Mercedes 129 titivation
Discussion
This thread is about the titivation of my Mercedes-Benz r129 SL500.
I have owned this car for 12 years now. It was built in May 1999 and is one of the final facelift cars, with the 3-valve M113 engine, the 5 speed 722.6 transmission, a fairly comprehensive standard specification but, arguably at least, the weakest build quality of the series. My car is 702 smoke silver metallic over 234 java nappa leather. It's a combination I like, although secretly I kind of wish I'd bought an obsidian black one. With the benefit of hindsight, I should have bought an early car as they look better and are truer to the Sacco-era virtues that appeal most to me. But this is the one I have got and this is the one that it killed me to pay for and this is the one that has become a part of my life over the last 200,000miles.
The current odometer reading is 245,000 miles. Over that distance, it has never failed me and always pleased me. It is amply fast enough for me and for the public highway. It is comfortable and long-legged and surprisingly practical. It is discreet and quiet and doesn't make a silly look-at-me parping noise when tootling about the town. It is easy to park. It is a great car.
It is also showing its age. I have really looked after it mechanically. It has had the shocks changed twice (at 100k and 200k); new springs; the rear axle re-built at 150k; new engine mounts; and anything it has needed by way of service, maintenance and preventative maintenance. There's far too much to list here. About two years ago I added up all the bills and they came to about £4,000 per annum including tyres. Anyway, the body is not right. It has been painted a few times before. Twice it has been driven into while parked: these things happen, at least they do to me. Then I had some blebs taken care of under warranty but they came back within a six months. That was in early-2009. The same year I had the blebs done again at a garage recommended by my mechanic. I have never been satisfied with the result and even today, taking a few photos for this thread, I noticed poor quality workmanship I hadn't seen before.
So tomorrow it goes to the Man.
Here are the worst of the problem areas.
This is the worst of the worst. The re-assembly of the numberplate lights has obviously damaged the protective paint work and there is really bad rust here. It all came up last year and got really bad over the winter. It makes me wince to look at it.
This boot trim is screwed into place from behind. Who ever reassembled it was obviously cack handed as rust is coming through the holes.
The near side rear wheel arch is pretty bad, too. I don't really know why. None of the others is like this.
There are a few little blebs also. A bit on the off side rear wing near the boot aperture and a bit on the trailing edge of the driver’s door. You can also see the big scratches I inflicted on my wedding night when I was hastily doing something—I can’t recall what—in the garage. What I noticed today was a great big paint run on the off side rear wing by the door aperture, just above the Sacco panel. How I haven’t noticed this previously is beyond me, goodness, it is awful workmanship.
It has dreadful stone chip rash across the front. I tend not to follow very close and, while it’s 100,000miles since the last time the bonnet was painted, I think this is more likely down to poor prep and poor workmanship.
And, of course, it has a full compliment bumper scuffs due to appalling parking by me or my wife at one time another, plus stone chipping to the Saccos.
I have had a lot of fun in this car. I got married in it. Well, I drove it to the Church, to the breakfast and then on the honeymoon. After courting with a road trip to the Dordogne in it. A long time ago I went to Stuttgart and back in about 40hours in it (from Northumberland: trip report here http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/sl-forum/22195... ). I drove it to the southern most tip of Europe and pottered around Andalusia for a hot week (hot in the sense of hot weather: trip report here http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/sl-forum/26323... ).
I am looking forward to making it good once again.
I have owned this car for 12 years now. It was built in May 1999 and is one of the final facelift cars, with the 3-valve M113 engine, the 5 speed 722.6 transmission, a fairly comprehensive standard specification but, arguably at least, the weakest build quality of the series. My car is 702 smoke silver metallic over 234 java nappa leather. It's a combination I like, although secretly I kind of wish I'd bought an obsidian black one. With the benefit of hindsight, I should have bought an early car as they look better and are truer to the Sacco-era virtues that appeal most to me. But this is the one I have got and this is the one that it killed me to pay for and this is the one that has become a part of my life over the last 200,000miles.
The current odometer reading is 245,000 miles. Over that distance, it has never failed me and always pleased me. It is amply fast enough for me and for the public highway. It is comfortable and long-legged and surprisingly practical. It is discreet and quiet and doesn't make a silly look-at-me parping noise when tootling about the town. It is easy to park. It is a great car.
