Best smoker barges 1-5 large [vol8]

Best smoker barges 1-5 large [vol8]

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harrykul

2,770 posts

225 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
mccrackenj said:
cornershop said:
olly22n said:
My old granite green...




Soz for the thread diversion...although I am sure it is welcome relief...!

smile
very nice

No recent pics of mine, this from 2 years ago, soon to have a carrera 3.0 tail fitted

absolutely lovely.
+1

Beautiful motors!

W124

1,497 posts

137 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
mccrackenj said:
W124 said:
mccrackenj said:
0a said:
That's a lovely looking 190. These cars are so well suited to modern motoring in many ways. Small compared to modern cars but with sufficient space on the inside, a comfortable ride, fast enough given our crowded roads, and easy to see out of. A charming design and no depreciation are also big upsides.

I have just driven 300 miles in my similar era W124 and enjoyed every mile. I will do the same tomorrow making 600 in a weekend.

Mark is indeed a good chap (I have exchanged emails with him on a car and was impressed with the detail he gave) and has a good reputation here.

I couldn't help looking on the site and noticed this 260 W124 http://www.mtsv.co.uk/info/260EWF439.htm . White is not my colour but the history and condition are great. Pre facelift, only 80k miles, and £3,750. Charming.



I've considered that car at length, both this time and the last time Mark had it for sale (he seems to get many of his cars back again eventually which must be a good sign) but in the end I just couldn't cope with white. I've come to realise that part of the pleasure I derive from my old car fetish is keeping them clean and shiny; and colour is a big part of that.

Oh for an 040 black 320CE with black leather and Zebrano, what a delight that would be!
I've thought about that car as well. Is it me, or are those the photos from the last time he sold it? My W124 OCD (The only OCD I have - usually I quickly destroy all my possessions with the grace of a feckless child) would not let that tiny bump in the central vertical grill lattice stand. At that price I'd really want that fixed. His cars are great though and I like his admiration of the criminally underrated W210.
Ah, now that you mention it, that does indeed ruin the car. Thank goodness I'm delighted with my recent Willow Green 260E purchase. Being serious, they are indeed the same pics as before, but if the car hasn't altered significantly then so what?
I don't know really. I just don't think it's on myself. Merely my opinion of course. Those photos must be at least two years old? As to the grill, it goes to show my intense love of the cars that such things bother me so much. I am, as I've said, a reckless, careless person in general but when it comes to the W124 I get bizarrely obsessive about small details.

Please don't think that I mean to needlessly criticize MTSV in any way. The guy is a bastion of decency and fair pricing in a world of overpriced tat. Full respect to him. I have a soft spot for that W210 E300 diesel he has on there. Hard car to price though I would have thought. They are fine things with that engine/gearbox set up.

r129sl

9,518 posts

202 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
harrykul said:
mccrackenj said:
cornershop said:
olly22n said:
My old granite green...




Soz for the thread diversion...although I am sure it is welcome relief...!

smile
very nice

No recent pics of mine, this from 2 years ago, soon to have a carrera 3.0 tail fitted

absolutely lovely.
+1

Beautiful motors!
Great looking cars. I too kick myself for having missed this particular boat. I'd like a cream one, no spoilers, teledial wheels; targa if possible. I'm not choosy.

W00DY

15,467 posts

225 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
0a said:
That's a lovely looking 190. These cars are so well suited to modern motoring in many ways. Small compared to modern cars but with sufficient space on the inside, a comfortable ride, fast enough given our crowded roads, and easy to see out of. A charming design and no depreciation are also big upsides.

I have just driven 300 miles in my similar era W124 and enjoyed every mile. I will do the same tomorrow making 600 in a weekend.

Mark is indeed a good chap (I have exchanged emails with him on a car and was impressed with the detail he gave) and has a good reputation here.

I couldn't help looking on the site and noticed this 260 W124 http://www.mtsv.co.uk/info/260EWF439.htm . White is not my colour but the history and condition are great. Pre facelift, only 80k miles, and £3,750. Charming.



I like the white (especially with the green cloth) and it's one of only a few colours I'd have considered for my W124. I even like the leather "elbow patch" on the driver's seat.

This thread must have a serious number of old Mercs within, much more than ever before.


Good work on all the purchases!

dbdb

4,311 posts

172 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
mccrackenj said:
cornershop said:
olly22n said:
My old granite green...




