My Mercedes W201 190D - Build/Project
Discussion
Hi everyone, I've been a long time lurker on this forum but finally decided to join and post up my 190d.
After selling my 190e a few years back, I had always regretted it and wanted another one. After a few months of looking around,
I found a 1989 190d 2.5 Manual in Belfast which had been lying dormant since '09.
I was told it was originally owned by one of the managers in Agnews (Mercedes Belfast) and had been in the same family ever since.
It came with full service history which is a nice bonus for a 24 year old car!
I picked it up back in October 2012 and this is how it originally looked:
The car was mechanically fine but as you can see, it wasn't in great condition. Me and a friend set about getting it sorted.
We prepped her for MOT - all it needed was a set of brakes and the two clutch cylinders.
It was completely sealed on the underside and around the arches with Waxoyl. The heat shields were freshened up as well.
In order to get a decent stance, I needed a set of lowering springs - coilovers don't really exist for these cars. The lowest springs I could get in the UK where only 40mm
so I bought a set of TC Sport 60mm springs from German eBay and the thinnest spring pads available.
Whilst waiting on the MOT, a few minor touches were added such as carbon wrapping bits of the dash:
I then bought some goodies
:
- 2 new wings
- 17" Dare DR RS: 9J/10J
- Custom Splitter
- Avantgarde grill
- Half leather Cosworth interior and doorcards (thanks to dmorris off the site)
- New twin-tip tailpiece
- Metro plates
The paintwork on the car was showing its age and needed too much to make it respectable, so I decided to give it a full respray.
Unfortunately I have no pictures of the car during the respray.
Needed some scene points! :
Progress being made:
I decided to fit the Cosworth interior. As you can see the old interior was pretty manky/woren.
Before:
Midway:
After:
The new interior isn't mint so I will probably get them refurbed in the near future!
Picture from a recent car show:
I then got the car detailed by a local business called A+ Detailing. Top job as usual!
I was contacted by a website called Autolifers.com. They came down and took a shoot of the car. Here's a link to the full article and a few pics!
http://www.autolifers.com/torchlight-stuart-cargil...
I continued with some small updates/improvements to the car:
- New indicator lenses
- Reb BBS Centre Cap Stickers / Dice Dustcaps
- Resprayed the wiper black as it was faded
- Euro plates
Apologies on the awful FB photo quality!
Currently the car is stored away for the winter, I have a few new bits for it bought already so I will continue to update this thread. All opinions/comments are welcome!
After selling my 190e a few years back, I had always regretted it and wanted another one. After a few months of looking around,
I found a 1989 190d 2.5 Manual in Belfast which had been lying dormant since '09.
I was told it was originally owned by one of the managers in Agnews (Mercedes Belfast) and had been in the same family ever since.
It came with full service history which is a nice bonus for a 24 year old car!
I picked it up back in October 2012 and this is how it originally looked:
The car was mechanically fine but as you can see, it wasn't in great condition. Me and a friend set about getting it sorted.
We prepped her for MOT - all it needed was a set of brakes and the two clutch cylinders.
It was completely sealed on the underside and around the arches with Waxoyl. The heat shields were freshened up as well.
In order to get a decent stance, I needed a set of lowering springs - coilovers don't really exist for these cars. The lowest springs I could get in the UK where only 40mm
so I bought a set of TC Sport 60mm springs from German eBay and the thinnest spring pads available.
Whilst waiting on the MOT, a few minor touches were added such as carbon wrapping bits of the dash:
I then bought some goodies
:- 2 new wings
- 17" Dare DR RS: 9J/10J
- Custom Splitter
- Avantgarde grill
- Half leather Cosworth interior and doorcards (thanks to dmorris off the site)
- New twin-tip tailpiece
- Metro plates
The paintwork on the car was showing its age and needed too much to make it respectable, so I decided to give it a full respray.
Unfortunately I have no pictures of the car during the respray.
Needed some scene points! :
Progress being made:
I decided to fit the Cosworth interior. As you can see the old interior was pretty manky/woren.
Before:
Midway:
After:
The new interior isn't mint so I will probably get them refurbed in the near future!
Picture from a recent car show:
I then got the car detailed by a local business called A+ Detailing. Top job as usual!
I was contacted by a website called Autolifers.com. They came down and took a shoot of the car. Here's a link to the full article and a few pics!
http://www.autolifers.com/torchlight-stuart-cargil...
I continued with some small updates/improvements to the car:
- New indicator lenses
- Reb BBS Centre Cap Stickers / Dice Dustcaps
- Resprayed the wiper black as it was faded
- Euro plates
Apologies on the awful FB photo quality!
Currently the car is stored away for the winter, I have a few new bits for it bought already so I will continue to update this thread. All opinions/comments are welcome!
Cheers for the comments!
It'll not be everyone's cup of tea but they're entitled to their own opinion
It'll not be everyone's cup of tea but they're entitled to their own opinion
Aviz said:
Was that registration font legal in Ni at one point. I can't find anything online, but strange I see so many NI cars with that squashed font?
They are called metro plates, they are not MOT legal but because are very common here the police rarely will stop and fine you for them. I've had sets on numerous cars over the years and I've never been stopped.TurboHatchback said:
Well it was a nice car but I'm afraid stretched tyres on huge blingtastic Rimz, deliberately ruined suspension and illegal numberplates are really not my cup of tea. The interior and the paintwork look very nice though.
you can add the horrible grill as well, oh and that it runs on satan's juice Dave Hedgehog said:
TurboHatchback said:
Well it was a nice car but I'm afraid stretched tyres on huge blingtastic Rimz, deliberately ruined suspension and illegal numberplates are really not my cup of tea. The interior and the paintwork look very nice though.
you can add the horrible grill as well, oh and that it runs on satan's juice I wasn't sure how it was going to go to begin with, but you have definitely pulled it off. I think it look great and would make a great daily runner with the diesel engine. Back in the day my aunt had a 190e Sportline in the same colour, was a great car, she had it more than a decade in the end and it's still running around in the area now.
Keep up the good work!
Keep up the good work!
I'm not one for mods, but I think it looks superb, a great transformation of a car which was otherwise going no further than the autobahn in the sky. The five cylinder, 10valve, n/a diesel is one of the greatest engines ever: full of character and probably better designed for the long haul than just about any other motor ever. Hat off to you.
r129sl said:
I'm not one for mods, but I think it looks superb, a great transformation of a car which was otherwise going no further than the autobahn in the sky. The five cylinder, 10valve, n/a diesel is one of the greatest engines ever: full of character and probably better designed for the long haul than just about any other motor ever. Hat off to you.
Agreed - it looks great and I'm an old school merc kind of person. The one thing i'd do (if it were me, we're all different) would be to get rid of that naff plate - both the plate and the font. It does detract from the car to my eyes.
Good to see an old merc being kept on the road - the 190 is thought by many to be the pinnacle of mercedes build quality.
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