1997 Mercedes e55 estate - a bit crashed, but super cheap!
Discussion
Evo said:
Re Your hole in the boot, I did exactly the same with mine, except it was a lot worse than that, nearly had heart failure lol
Have you checked the other side under the spare wheel...........
When I bought the car it had no spare wheel, and I could see the floor through the wheel well. Bloody great big hole! Sorted that one a while back. Both sides now welded up. It will certainly not rust any further! Have you checked the other side under the spare wheel...........
Utterpiffle said:
Evo said:
Well that only leaves donating your mis-fortune onto my E320 CDI Estate, it's silver too ha ha 
Sold! Well the plan was to plonk the e430 engine in my '83 Dodge Ram once the 55 was on the road. Of course now my mind is wondering what it would go like with e55 power...
ts the DVLA are.LukeSi said:
Utterpiffle said:
Evo said:
Well that only leaves donating your mis-fortune onto my E320 CDI Estate, it's silver too ha ha
Sold! Well the plan was to plonk the e430 engine in my '83 Dodge Ram once the 55 was on the road. Of course now my mind is wondering what it would go like with e55 power...
I think this makes the best of an unfortunate situation. We just spent £3000 having our roof fixed after the storms in the middle of this year only to have our boiler give up today, that's another £4000, that's life.
It not what happens that's important but how you deal with it and turn it into a positive.
Ps, we'll now be all looking forward to the pictures of you taking the E55 back apart (again) and the transplant take place.
The body shells are exactly the same, including the sunroof (which is jammed on the 430). However, the 430 is knackered - very rusty, not just body, but brake pipes etc too. Worn suspension etc. Lovely old car as it is, it has had it's day. You'd be amazed just how many parts are different on the AMG cars.
Yes I could just swap the plates or even swap the VIN plates (windscreens out and my welding is good enough to swap the tags), but I'd then never be able to sell the 55, even abroad as it would still be a 430 on the papers. Also my wife drives with family in the car and VOSA do have a habit of stopping cars on our road. Just not worth the risk. The car has to be legit and legal.
I am just gong to send all the papers off to the DVLA as advised and see what happens...
It's a bit odd really, but now I have calmed down, it just adds to the challenge
I will get it back on the road somehow, and continued regardless yesterday by fixing the heater, the heated seats, some trim and the stereo. Well, actually, I broke the stereo, but that's by the by.
Will update in a week or so I guess when I hear back from the DVLA, but for now I will continue fitting the tow bar and LPG as per plan A.
Yes I could just swap the plates or even swap the VIN plates (windscreens out and my welding is good enough to swap the tags), but I'd then never be able to sell the 55, even abroad as it would still be a 430 on the papers. Also my wife drives with family in the car and VOSA do have a habit of stopping cars on our road. Just not worth the risk. The car has to be legit and legal.
I am just gong to send all the papers off to the DVLA as advised and see what happens...
It's a bit odd really, but now I have calmed down, it just adds to the challenge
I will get it back on the road somehow, and continued regardless yesterday by fixing the heater, the heated seats, some trim and the stereo. Well, actually, I broke the stereo, but that's by the by.Will update in a week or so I guess when I hear back from the DVLA, but for now I will continue fitting the tow bar and LPG as per plan A.
Utterpiffle said:
The body shells are exactly the same, including the sunroof (which is jammed on the 430). However, the 430 is knackered - very rusty, not just body, but brake pipes etc too. Worn suspension etc. Lovely old car as it is, it has had it's day. You'd be amazed just how many parts are different on the AMG cars.
Yes I could just swap the plates or even swap the VIN plates (windscreens out and my welding is good enough to swap the tags), but I'd then never be able to sell the 55, even abroad as it would still be a 430 on the papers. Also my wife drives with family in the car and VOSA do have a habit of stopping cars on our road. Just not worth the risk. The car has to be legit and legal.
I am just gong to send all the papers off to the DVLA as advised and see what happens...
It's a bit odd really, but now I have calmed down, it just adds to the challenge I will get it back on the road somehow, and continued regardless yesterday by fixing the heater, the heated seats, some trim and the stereo. Well, actually, I broke the stereo, but that's by the by.
Will update in a week or so I guess when I hear back from the DVLA, but for now I will continue fitting the tow bar and LPG as per plan A.
Glad you are undeterred, onwards and upwards!Yes I could just swap the plates or even swap the VIN plates (windscreens out and my welding is good enough to swap the tags), but I'd then never be able to sell the 55, even abroad as it would still be a 430 on the papers. Also my wife drives with family in the car and VOSA do have a habit of stopping cars on our road. Just not worth the risk. The car has to be legit and legal.
I am just gong to send all the papers off to the DVLA as advised and see what happens...
It's a bit odd really, but now I have calmed down, it just adds to the challenge
I will get it back on the road somehow, and continued regardless yesterday by fixing the heater, the heated seats, some trim and the stereo. Well, actually, I broke the stereo, but that's by the by.Will update in a week or so I guess when I hear back from the DVLA, but for now I will continue fitting the tow bar and LPG as per plan A.