It is also showing its age. I have really looked after it mechanically. It has had the shocks changed twice (at 100k and 200k); new springs; the rear axle re-built at 150k; new engine mounts; and anything it has needed by way of service, maintenance and preventative maintenance. There's far too much to list here. About two years ago I added up all the bills and they came to about £4,000 per annum including tyres. Anyway, the body is not right. It has been painted a few times before. Twice it has been driven into while parked: these things happen, at least they do to me. Then I had some blebs taken care of under warranty but they came back within a six months. That was in early-2009. The same year I had the blebs done again at a garage recommended by my mechanic. I have never been satisfied with the result and even today, taking a few photos for this thread, I noticed poor quality workmanship I hadn't seen before.
So tomorrow it goes to the Man.
Here are the worst of the problem areas.
This is the worst of the worst. The re-assembly of the numberplate lights has obviously damaged the protective paint work and there is really bad rust here. It all came up last year and got really bad over the winter. It makes me wince to look at it.
This boot trim is screwed into place from behind. Who ever reassembled it was obviously cack handed as rust is coming through the holes.
The near side rear wheel arch is pretty bad, too. I don't really know why. None of the others is like this.
There are a few little blebs also. A bit on the off side rear wing near the boot aperture and a bit on the trailing edge of the driver’s door. You can also see the big scratches I inflicted on my wedding night when I was hastily doing something—I can’t recall what—in the garage. What I noticed today was a great big paint run on the off side rear wing by the door aperture, just above the Sacco panel. How I haven’t noticed this previously is beyond me, goodness, it is awful workmanship.
It has dreadful stone chip rash across the front. I tend not to follow very close and, while it’s 100,000miles since the last time the bonnet was painted, I think this is more likely down to poor prep and poor workmanship.
And, of course, it has a full compliment bumper scuffs due to appalling parking by me or my wife at one time another, plus stone chipping to the Saccos.
I have had a lot of fun in this car. I got married in it. Well, I drove it to the Church, to the breakfast and then on the honeymoon. After courting with a road trip to the Dordogne in it. A long time ago I went to Stuttgart and back in about 40hours in it (from Northumberland: trip report here http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/sl-forum/22195... ). I drove it to the southern most tip of Europe and pottered around Andalusia for a hot week (hot in the sense of hot weather: trip report here http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/sl-forum/26323... ).
I am looking forward to making it good once again.
Edited by r129sl on Sunday 14th June 18:53
I really can't see the point of supercars. I can't even see the point of today's super saloons, the likes of the M3/4 and the C63 AMG. I write as one who loves to drive fast and tries to drive well and also as one who is aware that he is starting to sound like an old fogey. But how can you use one of these supercars for driving on the public road? The performance is extraordinary, and far in excess of my abilities, the abilities of most drivers, and the capacity of the public road to take it. I drove a Ferrari 599 GTB once and it was an utterly disappointing experience because the spurts of power had to be so brief and because it felt totally out of my control. They are also too big—the supercars especially. The super saloons are crushingly vulgar: the silly, manufactured parping noise, the hyper-aggressive styling, the colour palette of white, metallic white or matt white with black wheels. Tell me, drivers of such cars, do you have total contempt for your neighbours and their wish to sleep? And what about behind the wheel? Is all that aggression a good thing on the public road? Would you walk down the street in the same mindset? They have tiny fuel tanks, rubber band tyres and rock hard suspension. They're not driving machines: they are status machines.
I can see the value of the repmobiles more, although I think it a shame that they try to ape the premium brands so much. One day I would like to own a Ford: it is such an honest marque, an everyman car. But almost all cars these days are not about engineering excellence, driving pleasure or even about travelling: they are about the projection of image and status. That's why so-called luxury cars have poxy diesel engines. The modern diesel may be good but it is nothing in refinement when compared to the modern petrol engine. But people want to project a 7 series image on a diseasel budget. £500 a month, 8,000miles a year. That last figure tells you what you need to know: these cars don't go anywhere: they are adornments for the driveway, the car park at the office, the golf club, like expensive garden gnomes. And, yes, I would have to concede that even opting out of moderns and running three old Mercs involves making a statement of sorts.
