Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 20]

[bolidemichael]

sprouting said:

bolidemichael said:

Well I've spent all day cleaning the interior of the FFRR focusing on the carpets, soiled surfaces and rubber door shuts. Good grief it's cavernous and has taken me about six hours to throughly clean -- nooks and crannies and all.

I've yet to clean the visible leather and condition -- including the leather dash and also clean and dress the windows with a hydrophobic coating in time for winter.

Nevertheless, very satisfying to have finally eliminated evidence of previous ownership.

That's some good work there. I put some genuine rubber mats in for the winter which I've since left in year round as we have a static caravan in Burnham on sea and I don't want sand getting embedded in the original Matt's. I've sent mine off to have any rust cut out and fresh paint both sides buy a friend at a price I couldn't refuse so hopefully it's back next week looking like new again.

I only have genuine rubber mats for the front (in addition to genuine carpet mats in blue - one of the things that my years of assimilation in bargeiste expectations stood out to me when viewing 'Grayson', in addition to the four matchin Continental M+S tyres) but the rear is a single blue carpet. The fact that it's single is deeply satisfying to me, since there's no hump for the prop shaft and the only rubber tears that I've seen are singles. I therefore purchased a Renapur fabric protectant aerosol from amazon and used almost all on the can curing the fabric after a deep, deep clean with a heavy duty brush and savon de Marseille. I think that I've covered that on my thread.

[bolidemichael]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

Must admit I'm pretty tempted to get some different mats for winter. Cream mats don't look great in winter! I'm not sure whether black or charcoal/dark grey mats would suit all year round, the dash top and too of the door cards are a dark grey..... Decisions! Official Lexus carpet mats are about £100 or so, not sure if they do rubber ones!

'Magnus' the S211 has always sported rubber mats and has never caused my teeth to itch. The MB items are remarkably durable.

[bolidemichael]

dscam said:

I know thread is divided on any kind of cleaning chat but this is great work Michael and I enjoy seeing it.

That allows me to segue nicely to update on my own deep cleaning today; the alcantara sections of my steering wheel didn’t really look right and I actually thought it had been retrimmed in contrast leather such was the finish. A bit of research however and it was clear that it was just likely to never have been cleaned properly and all the fibres had been matted smooth and caked in grime. Beautiful.

Anyway, a solid 20 minutes elbow grease per side resulted in an absolute transformation and it’s now a joy to (be)hold













Very satisfying.

Also lubed the pano-roof (just in time for winter) and slotted in some genuine winter mats to save the nice carpet ones.

That is so satisfying -- the steering wheel is a vital touch point to have sanitary, particularly an alacantra item. It may be worth using a suede protectant on it, too, but I haven't researched this at all having never owned a vehicle posh and fast enough to be fitted with one.

[bolidemichael]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

How did you lube the roof? I've used my sunroof twice since getting the car, I really should get the drain holes cleared out just in case. I spent about an hour cleaning my interior today (cleaned it the other week, but today I just used a leather balm thing - takes forever when there's leather almost everywhere), and fitted a new front number plate after the MOT advisory....it was looking very grotty to be fair. LS460 has had a bit of love the last week, and wheels being refurbished Monday.

Edited by TyrannosauRoss Lex on Saturday 30th October 21:32

The roof can be lubed with Würth Lithium Protect, which is also useful for clinging to door hinges for durable lubrication.

[bolidemichael]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

bolidemichael said:

Nicks90 said:

Whoop whoop
Not banned from the new thread! Unless of course the officious bar-stewards see this and reimpose the ban
But before they do, I bought a thread budget barge whilst in forum purgatory. Then it had a moment. Then it was roadworthy again and then it died. I'll provide details later (if I'm still not banned) when I am back from my trip to Iceland.

Greggs frozen sausage rolls are spectacularly good once cooked in the oven -- highly recommended.

n.b. exclusive to Iceland

Welcome back Nicks90.