Soz for the thread diversion...although I am sure it is welcome relief...!

smile
very nice

No recent pics of mine, this from 2 years ago, soon to have a carrera 3.0 tail fitted

absolutely lovely.
+1. - It's beautiful.

dbdb

4,311 posts

172 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
0a said:
I rather like this 500 SEL - in particular the heated rear seats with footrests! http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C598241#



Serious spec on this one!

dbdb

4,311 posts

172 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
bmthnick1981 said:
Seems an honest ad for a cheap smoke silver 300-24 CE;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1991-MERCEDES-300CE-24-C...
It does look a nice car for not a lot of money.

CharlesdeGaulle

26,091 posts

179 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
I think you're being a bit harsh on the white 124. The minor dent really doesn't 'ruin' the car. I'm sure he'd fix it if the purchaser wanted. I just couldn't live with a white car.

The Porsches are fantastic. They slightly break budget though!

dbdb

4,311 posts

172 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
W00DY said:
I like the white (especially with the green cloth) and it's one of only a few colours I'd have considered for my W124. I even like the leather "elbow patch" on the driver's seat.

This thread must have a serious number of old Mercs within, much more than ever before.


Good work on all the purchases!
It is a Mercedes Benz thread. There is tremendous enthusiasm for them here. I did try posting some variety a couple of versions of the thread back (mostly Jags) but they fell into the tumble weed. I do like and admire the old Mercs though, which is why I keep reading the smoker barge thread. They are lovely cars and I enjoy reading about them.



Incidentally, I came across the British Government report, "Risk of driver injury in Great Britain 1996-2000", published in 2003 and detailing likelihood of injury or death to car drivers in a two car accident in Great Britain between January 1996 and December 2000. I couldn't find it to buy, but plan to try to get it from the library. I did managed to purchase its predecessor on Amazon, which covers 1990-1994. It's in the post and may deliver more data.


I was very impressed by just how good the W126 S Class is. In a real world accident and compared to cars which have a similar usage, the W126 is a safer place to be than anything else other than the Jaguar X300 and X308 (and the late battery in boot XJ40). The W126 is slightly safer than the earlier XJ40 made in the W126's lifetime. The body of the XJ40 was re-engineered for the 1993 model year; there were more than 170 metal changes and the whole structure of the front of the car is entirely new. Though they look identical, the underlying structure of the late XJ40s is in fact that of the X300.

W126 and Jaguar XJ occupants suffer significantly less rates of death or serious injury than the BMW E32 7 Series. I did know the E32 was less safe in an accident though.

So far, this is about what I expected. What surprised me, is that occupants in a W126 fare much better than those in a W124 - and that pre-facelift W124s fare better than post-facelift W124s. More surprisingly still, the passengers in the W126 are less likely to suffer death or serious injury than the following W210 E Class - whose occupants suffer a higher rate of death or serious injury than the early W124.

Unfortunately, the w140 is not included. I imagine it must be excellent though.

More surprising still, is that W126 and Jaguar XJ occupants are less likely to suffer fatal or serious injury than drivers of the E38 BMW 7 series, or the E39 BMW 5 Series - which are much more modern cars. However, the two BMWs are less likely to inflict minor injuries than the W126, though passengers in the XJ40/X300/X308 are also less likely to suffer minor injuries than the E38/E39 BMWs.



Cover page:


Hopefully, my faint grasp of mathematics hasn't let me down and I have understood the statistics! hehe

CharlesdeGaulle

26,091 posts

179 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
dbdb said:
It is a Mercedes Benz thread. There is tremendous enthusiasm for them here. I did try posting some variety a couple of versions of the thread back (mostly Jags) but they fell into the tumble weed.
I've taken issue with this sort of comment before. It's not a Merc thread, it's a barge thread; that's its appeal.

However, even by the thread's liberal interpretation of barge, there isn't a huge choice. We see Jags, BMW, Audi, Lexus and the odd Saab and Volvo, but Merc as a marque made lots of barges, lots of them are still on the road, and lots feature here. I've got 3, but really like seeing the alternatives. Jaguars in particular float my boat, and I admire the Lexus, BMW and Audi offerings without necessarily wanting to buy one. I still want folk to post them and own them, and I'm interested in their experiences.

They're appropriate to this thread for many reasons, but that shouldn't stifle alternative postings, and doesn't mean that we should be blind to their faults.



CharlesdeGaulle

26,091 posts

179 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
Rocksteadyeddie said:
Leaks are usually caused by blocked drain holes and issues with the top windscreen seal. The can be a bit of a pain to fix but can be done with patience and a bit of TLC. The footwells will be wet if the screen is leaking - although it's difficult to tell in the front. The rear edge of the carpet behind the seats in the back pulls up easily and you can slide a hand in to check. Alternatively remove the seat squab - two big philips screws and give it a yank upwards to look under there. There's lots of electrics under the passenger seat that suffer if they get wet and lead to all sorts of random seat action. Took me 6 months to sort everything out with mine.
I've accessed the carpet from the rear edge behind the seats, and the floor of my car feels wet following some weeks being left outside by the chap that was doing some work on it. Does anyone know how you get the carpets up? I need to get everything dried out.

