1998 S320 Business Edition W140
Discussion
Here is the latest Mercedes in my quest to own all the old Mercs I love.
Couple of Sunday mornings past, I was browsing the 1-5 smoker barge thread and a fellow barge lover had posted up the advert for this, and at £1600 it looked a bargain.
I had been looking for an S class for a few weeks, and kept jumping between 140/220/221 and trying to rationalise the differences in cost.
I have always had a love for the W140 as its what was in showrooms in the late 90s when my dad had Mercs, and when I saw the advert for this one I had to have a look.
It was nearby, and following a call with the seller who seemed a nice chap, I arranged to see it that day and did the deal.
He had it 9 years, and bought it as his wife has alzheimers and it was easy for her to get in and out. It was an emotional sale for him but I think he was happy that it has gone to someone who loves it.
I still have my R129 and the new CLS but this is a bit more useful for baby and I to go places than the 129. I don't know if my wife will drive it (unlikely).
Being a late w140 and a LWB "business edition" it has a good spec, and the heated rear seats and electric picnic table are a firm banter-point for everyone who has seen it so far. At 5.3m long I am glad I built the 7m long new garage.
It hasn't done many miles between MOTs and there are a lot of warning lights on the dash, but I should hopefully be able to work through those. I noticed last night that cold the gearbox is absolutely fine but hot it takes longer to shift, so I am hoping an ATF fluid change will solve that. Wishful thinking perhaps, but I think the boxes are pretty solid.
I was as excited about this as I was about the pagoda arriving from America!
Couple of Sunday mornings past, I was browsing the 1-5 smoker barge thread and a fellow barge lover had posted up the advert for this, and at £1600 it looked a bargain.
I had been looking for an S class for a few weeks, and kept jumping between 140/220/221 and trying to rationalise the differences in cost.
I have always had a love for the W140 as its what was in showrooms in the late 90s when my dad had Mercs, and when I saw the advert for this one I had to have a look.
It was nearby, and following a call with the seller who seemed a nice chap, I arranged to see it that day and did the deal.
He had it 9 years, and bought it as his wife has alzheimers and it was easy for her to get in and out. It was an emotional sale for him but I think he was happy that it has gone to someone who loves it.
I still have my R129 and the new CLS but this is a bit more useful for baby and I to go places than the 129. I don't know if my wife will drive it (unlikely).
Being a late w140 and a LWB "business edition" it has a good spec, and the heated rear seats and electric picnic table are a firm banter-point for everyone who has seen it so far. At 5.3m long I am glad I built the 7m long new garage.
It hasn't done many miles between MOTs and there are a lot of warning lights on the dash, but I should hopefully be able to work through those. I noticed last night that cold the gearbox is absolutely fine but hot it takes longer to shift, so I am hoping an ATF fluid change will solve that. Wishful thinking perhaps, but I think the boxes are pretty solid.
I was as excited about this as I was about the pagoda arriving from America!
Edited by jke11y on Monday 7th March 13:32
sdkrc said:
More pics!
That's beautiful. What's it like to drive and what's the ride like?
Have you found any unexpected gadgets?
The only thing I've done a decent number of miles in that feels similar, is an Arnage T. It is really, really smooth and quiet. That's beautiful. What's it like to drive and what's the ride like?
Have you found any unexpected gadgets?
Lots of gadgets, a lot of which don't work. Tonights task is to investigate why - the lack of use and condensation inside is making me think that it might need some head scratching to get some of the electrical items back onside.
So far, the aircraft lights in the back seats, the electric steering wheel and the rear blind don't work. The good thing is that every aspect of fixing these things is discussed somewhere online so a lot should be doable.
2 of the 3 dash lights now extinguished - cost £0.
But it's a bit of a strange one - hydraulic reservoir for the suspension empty and some electrical connectors unplugged. But the metal reservoir is full. So I'm going to top it up and see what happens. Plugged them back in and the light went out. But it's got me thinking someone at some point has unplugged them and probably with good reason.
Need to do have a look at the rear and see how the self levelling system looks.
SRS light still on, and it could be the airbag connections in the wheel or a switch at a seatbelt, apparently. Or something in the seat to do with child seats. Easy to find then!
But it's a bit of a strange one - hydraulic reservoir for the suspension empty and some electrical connectors unplugged. But the metal reservoir is full. So I'm going to top it up and see what happens. Plugged them back in and the light went out. But it's got me thinking someone at some point has unplugged them and probably with good reason.
Need to do have a look at the rear and see how the self levelling system looks.
SRS light still on, and it could be the airbag connections in the wheel or a switch at a seatbelt, apparently. Or something in the seat to do with child seats. Easy to find then!
Very excited to see this thread – I saw the car on Gumtree but alas it was too far away to go and have a look.
I have a much shed-ier 140 myself which was bought for a road trip, but then I fell in love with it!
Your ride height is quite a bit lower than mine (which is on coils) – I wonder if this is normal or SLS problem related. I'll be checking back often to see how things progress!
I have a much shed-ier 140 myself which was bought for a road trip, but then I fell in love with it!
Your ride height is quite a bit lower than mine (which is on coils) – I wonder if this is normal or SLS problem related. I'll be checking back often to see how things progress!
Had a quick half hour out in the garage tonight and made a lot of backwards progress. All warning lights back on, and the half litre of the correct FEBI hydraulic oil I put into the (empty) SLS reservoir ended up all over my new garage floor. Rage.
