this excellent thread on page 4, and have since caught up. Post 48 threw me, because I thought I saw a bit of coastline I recognised, but the star threw me. Must stay off whatever it is, but see below, and you may see it yourself!

Great work, fanatastic attention to detail, Del, and a real inspiration to either buy or improve one of these fabulous cars. I hope to get to see it one day.

 

[WDB124066]

Give that man with the big glasses a coconut! :bannana:
Since you're so all-knowing, you must have known I have just returned from Mercedes Edinburgh, having ordered said strips - as well as a triangular guide for the seat belt and a handful of clips!

Seriously though, what a palaver! When it's as good as this, you start getting worryingly obsessive - and I know there are plenty on this Forum who are equally @n@!. Picky, picky, picky... thanks guys!

kth286, the doors "may" be galvanised, but they still rust along the top of the cladding.

Dear del boy,

I don't know everything, I don't wear glasses, I don't like coconuts, I am not being ****, I am not a palava, I do not get worryingly obsessive and I am not being picky - just trying to help you out dear boy!

You obviously enjoy your machine, so I figured you just wouldn't be comfortable knowing you had lost some bits.

In the meantime is there anything else you feel needs to be brought to my attention? Only - after that onslaught I feel the need to see my therapist and your continuing observations may come in handy for my resurrection ?

 

[bhav]

truly amazing ce

 

[Triple Star]

I bow down to your perseverance skill and drive and what a fantastic car you now have. Surely ME will be knocking at your do soon for a double page reader special.

they are such good cars in can only be a worthwhile investment !

Make sure your insurance reflects an agreed value.

 

[del320]

...Final thoughts over the weekend.

Well, almost two weeks late, I thought I would give youse all a final update and reckoning.

Rocco, John and the rest of the team at JRM Coachworks did a superb job and their advice and customer service is second to none. Nothing appears to be too much trouble.

...you just know there is a "but" about to follow...

A day or two after my last post, I noticed a few tiny dimples on the driver's door. You really had to dive around looking obliquely along the panel, but the more I looked, the more I found

Step forward, Jay:

I need to stop looking at the car.. keep finding imperfections in the paintwork!! at this rate the bodyshop will have the car for another 7 months!!
damn projects!

I found a further half dozen over the rest of the car and if that had been the lot, I reckon I could have polished out most of them and been content. In the event, I found over 20 on the door, so I went back to JRM.

"If you're not happy, we're not happy - bring it back in." Initially, they reckoned on a day to literally touch in the dimples with lacquer then polish them out. Well, a day turned into a week. Sh!t happens, and they polished too far right down to the paint, so decided to do the door again.

I'd be interested in any comments from you, Jay - and anyone else who has had a quality respray. When I'm shelling out two and a half bags, I'm looking for a pretty good job, but now I really do think I've got 99.9%.

Jay claims not to be a perfectionist:

absolutely.. im not overly fussy but there are some minor issues that i would like sorted.. mostly its down to over polishing..

and I'm not sure I believe him, but as of today, I think my coupe can bear pretty close scrutiny. Add another k (and a bit ) for the wings, windscreen and wheels and like any of these projects, it's hard to make a sensible financial case in the cold hard light of day. However, I'm delighted and, barring some terminal event, intend hanging on to her for another ten years - by which time I'll be 70.

Incidently, the drill was to rub down 8 years of Autoglym, and down through the lacquer and flat the paint. Repair the dinks and defects and etch-prime. Prime coat entire car and flat then 2 -3 coats of paint and flat. 5 coats of lacquer, flatted and polished, detail and wax. Lotta labour.

In time-honoured fashion, like all those home shows ont' telly, it's come in over budget and overrun timewise.

Now, for a second time I've got to pick out all the white residue and prepare her for Stirling on Saturday. I'll put up a few more picture next time the sun shines.

 

[st4]

Is "The Boss" on holiday - no comments from him!

Probably for the best - this makes his superprice cabrio seem not so good. Cracking car Derek

 

[SilverSaloon]

looking forward to seeing it this saturday.

aslong as no one scrutinises my own paintwork in comparison

as for the costs, its a lot of cash but if it is 99.9% good then it must be worth it. is anything ever perfect nowadays?

are you covering the extra expense put in on your insurance now? i'm interested in that as I dont with my W124 even though it cost me about twice if not more than what an insurance company would pay out on, but i take the risk every day

 

[A210AMG]

Looks great


I would just be too paranoid to park it / use it now....

