1997 Mercedes e55 estate - a bit crashed, but super cheap!
Discussion
Trtj said:
IN awe of your confidence and nous tackling this project. Most notably how you justify so much time on the car away from 'er inside. Respect.
You mention the injector brackets on the inlet manifold manifold being novel, how else it normally done? Im not familiar with LPG. I think we need to see a vid of this beast in action!
Cheers all. Previously you would have to drill and tap the inlet manifold to add the second injectors. Not the most efficient of injection methods, especially when there was no room to put them very close to the others, or indeed point them in the right direction.You mention the injector brackets on the inlet manifold manifold being novel, how else it normally done? Im not familiar with LPG. I think we need to see a vid of this beast in action!
There is one potential disadvantage with the adaptors however, in that you are moving the petrol injector up by 8mm, so it will affect the atomisation of the petrol, possibly giving an adverse effect on power/emission when running on petrol. On saying that, I didn't notice any loss of power in the e430 with these adaptors, and it passed the MOT OK, so it will hopefully be the same with this car...
Edited by Utterpiffle on Wednesday 18th December 18:01
Finally got a full day on the car - well, until it got dark at 15:30.
Got a little distracted though. The suspension arm I'd finally got round to ordering turned up. I had been meaning to replace it since the car was on the road. The guy who crashed obviously also hit a curb or something with the rear, as one of the top links was a bit bent. Actually, when I took it off, I saw that it was a lot bent...
Explains the negative camber and twitchy handling under power.
OK, time to don the PH fire retardant suit
Whilst I was there I also noticed the rear spring was broken. Only slightly broken, but of course it needed to be cleaned up. Just to be sure, I cut a whole loop off the spring
Obviously, this would imbalance the car, so I had to also cut the others
I would like to point out before you shoot me down in flames that spring cutting on Mercs is perfectly safe. Two reasons for this. Firstly the ends of the coils are not tapered, so they will still seat correctly. Secondly, the cut coils, even with all four wheels off the ground are still very solidly mounted, and there is absolutely no way they can fall out. Thirdly, (I said two reasons, right?) this is a temporary measure. I do have a set of very nice Lorinser coils on my old car in the barn that I plan to fit to the 55, the only minor issue being that I have lost the locking wheel nut spanner. The Lorinsers will go on the 55 at some point...
However, the car is on axle stands so I can work under it. Will find out later if the spring adjustment was successful...
Ah yes, the fog lights also arrived from Germany this morning, so I removed my temporary bumper and fitted the AMG one (purchased for £50 from a badly worded eBay ad ). I am still missing the towing eye covers, but it looks better than the standard one that was on there as it flows nicely with the rest of the AMG body kit. The towing eye covers are made from unobtanium however, so I will have to make something to go in there. This can wait for now though...
Time was obviously getting on by this point, so I got on with the worstest, s
ttiest job of any LPG install: Running the fuel line. It is always a heinous task! This is two hours lying on ones back, swearing and trying to mould the copper pipe to the contours of the car without kinking it. I am pleased to announce that this is the first time I have ever laid an LPG pipe, and not had to cut it off half way along and put in a joiner. There is one continuous piece from the front solenoid to the hole through the floor at the back. Woo!
Oh, I also welded on the filler.
It is tucked back quite a long way under the bumper, so not too obvious. There are the 4 wires from the tank to connect to the front loom and fit the tank. I think we are then good to start it up and see what happens! Full days work tomorrow to fit the tank though. Probably won't start it up until Friday.
Oh yeah, I couldn't resist taking it off the axle stands to see the effect of the spring cutting. Photos taken in the dark, but... Yay!
It will settle slightly once moved, but far less arch gap, which can only be a good thing. Something I forgot to say which took a little head scratching was that the rear has self levelling hydraulics. As such, I had to work out how to adjust the sensor so it now self levels to the new height. Think this one will be a bit of trial and error, but I made a new bracket which allows me to adjust the levelling sensor.
I should get a full day again tomorrow, weather allowing. More soon...
Got a little distracted though. The suspension arm I'd finally got round to ordering turned up. I had been meaning to replace it since the car was on the road. The guy who crashed obviously also hit a curb or something with the rear, as one of the top links was a bit bent. Actually, when I took it off, I saw that it was a lot bent...
Explains the negative camber and twitchy handling under power.
OK, time to don the PH fire retardant suit
Whilst I was there I also noticed the rear spring was broken. Only slightly broken, but of course it needed to be cleaned up. Just to be sure, I cut a whole loop off the spring
Obviously, this would imbalance the car, so I had to also cut the others
I would like to point out before you shoot me down in flames that spring cutting on Mercs is perfectly safe. Two reasons for this. Firstly the ends of the coils are not tapered, so they will still seat correctly. Secondly, the cut coils, even with all four wheels off the ground are still very solidly mounted, and there is absolutely no way they can fall out. Thirdly, (I said two reasons, right?) this is a temporary measure. I do have a set of very nice Lorinser coils on my old car in the barn that I plan to fit to the 55, the only minor issue being that I have lost the locking wheel nut spanner. The Lorinsers will go on the 55 at some point...