The comment above ref the seat squab - is that the front? Where are the screws? Thanks in advance.

Should have said that it's an R129 SL I'm referring to.

Edited by CharlesdeGaulle on Sunday 29th March 15:22

E65Ross

34,946 posts

211 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
dbdb said:
It is a Mercedes Benz thread. There is tremendous enthusiasm for them here. I did try posting some variety a couple of versions of the thread back (mostly Jags) but they fell into the tumble weed. I do like and admire the old Mercs though, which is why I keep reading the smoker barge thread. They are lovely cars and I enjoy reading about them.



Incidentally, I came across the British Government report, "Risk of driver injury in Great Britain 1996-2000", published in 2003 and detailing likelihood of injury or death to car drivers in a two car accident in Great Britain between January 1996 and December 2000. I couldn't find it to buy, but plan to try to get it from the library. I did managed to purchase its predecessor on Amazon, which covers 1990-1994. It's in the post and may deliver more data.


I was very impressed by just how good the W126 S Class is. In a real world accident and compared to cars which have a similar usage, the W126 is a safer place to be than anything else other than the Jaguar X300 and X308 (and the late battery in boot XJ40). The W126 is slightly safer than the earlier XJ40 made in the W126's lifetime. The body of the XJ40 was re-engineered for the 1993 model year; there were more than 170 metal changes and the whole structure of the front of the car is entirely new. Though they look identical, the underlying structure of the late XJ40s is in fact that of the X300.

W126 and Jaguar XJ occupants suffer significantly less rates of death or serious injury than the BMW E32 7 Series. I did know the E32 was less safe in an accident though.

So far, this is about what I expected. What surprised me, is that occupants in a W126 fare much better than those in a W124 - and that pre-facelift W124s fare better than post-facelift W124s. More surprisingly still, the passengers in the W126 are less likely to suffer death or serious injury than the following W210 E Class - whose occupants suffer a higher rate of death or serious injury than the early W124.

Unfortunately, the w140 is not included. I imagine it must be excellent though.

More surprising still, is that W126 and Jaguar XJ occupants are less likely to suffer fatal or serious injury than drivers of the E38 BMW 7 series, or the E39 BMW 5 Series - which are much more modern cars. However, the two BMWs are less likely to inflict minor injuries than the W126, though passengers in the XJ40/X300/X308 are also less likely to suffer minor injuries than the E38/E39 BMWs.



Cover page:


Hopefully, my faint grasp of mathematics hasn't let me down and I have understood the statistics! hehe
Is that potentially because old Merc drivers drive at about 20mph everywhere, whereas. BMW drivers drive much faster? wink

dbdb

4,311 posts

172 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
E65Ross said:
Is that potentially because old Merc drivers drive at about 20mph everywhere, whereas. BMW drivers drive much faster? wink
I did wonder about that! They did once say of the old 2.9 litre Jaguar XJ6, "Speed kills: buy a 2.9 and live forever!"hehe

Rocksteadyeddie

7,971 posts

226 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Rocksteadyeddie said:
Leaks are usually caused by blocked drain holes and issues with the top windscreen seal. The can be a bit of a pain to fix but can be done with patience and a bit of TLC. The footwells will be wet if the screen is leaking - although it's difficult to tell in the front. The rear edge of the carpet behind the seats in the back pulls up easily and you can slide a hand in to check. Alternatively remove the seat squab - two big philips screws and give it a yank upwards to look under there. There's lots of electrics under the passenger seat that suffer if they get wet and lead to all sorts of random seat action. Took me 6 months to sort everything out with mine.
I've accessed the carpet from the rear edge behind the seats, and the floor of my car feels wet following some weeks being left outside by the chap that was doing some work on it. Does anyone know how you get the carpets up? I need to get everything dried out.

The comment above ref the seat squab - is that the front? Where are the screws? Thanks in advance.
Yes the front seat squab. The screws are towards the outside edge. I've taken a couple of photos which I think explain. This is what it looks like underneath. It needs quite a sharp pull upwards. To get the carpet out altogether is quite difficult I gather - I never managed it. Once I sorted the drain holes and the windscreen seal, i removed the side bits of trim (couple of screws) and pulled the carpet up from the chassis. Hoovered underneath with a wet.dry hoover, and chucked a towel underneath to soak up the worst of it. Then I propped it up on some coke cans to let the air get in and dry it out. Took quite a long time to sort it properly. The carpets in the back are easier. Just move the seat forward and they pull up enough to get something underneath. Have you got any electrical gremlins?






