Picked up another 190E 2.5-16 project recently and thought it might be of interest to some of you on here - probably Wemorgan and others following on from this thread:
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/general-discussion/127592-190-16v-kerb-weight.html
It's an Astral Silver 2.5-16 manual, and the previous owner had it for quite a few years, using it regularly at the Nurburgring and a few track days.
Quite a lot of stuff was upgraded:
Uprated Bilstein shock absorbers front and rear
Uprated H&R lowering springs front and rear
Uprated Eibach ARBs front and rear
17" Evo-II wheels with Toyo R888 tyres (road legal semi-slicks)
EBC greenstuff pads and ATE synthetic blue brake fluid
Full stainless exhaust system - not an off the shelf job, but a very nicely made custom system that fits perfectly and is a similar design to the original MB setup (£££s)
He was intending to take it much further and had stripped most of the interior out in preparation for a cage, lightweight seats etc but due to a change in circumstances it had to be sold - and the rest is history
This is how the car looked when I went to see it back in February:
The car had been standing for quite a while, but started straight away as soon as a battery was put on it, despite the freezing conditions!
Saw it, paid for it and arranged to return with a spare 190 seat to bring it home the following day. It had just been MOT'd prior to being parked up and was still taxed, and after a quick checkover I was confident it would make the ~ 30 mile run home ok
Returned the following day, bolted a driver's seat back in and once off the snowy driveway, a friend drove it back home for me and it didn't miss a beat. Who needs winter tyres?
This is how it looked before I picked it up:
Although I'm not usually one for modifying these cars, this one has been so extensively stripped/modded/used that I don't feel any guilt in continuing where it was left off.
I've always wanted to experience a few track days and the 2.5-16 was a car that I'd like to have tried, but I've been a bit too precious of the ones I have owned in the past. Even as a standard car I think they have an excellent chassis setup, and although perhaps not all that quick by today's standards they are great fun to drive.
After a few weeks of bad weather/being busy with other jobs, started to make a bit of progress with the new project.
Mechanically, it seems like a very good car with a solid shell and was obviously well maintained by the previous owner. I could tell that the engine had been worked on at some point, but was pleased to find paperwork for an overhaul at a Mercedes-Benz main dealer within the last 60k miles (££££). Plenty of other recent work - engine mountings, suspension bits etc.
It starts, idles and runs very well with no smoke or overheating, good solid tickover and plenty of power. A compression test revealed a very healthy and even 200psi on every cylinder and all sixteen valve clearances are in spec - a good start!
Other than sorting out a few minor jobs (electromagnetic fan clutch, bonnet strut, etc) and a few cosmetic issues (grille star etc) the main focus has been to sort out the interior.
My aim is to create a usable fun car, without spending a fortune. These cars aren't all that heavy compared to modern stuff at around 1300kg, but it's surprising just how much weight can be removed. This car originally had full leather, heated, electric seats etc which had already been taken out. Original MB seats are quite heavy - especially the electric ones with motors, and I reckon with the other stuff that was removed (carpets, wiring etc) a good 100kg+ had been taken out already.
A good friend of mine, Chris (Whitey), volunteered to assist with stripping out the redundant wiring and helping to tidy up all of the interior and electrics. Other stuff that has been/will be removed - central locking vacuum pump and lines, rear electric window motors, electric aerial, sunroof motor + mechanism, speakers, sterero, lots of wiring etc (two carrier bags full so far). All of the carpets, parcel shelf, pillar trims, door cards etc have already gone, but it makes sense to remove the tar based sound deadening too as it is very heavy (ever picked up a roll of roofing felt!). Probably another 10-20kg there alone.
I have some standard W201 lights so will lose the wiper motors and twin pump washer bottle, and might replace the rear lights from a vanity point of view?
I also intend to remove the self-levelling suspension pipework, accumulators, control valve, etc as it is no longer needed.
It's currently stripped down with the steering wheel, cluster, dash etc out and Chris is sorting out/stripping down some of the wiring:
I have sourced a pair of secondhand lightweight Sparco Evo seats to fit in the front, just need to sort out the mountings for them (either aftermarker runners or maybe modifying some old W201 subframes?)
With no rear seats and everything stripped out, it should be possible to get the car down to around 1100kg or thereabouts with around 200bhp. With decent suspension, tyres, seats etc it should be a good usable fun car.
I'm fairly comfortable with the mechanicals of these cars - I've owned a fair few 190s and have also had five Cosworths over the years, but I perhaps lack some of the 'creativity' for modifiying. I need to get some mountings sorted out for the Sparco seats and a new steering wheel/boss, and have a few ideas for some other stuff to sort out - but would warmly welcome any suggestions or recommendations to take this forward as a 'track day' type project. One thing I am conscious of is that much of the weight that has been removed is towards the rear of the car - so need to consider stuff like maybe relocating the battery and some other bits to the boot?
Like I say, this is a fun car project, it doesn't owe me a fortune and I don't intend to spend silly money on it. If I can do a few trackdays and have some fun in the process then I'll be pleased. Whatever may happen to it and however it turns out I'm sure I'll have fun and shouldn't lose out financially.
If anyone has any bits and pieces that they think might be of interest to me, let us know!