However, the car is on axle stands so I can work under it. Will find out later if the spring adjustment was successful...
Ah yes, the fog lights also arrived from Germany this morning, so I removed my temporary bumper and fitted the AMG one (purchased for £50 from a badly worded eBay ad
). I am still missing the towing eye covers, but it looks better than the standard one that was on there as it flows nicely with the rest of the AMG body kit. The towing eye covers are made from unobtanium however, so I will have to make something to go in there. This can wait for now though...Time was obviously getting on by this point, so I got on with the worstest, s
ttiest job of any LPG install: Running the fuel line. It is always a heinous task! This is two hours lying on ones back, swearing and trying to mould the copper pipe to the contours of the car without kinking it. I am pleased to announce that this is the first time I have ever laid an LPG pipe, and not had to cut it off half way along and put in a joiner. There is one continuous piece from the front solenoid to the hole through the floor at the back. Woo! Oh, I also welded on the filler.
It is tucked back quite a long way under the bumper, so not too obvious. There are the 4 wires from the tank to connect to the front loom and fit the tank. I think we are then good to start it up and see what happens! Full days work tomorrow to fit the tank though. Probably won't start it up until Friday.
Oh yeah, I couldn't resist taking it off the axle stands to see the effect of the spring cutting. Photos taken in the dark, but... Yay!
It will settle slightly once moved, but far less arch gap, which can only be a good thing. Something I forgot to say which took a little head scratching was that the rear has self levelling hydraulics. As such, I had to work out how to adjust the sensor so it now self levels to the new height. Think this one will be a bit of trial and error, but I made a new bracket which allows me to adjust the levelling sensor.
I should get a full day again tomorrow, weather allowing. More soon...
Edited by Utterpiffle on Wednesday 18th December 18:04
B'stard Child said:
Bloody hell it's nowhere near your normal level of lows is it...... Have you finally worn away those fancy titanium blocks........
runs and hides
Ha! I gave those titanium blocks to Bruce. As much as I love silly low aesthetically, I still envisage much European commuting in the new year, so this needs to still drive reasonably well when loaded. See how it settles, but it literally takes 5 mins to whip the coils out with that Merc tool runs and hides
Fancy popping over for a beer before Chrimbo?
Utterpiffle said:
B'stard Child said:
Bloody hell it's nowhere near your normal level of lows is it...... Have you finally worn away those fancy titanium blocks........
runs and hides
Ha! I gave those titanium blocks to Bruce. As much as I love silly low aesthetically, I still envisage much European commuting in the new year, so this needs to still drive reasonably well when loaded. See how it settles, but it literally takes 5 mins to whip the coils out with that Merc tool runs and hides
Utterpiffle said:
Fancy popping over for a beer before Chrimbo?
What a great ideaFinished off the wiring up front, tidied up a few bits and put the air filter back on etc.
Apart from the bits down to the left, it looks pretty much standard. Now I think about it, I should have housed all those gubbins inside a standard air filter box. It would have all been completely hidden then. Job for the future maybe...
Anyway, engine bay looking reasonably tidy?
I then took it out for a little test drive. It has settled a little at the front. May have to take it down slightly more, but it drives nice, so will see how it goes for a while
OK, last bit - tank. Here is the little beauty. Trouble is, it is almost completely full of gas, so it is bloody heavy!
The tank sits inside the cabin of the car, so it has to be gas tight. If there is a fault with the tank and gas escapes, it must obviously do so to the outside of the car. As such, the two gas pipes (fill and out) and two wires (fuel gauge and solenoid) have to come up through the safety hose.
It is a pig of a job to get the copper pipes up through the tube to the tank, but managed it in the end. Unfortunately, the 8mm adaptor hasn't turned up today, so that stopped play. I literally now need ten minutes to fit this and I can then plug in the computer and get the LPG configured. Hope it turns up tomorrow!
So, the tank is now safely bolted in to the car:
And it tucks away nicely in the boot
Rear seats still work!
As such, I had time to have a little tidy up in my barn. Man space!
So assuming this part turns up, tomorrow is the make or break day. Will the system work? Find out tomorrow!
Apart from the bits down to the left, it looks pretty much standard. Now I think about it, I should have housed all those gubbins inside a standard air filter box. It would have all been completely hidden then. Job for the future maybe...
Anyway, engine bay looking reasonably tidy?
I then took it out for a little test drive. It has settled a little at the front. May have to take it down slightly more, but it drives nice, so will see how it goes for a while
OK, last bit - tank. Here is the little beauty. Trouble is, it is almost completely full of gas, so it is bloody heavy!
The tank sits inside the cabin of the car, so it has to be gas tight. If there is a fault with the tank and gas escapes, it must obviously do so to the outside of the car. As such, the two gas pipes (fill and out) and two wires (fuel gauge and solenoid) have to come up through the safety hose.
It is a pig of a job to get the copper pipes up through the tube to the tank, but managed it in the end. Unfortunately, the 8mm adaptor hasn't turned up today, so that stopped play. I literally now need ten minutes to fit this and I can then plug in the computer and get the LPG configured. Hope it turns up tomorrow!