I love that bm's mental association at the mention of Iceland is frozen sausage rolls. Says a lot about the fundamentally decent nature of the man. I think...

I really thought that by now, this would've been called out for the whoooosh parrot that it is. But it hasn't. That implies that either my humour is too dry, or that I'm due a whoooosh parrot of my own.

ps you seem to address me directly when hissing and refer to me in the third person when dissing. Not too dissimilar to my Latin tutor in primary school. Noted.

[W201_190e]

W201_190e said:

Thanks for the kind words earlier

Viewing this CLK 320 on Saturday down the road from me. Good history and post dates the end of the dodgy Valeo radiators that plagued early models. Thoughts?

|https://thumbsnap.com/UfofvYnK[/url]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-04-MERCEDES-BENZ-C...

Went to see this today. It does have good history, doesn't have a dodgy Valeo radiator (the ones that leaked into the transmission), it has a Nissens.. and it didn't rattle so I assume the cats are good. It did have a little bit of rust in both rear arches. I think most of them do though.. I liked it. I would hope the rust would stay at bay and could be fixed for circa £400 next year. Also drove a 330ci Sport auto with no rust whatsoever but the engine temperature kept dropping when on the go (thermostat?) That was up for £3k.

[r129sl]

I am having a barging crisis. I have been offered a Merc CLS 350 CDI shooting brake for twice thread max. It's on 85k miles, 2013 car, full history, two owners (I am completely confident in the history), big spec. The big wins are it has the lovely burgundy leather, it has a big spec, and I know thew car; and it would be cheap to run. Downsides? It is white and it has privacy glass and black wood. Maybe it is time to go modern? The big downside is it would render my s124 superfluous. The other big downside is it would rule out buying any of the other cars which are toying with my purse strings at the moment. My weekend without work has suddenly become rather stressful.

[bobiwine]

W201_190e said:

W201_190e said:

Also drove a 330ci Sport auto with no rust whatsoever but the engine temperature kept dropping when on the go (thermostat?) That was up for £3k.

when I had one a couple of years ago it had that issue, new thermostat resolved it

[W201_190e]

bobiwine said:

W201_190e said:

W201_190e said:

Also drove a 330ci Sport auto with no rust whatsoever but the engine temperature kept dropping when on the go (thermostat?) That was up for £3k.

when I had one a couple of years ago it had that issue, new thermostat resolved it

I'm sure that's probably all it is. It was very nice. Needs an OEM chrome grill and plates replacing.. didn't have much in the way of history but didn't have any rust. Tyres weren't matching which wasn't ideal, but yeah... very clean.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/87046634...

[Northbrook]

r129sl said:

I am having a barging crisis.

I now have my S124 back after three months with a specialist (and on top of 2 years of minimal use while chasing the bad noises). Despite being the oldest in my fleet, it really is an enjoyable drive and I enjoy toddling about in it.

Sounds like a difficult choice to make. Could you borrow the CLS for a few days to see if you gel with it? It would seem a real shame to part with your 124.

[bobiwine]

W201_190e said:

bobiwine said:

W201_190e said:

W201_190e said:

Also drove a 330ci Sport auto with no rust whatsoever but the engine temperature kept dropping when on the go (thermostat?) That was up for £3k.

when I had one a couple of years ago it had that issue, new thermostat resolved it

I'm sure that's probably all it is. It was very nice. Needs an OEM chrome grill and plates replacing.. didn't have much in the way of history but didn't have any rust. Tyres weren't matching which wasn't ideal, but yeah... very clean.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/87046634...

Not many rust free ones that have avoided covid pricing. Looks nice. I also prefer the look of the prefacelift lights

[ian316]

r129sl said:

I am having a barging crisis. I have been offered a Merc CLS 350 CDI shooting brake for twice thread max. It's on 85k miles, 2013 car, full history, two owners (I am completely confident in the history), big spec. The big wins are it has the lovely burgundy leather, it has a big spec, and I know thew car; and it would be cheap to run. Downsides? It is white and it has privacy glass and black wood. Maybe it is time to go modern? The big downside is it would render my s124 superfluous. The other big downside is it would rule out buying any of the other cars which are toying with my purse strings at the moment. My weekend without work has suddenly become rather stressful.