Enough navel-gazing: I'm off the cash machine and then the bodyshop.
I can see the value of the repmobiles more, although I think it a shame that they try to ape the premium brands so much. One day I would like to own a Ford: it is such an honest marque, an everyman car. But almost all cars these days are not about engineering excellence, driving pleasure or even about travelling: they are about the projection of image and status. That's why so-called luxury cars have poxy diesel engines. The modern diesel may be good but it is nothing in refinement when compared to the modern petrol engine. But people want to project a 7 series image on a diseasel budget. £500 a month, 8,000miles a year. That last figure tells you what you need to know: these cars don't go anywhere: they are adornments for the driveway, the car park at the office, the golf club, like expensive garden gnomes. And, yes, I would have to concede that even opting out of moderns and running three old Mercs involves making a statement of sorts.
Enough navel-gazing: I'm off the cash machine and then the bodyshop.
Quite a lot of expenditure was on tyres. When I was using it for 20 to 30,000miles a year, it would sometimes take 3 sets in a year. Tyres are a bit cheaper these days but it used to run me £750-ish for a set of four Michelins or Continentals. Then there is preventative maintenance. One year I had the shocks all changed; another the springs; another the rear suspension links and sub-frame bushes; and yet another year I had the front control arms replaced; then it was time for the shocks again. I had the factory phone kit retrofitted: that wasn't cheap. In its time with me, it has needed an air con condenser, an alternator, front and rear brake callipers, two off-side headlamps. It has had a pair of cats, an exhaust back box, a central heat shield, a couple of ABS sensors. Steering gear. It has had a lot of main dealer servicing: I am on my third service book and each one has about 20 stamps. Then there's stuff like mats.
If I think about the last year, from memory it has not had summer tyres, but it has had four new wheels, four winter tyres, discs and pads all round, rear brake callipers, NSF hub, an alternator (which turned out not to be needed after all), a battery, two services. There'll be other stuff, too. Looking forward, the front control arms need doing again; I'd quite like to go over the rear axle again; the diff mounts have never been done; the centre propshaft bearing is rumbling; a fuel pump package might be a sensible precaution; I'd like to have the leather upholstery freshened up...
It has 245,000miles on it: you can't do that kind of mileage without spending quite substantial chunks of money: at least, not if you want to do those miles in comfort and safety.
If I think about the last year, from memory it has not had summer tyres, but it has had four new wheels, four winter tyres, discs and pads all round, rear brake callipers, NSF hub, an alternator (which turned out not to be needed after all), a battery, two services. There'll be other stuff, too. Looking forward, the front control arms need doing again; I'd quite like to go over the rear axle again; the diff mounts have never been done; the centre propshaft bearing is rumbling; a fuel pump package might be a sensible precaution; I'd like to have the leather upholstery freshened up...
It has 245,000miles on it: you can't do that kind of mileage without spending quite substantial chunks of money: at least, not if you want to do those miles in comfort and safety.
Here we go. This isn't as bad as I feared. The Man says the back panel can be saved. After grinding out as much corrosion as possible, he'll treat with Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80, then etch prime, then Electrox zinc primer then paint. It may be that it comes back but it's a small discreet area that can be treated locally every now and again.
In fairness, that rust isn't Mercedes rust: it's down to poor paintwork five years ago. The jacking points and underside were perfect last time I looked. There's a bit of rot under the washer bottle otherwise I'm not expecting any surprises. The hardtop is a bit frilly but, again, that's poor work in the past, not Mercedes.
Same area from behind:
This will be treated with Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80 this evening and left overnight. The Man says the rot will come back but it is better than replacing the panel. I agree with him. Given the location, a repair here every three years or so is not going to be the end of the world. He seems pretty chipper about it: "if this is the worst of it, you have nothing to worry about".
Edited by r129sl on Tuesday 16th June 16:39
There's the cost of the part, as Harry says, plus the difficulty of getting it right. It is the whole rear end, with visible joins above and below the tail lamp clusters. Tricky to get the factory look and a big risk of corrosion in the tail lamp apertures.
Given that this is not a prominent spot, I'm happy with the repair being undertaken. Hopefully, with correct anti-corrosion treatments, it'll be years before it needs doing again and even then the cost will be minimal if caught early.
