Mercedes: The unseen Ebay purchase...
Discussion
That looks remarkably similar to my old work van, (same model, year, condition and colour, including the roof). I just can’t remember the reg to know for sure.
Anyway, great vans, take loads of abuse, carry loads of weight, (well over recommended maximums), and will easily do mega miles. It’s just that they’re a bit thirsty and love to rust.
Anyway, great vans, take loads of abuse, carry loads of weight, (well over recommended maximums), and will easily do mega miles. It’s just that they’re a bit thirsty and love to rust.
Love Sprinters! Done maybe half a million miles in them since 2003ish. My 1st was a 411cdi which was quickly swapped for a 313cdi, almost identical to yours, when I realised I didn't have C1 on my licence at the time. It felt like a rocket and easily got out of shape when empty.
Nowadays, anytime I drive one it's a 519cdi auto. No speed restrictions and blue lights they do go well for what they are.
Best van on the road IMHO.
Great work on yours OP.
Nowadays, anytime I drive one it's a 519cdi auto. No speed restrictions and blue lights they do go well for what they are.
Best van on the road IMHO.
Great work on yours OP.
Fattyfat said:
Love Sprinters! Done maybe half a million miles in them since 2003ish. My 1st was a 411cdi which was quickly swapped for a 313cdi, almost identical to yours, when I realised I didn't have C1 on my licence at the time. It felt like a rocket and easily got out of shape when empty.
Nowadays, anytime I drive one it's a 519cdi auto. No speed restrictions and blue lights they do go well for what they are.
Best van on the road IMHO.
Great work on yours OP.
I thought our 516 moved well, id say the 190bhp does a great jobNowadays, anytime I drive one it's a 519cdi auto. No speed restrictions and blue lights they do go well for what they are.
Best van on the road IMHO.
Great work on yours OP.
Cheers. Nope, not particularly done any welding save a very tiny bit here and there. And that was a few years ago too. It's probably a good thing I've got no space for more projects at the moment as you're correct - anything needing a bit of welding is now well and truly on the radar rather than avoiding!
Short update! What's been going on since passing the MOT in May? Nothing too spectacular, really. Shortly after passing the MOT we officially hit 280,000 miles, although the van's done slightly more than this in reality because the speedo stopped working when the ABS fault happened, and that wasn't fixed for a few months. We probably only covered a couple of hundred miles in that time though.
I pressed the van back in to use for my house renovation. It's been carrying lots of bricks and concrete again, picking up building materials and also ferrying scaffolding over to a mates house too. Here's an action shot at the builder's merchant with a mate helping me drop off a load of bricks and rubble:
I'll give it an oil service over winter. It's been totally reliable. I must think about changing the door seals as with all the heavy rain we've been having the step in to the cab fills up with water. The alternative is to just park it with the nose up the hill outside my house so the water runs out rather than collecting!
I pressed the van back in to use for my house renovation. It's been carrying lots of bricks and concrete again, picking up building materials and also ferrying scaffolding over to a mates house too. Here's an action shot at the builder's merchant with a mate helping me drop off a load of bricks and rubble:
I'll give it an oil service over winter. It's been totally reliable. I must think about changing the door seals as with all the heavy rain we've been having the step in to the cab fills up with water. The alternative is to just park it with the nose up the hill outside my house so the water runs out rather than collecting!
Time for another update. I didn't realise it had been so long!
Firstly, I got around to changing the oil at last. First time I've changed it since the initial service when I bought it. Two years but only about 3,000 miles IIRC.
It's still looking absolutely battered, nicely 'worn in' in my eyes Next doors kids washed the bonnet at some point because it had turned green, and that's as much cleaning as it's had really:
I changed the exhaust because it was hanging off and took it for another round of MOT roulette:
It passed first time with only the front brake pipes noted as needing a clean up or replacement soon. I'm very happy with that. The MOT tester even commented that it's a lot cleaner underneath than it looks on top That's me sorted for another year of house renovation then...
Firstly, I got around to changing the oil at last. First time I've changed it since the initial service when I bought it. Two years but only about 3,000 miles IIRC.
It's still looking absolutely battered, nicely 'worn in' in my eyes Next doors kids washed the bonnet at some point because it had turned green, and that's as much cleaning as it's had really:
I changed the exhaust because it was hanging off and took it for another round of MOT roulette:
It passed first time with only the front brake pipes noted as needing a clean up or replacement soon. I'm very happy with that. The MOT tester even commented that it's a lot cleaner underneath than it looks on top That's me sorted for another year of house renovation then...
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