Looking on the tax website, I could see that the VIC marker had been removed.
I filled in the v5 application form and the tax disc form and sent them off to the DVLA. As of yesterday lunchtime, the car is now showing online as taxed (although the disc hasn't come through the door yet).
I phoned the DVLA yesterday, I should get the tax disc tomorrow, and the v5 application will apparently be processed on the 4th November.
As soon as the disc turns up, I consider the car legal - i.e. I have insurance, MOT and tax. Actually, apart from failure to display, I suppose I could drive it now, but I can wait another day. Hmm, well, it does need some petrol...
The v5 can then follow whenever it likes.
With regards to the insurance - the company have no problem with it being a cat b, the only stipulation being that if the car is damaged or stolen, the value will be regarded as scrap. A risk I will have to take.
Not had much time to work on the car recently unfortunately, as job hunting is surprisingly time consuming! However, I have fitted the tow bar and removed the e55/AMG badges, so not all lost. Now that the towbar is in, I can start the LPG conversion. Pictures to follow on that.
I filled in the v5 application form and the tax disc form and sent them off to the DVLA. As of yesterday lunchtime, the car is now showing online as taxed (although the disc hasn't come through the door yet).
I phoned the DVLA yesterday, I should get the tax disc tomorrow, and the v5 application will apparently be processed on the 4th November.
As soon as the disc turns up, I consider the car legal - i.e. I have insurance, MOT and tax. Actually, apart from failure to display, I suppose I could drive it now, but I can wait another day. Hmm, well, it does need some petrol...
The v5 can then follow whenever it likes.
With regards to the insurance - the company have no problem with it being a cat b, the only stipulation being that if the car is damaged or stolen, the value will be regarded as scrap. A risk I will have to take.
Not had much time to work on the car recently unfortunately, as job hunting is surprisingly time consuming! However, I have fitted the tow bar and removed the e55/AMG badges, so not all lost. Now that the towbar is in, I can start the LPG conversion. Pictures to follow on that.
Edited by Utterpiffle on Tuesday 22 October 11:14
The Nur said:
Excellent news! You must be pretty pleased
I thought you could drive a vehicle without having to worry about not displaying if the tax disk was bought online?
Cheers, I am! I thought you could drive a vehicle without having to worry about not displaying if the tax disk was bought online?
You are allowed to not display if the old has just run out and you've applied for a new one. Rule doesn't apply if the car was sorn or written off.
Ahha, here we are...
The e55 has been on the road for a couple of months now. Done around 2500 miles in that time. Apart from some issues with the rear suspension alignment (still to be fixed, although I did order the part yesterday), and the backrest of the drivers heated seat packing up, it has been a really nice car.
It is now de-badged, and I have had some fun at the traffic lights
However, it is terrible on fuel! Yes, I was expecting this, but it really is far worse than the e430 ever was. 25-ish mpg on a run, but almost single figures around town. Gulp.
I have finally found some time to LPG it this week, so will try to run a daily diary...
The e55 has quite a bit of space down to the left as you look in the engine bay - it is where the air box goes on lesser cars. This is where I will put the reducers++ and solenoid / filters etc.
++ 2 reducers. I went for the Magic Jet 3 reducer as it is physically tiny compared to other reducers and has a reasonably good review. It comes in 250 or 350 bhp varieties. Although my car is rated at 350bhp, I had read that the Magic runs out of puff at it's limits. There were only 45 quid each, so I opted to 2 of the 250Bhp ones. Made the plumbing a little more complicated, but hey, it's all good fun!
So, yesterday evening, I made a bracket and welded it in
Test fit behind the offside headlight
And painted
Left it to dry overnight.
Today, plumbing. Not sure if you can see the inlet water pipes and Y'd together underneath. This will then be T'd to the water system just there by the auxillary heater pump (which is the heater inlet).
The high pressure gas inlets are T'd and piped to the Solenoid. Normally, the reducers themselves have a safety solenoid built in, so I will put a second one along the line.
A few hours later, and I had plumbed in the low pressure gas side, silver cans are just filters. I wanted to make sure these are on top, as they are a serviceable items. The two outputs from these will go the two injector rails.
The two pipes around the outside of the filters are the water outlets, which are Y'd together, then go around the back of the engine to the heater outlet. As such the water effectively runs in parallel to the heater system, so it will always get warm water, whether the heater is on or not. What looks like extra outputs on the water outputs are just temporary, as I needed to order some right angle elbows, but the T's were all I had, so used just so I could cut all the pipes and mock it up.
I ran out of parts to finish off the the reducer bit, so cracked on with the injectors. It was dark by the time I took this photo, but it shows the 8 injector pipes coming up ready for the LPG injectors.