So, the tank is now safely bolted in to the car:
And it tucks away nicely in the boot
Rear seats still work!
As such, I had time to have a little tidy up in my barn. Man space!
So assuming this part turns up, tomorrow is the make or break day. Will the system work? Find out tomorrow!
. I salute you 
Ooooh, it's been a while, better do an update...
So, 12,000 trouble free miles later and probably getting on for 30 ferry trips (I work in Düsseldorf Germany, live in north Suffolk UK and commute most weekends). The odometer will waft over the 100k miles mark next weekend.
Cruise control is set to 120mph in Germany and Belgium, 80mph in NL, France and UK, (and driven like it's stolen around Düsseldorf), my phone app says I am averaging 18.8mpg on LPG. Quite pleased with that considering lead foot + 5.4l v8. LPG is currently less than 45p per litre in Belgium, so running costs are comparable with my old Passat TDi.
So what's new?... Unfortunately, not as much as I would like to report. 60-65 hours at work every week and weekend husbandry/fatherly duties rather restricts play time. The tyres err... ran out. All four needed replacing. I bodge, I make do, I run on a budget. One thing I never do is use ditch finders. Trouble is, a new set of Conti's or Pirelli's for an e55 are almost 4 figures. But luckily there is eBay.de... A really clean set of original staggered e55 wheels with 6mm Conti's appeared for less than a new set of tyres. Nice.
New:
Slightly cleaner than the old:
Photos taken this evening:
![](http://www.utterpiffle.com/Cars/Benz/E55/91.jpg")
The rear needs to come down another inch or so, but the springs are correctly "adjusted" with the grinder, I just need to tweak the self levelling sensor - job for this weekend.
Now, bare in mind that this is a "cat b" car that is worth nothing and is covered in some fairly major dents and scratches from the scrapyard and accident. I plan to have some fun ... this turned up last week:
MTN 94 very matt graffiti paint:
10x Marrakech Brown
7x Ginola Brown
2x Mars Orange
I've been playing on the 'pooter (please excuse my drunken Photoshopping)...
Totally beige (Marrakech Brown)?
Dark brown bonnet, roof, boot (Ginola Brown)?
Or do I whip out the masking tape out and fill in the pillars?
Give me your thoughts, you approval, your disapproval, your PH outrage. Dark brown bonnet, roof and boot looks OK from these Mai Tai filtered eyes, but currently leaning toward also darkening the pillars...
Actually, I have decided already, but your comments will no doubt amuse...
Also. Graffiti paint. I am not an artist. It may not go well.
So, 12,000 trouble free miles later and probably getting on for 30 ferry trips (I work in Düsseldorf Germany, live in north Suffolk UK and commute most weekends). The odometer will waft over the 100k miles mark next weekend.
Cruise control is set to 120mph in Germany and Belgium, 80mph in NL, France and UK, (and driven like it's stolen around Düsseldorf), my phone app says I am averaging 18.8mpg on LPG. Quite pleased with that considering lead foot + 5.4l v8. LPG is currently less than 45p per litre in Belgium, so running costs are comparable with my old Passat TDi.
So what's new?... Unfortunately, not as much as I would like to report. 60-65 hours at work every week and weekend husbandry/fatherly duties rather restricts play time. The tyres err... ran out. All four needed replacing. I bodge, I make do, I run on a budget. One thing I never do is use ditch finders. Trouble is, a new set of Conti's or Pirelli's for an e55 are almost 4 figures. But luckily there is eBay.de... A really clean set of original staggered e55 wheels with 6mm Conti's appeared for less than a new set of tyres. Nice.
New:
Slightly cleaner than the old:
Photos taken this evening:
The rear needs to come down another inch or so, but the springs are correctly "adjusted" with the grinder, I just need to tweak the self levelling sensor - job for this weekend.
Now, bare in mind that this is a "cat b" car that is worth nothing and is covered in some fairly major dents and scratches from the scrapyard and accident. I plan to have some fun ... this turned up last week:
MTN 94 very matt graffiti paint:
10x Marrakech Brown
7x Ginola Brown
2x Mars Orange
I've been playing on the 'pooter (please excuse my drunken Photoshopping)...
Totally beige (Marrakech Brown)?
Dark brown bonnet, roof, boot (Ginola Brown)?
Or do I whip out the masking tape out and fill in the pillars?
Give me your thoughts, you approval, your disapproval, your PH outrage. Dark brown bonnet, roof and boot looks OK from these Mai Tai filtered eyes, but currently leaning toward also darkening the pillars...
Actually, I have decided already, but your comments will no doubt amuse...
Also. Graffiti paint. I am not an artist. It may not go well.
cheddar said:
Looks best in silver and your suspension looks broken - otherwise a very enjoyable read.
Haha, brilliant!But... they are all silver. All of them. Apart from the taxi's here in Germany. They are beige. Beige is good.
I rather like the broken suspension look, although I usually break the suspension far more than that.
example A, one of the previous Utterpiffle fleet
BrownBottle said:
Jesus wept, just how much have you had to drink 
Can still type. Obviously not enough.Edited by Utterpiffle on Friday 27th June 22:50
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