 

[del320]

Thanks to the guys at Stirling for their very positive comments.

Many thanks again to Sean (ecossebev) for having provided me earlier with a supply of "Toughseal" - a two pack acrylic paint sealant. It seems to be respected amongst the detailing fraternity and has certainly got me off to a great start building up a really high gloss finish.

Apart from that, my work is done. I suppose the car will never again look so good.

A couple of other points occurred during reassembly: I took time to remove moulding burrs from a number of plastic components - wheelarch liners, cladding, mudflaps etc - using a Stanley blade, then used translucent silicon sealant (DIY type stuff) to fill the more obvious gaps between those parts and the body. It's easily removed if anything needs to come off in the future and the whole excercise has reduced the number of dirt traps significantly.

Finally, I've cleaned the insides of the indicator housings and the rubber strips under the bonnet are all present and correct.

Thanks again for all your comments!

 

[Charlie W]

hhm good idea, has there been any movement from you to do so? or any response form mbclub if so?
w124 the way forward! hah

 

[del320]

Hope no-one minds me opening this up again, but I thought this may be of interest to anyone thinking of replacing 124 wings - whether DIY or by a bodyshop. May I say the "before" pictures have been taken to clearly show the problem, but for all practical purposes it was not really that noticeable. (See picture in post#91). Certainly, after two GTGs, the guys were far too polite to mention it!

In essence, a spacer of thick card or similar should have been placed between the base of the windscreen pillar and the trailing edge of the wing before it was nipped up:

The gap is far too tight and would just harbour crap.

Being just a couple of millimeters too low at that point exaggerates the misalignment along the rest of the wing.

Fortunately, the wings were painted off the car so I didn't have to crack the paint and I found the screws barely more than finger tight. I loosened them off, found a really thick bit of card and gently levered up the rest of the wing along its length before retightening. No rocket science here but perhaps worth bearing in mind for the future.

I did both wings and the fit is now pretty well spot on.

 

[SilverSaloon]

Thanks Derek - useful info for the future.... i'm planning to get my front wings sorted early next year probably so will be taking them off the car, maybe even replacing them with new ones. (already have one in the shed). I also plan to do take off all the cladding aswell in view to clean it all behind there and i know that i need to sort/treat some rust around the jacking points aswell. this should bring my 124 back upto standard.

i must admit, i didnt notice at the GTG's

 

[kth286]

Del

A couple of questions please.

1. Do the doors on a coupe have to be removed to gain access to the wing bolts in the door recess - it looks very tight ?

2. What did you use to clean your plastic grill before painting it, and what paint did you use ?

3. What did you use to clean the top (very thin) rubber strips on the claddings, or did you buy new rubber strips and glue those on ?

Thanks David

 

[del320]

1. I have been told access can be gained if the door stays are released - though it is still pretty tight.

2. Energetic cycle in dishwasher. Proprietary plastic primer, standard rattle can and clear lacquer from Halfords. Done over a week of hot dry weather.

3. I presume you mean the fine tape which cushions the cladding from the bodywork? It appears to be a self-adhesive polythene material and sits a hairs breadth below the upper inside edge. I really expected to lose it but it survived scrubbing in soapy water and then the respray intact. Good ole 124 quality there

I actually wonder if it really serves much purpose though. It is so thin that any cushioning and sealing effect must be negligible. I also wouldn't think there'd be much difference between dirt etc. rubbing between the tape and the body or between the cladding and the body. In any event, a roll of it can be obtained from MB.

 

[kth286]

Thanks for the response, just what I was looking for - it is about time I gave my 320 coupe some attention to body matters.

I have always been keen on the mechanics and driving the thing.

You have shamed me into this, with your excellent results.

 

[del320]

Thirty Squids! :bannana:


(armrest)

 

[Dee-124CAB]

Amazing job there Del,

Im in the process of refurbishing my W124 cabriolet , got myself some new genuine wings. But the little rubber seal that sits in between the the front wings under the indicator section & on top of the bumper has perished...

Yours seem to be in fantastic condtion from the pic in post 49, did you clean them up or did you buy them new & if so do you have a partnumber for them?

Cheers Dee

 

[SilverSaloon]

Thirty Squids! :bannana:

Are i see. Who did this work? or is it a complete replacement?