Unintentional W210 bodywork 'resto'

[mj2k]

It was the era of galloping fuel price inflation so they weren't worth much at all! I remember trying to persuade my dad to spend an extra £25 on a red E-type roadster rather than the blue 1300GT he bought, but he was having none of it...

And yes, it was regarded as fat and ugly at the time, esp by Jag purists - it's design was very out-of-date by the mid-70s, it was made by Leyland, they dropped the V12 in just at the wrong time and the increase in ride height and that stupid grille ruined it's looks. Just goes to show how perception changes over the years. Of course when the XJS came out people immediately began to change their minds about the S3

Must admit it does seem a funny thing now, but at the time you could hardly give a S3 E-type away. I seem to remember reading somewhere the last 50 commemorative editions ended up sitting unsold in dealers' showrooms until they were heavily discounted.

Ah, and here's a link to someone else who remembers the same - History of the E-Type Jaguar V12

'Course I'd swap my Alfa or even the W210 for a driveable V12 2+2 in a second, if anyone wants to get rid of their fat, ugly old Jag

 

[E55-Exeter]

I have an E55 which will shortly have a wing replaced with a pattern one - As soon as I manage to obtain some doors that is. I never noticed the E55 wheel arch lip was different, but reading this great post and checking mine, VS the ones on the car and... Some fettling is required. Thanks for the knowledge +1

 

[mj2k]

I have an E55 which will shortly have a wing replaced with a pattern one - As soon as I manage to obtain some doors that is. I never noticed the E55 wheel arch lip was different, but reading this great post and checking mine, VS the ones on the car and... Some fettling is required. Thanks for the knowledge +1

Thanks, great to know my blatherings are good for something

A decent bodyshop should be able to roll the wheelarch rims easily, and if you're doing it at home it's still fairly straightforward even with the most rudimentary tools as long as you do it a little at a time.

Main thing that happens if you don't roll the wheelarch lips is that the tyres may catch when the suspension's under stress; those monoblocks really do a good job of filling the arches.

 

[mj2k]

A little more progress since the last update; moving house and spending a shedload of time/money on the Alfa kept me away from the welding torch, but finally got some work done:

Cut the rust out of the o/s/r/ sill. If you've got a w210 with a bodykit and haven't removed the sideskirts / wheelarch liners for a while you might want to look away. This looked like a small amount of surface rust until I stripped everything down and started digging:

Unfortunately whilst grinding down all the iffy zinc primer and (accidentally) welding new zinc galvanized steel on in it's place I managed to give myself metal fume fever (aka galvie flu or zinc poisoning) so aside from laying myself up for 48 hours I scared my family enough to make them ban me from doing any more metalwork on the Merc. So the remaining repair work's a little rough and ready 'cos I've had to rush it.

Final bit of work I got away with - checking the angry-looking the rust on the front edge of the bonnet. Not too bad after all, it's not holed so I just ground it down and resprayed it.

Weird how removing the grille makes it look a lot more aggressive.

 

[mbwoy84]

Good work. Nice to see cars like this receiving a little TLC!

 

[mj2k]

Thanks

Sadly I've just had to stick it on Ebay - I gave myself acute welder's fever last month, nearly hospitalized myself, and haven't been able to bring myself to work on it since

Mercedes Benz W210 E320 "AMG" saloon | eBay

 

[Koolvin]

That’s such a shame

 

[mj2k]

That’s such a shame

Yeah, it is rather, would have been a great car (and possibly one of the oldest surviving W210 V6s) if I had completed it, but for once I'm obeying common sense and not risking my health.

Also I'll be able to spend some time tucked up in front of a warm TV/PC rather than swearing at the underside of a car late at night in subzero temperatures, which'll make a nice change from my usual winter 'sport'...

 

[mj2k]

Agh, things are further conspiring against me - under 2 days to go and a mixture of family events, work and other stuff has meant I'm not around to allow people to view it, so I've effectively reduced the chances of it being rescued rather than scrapped to zero

And to make matters worse, I'm not being allowed to buy a normal car in case I have to fix it and do something else stupid whilst rushing to get it finished late at night. Which means I'll be driving my Alfa 156 GTA all winter Wish me luck, I'll need it...

 

[mj2k]

Heh, the highest bidder started trying to haggle the price down so I got annoyed and cancelled the sale.

And this morning I found out the Alfa's climate control is designed to partially shut down below 3 degrees, making it possibly the most useless car for UK winters ever.

So looks like I'll be driving the Merc for a while longer, even if I'm not going to be finishing the resto.

 

[clk320x]

Heh, the highest bidder started trying to haggle the price down so I got annoyed and cancelled the sale.

And this morning I found out the Alfa's climate control is designed to partially shut down below 3 degrees, making it possibly the most useless car for UK winters ever.

So looks like I'll be driving the Merc for a while longer, even if I'm not going to be finishing the resto.

eBay sales are often a hassle, hope it serves you well over the winter and you decide to save it

 

[mj2k]

eBay sales are often a hassle, hope it serves you well over the winter and you decide to save it

Well the car's one helluva survivor so you never know...

The 2nd highest bidder (who lost out by a tenner) is a bit of an MB fanatic who wanted to finish the restoration properly, but he's now out of the country for a few weeks. I'll definitely be passing it on to him if he's still interested when he comes back, but after the Alfa's complete failure to deal with a bit of freezing fog this morning I'd say that's more in danger of ending up for sale in the next few weeks than the Merc!

 

[mj2k]

...Oh, oops. I've just 'accidentally' advertised the GTA on Autotrader in place of the Merc

Not that I think it'll sell, but I've certainly expressed my irritation with it!

 

[clk320x]

...Oh, oops. I've just 'accidentally' advertised the GTA on Autotrader in place of the Merc

Not that I think it'll sell, but I've certainly expressed my irritation with it!

Hehe post the link mate
Interested to see said troublesome car haha

 

[mj2k]

Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon 3.2 GTA 5dr

The stupid climate control shutdown is a 'feature' it shares with Fiats, they can't have expected to sell many Italian cars outside Italy...

 

[clk320x]

Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon 3.2 GTA 5dr

The stupid climate control shutdown is a 'feature' it shares with Fiats, they can't have expected to sell many Italian cars outside Italy...

I love the engine bay.. bet you get to admire it by the roadside often

 

[mj2k]

I love the engine bay.. bet you get to admire it by the roadside often

Ha ha, actually it hasn't broken down at all in the 4000 miles since I finished the restoration (aka throwing money at it), but owning a high performance Alfa is rather like dating a supermodel who picks'n'flicks - eventually you grow tired of admiring it, and the little quirks start to get irritating

 

[clk320x]

Ha ha, actually it hasn't broken down at all in the 4000 miles since I finished the restoration (aka throwing money at it), but owning a high performance Alfa is rather like dating a supermodel who picks'n'flicks - eventually you grow tired of admiring it, and the little quirks start to get irritating

I bet! Your only a true petrol head once you've owned one though!

 

[mj2k]

It might finally be going this weekend, and I'll really miss it if it does; I gave it a brief polish the other day and despite my temporary wheelarch repairs and the scratches it's acquired being left in a station car park every day, it looks great

I've also put the Alfa up for sale again at a lower price because I find it irritating to drive compared with the W210, and that's generating some interest too. I hope the W210 does go and ends up getting it's restoration finished, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do if both cars go this weekend...!

 

[mj2k]

...And, gone. I'm really going to miss it

But at least I know it's gone to a good home with another MB enthusiast who can finish the resto properly.