Titivating my Mercedes 124

[Kitchski]

You're mental, and this is brilliant!

I'm not really a fan of Mercs, though I do have time for the 123, 124 and 201 shapes. I think everything from the 210 onwards went a bit wrong, but this is a fantastically nutty thing to do with an old car. To be fair, once it's done this thing will almost be starting over.....it should still be going in another 20 years!

[r129sl]

Rocksteadyeddie said:

r129sl said:

I ordered them through my local independent specialist. He passed them on to me without a markup. The best I could get out of MB Newcastle was £405 inc VAT. Although my man hasn't given me a VAT receipt so I would have been better off going to the dealer (I am VAT registered and the car is used for business purposes so all VAT is recoverable).

Ooh. That's a thought. How does the tax work on older vehicles as a BIK? Is it different to the % of new price - which presumably would give a tax liability out of line with the benefit.

You don't want to run an older vehicle as a company car as you pay a chunky percentage of the new price as BIK tax. Until about ten years ago it was much more favourable.

I am a sole trader and I am VAT registered. I use my cars for business purposes, covering about 15,000miles a year (excluding commuting). (I think) the rules mean that I recover 100% of the VAT on maintenance and repairs and can set an appropriate percentage of those costs against income tax. Based on the business mileage I drive, I think I offset only 33% of the costs against tax; many of my colleagues claim back 50%. The downside (from a tax efficiency point of view) of running a cheap old barge is that there is not much depreciation to speak of.

[E65Ross]

I agree this is mentally fantastic.....To be honest R129SL I'm surprised you're not doing this with the SL instead?

Is this the Merc you'll be bringing along Sunday 27th, or will it be the SL? Either way, I'd be happy to see either!

[r129sl]

The SL's next. When I've earned some more money. It needs a bit of money throwing at it. The bodywork isn't bad, although there is a bit of rust around the numberplate lights. But the suspension feels less stable than it should at speed. I suspect it needs new steering linkages and a rebuilt steering box. It also needs an alternator, which I am hoping will cure this cutting out problem (it cuts out at 145-ish mph). The wheels are a mess. And the leather could be spruced up a bit. It may have to wait until next year.

I'm coming down in the 124 later this month.

[bmthnick1981]

r129sl said:

...cutting out problem (it cuts out at 145-ish mph)

[r129sl]

Hopefully finished on Friday evening or Saturday morning...

[E65Ross]

r129sl said:

The SL's next. When I've earned some more money. It needs a bit of money throwing at it. The bodywork isn't bad, although there is a bit of rust around the numberplate lights. But the suspension feels less stable than it should at speed. I suspect it needs new steering linkages and a rebuilt steering box. It also needs an alternator, which I am hoping will cure this cutting out problem (it cuts out at 145-ish mph). The wheels are a mess. And the leather could be spruced up a bit. It may have to wait until next year.

I'm coming down in the 124 later this month.

Fantastic. Must be a bit scary it cutting out at that speed. Rarely go that speed but have on a few occasions, once you get past around 130 is when I start to think "OK, this is quite fast now"

[marky911]

Top job OP! Car is looking great.

I see from your profile you are in the north east like myself, in which case would you mind telling me which bodyshop are doing your work?
Need the front of my 911 repainted in the future due to stone chips. Is their work top notch or more of a fair job for a fair price?
Thanks.

[r129sl]

E65Ross said:

Fantastic. Must be a bit scary it cutting out at that speed. Rarely go that speed but have on a few occasions, once you get past around 130 is when I start to think "OK, this is quite fast now"

It's like banging off a rev limiter. My speedo needle wobbles. It gets worse with speed. I think this is attributable to a fault with the alternator (the speed sensors in the ABS and the transmission are all OK). And I also think it freaks the engine management/ESP in some way.

We're lucky with our roads up North (among other things). We have so much space and so little population compared to the south. Sometimes you just find that even the A1 is deserted. At the risk of sounding like a spotty 17 year old who's just passed his test, I suspect I see those speeds pretty much every time the car goes out. I'm not a pushy driver but if the road is empty I can't see much point in holding back. No doubt I'll be locked up tomorrow.

marky911 said:

I see from your profile you are in the north east like myself, in which case would you mind telling me which bodyshop are doing your work?
Need the front of my 911 repainted in the future due to stone chips. Is their work top notch or more of a fair job for a fair price?
Thanks.

I have sent you a pm. Don't hesitate to ask if I can help in anyway.

Edited by r129sl on Wednesday 9th April 21:24

[E65Ross]

r129sl said:

E65Ross said:

Fantastic. Must be a bit scary it cutting out at that speed. Rarely go that speed but have on a few occasions, once you get past around 130 is when I start to think "OK, this is quite fast now"

It's like banging off a rev limiter. My speedo needle wobbles. It gets worse with speed. I think this is attributable to a fault with the alternator (the speed sensors in the ABS and the transmission are all OK). And I also think it freaks the engine management/ESP in some way.

We're lucky with our roads up North (among other things). We have so much space and so little population compared to the south. Sometimes you just find that even the A1 is deserted. At the risk of sounding like a spotty 17 year old who's just passed his test, I suspect I see those speeds pretty much every time the car goes out. I'm not a pushy driver but if the road is empty I can't see much point in holding back. No doubt I'll be locked up tomorrow.