Given that this is not a prominent spot, I'm happy with the repair being undertaken. Hopefully, with correct anti-corrosion treatments, it'll be years before it needs doing again and even then the cost will be minimal if caught early.
Exhaust pipe dilemma. Late cars like mine have a visible exhaust pipe exit, unnecessarily adorned with a little trim. Another punctuation mark in the story of declining Mercedes-Benz quality, like the abandonment of the manually adjusted driver's side mirror. Anyway, my car came with a a dark grey one, DB-129 Galinit Grey, I suspect. The very last 129s came with a polished exhaust trim. Why? Goodness knows. This is a car without a single scintilla of chrome on it, three-pointed star and model designation aside. Why put it on the exhaust? Why show the exhaust anyway? Why not conceal it behind the bumper like they always did? Because the market likes a big exhaust pipe. For a long time now, only the polished trim has been available new. Over the last decade or so, I've bought three painted trims, snapping them up whenever I've seen them, but I haven't seen one for five years or more now. And they go bad pretty quickly.
So, would you fit the polished one you see here, brand new, only tonight freed from languishing in its protective stockinette in my garage-cum-rubbish-dump for years?
No, me neither. Tomorrow's work displacement activity will see me take the polished one and the old corroded one lying alongside it to Betta Blast of Shiremoor. I'm going to get them to shot blast both and then apply whatever is the best anti-corrosion, heat resistant coating they have got. Xylan or something space age like that. In dark grey. 9129 if they've got it; some other very dark grey if not.
I have also decided to refurb the front seats. Many years ago I bought a bureau in the town of Hawes. Unable to wait and unwilling to pay, I transported it back home in the back seat of the SL. Upturned and wedged in, roof down, we got home just fine, but it tore the leather (vinyl more likely) on the back of the seats. I found some replacement panels on German Ebay this week. They arrived in two working days and are in superb condition. So I have added them to the heap of stuff in the garage.
The front seats are a bit scruffy. A bottle of alloy wheel cleaner leaked onto the passenger seat base once and dissolved the surface coating. I did my best to repair it but it wasn't good enough. The driver's seat has 245,000miles' wear. No tears or holes but scruffy. Tomorrow, after I have been to the shot blasters and shown my face at my office, I am going to go to the bodyshop and remove the seat cushions, base and backrest, then take them to the Furniture Clinic at Burnopfield. Hopefully they will be able to refresh them in time for mid-July.
So, would you fit the polished one you see here, brand new, only tonight freed from languishing in its protective stockinette in my garage-cum-rubbish-dump for years?
No, me neither. Tomorrow's work displacement activity will see me take the polished one and the old corroded one lying alongside it to Betta Blast of Shiremoor. I'm going to get them to shot blast both and then apply whatever is the best anti-corrosion, heat resistant coating they have got. Xylan or something space age like that. In dark grey. 9129 if they've got it; some other very dark grey if not.
I have also decided to refurb the front seats. Many years ago I bought a bureau in the town of Hawes. Unable to wait and unwilling to pay, I transported it back home in the back seat of the SL. Upturned and wedged in, roof down, we got home just fine, but it tore the leather (vinyl more likely) on the back of the seats. I found some replacement panels on German Ebay this week. They arrived in two working days and are in superb condition. So I have added them to the heap of stuff in the garage.
The front seats are a bit scruffy. A bottle of alloy wheel cleaner leaked onto the passenger seat base once and dissolved the surface coating. I did my best to repair it but it wasn't good enough. The driver's seat has 245,000miles' wear. No tears or holes but scruffy. Tomorrow, after I have been to the shot blasters and shown my face at my office, I am going to go to the bodyshop and remove the seat cushions, base and backrest, then take them to the Furniture Clinic at Burnopfield. Hopefully they will be able to refresh them in time for mid-July.
Edited by r129sl on Thursday 18th June 22:28
I went this morning after dropping the lad at school. Nice people. www.bettablast.co.uk
Anyway, I went for shot blasting followed by "heat resistant black" powder coat at £36 for two trims! Xylan would be £200 and wouldn't be any better according to the man. The black is in fact dark grey semi-gloss, almost a perfect match. Ready early next week. Can't fault that.
