My 124 - 300TE 4Matic Restoration

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It is a NI registration. Unfortunately though those are widely used in England as a cheap 'ageless' plate, and I also think it would look a little better with a year-specific reg. now.

Car is fantastic though :)
 
Well done Bruce,two world class wins,getting past your illness and producing a great looking car,I do like the colour,always liked green cars,owned 4 of them,there is a special feeling when you save a old car,I did it years ago with 1969 Porsche 912 many times I thought I would give up,but when the dark blur paint was applied all the chrome gleamed and the engine started first time,I was very happy,used to go out to the garage and sit in the car, in the drivers seat then the passenger seat,even in the back,had to sell it because work took me abroad,and a Porsche nut made me a crazy offer,damm him.
 
zipdip said:
Well done Bruce,two world class wins,getting past your illness and producing a great looking car,I do like the colour,always liked green cars,owned 4 of them,there is a special feeling when you save a old car,I did it years ago with 1969 Porsche 912 many times I thought I would give up,but when the dark blur paint was applied all the chrome gleamed and the engine started first time,I was very happy,used to go out to the garage and sit in the car, in the drivers seat then the passenger seat,even in the back,had to sell it because work took me abroad,and a Porsche nut made me a crazy offer,damm him.
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Thank you for the great post. It is always good to hear about others passion for restoring cars. In truth it never should have happened. I bought the car when my Range Rover caught light and burned out leaving us needing a 4x4 to get us through that winter. The car was to be scrapped or junked by it's owner but it ran and would see us through the winter. It had a smashed in bonnet where the local kids had danced on it. This complemented the big rust hole in the rear wing (usual window leakage). It also had been used for some years to ferry old gearboxes and engines around. The cloth interior smelled like a damp labrador. But the first time I drove it I fell in love. The ride was just sublime. In the snow it was awesome. It survived years one & two before the gearbox gave up and I had to garage it or scrap it. When I got ill, I wanted to have a challenge - a sort of personal bet - so I thought why not make this that challenge. So when I started to get better, the car came out and rest is history.
 
Now that you are back from your enforced holiday, did you get anything else done to your 4matic while you were away?
 
brucemillar said:
Friends. Can anybody tell me if the 300TE has a pre-fuel filter and if yes? where it is located please?
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Strainer on the tank and a filter near tn fuel pump(s) I would guess?

What prompts the question? :)
 
There is one fuel filter in the system but the fuel tank itself has a fuel strainer - base of the fuel tank A1114700686.
 
Thank you gentlemen.

There is no issue (yet). I saw some articles where people refer to replacing the fuel pre-filter as maintenance? I have just replaced the main petrol filter (the one mentioned next to the pump). That actually made a noticeable difference to the pick up and idle stability.

If I don't have one then I don't need to worry. I'm sure something else will fall off soon enough to keep me occupied.
 
Well here is the latest:

The car is almost complete. That is to say that nothing has fallen off, or broken, since my last update. This may be due in no small part to the car being garaged and on SORN. But work has not stopped.

The front grille has been removed and stripped of all it's component parts to have the plastic fins painted the correct grey (now done) and new chrome strips direct from MB fitted. The chrome kit from MB came in at half the cost of the ones advertised on ebay and is still a stocked item at £38 including VAT and postage. The main chrome surround is in very good condition so has just had a polish with autosol.

The wooden center console trim was removed, rubbed down with wet & dry and re-lacquered. New window switches were installed (bought from ebay) they are the correct "sided" switches with illumination. That actually has made a big difference to the interior finish (very posh)

The rear tailgate windscreen will be replaced next week. I could not rectify the self inflicted streaking caused by me leaving carpet shampoo running down the glass when I cleaned the carpets!! It etched into the glass and no amount of effort would fix it. Every time the sun hit the glass you could see the streaks.

New discs, pads and wear sensors are sat in my hallway staring at me. These will be fitted shortly. This will coincide with the 15 slot alloy wheels, going to Lepsons for a refurbish in Bright Mercedes Silver Powder Coat.

The car will then return to Andy at Wright Tech for a full bleed of the 4-Matic system. I found a guy in the US who had the correct bleed procedure for my car. That is a two man job, that requires all 4 wheels in the air while somebody up top jumpers the solenoid connectors, with somebody underneath opening the valves. There is a logical order to this and that will be followed.

The hope is to get her to Olly's Benz on the Green (subject to space being available) and also some other meetings in the summer. I would like to hope that we can get there without the need for a tow truck and another engine rebuild ;^)

I have a period radio arriving and I'm hoping for some chrome/polished door entry sill covers to arrive.

All things being fair I will hopefully get to meet you at Olly's. I am also hoping to put together a get together at my house in the summer. I am hoping that Charles will bring along his beautiful 114 and that many more will come along. We are in the lovely Kent countryside and Mrs M is threatening to lay on some nibbles (food that is). We have space for plenty of cars, so watch this space please.
 
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I saw one in exactly the same color scheme when i was in West London last summer visiting with my parents. I'm not sure if it was a 4 matic as it had a 5 speed (can they call it a 4 matic if it had a 5 speed?).
Parked in front of someone's house that had a bunch of C124's.
They look great in this color. I just recently inherited an 88 300TE in white with blue tex interior. I'm thinking of putting a 2.5TD engine in it and using it as a parts hauler.
Nice effort, your car looks great. Your thread needs more pictures :)
 
syncropaddy said:
My 4matic is still with Andy @ Wright Tech but is now ready so I hope to pick it up late next week.
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Did you have the box swapped in the end?

I have not been up to see Andy. I do owe him a visit, but have decided to wait for warmer weather. I have a few snags left now but nothing major (I hope). Given the engine and box were in and out so often I am pleased that we are where we are with so little going wrong.
 
That's a nice job on the woodwork and grille, those grilles are certainly imposing :) well done, i bet you smile every time you glance down at that console.
 
It's a real credit to you (and your wallet). Being honest, the colour was never a favorite of mine but it just proves what a proper restoration can do. It really looks terrific. Well ware.

BTW, the last W124 I came across in the same colour was a 4Matic also.
 
John

Thank you. So many people gave their time and parts to make this happen. Many of them on this forum. It is never fair to pick out one person, but I do have to give special mention to Simon (Carat) who provided the replacement crankshaft that enabled me to keep the engine intact and true to the car. This came at a time when, mentally and physically, it would have been easier to give up. Without Simon I may well have done just that.

Grober & Bellow have provided so much technical data that is just not readily available now on these cars. Not only providing the data but taking time to explain it. No easy task when dealing with my slushy brain.

And of course the wonderful Mr Charles Morgan, who despite his own 114 project pulling him in all directions, got in in the car drove over to Kent and spent a couple of days deep cleaning the interior. This car had been used to transport engines and gearboxes for several years. The rear carpets had enough ingrained ATF to keep a large merchant ship fueled for several Atlantic crossings. It stank!!!.

One of the greatest things about posting progress in a forum like this, is, without doubt the encouragement you get back from the members. On days where you actually achieve nothing and often move backwards, a few kind words on here, pull you back and make you want to carry on.

The plan this year is to get her to Olly's Benz on the Green (under her own power). Then to enjoy the summer wafting around in her. I do hope that we will get to meet up with some of you at BOTG.

Bruce
 
Today I treated my 30 year old very badly faded door handles to a treatment of Gtechiq G3 Plastic Restorer. The handles were so bad they had been covered up with eBay chrome covers (not a good look).

They were almost white and Meguiars didn't touch them nor Back to Black. But this stuff did the trick.

At £20 for a tiny little (eye drop) bottle, I needed to be good.

Sent from my iPhone using MBClub UK
 

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