1986 Mercedes 500 SEC
Discussion
Where once there was change, uncertainty and w
eishness, there is now commitment, investment & monogamy.
I once subscribed to the ethos of “variation is the spice of life” and was serial car-changer, but it took the right girl to set me straight.
Stella was bought in 2012 having seen her on eBay looking like this:
On purchase, it was clear that the thrust arm bushings needed work. It was booked into Klasse Mercedes in Fulham to do the work. Aside from that, it drove beautifully, there were no rattles, and (almost) everything worked.
Not to everyones’ tastes, she sports a Zender kit and has been resprayed in Ferrari Canna Di Fucile grey. Certainly not original, but exactly the right/wrong side of tasteful for me.
The 16” Borbet A wheels made the car so low that I was scraping the exhaust flanges on speedbumps and uneven roads, which eventually led me to leaving the original on a country lane in Devon. Cue a trip to Style Dynamix in Hayes, where I had a full stainless system fabricated. Not only did stainless mean no rusting, but it made the V8 sound the way it always should have done.
As months went on, there were regular oil, filter and fluid changes as well as preventative maintenance on various known weaknesses – of which there are few on the 126 chassis.
Bored of tiptoeing around London, I decide a larger set of wheels was necessary. I wanted 17” OZ splits, as seen on period AMGs, but at +£2000, I couldn’t justify originals. I did a hunt and found some replicas which seemed good and looked good.
Unfortunately, while they looked good, they were in fact crap. Poorly made, probably the shape of a 50p piece and almost impossible to balance. They were shortly replaced but a very rare set of 17” Gotti typ 175, which I had refurbed with gold bolts.
As time has gone on, various minor bits have required attention, such as a steering damper, tie-rods, the odd window regulator, a couple of brake calipers and as said before routine maintenance.
One thing that was a pain was the sunroof. It originally worked, it did stop working after about 3 years’ ownership. On investigation I found that not only were the sliders broken, but the channels that diverted water away from the sunroof cartridge were rotten, which put the interior at risk. In order to resolve the issues, I replaced the whole cartridge with one from a 140 chassis (W140 saloon sunroofs fit W126 saloons, C140 coupe sunroofs fit C126 coupes).
As I’m sure all enthusiasts will agree that we get seduced from time to time. Too much eBay surfing, too many itches we’ve always wanted to scratch. I however resisted temptation and decided to invest in Stella to make sure she was a good as she could be. I sent her off to PCS near Southampton. A professional and passionate outfit who gave the whole car a once-over before providing me with a to-do list. I accepted the lot, and so began a bit of a mini restoration. PCS did the mechanicals, and County Coachworks in Kingston are currently undertaking typical rear-deck rot which all 126 coupes will need done at one (or two in the case of my car) points in their lives.
This is a library/reference image for those that don’t know. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/attachments/bo...
Essentially the seal around the rear screen is prone to fail which allows water underneath, eventually rotting the rear deck. When buying, look for wet boot lids or soggy boot carpets.
Next on the list is reconnolisation of the leather and we’ll be done. Then I can relax and enjoy, as I always do, for many more years.
I have owned all sorts, but this old Merc gets more attention than anything else. Never a journey passes without a thumbs-up or positive comments. It seems that SECs are at that age now that evokes memories of posters on bedroom walls, or indeed family/friends who proudly had one back in the day.
Finally,
eishness, there is now commitment, investment & monogamy.I once subscribed to the ethos of “variation is the spice of life” and was serial car-changer, but it took the right girl to set me straight.
Stella was bought in 2012 having seen her on eBay looking like this:
On purchase, it was clear that the thrust arm bushings needed work. It was booked into Klasse Mercedes in Fulham to do the work. Aside from that, it drove beautifully, there were no rattles, and (almost) everything worked.
Not to everyones’ tastes, she sports a Zender kit and has been resprayed in Ferrari Canna Di Fucile grey. Certainly not original, but exactly the right/wrong side of tasteful for me.
