W140

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Sounds like a fun project.

Can’t go wrong at that price point either as has been said. If you only got 500 miles driving that sweet 6 cyl monster it would still be a bargain.

Be interesting to read how you get on with using a W140 for daily duties.
 
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Sounds like a fun project.

Can’t go wrong at that price point either as has been said. If you only got 500 miles driving that sweet 6 cyl monster it would still be a bargain.

Be interesting to read how you get on with using a W140 for daily duties.
I think the biggest issue might be finding large enough parking spaces !
 
By modern standards the 140 is positively normal, a D4 is about 5" wider for example
 
I have a '98 S280, which has covered 79k miles and has been in the family for nearly 20 years and used to belong to my late father.

It has been fairly reliable over the years, but currently has a few issues, faulty AC, central locking pump and the electric mirrors failed after some toe rag tried to steal one of my wing mirrors.

It is still a dream to drive.
 
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That looks class in that colour, bargain in my eyes
 
Even better , my pal who first told me about the car said last night that he thought the owner had another set of wheels , so I phoned up , and it turns out he has a set of five 8 hole alloys off his previous S500 ... “and they have decent tyres on them” ... so after a quick bit of haggling I’m getting these as well. I prefer the 8 hole alloys to the ones currently on the car , and if it saves me needing to buy tyres straight away , so much the better.

What I’ll probably do , if the car seems alright , is to get a set of winter tyres for the other wheels , and then get the 8 holes refurbished before buying new tyres ; but the plan for now is to just get the car and see how it goes .
 
My concern for a set of wheels and tyres that have sat for a while,would be that while on the surface the tyres would appear OK treadwise they may have passed their sell by date in age - i.e. greater than 5-ish years old ?? On a big heavy fast car such as a W140 this might present as a bigger problem than on a lighter and slower vehicle .:dk:
 
The 8 hole alloys are a nice design on these and suit the car more than the current wheels in my opinion. Some of them have more of a diamond cut finish on them, as opposed to just being painted silver. The later 6 hole 'Gildun' design is also quite a nice wheel, 16" Mercedes Gildun wheels in 7X25 High Sheen with Standard/Titanium Silver - Alloy Wheels Direct (53995)

As Grober has pointed out, please check out the old tyres carefully. I always look at the DOT numbers to check the age of tyres now. Even when the tread looks fine, the sidewalls can suffer/deteriorate.
 
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Result. Never did like the updated 15 holes. The 8 holes are alot more in keeping with the slab sided look of the 140.
 
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My concern for a set of wheels and tyres that have sat for a while,would be that while on the surface the tyres would appear OK treadwise they may have passed their sell by date in age - i.e. greater than 5-ish years old ?? On a big heavy fast car such as a W140 this might present as a bigger problem than on a lighter and slower vehicle .:dk:
Oh indeed , but I don’t intend to do thousands of miles on them , just to run it for a few weeks till I decide whether I’m keeping it and wanting to spend money on it ; as it turns out I’m getting the five wheels with tyres for less than the price of one tyre . The tyres it is sitting on have been static for 11 months ; I think tyres which have been stored indoors , even for longer , with no weight on them , are potentially a better bet . Nor will I be hooning around in the car ; I always take it easy until I determine the car is ok .
 
The 8 hole alloys are a nice design on these and suit the car more than the current wheels in my opinion. Some of them have more of a diamond cut finish on them, as opposed to just being painted silver. The later 6 hole 'Gildun' design is also quite a nice wheel, 16" Mercedes Gildun wheels in 7X25 High Sheen with Standard/Titanium Silver - Alloy Wheels Direct (53995)

As Grober has pointed out, please check out the old tyres carefully. I always look at the DOT numbers to check the age of tyres now. Even when the tread looks fine, the sidewalls can suffer/deteriorate.
Yes , these are nice wheels too ; the thing I like about the 8 holes is lack of fiddly bits and easy to keep clean .

Re the tyres , yes I’m aware , but they’re just for short term till I decide whether or not the car is a keeper ; if it is then a set of proper tyres will be bought .
 
Picked the car up today , got home without incident . it wafts along just as nicely , I imagine , as the day it was built .

Besides the rusty bits on the bodywork which need tidied up , I need to replace some brake pipes which look quite crusty - a relatively easy job but the most important one ; I discovered the horn didn't appear to be working , but on my drive I could hear a 'cluck' as I pressed the button , and on inspection both of the 'fanfare' horns are split open and corroded internally ; currently in the process of replacing them with a pair of Bosch 'blare' horns I have from a Ponton or Fintail . The air con isn't working ( not entirely unexpected ) and the blower isn't working , fuse OK , so I guess it'll be the motor . Surface rust on a lot of suspension components and front subframe , but that can be cleaned up and painted over ; transmission sump looks 'very wet' and was an advisory on last MOT ( I suspect a tranny oil change and new gasket will fix that ) . Soft close works on all four doors , but not on the bootlid ; however after reading the manual there's a lever you press inside the boot to lock the claw fully in and then close manually to get full closure . There's a hole worn in the leather on the steering wheel , hence the previous owner had fitted the glove ; I'll look for another wood/leather wheel to replace it , but am in no hurry . Tomorrow I also need to look at the busted passenger door mirror to see if I need to replace the whole thing or just the glass ; fortunately the cover looks OK so if need be I can just buy a used one in any colour and just swap the cover over . The passenger glove box won't open with the button , but I was able to insert a plastic trim removal tool and pop the lock , whenI get a minute I'll figure what's wrong and fix it .

The car came with the full complement of keys , service history consistent throughout its life ( last done last year and 4000 miles ago . Apart from what I've listed above ; the interior is very nice and everything works . Oh , and the factory Blaupunkt audio is very good . The five , eight hole alloy wheels I got also cleaned up quite well and the tyres ( stored in the dark and lying flat ) all appear in good condition ; after working out that the tyres on the car were all still legal , I drove home on them , with three of the extra wheels in the boot of the W140 , and the other two in the boot of my pal's A Class . I inflated them all to 40 psi , and will leave for 24 hours to see if any leakage before looking at fitting them - there were three Falkens , one Michelin and one unused Conti on a pristine wheel , which I think had been the spare ; the spare in the boot of the car also appears to be an unused Conti . I'll run the car as is once I get it MOT'd but will look at five new tyres in due course .

A few pics - the car still needs to be cleaned inside and out . It has been sitting since 31st December 2018 , when it was SORN'd according to the paperwork .

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Gorgeous thing. The upholstery in the rear looks great, bet the fronts would clean up almost as good with some products.
 
Gorgeous thing. The upholstery in the rear looks great, bet the fronts would clean up almost as good with some products.
I’m sure they will , really only the drivers seat looks slightly worn , but no rips or scuffs anywhere . I will clean it and feed the leather in due course ( normally use Autoglym ) .
 
That’s lovely.
I had the interior colour combo on my A208 clk and grew to really like it.
 
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Why don't I ever get offered cars like that!?

If that steering wheel is worn, I have a small pot of scuff master dye in that colour which might just be enough if you want it?
 
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Why don't I ever get offered cars like that!?

If that steering wheel is worn, I have a small pot of scuff master dye in that colour which might just be enough if you want it?
Thanks , but there’s actually a hole in the leather about the size of someone’s thumb right through to the foam underneath.
I’ll just start watching round the breakers yards .
 
Having topped up brake fluid yesterday, the low light is on again ; and a puddle of brake fluid under the back of the car .

Guess I’ll be making up some new pipes .

Got the horn working this morning; stripped down the nearside mirror , exterior undamaged , so will pick another up .
 
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