Project C43 W202

[Abb]

Now that the 'back end' had been completed, my attention turned to the front. Although they didn't need doing, I decided to continue inflicting pain on myself by replacing both wishbones and steering knuckle thingymajigs!
These were Lemforder items..

OEM thingymajigys...

Again part numbers

 

[Abb]

Wishbones and thingymajigys were surprisingly straight forward to fit.....so my mechanic friend tells me

Decided to replace the track rod ends at the same time

 

[Abb]

The backing plates were actually in good order and seemed to have been replaced at some point, as they had a bit of surface corrosion, so they were rubbed down and simply painted with hammerite, so I could fit the discs and front brake assembly.
Old vs New

Again, all OEM discs & pads, the front calipers were fully refurbed by BIGG RED, who did a fantastic job.

Found out the hard way, it's easier if you reassemble the brake components on the correct side for which they are meant to be, oppose to fitting the left hand side to the right and vice versa

They did get a full clean with wurth brake cleaner to ensure all surface were free from any contaminants.

 

[Abb]

System filled with fresh brake fluid (I used ATE SL6) and bled using the 2 man method, checked for leaks and was pleased to say all is good!
That's it for now, will be back to bore you all sometime soon, but unfortunately work has got in the way yet again, so nothing will be getting done for another 4 weeks, when I will be doing all the fluid changes.
I did also manage to renovate the engine cover, random I know but feels like I am making progress

 

[Blazer]

System filled with fresh brake fluid (I used ATE SL6) and bled using the 2 man method, checked for leaks and was pleased to say all is good!
That's it for now, will be back to bore you all sometime soon, but unfortunately work has got in the way yet again, so nothing will be getting done for another 4 weeks, when I will be doing all the fluid changes.
I did also manage to renovate the engine cover, random I know but feels like I am making progress [/QUOTE

Abb

Thanks for the update... looks like your going for the 'Full Hog' keep up the good work....

 

[noogieman]

original brake pads were they stamped Jurid?

 

[clk320x]

System filled with fresh brake fluid (I used ATE SL6) and bled using the 2 man method, checked for leaks and was pleased to say all is good!
That's it for now, will be back to bore you all sometime soon, but unfortunately work has got in the way yet again, so nothing will be getting done for another 4 weeks, when I will be doing all the fluid changes.
I did also manage to renovate the engine cover, random I know but feels like I am making progress

Abb,

What a write up! Your attention to detail is admirable. This car was well worth saving Looking forward to seeing the end result!

Abs

 

[Abb]

original brake pads were they stamped Jurid?

To be honest, I didn’t notice any stamps on them at all.

 

[C43AMG]

Great work The W202 C43 was my introduction to the AMG Marque. What a great car and the saving of a Future Classic

 

[Abb]

What seems to be a (another) common problem on these, is the engine cover emblem and lettering. The star emblem I noticed had become very brittle and the chrome was peeling from the star and the AMG lettering.
Finding out I couldn't purchase the star separately and the new engine cover was circa £150, I decided to see if I could renovate the old one, after all I had nothing to lose and would buy another IF I had to. This isn't me being a tight wad, but felt the money would be better spent elsewhere, after all it still needs a fair bit spending on it!

From this....

 

[Abb]

I purchased a boot badge from a W211 (IIRC), drilled small 3 holes to take the badge as well as buying a new AMG badge off the bay of dreams and voila!
The badge is slightly larger than the original, but for now its a vast improvement and will stay until I can find a better solution. I still have the old badge and am contemplating getting it chrome wrapped.
To This....(even the pooch made a guest appearance as he was impressed!)

 

[Brian k]

Fab. Loving the thread.

 

[Blazer]

Blinging Marvelous !!

 

[Smart320]

Really enjoying reading the thread, mightily impressed !

 

[noogieman]

I like your dogs paw

 

[Brian k]

Hmmm just out of interest, and you might not want to know, but how much have you spent so far in this fab restoration?

 

[Abb]

Hmmm just out of interest, and you might not want to know, but how much have you spent so far in this fab restoration?

Brian, you are indeed right....I do not want to know!

On a serious note though, I have kept a spreadsheet on all my costings, but being honest it needs updating. What is included on there but not documented on this thread yet, is a set of 18" monoblock AMG wheels (OEM staggered in silver with a polished lip complete with tyres), nigh on every panel ( All OEM, 3 doors, 2 wings, 2 sills, bonnet & bootlid), as well as some other bits I have bought. Its probably around the £7.5k mark so far.
I haven't got much more to purchase, so my major expense is going to be the body restoration and respray. Finding the correct bodyshop for this will be key for obvious reasons.
Rather than spend money on labour trying to sort out some of the panels (which could be rescued), it made sense to replace them for new.

Again, I know it doesn't make any financial sense but it's just something I wanted to do, definitely a decision made by the heart over the head this one.

 

[daveenty]

Again, I know it doesn't make any financial sense but it's just something I wanted to do, definitely a decision made by the heart over the head this one.

Ain't that always the case...

 

[Brian k]

Again, I know it doesn't make any financial sense but it's just something I wanted to do, definitely a decision made by the heart over the head this one.

Yeah Abb I get it too. My heart runs away with my wallet too. I just think folk often grossly underestimate the cost both financially and in the time needed to do this type of restoration. Being completely open about it helps manage people's expectations.

Keep it up.

 

[Abb]

Yeah Abb I get it too. My heart runs away with my wallet too. I just think folk often grossly underestimate the cost both financially and in the time needed to do this type of restoration. Being completely open about it helps manage people's expectations.

Keep it up.

Thank you Brian. When I took this on, I prepared for the worst so anything else is a bonus!