I also don't see the harm in speeding if conditions allow. How often do you use the R129?

E65 is my only car so use it almost every day. Do 100 most days and some times a bit more but rarely much more than 120. It'll sit at that comfortably all day long though the I checked with digital read out and it does 2800rpm at 100mph.

[r129sl]

E65Ross said:

How often do you use the R129?

I'm down to 15,000miles a year in it now, although it's my daily driver at the moment, obviously. I've done 200k+ in it over 11years. These big-engined cars are the business. It's great to have so much in reserve. I need a limo, like yours. Anyway, we digress.

[mwstewart]

Brilliant result. I bet the bodyshop loved working on the 124; it must have made a real change from all the plastic and foam bumper equipped modern stuff

[r129sl]

Almost there...

The jacking points are being repaired as we speak. These pictures show the best one already done (offside front) and the worst one in progress (offside rear). I got down on my knees and peered inside the sills. It's very clean and corrosion-free in there, only the vicinity of the jacking points is bad. They will be filled up with Dynax-S50 cavity wax. I should get I decent spell out of this repair, at least five years.

Here is the offside front repaired and primed with the Electrox stuff:




Here are a few of the offside rear in progress.








Here is a video of the jacking point being repaired. It makes for fascinating viewing (not).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBHowPlD4fY&fe...

I am hoping maybe to collect it on Saturday morning but it may be next week.

Edited by r129sl on Thursday 10th April 14:45

[Rollcage]

Welding near unprotected fresh paintwork and glass makes my teeth itch a little!

Car looks good though!

[r129sl]

I spent half an hour last night and tonight cleaning up the summer wheels and tyres, ready to be installed when the car comes back to me. This is an enormously satisfying job and I regret not taking "before" pictures because I really transformed them. The wheels have been stored all winter, having been removed from the car at the end of October. I didn't clean them when I took them off, so the insides had six months and 15,000miles of dirt and brake dust on them and the outsides had a couple of weeks' dirt and dust on them.

They're now all but brand new. I used Autoglym Wheel Cleaner (mixed strong, about 2 parts cleaner to 1 part water) on the insides and outsides, agitated with a paint brush. Then I washed them down and cleaned them off with a micro fibre towel. Then I used Tardis tar and glue solvent to remove the tar spots. Then I rinsed them down again and washed the tyre sidewalls with a solution of G101 all purpose cleaner. Next I scrubbed the tyres. Then I sealed the wheels with Meguiars No21 Synthetic Sealant before spraying the sidewalls with Meguiars No40 Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner & Conditioner. Then I buffed the wheel faces. And finally I removed the excess rubber cleaner. Tomorrow I'll give the sidewalls a buff.

This all begs the question: just what is missing from my life? I console myself with the knowledge that I neither dressed the tyre treads nor waxed the insides of the wheels.

[Howitzer]

Really nice watching this thread, i'm a big W124 fan so its nice to see the 124 workhorse getting some attention.

Dave!

[E65Ross]

You want to put Gtechniq C5 and the EXOv2 on them.... Waxes are so 90s (and st in comparison)

[r129sl]

E65Ross said:

You want to put Gtechniq C5 and the EXOv2 on them.... Waxes are so 90s (and st in comparison)

OK, give me the skinny on Gtechniq. I've noticed them on the some of the detailing forums but have not yet tried any. Besides, I like waxing. And I am a bit 90s myself. 1890s.

Edit: I've found this... http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...

Edited by r129sl on Thursday 10th April 21:49

[E65Ross]

r129sl said:

E65Ross said:

You want to put Gtechniq C5 and the EXOv2 on them.... Waxes are so 90s (and st in comparison)

OK, give me the skinny on Gtechniq. I've noticed them on the some of the detailing forums but have not yet tried any. Besides, I like waxing. And I am a bit 90s myself. 1890s.

Well, for easy protection you use C2v3.... Takes 15mins to do the whole car and lasts very long (I typically find 5+ months, but reapplied before it stops working.

C1 (the same as C4 and C5) is insanely durable, offers scratch protection and it just absolutely epic.

EXO is the nuts. All are cracking products which keep your car so, so much cleaner than any wax could even hope for, especially EXO.

C1 and EXO take a LOT of prep work.... A lot! But the results are just incredible.

I'm never, ever going to wax again. I've had loads of waxes and tried some zymol glasur. No wax comes close.

Their glass coating G1 is comical, just keeps going. I'm such a convert on their products and have got almost everything they sell. The E65 only has C2 on at the moment but in the summer I'll polish it properly, spend a few days tidying it and get some C1 and EXO on it. I haven't C5d the wheels as they're in dire need of a refurb but the E38 was wearing the lot and it looked mega. EXO (version 1) was beginning to wear off after 1.5 years when I sold it.

[E65Ross]

r129sl said:

OK, give me the skinny on Gtechniq. I've noticed them on the some of the detailing forums but have not yet tried any. Besides, I like waxing. And I am a bit 90s myself. 1890s.

Edit: I've found this... http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...

Edited by r129sl on Thursday 10th April 21:49

That's me alright. I might add I have absolutely no affiliation with them, just a huge convert.