Project shed restore

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bigfatjim

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Tractor
This is a follow on thread in which I will journal my progress with 'the shed'. My 1998 C250 TD Elegance Auto Estate bought for peanuts as a non runner.

First update:

Like any good surgeon, start with a scrub up. So at 7:30am this morning the shed had what seems to be its first wash in many, many months. possibly years. And I got a big surprise. The car is green not brown! Ok, a touch of sarcasm, but what a difference a bubble bath makes.

The good news is that the bodywork is actually pretty reasonable, as in no rust on wheel arches at all and just a couple of scabs on the door bottoms. Yes there are some minor scratches and a couple of minor car park type dings. So, not a bad start overall there though.

On the down side the front bumper is a bit of a mess. Obviously had a minor tap as is cracked on the top edge and is sort of attached sort of not attached to the lower valance. Nothing a touch up pen and some clips cannot fix though.

Now it is clean I can get ready for work and will have a bash at the engine if I have time tonight.

More to follow. Much more............
 
I really admire you guys who can do this! Must be a great feeling to take a "shed" and restore it back to it's former glory! A few years ago I bought an '86 Saab with the intention of doing just that - 5 years on it's still rusting away in the drive!

Sadly my motivation matches my skill level --- 0!! :D

Good luck with it!!
 
I have a shed in my garden that needs to be refurbished. Roof needs replacing, bodywork - read timber - needs repainting and windows need cleaning. There are also shelves to refix and general garden rubbish to remove.

Any offer of help gratefully received!
 
Hope you are going to take before and after pictures to show us 'would be' project boys how it really should be done!!

Buffers
 
Ok, update 2::bannana:

I have some before and during pics already. I will try and load them up later.

I managed to finish work at 2pm, so popped home, had a cuppa and started the restore..

1st thing and most priority was seeing if the engine will ever run again. Well, although the filter housing seals need replacing, there is no other sign of air in the pipes so no reason why it wouldn't start except that they had ran it dry and hence may have sucked some carp through into the system? Anyway, off with the air filter and YE GODS!!!!!!! I would not be surprised if that was the original filter. I have never seen one so dirty and I do mean manky! Leaves in the bottom of the filter housing and the filter itself... well. If you folded it the dirt just fell out!

So, that is off for good and a new filter going on tomorrow. But a quick squirt of Easy start and it did just that. Start. It ran, farted, cut out and then on go number two it fired up and purred like a kitten. No udue smoke, noise or leaks other than a drip from the badly fitted oil filter, again replacement is tomorrow.

So, ladies and gents. 10 minutes in and it is a runner. Let that be a lesson to some. Never underestimate the talents of a fat bloke with a spanner. Especially if that fat bloke happens to be an ex-RAF engineer!

Next, whilst it ran it got its first ever view of a Dyson. The car was manky. I just about filled the Dyson with carp from inside every crevace of the car. Seats looked like they were dipped in sand. boot full of hay. Dirty, filhy slobs that owned this car. But again, after a lot of attention with a dry paint brush in all those hideaway places, most the loose stuff is out. Dashboard is fine, wood is fine. Door cards, carpets and seats will be replaced as soon as I find a matching set - as in all from the same car.

So. Onwards and upwards. After 30 minutes, engine was still sat happily at 80 degrees or just under, so perfectly happy so far.

Fault list that I know of, starting with the odd ones first.

When starting from cold, heater plug light on, heater plug light off and start. Great. When you restart once warm, light on, light off fairly quickly as you would expect, start instantly but the nthe heater plug light comes back on and stays on for around 30 seconds?????? What is that all about?

Next. Wiper. No rear one at all, but it does have the button. So removed at some point for some reason. I want it back, so looking for one.

Next, front wiper. All there, motor makes noise, wiper doesn't move. You can move the wiper by hand and it does its little up down dance. So I am guessing linkage broken. Weld fixable? Replace just linkage? Any ideas?

Next, windows. Well they seemed to not bve playing ball, but i remember having to program them on a Vauxhall Omega years ago, so tried that and hey presto they all work as they should, ie one touch up down or in between.

Next, Heater. Turn on the fan and nothing, but if your press EC button it does light up. Now, judging by the air filter I would not expect the pollen filter had any priority so I assume manky blocked. Would that be enough to stop ALL airflow?

Central locking all works on both keys. Sussed out the spare key. Sussed out the clever kiddie high chairs - snazzy or what?

So, job list:

Passeneger headlamp (chipped and thus steaming up)
Drivers front indicator (missing lens)
Drivers door mirror. Works but ony up down and glass has been glued on before, so change I think.
Obvious oil/filter changes
Wipers both ends
Few dash bulbs (illumination ones) to replace
Sort out that heater plug light????

Get new MoT (this one expires next week)
Tax it
THEN and only then will I replace the interior and finally use it.

Sound like a plan or does that sound like a plan?

Comments most welcome as long as the kiddies can behave this time!:thumb:
 
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Good result on the starting up, they probably just flattened the battery before it went for them..

The glowplug light just means a plug is blown, check with a meter.