The 16” Borbet A wheels made the car so low that I was scraping the exhaust flanges on speedbumps and uneven roads, which eventually led me to leaving the original on a country lane in Devon. Cue a trip to Style Dynamix in Hayes, where I had a full stainless system fabricated. Not only did stainless mean no rusting, but it made the V8 sound the way it always should have done.
As months went on, there were regular oil, filter and fluid changes as well as preventative maintenance on various known weaknesses – of which there are few on the 126 chassis.
Bored of tiptoeing around London, I decide a larger set of wheels was necessary. I wanted 17” OZ splits, as seen on period AMGs, but at +£2000, I couldn’t justify originals. I did a hunt and found some replicas which seemed good and looked good.
Unfortunately, while they looked good, they were in fact crap. Poorly made, probably the shape of a 50p piece and almost impossible to balance. They were shortly replaced but a very rare set of 17” Gotti typ 175, which I had refurbed with gold bolts.
As time has gone on, various minor bits have required attention, such as a steering damper, tie-rods, the odd window regulator, a couple of brake calipers and as said before routine maintenance.
One thing that was a pain was the sunroof. It originally worked, it did stop working after about 3 years’ ownership. On investigation I found that not only were the sliders broken, but the channels that diverted water away from the sunroof cartridge were rotten, which put the interior at risk. In order to resolve the issues, I replaced the whole cartridge with one from a 140 chassis (W140 saloon sunroofs fit W126 saloons, C140 coupe sunroofs fit C126 coupes).
As I’m sure all enthusiasts will agree that we get seduced from time to time. Too much eBay surfing, too many itches we’ve always wanted to scratch. I however resisted temptation and decided to invest in Stella to make sure she was a good as she could be. I sent her off to PCS near Southampton. A professional and passionate outfit who gave the whole car a once-over before providing me with a to-do list. I accepted the lot, and so began a bit of a mini restoration. PCS did the mechanicals, and County Coachworks in Kingston are currently undertaking typical rear-deck rot which all 126 coupes will need done at one (or two in the case of my car) points in their lives.
This is a library/reference image for those that don’t know. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/attachments/bo...
Essentially the seal around the rear screen is prone to fail which allows water underneath, eventually rotting the rear deck. When buying, look for wet boot lids or soggy boot carpets.
Next on the list is reconnolisation of the leather and we’ll be done. Then I can relax and enjoy, as I always do, for many more years.
I have owned all sorts, but this old Merc gets more attention than anything else. Never a journey passes without a thumbs-up or positive comments. It seems that SECs are at that age now that evokes memories of posters on bedroom walls, or indeed family/friends who proudly had one back in the day.
Finally,
Edited by SamPet on Sunday 27th November 17:00
Edited by SamPet on Sunday 27th November 17:01
Inkyfingers said:
My dad had one of these when I was a kid, remember him saying it was the best car he'd ever owned.
I was the first car i'd ever seen where the seatbelt came out on an arm after you'd shut the door, which in itself, I remember thinking was very cool.
Still impresses passengers 30 years later.I was the first car i'd ever seen where the seatbelt came out on an arm after you'd shut the door, which in itself, I remember thinking was very cool.
TerryThomas said:
Such a shame those scheisters are selling itSo, she's back from the body shop. As mentioned in my original post, all SECs suffer from water ingress under the rear screen seal. As such, you get insidious water ingress that rots out the rear bulkhead. If you're ever buying, be sure to check for damp boot carpets or condensation on the boot lid.
Somewhat interestingly the majority of the rust was at the midpoint.
But they did lovely work to rectify it
Somewhat interestingly the majority of the rust was at the midpoint.
But they did lovely work to rectify it
cornershop said:
Nice work, I see you're in London, can I ask which bodyshop are you using?
County Coachworks in Kingston (Kings Rd). They're cantankerous but have skills that few others can match. They're decent older gents, just don't expect smiles, tea and a warm "welcome back". If you're happy to leave your car with them, they'll fit it in around other work and you'll receive a smaller bill accordingly. 
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