Titivating my Mercedes 124
Discussion
r129sl said:
I’ve just been reviewing the costs of running the cars:
190 is 27p per mile and since June 2015 has covered 45,500miles.
124 is actually nearly 32ppm and has covered 65,000 miles.
210 is 30ppm and has covered 21,000 miles in a little over a year.
129 is an excruciating 61ppm and has done less than 26,000 miles Since June 2015.
All much cheaper than public transport. And cleaner. And (mostly) more dependable. And you can have music. And door to door.190 is 27p per mile and since June 2015 has covered 45,500miles.
124 is actually nearly 32ppm and has covered 65,000 miles.
210 is 30ppm and has covered 21,000 miles in a little over a year.
129 is an excruciating 61ppm and has done less than 26,000 miles Since June 2015.
RoverP6B said:
Wait a minute, you've got a 190E and a W210 as well?
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=47&t=1486135and
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
r129sl said:
We took the car up to Gleneagles in early June where my brother was hosting the whole family for the weekend. Between the two of us I think we had the fastest and the slowest, priciest and cheapest cars in the car park. Although the concierge was extraordinarily complimentary about the Merc. Both of us felt somewhat non-U, seeing as neither car is a grey SUV with black wheels.
Your brother is evidently better at making money than he is at parking! 
TR4man said:
r129sl said:
We took the car up to Gleneagles in early June where my brother was hosting the whole family for the weekend. Between the two of us I think we had the fastest and the slowest, priciest and cheapest cars in the car park. Although the concierge was extraordinarily complimentary about the Merc. Both of us felt somewhat non-U, seeing as neither car is a grey SUV with black wheels.
Your brother is evidently better at making money than he is at parking! 
Tailgate repair is underway. Last year's repair of the boot hinge area has made extraction of the wiring looms tricky. They should be unfastened from the car end but this is no longer possible for various reasons. They cannot be extracted in reverse because the plugs on the ends are too bulky. Even if we split down the plugs, I don't think they'd come out. So they have been cut at the plug ends and will be spliced.
Dangling looms:
Tight bends into the body:
Off and out:
Reinstallation will be a bugger... but that is tomorrow morning's job!
Dangling looms:
Tight bends into the body:
Off and out:
Reinstallation will be a bugger... but that is tomorrow morning's job!
The Man seems in a good fettle at the moment, so maybe give him a call.
He did a good job on the 124 for £460. There is a colour mismatch with the nearside (although not as bad as it looks in the picture) but the match with the offside is perfect. The offside quarter was painted separately a while back.
In other news, since I am taking the car away for a touring holiday on Saturday morning, the alternator has packed in. I am off to Euro Car Parts to pick one up which I will either fit myself tonight or give to Merc Newcastle to fit tomorrow. My car loves to pack in a couple of days before the holiday.
He did a good job on the 124 for £460. There is a colour mismatch with the nearside (although not as bad as it looks in the picture) but the match with the offside is perfect. The offside quarter was painted separately a while back.
In other news, since I am taking the car away for a touring holiday on Saturday morning, the alternator has packed in. I am off to Euro Car Parts to pick one up which I will either fit myself tonight or give to Merc Newcastle to fit tomorrow. My car loves to pack in a couple of days before the holiday.
In a couple of years it might be worth keeping a spare regulator in a spares package - I replaced mine on my 211 and it was easy enough to do, although the mounting bolts needed removing to allow it to be rotated, took about 15 minutes. Not quite a roadside repair, but certainly an any garage job.
Looks good though, nice to see it back together again.
Looks good though, nice to see it back together again.
The alternator was a Hella item. It looks like the regulator was worn out (below). Realistically, I think you'd need to remove the alternator to replace the regulator but a regulator costs about 10% of an alternator!
The job was easy enough. As always, the most difficult part was removing the under tray (the alternator comes out from below). I followed the official instructions: http://www.w124-zone.com/downloads/MB%20CD/W124/w1... Disconnect battery, release poly-v belt tensioner, disconnect alternator wiring (amazingly it did not disintegrate in my hands), remove alternator mounting bolts, remove alternator. The mounting bolts were very tight, too tight for my feeble bi-ceps and for the upper one I had to resort to my trusty steel pipe cheater bar. The official instructions say you need to take the fan out, but you don't: the fan as unevenly spaced blades which when positioned adjacent to the bolts allow you to remove them (again, below). A nifty and thoughtful bit of design.
This was quite adventurous for me and it was critical that I didn't arse it up. I was worried about shearing the mounting bolts but didn't. I saved the cost of having MB do it. But being too lazy to change out of my work clothes before starting, I managed to tear a hole in a relatively new Thomas Pink shirt, so not altogether FOC!
The job was easy enough. As always, the most difficult part was removing the under tray (the alternator comes out from below). I followed the official instructions: http://www.w124-zone.com/downloads/MB%20CD/W124/w1... Disconnect battery, release poly-v belt tensioner, disconnect alternator wiring (amazingly it did not disintegrate in my hands), remove alternator mounting bolts, remove alternator. The mounting bolts were very tight, too tight for my feeble bi-ceps and for the upper one I had to resort to my trusty steel pipe cheater bar. The official instructions say you need to take the fan out, but you don't: the fan as unevenly spaced blades which when positioned adjacent to the bolts allow you to remove them (again, below). A nifty and thoughtful bit of design.
This was quite adventurous for me and it was critical that I didn't arse it up. I was worried about shearing the mounting bolts but didn't. I saved the cost of having MB do it. But being too lazy to change out of my work clothes before starting, I managed to tear a hole in a relatively new Thomas Pink shirt, so not altogether FOC!
colacube_uk said:
Did I pass you earlier on the A832 heading west? If not another light gold diesel 124 wagon was making very good progress.
That must have been me. Were you heading east or west? Someone flashed us (Ford Ranger?) as we were heading east, between Achnasheen and Garve, at about 2.30pm; I thought it was a police car warning. We were heading back west at about 4.30pm. Station pick up from Inverness.Edit: you were in the Maserati! We noticed that as we passed. Nice car; something of a rare bird.
Edited by r129sl on Monday 20th August 20:41
r129sl said:
That must have been me. Were you heading east or west? Someone flashed us (Ford Ranger?) as we were heading east, between Achnasheen and Garve, at about 2.30pm; I thought it was a police car warning. We were heading back west at about 4.30pm. Station pick up from Inverness.
Edit: you were in the Maserati! We noticed that as we passed. Nice car; something of a rare bird.
Yep, we were in the GC. Staying in Lochcarron for a few days before picking up the nc500. Lovely part of the world.Edit: you were in the Maserati! We noticed that as we passed. Nice car; something of a rare bird.
Edited by r129sl on Monday 20th August 20:41
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