Will update with progress/pics/stories as and when, but this is a back burner project so don't expect lightning progress
Cheers,
Will
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/general-discussion/127592-190-16v-kerb-weight.html
It's an Astral Silver 2.5-16 manual, and the previous owner had it for quite a few years, using it regularly at the Nurburgring and a few track days.
Quite a lot of stuff was upgraded:
Uprated Bilstein shock absorbers front and rear
Uprated H&R lowering springs front and rear
Uprated Eibach ARBs front and rear
17" Evo-II wheels with Toyo R888 tyres (road legal semi-slicks)
EBC greenstuff pads and ATE synthetic blue brake fluid
Full stainless exhaust system - not an off the shelf job, but a very nicely made custom system that fits perfectly and is a similar design to the original MB setup (£££s)
He was intending to take it much further and had stripped most of the interior out in preparation for a cage, lightweight seats etc but due to a change in circumstances it had to be sold - and the rest is history
This is how the car looked when I went to see it back in February:
The car had been standing for quite a while, but started straight away as soon as a battery was put on it, despite the freezing conditions!
Saw it, paid for it and arranged to return with a spare 190 seat to bring it home the following day. It had just been MOT'd prior to being parked up and was still taxed, and after a quick checkover I was confident it would make the ~ 30 mile run home ok
Returned the following day, bolted a driver's seat back in and once off the snowy driveway, a friend drove it back home for me and it didn't miss a beat. Who needs winter tyres?
This is how it looked before I picked it up:
Although I'm not usually one for modifying these cars, this one has been so extensively stripped/modded/used that I don't feel any guilt in continuing where it was left off.
I've always wanted to experience a few track days and the 2.5-16 was a car that I'd like to have tried, but I've been a bit too precious of the ones I have owned in the past. Even as a standard car I think they have an excellent chassis setup, and although perhaps not all that quick by today's standards they are great fun to drive.
After a few weeks of bad weather/being busy with other jobs, started to make a bit of progress with the new project.
Mechanically, it seems like a very good car with a solid shell and was obviously well maintained by the previous owner. I could tell that the engine had been worked on at some point, but was pleased to find paperwork for an overhaul at a Mercedes-Benz main dealer within the last 60k miles (££££). Plenty of other recent work - engine mountings, suspension bits etc.
It starts, idles and runs very well with no smoke or overheating, good solid tickover and plenty of power. A compression test revealed a very healthy and even 200psi on every cylinder and all sixteen valve clearances are in spec - a good start!
Other than sorting out a few minor jobs (electromagnetic fan clutch, bonnet strut, etc) and a few cosmetic issues (grille star etc) the main focus has been to sort out the interior.
My aim is to create a usable fun car, without spending a fortune. These cars aren't all that heavy compared to modern stuff at around 1300kg, but it's surprising just how much weight can be removed. This car originally had full leather, heated, electric seats etc which had already been taken out. Original MB seats are quite heavy - especially the electric ones with motors, and I reckon with the other stuff that was removed (carpets, wiring etc) a good 100kg+ had been taken out already.
A good friend of mine, Chris (Whitey), volunteered to assist with stripping out the redundant wiring and helping to tidy up all of the interior and electrics. Other stuff that has been/will be removed - central locking vacuum pump and lines, rear electric window motors, electric aerial, sunroof motor + mechanism, speakers, sterero, lots of wiring etc (two carrier bags full so far). All of the carpets, parcel shelf, pillar trims, door cards etc have already gone, but it makes sense to remove the tar based sound deadening too as it is very heavy (ever picked up a roll of roofing felt!). Probably another 10-20kg there alone.
I have some standard W201 lights so will lose the wiper motors and twin pump washer bottle, and might replace the rear lights from a vanity point of view?
I also intend to remove the self-levelling suspension pipework, accumulators, control valve, etc as it is no longer needed.
It's currently stripped down with the steering wheel, cluster, dash etc out and Chris is sorting out/stripping down some of the wiring:
I have sourced a pair of secondhand lightweight Sparco Evo seats to fit in the front, just need to sort out the mountings for them (either aftermarker runners or maybe modifying some old W201 subframes?)
With no rear seats and everything stripped out, it should be possible to get the car down to around 1100kg or thereabouts with around 200bhp. With decent suspension, tyres, seats etc it should be a good usable fun car.
I'm fairly comfortable with the mechanicals of these cars - I've owned a fair few 190s and have also had five Cosworths over the years, but I perhaps lack some of the 'creativity' for modifiying. I need to get some mountings sorted out for the Sparco seats and a new steering wheel/boss, and have a few ideas for some other stuff to sort out - but would warmly welcome any suggestions or recommendations to take this forward as a 'track day' type project. One thing I am conscious of is that much of the weight that has been removed is towards the rear of the car - so need to consider stuff like maybe relocating the battery and some other bits to the boot?
Like I say, this is a fun car project, it doesn't owe me a fortune and I don't intend to spend silly money on it. If I can do a few trackdays and have some fun in the process then I'll be pleased. Whatever may happen to it and however it turns out I'm sure I'll have fun and shouldn't lose out financially.
If anyone has any bits and pieces that they think might be of interest to me, let us know!
Will update with progress/pics/stories as and when, but this is a back burner project so don't expect lightning progress
Cheers,
Will
