Titivating my Mercedes 124
Discussion
Just being aware that that time, miles and wear are at work on the car and then being willing to do preventative maintenance puts you a million miles ahead of most car owners. I would service ahead of schedule, maybe every 8 to 10k miles, look out for big service items like the transmission, and be willing to replace the suspension between 100 and 150k. I remember a lot of pain on my 129 at that stage: shocks, springs, front and rear arms, engine mounts, wheel bearings, it maybe that some of these things will never fail, but if you don't change them, one of them will and then you'll be stuck. And fix things when they break. Good luck with it. I'm about to set out on a 500mile journey from Geneva to La Chartre-sur-Le Loir.
425 miles, 5hrs15mins. Endless cruise control at 155km/h through baking, deserted France (38.5 deg C for most of the day). Challenged the cooling system somewhat, it was steady at 100 deg C but prolonged inclines saw it rise to 110 or so. I'm glad I changed the hoses last month. 29.1mpg.
This was one of those journeys a modern would have done better. Stronger air con and the possibility of running at 200km/h would have been welcome. The N19 from Auxerre to Orléans we covered at 100mph without coming off cruise a single time! A proper motor could have pulverised it.
This was one of those journeys a modern would have done better. Stronger air con and the possibility of running at 200km/h would have been welcome. The N19 from Auxerre to Orléans we covered at 100mph without coming off cruise a single time! A proper motor could have pulverised it.
Jag_NE said:
Great thread OP, outstanding perseverance!
Slightly off topic question but I wanted to ask it given your exceptional awareness on these matters.....I have a 4 year old c-class (owned from new-ish), low miler and likely to stay that way for a while, its a keeper. On top of the obvious i.e. servicing, tyres, wipers etc, are there any specific areas of maintenance that I should keep a close eye on, even changing specific items as a matter of course should I intend to keep this car "as new" for as long as possible? As you have done everything in reverse I presume there are a bunch of areas that if kept on top of systemically should avoid the car ever slipping into a well worn look/feel.....I am less mechanically minded than yourself however if there was a hit list of 20/30/40 things that I should be regularly looking at, that would be a brilliant aid!
Tell me to p1ss off if you wish!
Your biggest problem will be "4 year old C class". Slightly off topic question but I wanted to ask it given your exceptional awareness on these matters.....I have a 4 year old c-class (owned from new-ish), low miler and likely to stay that way for a while, its a keeper. On top of the obvious i.e. servicing, tyres, wipers etc, are there any specific areas of maintenance that I should keep a close eye on, even changing specific items as a matter of course should I intend to keep this car "as new" for as long as possible? As you have done everything in reverse I presume there are a bunch of areas that if kept on top of systemically should avoid the car ever slipping into a well worn look/feel.....I am less mechanically minded than yourself however if there was a hit list of 20/30/40 things that I should be regularly looking at, that would be a brilliant aid!
Tell me to p1ss off if you wish!
r129sl said:
425 miles, 5hrs15mins. Endless cruise control at 155km/h through baking, deserted France (38.5 deg C for most of the day). Challenged the cooling system somewhat, it was steady at 100 deg C but prolonged inclines saw it rise to 110 or so. I'm glad I changed the hoses last month. 29.1mpg.
This was one of those journeys a modern would have done better. Stronger air con and the possibility of running at 200km/h would have been welcome. The N19 from Auxerre to Orléans we covered at 100mph without coming off cruise a single time! A proper motor could have pulverised it.
You're a braver man than me, going those speeds through France, I've never found les gendarmes to be particularly sympathique to any accidental exceeing of limits. Or does the W124 have 'countermeasures'?This was one of those journeys a modern would have done better. Stronger air con and the possibility of running at 200km/h would have been welcome. The N19 from Auxerre to Orléans we covered at 100mph without coming off cruise a single time! A proper motor could have pulverised it.
Barchettaman said:
You're a braver man than me, going those speeds through France, I've never found les gendarmes to be particularly sympathique to any accidental exceeing of limits. Or does the W124 have 'countermeasures'?
Mainly that being an n/a diesel 124, no-one in law enforcement can believe it's achieved those speeds 
Long drive ahead tomorrow, so no hostages to fortune, but... I can't see a 25 year old plain Jane estate car rubbing along at between 9 and 19mph above the limit giving JF cause to awaken from his slumbers anymore than it would a Brit cop. I've seen two GDs, the first was obvious and I slowed to an indicated 90, the second I noticed as we sailed by at an indicated 100. Neither gave chase and in the latter case we were 150miles from the tollgate. The Sanef Liber-T, which sounds like a feminine hygiene product but isn't also may help since you don't even have to stop at toll gates. The A19 was new, straight and empty yesterday: oh for a Countach!