I have mentioned these wonderful things in a previous LPG build, but they really are a massive time saver. You pull off the injector rail and injectors, insert the little adaptors with the extra feed, then put the injector rail back on, bolted to little standoffs. The result is firstly that you don't have to drill and tap the inlet manifold (risky and time consuming!), but also, it ensures that the LPG fuel goes in where Mercedes intended - i.e. down the injector hole!
I ran out of light and feeling in my hands. The fog had dropped and started freezing! Hopefully the elbows and extra pipe will arrive tomorrow so I can finish the water system. Hopefully another update tomorrow evening. Cheers!
The e55 has been on the road for a couple of months now. Done around 2500 miles in that time. Apart from some issues with the rear suspension alignment (still to be fixed, although I did order the part yesterday), and the backrest of the drivers heated seat packing up, it has been a really nice car.
It is now de-badged, and I have had some fun at the traffic lights
However, it is terrible on fuel! Yes, I was expecting this, but it really is far worse than the e430 ever was. 25-ish mpg on a run, but almost single figures around town. Gulp.
I have finally found some time to LPG it this week, so will try to run a daily diary...
The e55 has quite a bit of space down to the left as you look in the engine bay - it is where the air box goes on lesser cars. This is where I will put the reducers++ and solenoid / filters etc.
++ 2 reducers. I went for the Magic Jet 3 reducer as it is physically tiny compared to other reducers and has a reasonably good review. It comes in 250 or 350 bhp varieties. Although my car is rated at 350bhp, I had read that the Magic runs out of puff at it's limits. There were only 45 quid each, so I opted to 2 of the 250Bhp ones. Made the plumbing a little more complicated, but hey, it's all good fun!
So, yesterday evening, I made a bracket and welded it in
Test fit behind the offside headlight
And painted
Left it to dry overnight.
Today, plumbing. Not sure if you can see the inlet water pipes and Y'd together underneath. This will then be T'd to the water system just there by the auxillary heater pump (which is the heater inlet).
The high pressure gas inlets are T'd and piped to the Solenoid. Normally, the reducers themselves have a safety solenoid built in, so I will put a second one along the line.
A few hours later, and I had plumbed in the low pressure gas side, silver cans are just filters. I wanted to make sure these are on top, as they are a serviceable items. The two outputs from these will go the two injector rails.
The two pipes around the outside of the filters are the water outlets, which are Y'd together, then go around the back of the engine to the heater outlet. As such the water effectively runs in parallel to the heater system, so it will always get warm water, whether the heater is on or not. What looks like extra outputs on the water outputs are just temporary, as I needed to order some right angle elbows, but the T's were all I had, so used just so I could cut all the pipes and mock it up.
I ran out of parts to finish off the the reducer bit, so cracked on with the injectors. It was dark by the time I took this photo, but it shows the 8 injector pipes coming up ready for the LPG injectors.
I have mentioned these wonderful things in a previous LPG build, but they really are a massive time saver. You pull off the injector rail and injectors, insert the little adaptors with the extra feed, then put the injector rail back on, bolted to little standoffs. The result is firstly that you don't have to drill and tap the inlet manifold (risky and time consuming!), but also, it ensures that the LPG fuel goes in where Mercedes intended - i.e. down the injector hole!
I ran out of light and feeling in my hands. The fog had dropped and started freezing! Hopefully the elbows and extra pipe will arrive tomorrow so I can finish the water system. Hopefully another update tomorrow evening. Cheers!
Utterpiffle said:
Ahha, here we are...
The e55 has quite a bit of space down to the left as you look in the engine bay - it is where the air box goes on lesser cars. This is where I will put the reducers++ and solenoid / filters etc.
++ 2 reducers. I went for the Magic Jet 3 reducer as it is physically tiny compared to other reducers and has a reasonably good review. It comes in 250 or 350 bhp varieties. Although my car is rated at 350bhp, I had read that the Magic runs out of puff at it's limits. There were only 45 quid each, so I opted to 2 of the 250Bhp ones. Made the plumbing a little more complicated, but hey, it's all good fun!
What are these mate? The e55 has quite a bit of space down to the left as you look in the engine bay - it is where the air box goes on lesser cars. This is where I will put the reducers++ and solenoid / filters etc.
++ 2 reducers. I went for the Magic Jet 3 reducer as it is physically tiny compared to other reducers and has a reasonably good review. It comes in 250 or 350 bhp varieties. Although my car is rated at 350bhp, I had read that the Magic runs out of puff at it's limits. There were only 45 quid each, so I opted to 2 of the 250Bhp ones. Made the plumbing a little more complicated, but hey, it's all good fun!
If your after some extra bit of oomph and a better growl, fit an x-pipe
I also had a sprint booster fitted to mine, it came with the car but the previous owner said it made a nice difference and perked things up a bit.
I tried a couple different air filters but found the standard MANN filters worked best, the K&N panel filter shagged the MAF sensor so performance dropped right off! 0-60 was getting close to 8.5 secs! New filters...back to 5.3
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