Titivating my Mercedes 124
Discussion
A car-free picture for CdeG. The Unst bus stop. It even has a telephone, which is quite useful, my telephone having ceased to work about 2 miles out of Lerwick.
I clapped eyes on the light house at Muckle Flugga today, or the top of it, at least, from the cliffs on the far side of Hermanness.
I clapped eyes on the light house at Muckle Flugga today, or the top of it, at least, from the cliffs on the far side of Hermanness.
Coming down Glen Docherty between Achnasheen and Kinlochewe, en route to Torridon. No suicidal deer this time, thankfully. We came a roundabout way from Aberdeen: Ballater then the Old Military Road up to Grantown-on-Spey; plenty of suicidal motorcyclists, including one cool dude who wheelied past us and all the way up the hill, to the delight of my children. Then Carrbridge, Inverness Tesco and across.
One for Alec: sometimes it is sunny here.
One for Alec: sometimes it is sunny here.
Had a run out this evening to Diabaig, the end of the road on the north side of Loch Torridon and a remarkable spot centred on a natural sheltered harbour. Not so long ago this was the biggest community round here (i.e. when the sea and not the road offered the most effective path from place to place); now not so but still something.
To get there, you have to traverse the Bealach na Gaoithe or Pass of the Wind. Everyone rages on about the Beach na Baa en route to Applecross and, while it is higher and all, I think this one is much more spectacular and far harder to drive. There is one moment when it is completely blind as you crest a hill with a steep drop and a bit of a bend on the other side.
This chap was bringing his boat in from an afternoon's fishing:
Later I stuck the roof box back on ready for the journey south tomorrow.
To get there, you have to traverse the Bealach na Gaoithe or Pass of the Wind. Everyone rages on about the Beach na Baa en route to Applecross and, while it is higher and all, I think this one is much more spectacular and far harder to drive. There is one moment when it is completely blind as you crest a hill with a steep drop and a bit of a bend on the other side.
This chap was bringing his boat in from an afternoon's fishing:
Later I stuck the roof box back on ready for the journey south tomorrow.
The home straight at last.
325-odd miles, about five and a half hours on the road, untold aeons faffing around off it (grumpy daddy talking). 31mpg, despite caning it with a very full payload and the box on top. It's such a good old car. I have noticed a bit of rot near the boot hinges; also the boot seems to have become misaligned (possibly related); and one of the load bay window ledges is bubbling up again. It never ends.
325-odd miles, about five and a half hours on the road, untold aeons faffing around off it (grumpy daddy talking). 31mpg, despite caning it with a very full payload and the box on top. It's such a good old car. I have noticed a bit of rot near the boot hinges; also the boot seems to have become misaligned (possibly related); and one of the load bay window ledges is bubbling up again. It never ends.
0a said:
r129sl, when you are long dead and buried your boys will be telling the story of their dad with this car and all the fun they had in it with you when they were kids. What a great Dad driving them all over Europe 
Fantastic.
I was thinking just the same. Their school friends will soon have forgotten their summer holiday sitting by the Mediterranean, but these boys will treasure the memories of this trip.Fantastic.
RoverP6B said:
Perennial tinworm... I fear that it will eventually be the end of a lot of cherished cars of this era. There's only so much you can do to keep patching them up.
Indeed. From my own experience Merc's in particular of this era are at a very painful age. Drive brilliantly and nicer to use every day than most (95% of) more modern offerings but still susceptible to tinworm and tend to hide age related decay very well. Until its too late. In the next few years I'd like to build a W124 up from a bare body as new (as new as possible) then drive the doors off it.
Don't give up on it. Would you consider dismantling and taking it back to bare metal and getting it re-galvanised? (would lift the body off the powertrain like factory to save as much disassembly as possible)
I may have spoken too soon...
The car has been in my wife's use all week and now the boot lid does not fit or close at all. The passenger side hinge mounting point has rusted away at the body. This looks very difficult to fix. I have stripped most of the interior trim out but it is hard even to see where the boot lid hinge mounts to the body: it is in a kind of pocket in the 'D' pillar. The whole internal 'D' pillar is—or should be—available as a spare part but cutting it out and putting in a new one looks like the devil of a job. All of the Man's skills will be called upon on Monday...
The car has been in my wife's use all week and now the boot lid does not fit or close at all. The passenger side hinge mounting point has rusted away at the body. This looks very difficult to fix. I have stripped most of the interior trim out but it is hard even to see where the boot lid hinge mounts to the body: it is in a kind of pocket in the 'D' pillar. The whole internal 'D' pillar is—or should be—available as a spare part but cutting it out and putting in a new one looks like the devil of a job. All of the Man's skills will be called upon on Monday...
r129sl said:
I may have spoken too soon...
The car has been in my wife's use all week and now the boot lid does not fit or close at all. The passenger side hinge mounting point has rusted away at the body. This looks very difficult to fix. I have stripped most of the interior trim out but it is hard even to see where the boot lid hinge mounts to the body: it is in a kind of pocket in the 'D' pillar. The whole internal 'D' pillar is—or should be—available as a spare part but cutting it out and putting in a new one looks like the devil of a job. All of the Man's skills will be called upon on Monday...
Oh no! Fingers crossed that it can be fixed by The Man. The car has been in my wife's use all week and now the boot lid does not fit or close at all. The passenger side hinge mounting point has rusted away at the body. This looks very difficult to fix. I have stripped most of the interior trim out but it is hard even to see where the boot lid hinge mounts to the body: it is in a kind of pocket in the 'D' pillar. The whole internal 'D' pillar is—or should be—available as a spare part but cutting it out and putting in a new one looks like the devil of a job. All of the Man's skills will be called upon on Monday...
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