No hostages to fortune... Today turned into a disaster. With bags of time to spare, we ran into a three hour jam on the A1 north of Paris. The ambient temperature was 35 deg C. With engine and air con running, the coolant sat steady at 110 deg C. Knock the air con off and it sank to 90. So the cooling system seems up to the job. We gave up on the Zeebrugge ferry at Lille and the Rotterdam ferry 20 miles later. Feeling utterly deflated we turned to Calais and the Eurotunnel, noshed grim King Burger supper, hit the M20 at 8.05pm and pulled up at the George Hotel in Stamford, 150 miles later, at 10.05pm. At least the car ran flawlessly: brilliant machine. Recommend the George. The car is keeping company with a (somewhat vulgar) green Lambo in the car park.
After taking a '94 300TD (a semi-facelift though) to 276,000 miles before punting it in 2009 after getting the wobbles because of powdery brown stuff under the sill cladding, I can only admire your dedication to doing not just the big stuff but all the little things which I would never get round to doing.
Bravo for keeping this magnificent old beast on the road and in the fettle it deserves to be
Bravo for keeping this magnificent old beast on the road and in the fettle it deserves to be
As posted in the Barge thread, my car may have taken a fatal blow late tonight. About ten miles from the holiday cottage we rent in Torridon, just after Kinlochewe, an enormous deer appeared in the windscreen from nowhere. Bizarrely, I'd had a premonition that this would happen. There was absolutely no avoiding it. It was just there. It bounced off the bonnet, very dead, 40mph doing it in good and proper.
The car meanwhile obviously was badly off, too. The biggest concern is the holed radiator. The car got us to our destination without overheating but only just. Even before then, we resolved to fix it. It'll need a fan, fan clutch, radiator, condenser; a headlamp, grille, slam panel and a bonnet.
The most pressing business is getting it home and sorting out transport for our holiday. Thankfully everyone is OK, apart from Mr Deer.
The car meanwhile obviously was badly off, too. The biggest concern is the holed radiator. The car got us to our destination without overheating but only just. Even before then, we resolved to fix it. It'll need a fan, fan clutch, radiator, condenser; a headlamp, grille, slam panel and a bonnet.
The most pressing business is getting it home and sorting out transport for our holiday. Thankfully everyone is OK, apart from Mr Deer.
irish boy said:
Are you planning on fixing the car?
r129sl said:
Even before then, we resolved to fix it. It'll need a fan, fan clutch, radiator, condenser; a headlamp, grille, slam panel and a bonnet.
Compared to the work that's gone into reversing the passage of time on this car over the last few years, the effort needed to restore this will be comparatively minor. r129sl, glad you are all ok. Deer can have an unfortunate reflex of jumping at the last moment and then coming through the windscreen.
Edited by Lowtimer on Monday 29th August 10:53
r129sl said:
Even before then, we resolved to fix it. It'll need a fan, fan clutch, radiator, condenser; a headlamp, grille, slam panel and a bonnet.
I know that it's still very early days, and a bank holidy weekend, but do you have any sense of what the insurance company's view will be? The default would be write-off I suppose, unless you have agreed value and/or a specialised Classic policy. Do you anticipate buying the car back and then fixing? Would be a real shame if it was Categorised.
The insurance company won't be getting a view.
Insurance is for risks I can't afford to bear. They'd write it off and increase my premium next time. Whereas it has a value to us—happily not just to me—which goes beyond money. If you can't tell, I love the car. I'm broke at the moment (as always) but I'll find the money that fix it. I reckon about £1,500 will do it.
My local man will truck it back on Saturday.
I picked up a Mondeo from Inverness this morning which I can drop off in Newcastle on Sunday. I'm sad because the car is part of our holiday. My wife says the Mondeo is rubbish compared to the Merc and she's right. The ride genuinely is inferior, the handling is inferior, the steering is rubbery, the view out is really restricted, it is very wide and unwieldy, the primary and secondary switchgear are not obvious and not do they have that super feel. The bodyshell is amazingly rigid and the fuel economy is superb, mind you. Thanks to Oa for the bargain car rental link.
Insurance is for risks I can't afford to bear. They'd write it off and increase my premium next time. Whereas it has a value to us—happily not just to me—which goes beyond money. If you can't tell, I love the car. I'm broke at the moment (as always) but I'll find the money that fix it. I reckon about £1,500 will do it.
My local man will truck it back on Saturday.
I picked up a Mondeo from Inverness this morning which I can drop off in Newcastle on Sunday. I'm sad because the car is part of our holiday. My wife says the Mondeo is rubbish compared to the Merc and she's right. The ride genuinely is inferior, the handling is inferior, the steering is rubbery, the view out is really restricted, it is very wide and unwieldy, the primary and secondary switchgear are not obvious and not do they have that super feel. The bodyshell is amazingly rigid and the fuel economy is superb, mind you. Thanks to Oa for the bargain car rental link.
r129sl said:
As posted in the Barge thread, my car may have taken a fatal blow late tonight. About ten miles from the holiday cottage we rent in Torridon, just after Kinlochewe, an enormous deer appeared in the windscreen from nowhere. Bizarrely, I'd had a premonition that this would happen...
Very sorry to read about this incident. I hope the repairs aren't too tedious.As an aside you must watch the French gangster film "Un Prophete". The lead character had the same premonition about the car being hit by a deer.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff