I want to restore my S Class 300SE 1991

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ASGILL

New Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
3
Location
Kent
Car
Merc ML or S Class
Hello all,

I am looking to restore my dads car, back to the standard it should be.

Firstly I noticed front bumper rotting and rusting rotting under the back chassis under the boot.

Interior inside the car is damage, and im looking for basically a whole refurb of the car.

Does anyone know where I can begin, or if there are companies out there that do this sort of thing.

Or can I but parts and do this myself....

I will post up pics later on tonight for people to see the condition of the car.

Even the alloys need to be fixed, they seem to be worn or eroded.


Any help out here.
 
Hi Asgil and welcome to the forum. It's a helpful and knowledgeable bunch who frequent these pages, so you've come to the right place.

Imo unless your car holds any great sentimental value, it would be far more economically viable to source a solid example in good condition. They are dirt cheap now and it's a matter of holding out for a good one. If you have yours already for comparison, you'll know where they are weak on rust protection so will know what to look for.

Parts are widely available to source privately from MB and other suppliers and if you're up for a project to diy, you'll get a lot of support from the members here.

I'd suggest you use the search options to see the posts on the w126 in general and m103 engine in particular. The bumper chromes always go, iirc they're c.£350 from Mercedes. That's for each bumper. Interiors can go for very cheap 2nd hand on ebay.

Look forward to seeing pics :thumb:
 
The bumper thing is common. They come up on eBay. Seats are easy to replace, if that's all that's wring inside. Wood isn't too bad to do, but finding decent wood is a bit harder. Alloys, will need a refurb, usually in the region of £50 per wheel. Let's see pics :)
 
Strangely , Generation 1 bumper chromes don't seem to rust , only Generation 2 .

There's a 300SE in a local breakers with rotten bumper chrome , and a 280SE next to it with perfect chrome .
 
Strangely , Generation 1 bumper chromes don't seem to rust , only Generation 2 .

There's a 300SE in a local breakers with rotten bumper chrome , and a 280SE next to it with perfect chrome .

Hmm, thats odd. I wonder if the gen 1 version has the silly rubber flap behind the bumper that traps dirt/salt/moisture.
 
I'll check on my own 280SE when I get home tonight . The above , though , is something that has been commented on numerous times before .

I was looking at the bumpers as the front bumper on my pre-facelift car had been fire damaged when vandals placed a burning wheely-bin against the front of the car before I bought it and the plastic coating had been burnt off the corner . The breaker only wanted £25 for the complete bumper , but the bolts were badly rusted up . Because of this I ended up putting some filler into the damaged part of my bumper then spraying it with grey bumper paint which , although not a perfect match , looks reasonably presentable - at some stage I'll get the correct grey paint and do the job properly .

I somehow prefer the cleaner lines of the generation 1 bumpers than the later style which , to me , look somewhat 'bloated' .
 
Strangely , Generation 1 bumper chromes don't seem to rust , only Generation 2 .

Interesting... I'd not considered that before, but then, come to think of it, that does seem to be the case. I like the gen 2 bumpers and non-ribbed side cladding. Much as I prefer the post '86 R107 front lip to the earlier ones. Makes it look more planted as opposed to readying to take-off imo.

Hmm, thats odd. I wonder if the gen 1 version has the silly rubber flap behind the bumper that traps dirt/salt/moisture.

Might be onto something there. Just pondering... w124 bumper chrome doesn't go does it? I don't know whether a direct comparison is applicable though...

I've been thinking of returning to w126 ownership, pretty much immediately after I sold the 300SE back in 2005, and I'm always interested posts involving mb's of this era.

Anyway, just to add, there are varying degrees of what one considers a restoration. A nut and bolt restoration a la : w201 190E 2.5-16v where the car is how it left the factory, to giving it a spruce-up and adding some years of life to the car.

Lots of companies in the UK do MB restorations: whereabouts are you?
 
Hi Peeps,

Im down in Kent, South East England, Am just going go take some pics of the car, im not looking to buy a new car, and actually looking to restore its fully making the car absolutely spotless.

Thanks for the bumpers info, were can i order those ?

Just going take lots of pics and you guys can see for yourselves.
 
How do i upload pics ?
 
Give this link a read on how to upload to the Members Album section.

*click* Uploading to the Members Album *click*

You might want to create an album there, or you can upload in a post by pressing either: the 'postcard' button or the 'paperclip' button in the Reply to Thread console (circled).

threadreply.jpg
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Then insert a link to your pic from your pc or a free image hosting website. :thumb:

*click* See here for a list of free image hosting websites. *click*
 

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