Anyway, I went for shot blasting followed by "heat resistant black" powder coat at £36 for two trims! Xylan would be £200 and wouldn't be any better according to the man. The black is in fact dark grey semi-gloss, almost a perfect match. Ready early next week. Can't fault that.
A bit more action today. I went round to the bodyshop and removed the seat cushions. A very, very easy job. Here are pictures of the interior with the cushions removed, of the driver's side bolster and the passenger base (the latter being the worst). I took them to the Furniture Clinic at Burnopfield where they will turn them round in two weeks for £275 plus VAT. I'm looking forward to getting them back. When they're out of the car, it is easy to see just how utterly minging they are. There's not much damage, just a lot of ugly filth.
In the meantime, the Man was busy stripping the trim. There is very little corrosion, none on the structure. The jacking points and sills are mint. The dark stuff surrounding the jack holes is Dynax S50 I sprayed on there a while back. But as you can see, even the sill ends are in good shape, and these must come in for a lot of trouble. When the body was painted the first time, they put cavity wax on all of the clip holes. This seems to have worked and there is no corrosion behind the Saccos.
In the meantime, the Man was busy stripping the trim. There is very little corrosion, none on the structure. The jacking points and sills are mint. The dark stuff surrounding the jack holes is Dynax S50 I sprayed on there a while back. But as you can see, even the sill ends are in good shape, and these must come in for a lot of trouble. When the body was painted the first time, they put cavity wax on all of the clip holes. This seems to have worked and there is no corrosion behind the Saccos.
There has been quite a lot of progress today. The body is completely stripped and the plastic parts have been stripped down into their component pieces (for instance, the wing mirrors are comprised of three pieces which often are simply painted as one). More significantly, the body has been rubbed down and any corrosion has been stripped away as much as possible. There is very little damage of note and it is all looking quite promising. What should be reassuring for anyone thinking of doing this at home is how high a standard the car seems to have been built to by Mercedes-Benz. This is a 16 year old car that has lived outside plenty and has covered nearly quarter of a million miles, yet the body and chassis remain very solid indeed.
Grille surround and bonnet where the worst of the stone chipping was to be found:
Random shot of n/s/f wing:
n/s/r wheel arch where some of the worst corrosion was found. There is pitting here, which will be treated, but the car needs to go up not he ramp with the wheels off for a good look here:
Driver's door trailing edge, again, another area identified as suffering a bit:
Grille surround and bonnet where the worst of the stone chipping was to be found:
Random shot of n/s/f wing:
n/s/r wheel arch where some of the worst corrosion was found. There is pitting here, which will be treated, but the car needs to go up not he ramp with the wheels off for a good look here:
Driver's door trailing edge, again, another area identified as suffering a bit:
An update from the Man below showing how he has removed all corrosion from the driver's side door handle area and also past overspray/failure to mask the hole.
Merck come in for a lot of flak for corrosion. Some of this is fair. The familiar problems which beset 1996 to 2004 cars were down to micro-organisms in the body phosphating tanks. That's the definitive explanation. And it points to slackness at Mercedes-Benz body plants (tanks were drained and cleaned weekly when it should be daily). As for rusty Mercs more generally, I think it has to be recalled that old cars from other makers do not exist in significant numbers. I see 201s, 202s, 124s and 210s every single day and often more than one. But where the Audi 80s and 100s (notwithstanding the full galvanisation), the BMW E30s, E34s, E36s and even E39s, all of which were sold in greater numbers than their Merc equivalents? They died long ago.
Merck come in for a lot of flak for corrosion. Some of this is fair. The familiar problems which beset 1996 to 2004 cars were down to micro-organisms in the body phosphating tanks. That's the definitive explanation. And it points to slackness at Mercedes-Benz body plants (tanks were drained and cleaned weekly when it should be daily). As for rusty Mercs more generally, I think it has to be recalled that old cars from other makers do not exist in significant numbers. I see 201s, 202s, 124s and 210s every single day and often more than one. But where the Audi 80s and 100s (notwithstanding the full galvanisation), the BMW E30s, E34s, E36s and even E39s, all of which were sold in greater numbers than their Merc equivalents? They died long ago.
