Titivating my Mercedes 124

Titivating my Mercedes 124

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r129sl

Original Poster:

9,518 posts

202 months

Friday 18th April 2014
quotequote all
E39 is a league ahead of the 124 in NVH. The 124 was incredibly advance aerodynamically. It was the most aerodynamic car of its time with a Cd of 0.28 for the 250 D saloon.

0a

23,878 posts

193 months

Friday 18th April 2014
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olly22n said:
I find cars find their own happy cruising speed. My 3.2 w124 was about 80 on the mway. My m5 was about 115mph and the 540 was just below the ton. They sort of find themselves at those speeds.
I'd agree with this. In the dry 90 seems about right to me in the w124. 90 was nothing in the a8 and a waste of its time.

Strangely I love doing long journeys in the w124 and go out of my way to find them though!

E65Ross

34,844 posts

211 months

Friday 18th April 2014
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I agree about cars finding their cruising speed. I found my E21 (316 but lightly fettled) was around 60-65mph with the 4 speed box, that went up to around 75mph, maybe 80mph when I put the 5 speed box in (though it would sit at higher but was always a bit buzzy under the bonnet!); E38 728i was somewhere around 85-90mph but would also do 100. The 745i feels like it'll do much more but I get nervous cruising at much more than 100.

iluvmercs

7,541 posts

226 months

Friday 18th April 2014
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I just caught with the last couple of pages on this.

She looks terrific! thumbup

Darren

RoverP6B

4,338 posts

127 months

Friday 18th April 2014
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My E39 520iT feels happiest at 90-100, but it'll do 140 on the level and seems quite content at such speeds... it feels like the rest of the car is up to more than the engine.

E65Ross

34,844 posts

211 months

Friday 18th April 2014
quotequote all
RoverP6B said:
My E39 520iT feels happiest at 90-100, but it'll do 140 on the level and seems quite content at such speeds... it feels like the rest of the car is up to more than the engine.
Yup. That's because it is hehe

I've done >160 in the 745i and even at that it was still so bloody quiet and composed. I'd love to do a proper, sustained high speed cruise in it but would have to go to Germany, at the very early hours of a summers morning I suspect.

Could cover some serious miles in little time.

r129sl

Original Poster:

9,518 posts

202 months

Friday 18th April 2014
quotequote all
The diesel 124 is very happy at 75 to 95mph; the 129 really likes to be above the ton.

I didn't get much done today. Properly fixed some interior trim that the body shop had improperly fixed, started the interior clean, and dusted it. More action, better reports and some photos to follow. The engine bay is a bit better but it still looks like an old and dirty engine bay to my eyes. One thing, there is a tiny amount of primer overspray on the dashboard and I just cannot shift it. Any ideas?

RoverP6B

4,338 posts

127 months

Friday 18th April 2014
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E65Ross said:
Yup. That's because it is hehe
The odd thing is, at high speed, 170bhp feels like plenty, but at 'normal' speeds (say between 20 and 60) I'd really like the extra 60hp from the 530i. The 520i isn't SLOW, but it's certainly not as quick as it could be.

Apologies for hijacking the W124 thread btw. Of the various petrol engines offered in the 124, which would my esteemed fellow PHers say is the sweet spot in the range? Not interested in diesels.

londonbabe

2,042 posts

191 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
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I can't fault the 24 valve 3 litre in mine. Non catalyst model with 231bhp.
It is almost completely silent at idle, makes a lovely sound at higher speeds. It's great for cruising at 70-95, it accelerates in first like a scalded cat, keep your foot on the floor and it still accelerates hard at 125 mph. It even gave me 29 mpg on the last tank.
Plus none of the wiring loom nonsense that the 280 and 320 have.

RoverP6B

4,338 posts

127 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
londonbabe said:
I can't fault the 24 valve 3 litre in mine. Non catalyst model with 231bhp.
It is almost completely silent at idle, makes a lovely sound at higher speeds. It's great for cruising at 70-95, it accelerates in first like a scalded cat, keep your foot on the floor and it still accelerates hard at 125 mph. It even gave me 29 mpg on the last tank.
Plus none of the wiring loom nonsense that the 280 and 320 have.
Which engine is that, sorry? And why are only the 280 and 320 affected by loom problems?