CharlesdeGaulle

26,091 posts

179 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
Rocksteadyeddie said:
Have you got any electrical gremlins?
Rocksteadyeddie - that's a really useful response, many thanks.

The curious thing is that there doesn't appear to be anything going wrong. I drove it after collecting it from the mechanic, who I know has no covered outside space so the car was kept outside, and thought I could hear splashing water, as you would if there was a half empty bottle of water in the car. After reading your post, I thought I'd check the floor and the mats feel wet.

I can't get to it at the moment and it's really windy here so the job will have to wait, but I'll need to dry it out and then check the drain holes (as an aside, are they easy to find and clear?) and seals.

If you can offer any more advice based on your experience I'd very much appreciate it. PM me if you prefer. Thanks again.

CharlesdeGaulle

26,091 posts

179 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
What a barge!

We've seen a few blue ones, but I don't recall this particular specimen.

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C498118


W00DY

15,467 posts

225 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
dbdb said:
It is a Mercedes Benz thread. There is tremendous enthusiasm for them here. I did try posting some variety a couple of versions of the thread back (mostly Jags) but they fell into the tumble weed. I do like and admire the old Mercs though, which is why I keep reading the smoker barge thread. They are lovely cars and I enjoy reading about them.



Incidentally, I came across the British Government report, "Risk of driver injury in Great Britain 1996-2000", published in 2003 and detailing likelihood of injury or death to car drivers in a two car accident in Great Britain between January 1996 and December 2000. I couldn't find it to buy, but plan to try to get it from the library. I did managed to purchase its predecessor on Amazon, which covers 1990-1994. It's in the post and may deliver more data.


I was very impressed by just how good the W126 S Class is. In a real world accident and compared to cars which have a similar usage, the W126 is a safer place to be than anything else other than the Jaguar X300 and X308 (and the late battery in boot XJ40). The W126 is slightly safer than the earlier XJ40 made in the W126's lifetime. The body of the XJ40 was re-engineered for the 1993 model year; there were more than 170 metal changes and the whole structure of the front of the car is entirely new. Though they look identical, the underlying structure of the late XJ40s is in fact that of the X300.

W126 and Jaguar XJ occupants suffer significantly less rates of death or serious injury than the BMW E32 7 Series. I did know the E32 was less safe in an accident though.

So far, this is about what I expected. What surprised me, is that occupants in a W126 fare much better than those in a W124 - and that pre-facelift W124s fare better than post-facelift W124s. More surprisingly still, the passengers in the W126 are less likely to suffer death or serious injury than the following W210 E Class - whose occupants suffer a higher rate of death or serious injury than the early W124.

Unfortunately, the w140 is not included. I imagine it must be excellent though.

More surprising still, is that W126 and Jaguar XJ occupants are less likely to suffer fatal or serious injury than drivers of the E38 BMW 7 series, or the E39 BMW 5 Series - which are much more modern cars. However, the two BMWs are less likely to inflict minor injuries than the W126, though passengers in the XJ40/X300/X308 are also less likely to suffer minor injuries than the E38/E39 BMWs.



Cover page:


Hopefully, my faint grasp of mathematics hasn't let me down and I have understood the statistics! hehe
It's certainly a noticeable change since I came back from having a break from cars for a while. There's such a wealth of knowledge here on MB products, but it's also perhaps reflective of the market? A lot of older BMWs seem to be absolute dogs and the market for Jags is slow which puts me off as someone who likes to change cars frequently. I didn't set out to buy a W124, it just happened,


Crash statistics are surprising. Having seen the price of ABS and an airbag for my car, I suspect many people chose the "drive more carefully and save 2 large of 1986 money" option instead.




Anyway, here's a peachy looking XJ8 for less than a bag.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jaguar-XJ8-1997-4-Litre-...

Lagerlout

1,810 posts

235 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
Here's mine, it was posted on here a while back. I missed it the first time but got it the second time around. It's not as good as the pictures show, it has a few parking dings and the drivers bolster is pretty bad, but mechanically I sunk £1,500 into it and it drives like a new car. Love it. Will sort the cosmetics out later this year. The Sat Nav works, so does the CD changer, and it's quiet as an S should be. Bargain!




BigBen

11,610 posts

229 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
E65Ross said:
Is that potentially because old Merc drivers drive at about 20mph everywhere, whereas. BMW drivers drive much faster? wink
That was exactly what I thought

harrykul

2,770 posts

225 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
Lagerlout, that looks brilliant, congratulations.

Are there any bargers on here that could recce a car in Leicester for me? W212 e-class in LE4....
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