My brother in Jedburgh has a cls 5 door only a 2.2 tractor engine but well screwed together and over 200bhp the only thing I don't like is the touch screen that looks like halfrauds have fitted it

[300sl-24]

Not really a barge but bought this today from an MB club member. It was his wife’s daily until she passed in 2019.
Lovely condition 130k miles and massive history file. Pretty standard spec 2.0 auto, except factory air con converted to R134a
A few minor jobs to do including painting the Sacco panels back to the correct grey.
Loving the simplicity and condition, would not choose white but where have all the decent 190E’s gone?

Edited by 300sl-24 on Saturday 30th October 22:56

[W201_190e]

300sl-24 said:

Not really a barge but bought this today from an MB club member. It was his wife’s daily until she passed in 2019.
Lovely condition 130k miles and massive history file. Pretty standard spec 2.0 auto, except factory air con converted to R134a
A few minor jobs to do including painting the Sacco panels back to the correct grey.
Loving the simplicity and condition, would not choose white but where have all the decent 190E’s gone?

Edited by 300sl-24 on Saturday 30th October 22:56

That looks nice. There really aren't many 190's left now, and most of them are getting pricey.

[300sl-24]

W201_190e said:

That looks nice. There really aren't many 190's left now, and most of them are getting pricey.

Thanks, I have had a few and they used to be cheap, this one was not, think they are on an upward curve now. The last owner bought it in 2003 and is a friend of mine. I have a 30 mile round trip B road commute and bought it for that really. Looked for one last year and they were either rubbish or very expensive. This one even has mint rear door cards, and a lovely interior, I'll put some more photos up when I can.

[W00DY]

300sl-24 said:

Not really a barge but bought this today from an MB club member. It was his wife’s daily until she passed in 2019.
Lovely condition 130k miles and massive history file. Pretty standard spec 2.0 auto, except factory air con converted to R134a
A few minor jobs to do including painting the Sacco panels back to the correct grey.
Loving the simplicity and condition, would not choose white but where have all the decent 190E’s gone?

Edited by 300sl-24 on Saturday 30th October 22:56

Very nice, looks super tidy and it will be even better with contrasting Saccos.

[ian316]

W00DY said:

Very nice, looks super tidy and it will be even better with contrasting Saccos.

Grey ones

[W00DY]

r129sl said:

I am having a barging crisis. I have been offered a Merc CLS 350 CDI shooting brake for twice thread max. It's on 85k miles, 2013 car, full history, two owners (I am completely confident in the history), big spec. The big wins are it has the lovely burgundy leather, it has a big spec, and I know thew car; and it would be cheap to run. Downsides? It is white and it has privacy glass and black wood. Maybe it is time to go modern? The big downside is it would render my s124 superfluous. The other big downside is it would rule out buying any of the other cars which are toying with my purse strings at the moment. My weekend without work has suddenly become rather stressful.

White. A white CLS. You know you aren't a white CLS kind of chap and that's why we like you.

[Macron]

Surely the seller can get 14-15k for that from any of the big buyers right now?

Why do you get it for 10, and what does no one offer me their cars for sod all?!

You can buy it then bang it out to Cazoo, Cinch, Motorway, even sodding WBAC and you would have enough left over to buy an actual car for free??

Has the current owner no idea what's happened to the market, have they not read a newspaper since 2019? Or is it crashed, and actually worth only 10? I don't geddit.

[Macron]

Talking of awkward colour combos, who thought speccing a CLK in red, with a slightly different red leather, was a good idea? Petite engine so not thread fodder, thought these were thread prices, but obvs not now covid...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2021072253...