E65Ross

34,844 posts

211 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
RoverP6B said:
londonbabe said:
I can't fault the 24 valve 3 litre in mine. Non catalyst model with 231bhp.
It is almost completely silent at idle, makes a lovely sound at higher speeds. It's great for cruising at 70-95, it accelerates in first like a scalded cat, keep your foot on the floor and it still accelerates hard at 125 mph. It even gave me 29 mpg on the last tank.
Plus none of the wiring loom nonsense that the 280 and 320 have.
Which engine is that, sorry? And why are only the 280 and 320 affected by loom problems?
They changed the wiring loom when they changed the engines on later cars.

The 3litre would be the 300e but they also did a 24 valve one (300e-24).

Performance will be marginally better than your E39, they're brisk but nothing much more from my experience.

RoverP6B

4,338 posts

127 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
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E65Ross said:
They changed the wiring loom when they changed the engines on later cars.

The 3litre would be the 300e but they also did a 24 valve one (300e-24).

Performance will be marginally better than your E39, they're brisk but nothing much more from my experience.
Right, so an older example could be a better bet? There's no need for something terribly fast, I have to say. Son is also eyeing up old X308 Jags for as and when he can afford something a bit quicker.

Rocksteadyeddie

7,971 posts

226 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
r129sl said:
The diesel 124 is very happy at 75 to 95mph; the 129 really likes to be above the ton.

I didn't get much done today. Properly fixed some interior trim that the body shop had improperly fixed, started the interior clean, and dusted it. More action, better reports and some photos to follow. The engine bay is a bit better but it still looks like an old and dirty engine bay to my eyes. One thing, there is a tiny amount of primer overspray on the dashboard and I just cannot shift it. Any ideas?
Tried "magic sponge"?

londonbabe

2,042 posts

191 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
RoverP6B said:
Which engine is that, sorry? And why are only the 280 and 320 affected by loom problems?
The first version of the M104, from the 300E-24
It still has a proper distributor and HT leads, whereas the 280 and 320 have plug coils and a loom to operate them that gets fried by under bonnet temperatures.

londonbabe

2,042 posts

191 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
quotequote all
Mind you if you don't have deep pockets, go for the 12 valve 300 or 260 models. These have the much cheaper to replace removable ball joints and solid rear discs. 24 valve models with the big vented discs have much more expensive suspension parts.

slippery

14,093 posts

238 months

Saturday 19th April 2014
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I like the way that r129's attitude is slowly shifting from 'relaxed' in his first post, to 'engine bay detailer' in his latest posts! hehe

r129sl

Original Poster:

9,518 posts

202 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
OK, more engine bay detailing. I failed miserably to get that brand new motor show preparation look. I just can't get the metal bits to loose the heavy staining.

Before:




After:




The interior, on the other hand, has come up great:



RoverP6B

4,338 posts

127 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
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I guess you could just chrome-plate the exhaust manifold like Alfa Romeo used to do!

idiotgap

2,112 posts

132 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
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R129sl - Maybe you could try contacting member swingout on the official mb forum, he got some manifold dressing from the US and over-ordered so has distributed some. There is a thread called 'Rusty Manifold Dressing' which has a few before and after photos. The product is called Calyx

r129sl

Original Poster:

9,518 posts

202 months

Sunday 20th April 2014
quotequote all
Actually, I think I'm going to give up on engine bay detailing. This is a well-used car. The engine is clean and dry and out of sight and that's that. The important thing is that I've done about four hundred miles this week and really enjoyed them: the car is for use. All that remains are the following snags:

(1) adjust window in N/S/R door (it does not fully close, giving wind noise at speed),
(2) replace rear wiper arm (on order),
(3) fit missing trim inside N/S/R wheel arch (ditto).

It gets an MOT on Tuesday and also will have the air con re-gassed as it lost its gas when the nearside inner wing was done. Just needs re-gassing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The sunroof failed to work yesterday, but happily it was just a bad fuse. I'm going to renew all the fuses as they're ancient.