Rear arch not so hot: the Man says it needs TLC and lead solder. Not sure what these holes are. I'll ask all about it next week. I suspect it is evidence of an old repair. The o/s/r wheel arch was crunched while the car was parked years ago and I'm guessing they pulled the repair out and this is what's left.
Edited by r129sl on Friday 26th June 11:55
I don't know what they are but, I agree, they don't look like they resulted from the parking crunch. Perhaps something done in the course of the repair to give the wheel arch its shape? I will find out when I visit later today. In the meantime, here is a quick squizz at the newly powder coasted exhaust trims. The top one was the brand new one in stainless steel. The bottom one was the rusty old one. I am amazed by the finish, especially on the rusty old one. Well worth £36.
Plenty of progress today. Paintwork is about to commence.
The verdict on the perforated arch is that it was a bodge during the previous repair I mentioned. It's funny how the "good" arch turned out to be the worst. Anyway, here you can see it being built back up with some new steel, lead solder and then dressed.
Unfortunately, there is more woe in that o/s/r wheel arch. See here how there is a bit of rot where the inner wheel arch meets the sill. Not the end of the world but it has to be tackled. There is plenty of good metal and no holes, so it will all be ground back, treated, primed and painted and then re-sealed with Bilt Hamber Dynax UB.
There is a tiny hole in the n/s/f bumper mounting point which will need to be cut out and welded up. Again, nothing earth-shattering. That wing doesn't look bad for 250,000 north east miles, does it?
The "bad" side, which has turned out not so bad after all, is prepped and ready for primer. Any corrosion has been ground out and any pitting treated with Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80.
The plastic parts, the Saccos, bumpers, mirror and so on, have all been removed, broken down and prepped for painting. Finally they are in the booth.
These sill brackets will be replaced.
So slowly but surely we are getting there. This is always the bit that I hate: week three. It seems to be taking forever right now, but all of a sudden the progress will be quick. Paint by the end of the week? Maybe the start of the next. There is a little bit of stripping still to do: the 'A' pillar covers and then the tonneau seal, this latter being quite tricky. Then re-assembly. I have yet to draw up a list of necessary replacement clips and trim items, I expect it will be long and much of it may be NLA. What is the point?
The verdict on the perforated arch is that it was a bodge during the previous repair I mentioned. It's funny how the "good" arch turned out to be the worst. Anyway, here you can see it being built back up with some new steel, lead solder and then dressed.
Unfortunately, there is more woe in that o/s/r wheel arch. See here how there is a bit of rot where the inner wheel arch meets the sill. Not the end of the world but it has to be tackled. There is plenty of good metal and no holes, so it will all be ground back, treated, primed and painted and then re-sealed with Bilt Hamber Dynax UB.
There is a tiny hole in the n/s/f bumper mounting point which will need to be cut out and welded up. Again, nothing earth-shattering. That wing doesn't look bad for 250,000 north east miles, does it?
The "bad" side, which has turned out not so bad after all, is prepped and ready for primer. Any corrosion has been ground out and any pitting treated with Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80.
The plastic parts, the Saccos, bumpers, mirror and so on, have all been removed, broken down and prepped for painting. Finally they are in the booth.
These sill brackets will be replaced.
So slowly but surely we are getting there. This is always the bit that I hate: week three. It seems to be taking forever right now, but all of a sudden the progress will be quick. Paint by the end of the week? Maybe the start of the next. There is a little bit of stripping still to do: the 'A' pillar covers and then the tonneau seal, this latter being quite tricky. Then re-assembly. I have yet to draw up a list of necessary replacement clips and trim items, I expect it will be long and much of it may be NLA. What is the point?
I just came across this evocative driving photo and another parked up (also on the Shielding to Applecross road) from our honeymoon five years ago.
And also this one from even further in the dim and distant past, our first French trip.
Finally, long, long ago my r129 took us to Torridon in the snow. Here climbing the Pass of the Cattle on wholly inappropriate summer tyres.
I can't wait to get this car back! I've done so much in it, I'm really missing it.
And also this one from even further in the dim and distant past, our first French trip.
Finally, long, long ago my r129 took us to Torridon in the snow. Here climbing the Pass of the Cattle on wholly inappropriate summer tyres.
I can't wait to get this car back! I've done so much in it, I'm really missing it.
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