Also have a sticky caliper, but that's an easyish fix. Have got it booked into local specialist in a couple of weeks for a report and get the codes read so that should help. I think I'll bin the SLS For standard dampers and springs and blank it off.
Also have a sticky caliper, but that's an easyish fix. Have got it booked into local specialist in a couple of weeks for a report and get the codes read so that should help. I think I'll bin the SLS For standard dampers and springs and blank it off.
Cheers chaps. I will keep tinkering with it until it goes into the specialist, and then they can hopefully give me a baseline of what I can do, and whats probably beyond me. I think that in full working order it is worth at least £3 or £4k to me, so I am happy to spend some cash on it to get it back there. I just hope that its not too far gone electrically, as I have done a lot of reading and cant work out why what doesn't work, er, doesn't work.
Garage has been a long time in the planning, we bought the house in Jan 15 but moved back a few months ago. Its 4.5m x 7m and has a clever roof with high trusses so that I can put a lift in. Its a good job its the size it is as the 140 fills it. It's not finished yet and the door is about a week away but I am really pleased with how it has turned out.
There is something back to front that I like about building a fancy garage to house a car worth less than the garage door
Garage has been a long time in the planning, we bought the house in Jan 15 but moved back a few months ago. Its 4.5m x 7m and has a clever roof with high trusses so that I can put a lift in. Its a good job its the size it is as the 140 fills it. It's not finished yet and the door is about a week away but I am really pleased with how it has turned out.
There is something back to front that I like about building a fancy garage to house a car worth less than the garage door
r129sl said:
It needs glossy white walls and a white epoxy resin floor, surely?
What lift are you going to get? Or is that all for the future? I have a similar size garage and want a lift, as much as anything so I can park two cars in it.
Yes, but those will have to wait until it is all dried out. So probably some time around July for a day, going by normal Scottish weather patterns. What lift are you going to get? Or is that all for the future? I have a similar size garage and want a lift, as much as anything so I can park two cars in it.
There was a thread on here regarding lifts and this company was mentioned; I don't trust the cheap eBay numbers. http://www.garageequipment.co.uk
Torn between a two post for actually working on cars and a 4 post with lift beams that will be a lot safer but not as easy for work.
jke11y said:
Cheers chaps. I will keep tinkering with it until it goes into the specialist, and then they can hopefully give me a baseline of what I can do, and whats probably beyond me. I think that in full working order it is worth at least £3 or £4k to me, so I am happy to spend some cash on it to get it back there. I just hope that its not too far gone electrically, as I have done a lot of reading and cant work out why what doesn't work, er, doesn't work.
Garage has been a long time in the planning, we bought the house in Jan 15 but moved back a few months ago. Its 4.5m x 7m and has a clever roof with high trusses so that I can put a lift in. Its a good job its the size it is as the 140 fills it. It's not finished yet and the door is about a week away but I am really pleased with how it has turned out.
There is something back to front that I like about building a fancy garage to house a car worth less than the garage door
Is this a 'cavity' type wall or single skin? I'm looking at building a breeze block garage myself and am currently running calculations.Garage has been a long time in the planning, we bought the house in Jan 15 but moved back a few months ago. Its 4.5m x 7m and has a clever roof with high trusses so that I can put a lift in. Its a good job its the size it is as the 140 fills it. It's not finished yet and the door is about a week away but I am really pleased with how it has turned out.
There is something back to front that I like about building a fancy garage to house a car worth less than the garage door
Garage is single skin block, which is then painted with bitumen before battens and siberian larch cladding goes on.
On the car, I have made some small progress, in a spare 20 mins I managed to disassemble the glovebox lock, adjust it, and get the glovebox working again. Satisfying. I also dismantled the boot and checked all the electrical bits and left a dehumidifier in there for 48hrs. I now have intermittent central locking and the little handle comes in and out of the boot. No soft close yet.
Changed the plates over and it looks strangely attractive on its S plate.
This weekends task is to swap the caliper which is on the way from w140.co.uk, and change the rear discs and pads and change the brake fluid. I fully expect to accomplish none of that but will have fun trying.
On the car, I have made some small progress, in a spare 20 mins I managed to disassemble the glovebox lock, adjust it, and get the glovebox working again. Satisfying. I also dismantled the boot and checked all the electrical bits and left a dehumidifier in there for 48hrs. I now have intermittent central locking and the little handle comes in and out of the boot. No soft close yet.
Changed the plates over and it looks strangely attractive on its S plate.
This weekends task is to swap the caliper which is on the way from w140.co.uk, and change the rear discs and pads and change the brake fluid. I fully expect to accomplish none of that but will have fun trying.
Progress has been slow, but today I dropped it off at a local Merc specialist to get the codes read on STAR and to get a quick second opinion.
He could see the spec is great (business editions are rare) but I explained that whilst I didnt mind a bit of spending, if its too far gone it will be getting eBay'ed with no reserve and I'll chalk it down to experience.
I noticed yesterday that the hydraulic lines to the rear suspension have been cut and are just hanging, and the rear dampers are new. If there are many more bodges like this lurking or something else is too far gone it'll be a cut and run, as I don't have the time or money to be throwing at it.
Update soon!
He could see the spec is great (business editions are rare) but I explained that whilst I didnt mind a bit of spending, if its too far gone it will be getting eBay'ed with no reserve and I'll chalk it down to experience.
I noticed yesterday that the hydraulic lines to the rear suspension have been cut and are just hanging, and the rear dampers are new. If there are many more bodges like this lurking or something else is too far gone it'll be a cut and run, as I don't have the time or money to be throwing at it.
Update soon!
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