The wiper may have a the gear loose on the mechanism, which can be either tightened or pinned, depending on which gear is loose. The main spindle to link nut comes loose and can be tightened, the static gear on the peg comes loose and can be pinned.
 
Thank you boys and girls for your comments. Especially Dieselman. You have been and are one helpful guy! I was going to run the rersistnace check on all the glowplugs as a matter of course anyway, but didn't realise that a faulty one could cause this strange thing with the light.

Can I just run that past you again.

COLD START: Ignition on, glowplug light comes on about 10 seconds, as soon as off start as you would normally. All well and good.

HOT START: Ignition on, glowplug light comes on for about 1 second and goes out as you would expect. Start instantly, but then glowplug light comes on for about 30 seconds.

I must wonder if it is then heating up the glowplugs needlessly at that point, or is this the MB way of saying 'check your glowplugs porky'?

The front wiper makes sense. Checked the rear situation as it looked as though there had never been one. But, alas, wiring is there in the tailgate and a nice gap where there was once a rear window wiper. Nice gromet where the hole should be. Wallace was nowhere to be seen though :)

AND another little job appeared. Washer bottle empty. Now not much piunt filling it you say when the wipers doen't work but you would be wrong peeps. If I accidentally touch the washer switch now, nothing happens. No water, no wiper. BUT once I fix that wiper and touch the washer switch, it will screech aimlessly across my nbice windscreen,. possibly damaging it or straining the wiper due to lack of liquid. And you know how it is with lack of lube don't you boys and girls! (Beer I mean).

So I filled it up with 5 L or so of nice premixed washer fluid to watch most of it pour out what seemed to bne a hole, but turned out to be where the rear washer pump SHOULD be. That is missing too by all accounts. You have to laugh!

Anyway, there is always a few extra jobs with any car. I haven't started on the usual suspects like brakes, disks, suspension, exhaust etc - all of which SEEM ok so far.

The shed is slowly changing from a beast into, well no not a beauty but more of a Shed with a flower garden.

Piccies to keep some of you amused:

merc-1.gif

Firstly ...How the car looked when it arrived yesterday.


Then how it looks after a quick bubble bath. What a difference a day makes:

merc-3.gif


merc-6.gif


merc-7.gif
http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k567/bigfatjimmy/merc-7.gif
 
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BFJ, check in the cubby hole on the left of the boot...is there not a washer bottle in there?

Car looks well.
 
Actually, yers now you mention it. I think there is!

Oooh err Mrs. The main tank (and it is a tank) on the NSF wing that holds 7+ Litres has the big hole at the top for filluing (with its cap), then a pump on the engine side for the front washer, a level sensor from the top and a small hole on the front (headlight direction) which looks as though it should have another pump. Perhaps headlight washers in a previous life????

OK. Two more pics and that is your lot for today.

BEFORE:

merc-8.gif


And now:

merc-9.gif


very far from perfect I know, but a hell of a lot more huma that the pig sty it was.
 
You said ' Sussed out the clever kiddie high chairs - snazzy or what? '

I've got a 250 Wagon but a year newer-what do you mean by the above? Am I missing something or looked past this feature on mine?

BTW-awesome colour!
 
You said ' Sussed out the clever kiddie high chairs - snazzy or what? '

I've got a 250 Wagon but a year newer-what do you mean by the above? Am I missing something or looked past this feature on mine?

BTW-awesome colour!

I had these. The seat base on each side lifts up for children.
 
No way! You're yanking me?!? Awesome! Can you guess what the first thing I do when I get home from work will be?!?! Go Go Gadget Seat Base!
 
Yes, what he said. There is a small black handle in the froint of the seat base. I asumed this was to tip the seat base forward, but instead the centre of the seat base pops up leaving a nice raised kiddy seat complete with footrest. Where was ths car 15 years ago. I asked my 17 year olkd son to give it a try. I am sure my nose will stop bleeding soon.

I will go and take a piccy as I am that kinda guy.
 
Jim.

The glowplug light coming back on indicates either a plug or relay failure, whether hot or cold. As it appears random check the connections but it will probably be that the plug burnt out after being pressed into service.

To help diagnostics the main connector on the relay is numbered for each glowplug.

That car looks incredibly tidy for what you paid, in fact overall it looks pretty good. There is no such thing as a 2nd hand car that doesn't need some work.
 
Ok. Battry flat on camera but you will get the idea.

This is the rear seat:

merckid-1.gif


Now press this lever/button thing:

merckid-2.gif


And you end up with this:

merckid-3.gif


I have them on both sides at the back. Thought that was standard. Obviously not.

Main problem with my seats is they are stained and the rear passenger side one is bobbled like it has been attacked by Velcro - big time. And the drivers bolster looks like a typical BMW one would.
 
I will have to check this out in little over an hour. Can't remember if mine has this or not. I am rocking the Merc Tex in grey....But thank you for your speedy photo's!
 
The rear kiddie seats will have been an option, and likely a bloody expensive one at that.

The old motor looks quite tidy now you've cleaned it up a bit. Mucho potencial!

Keep up the good work! :thumb:
 

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