Titivating my Mercedes 124
Discussion
The one I always liked is the C4 S6 4.2. I don't know whether it came here in RHD. The A4 is not that great to drive for some reason: a bit numb, which was always the complaint of contemporary road tests.
I am presently researching corrosion prevention for my T. I am thinking of ordering some Bilt Hamber Dynax S50 for the cavities, sills and inside the wheel arches, perhaps also some Electrox for the jacking points.
I am presently researching corrosion prevention for my T. I am thinking of ordering some Bilt Hamber Dynax S50 for the cavities, sills and inside the wheel arches, perhaps also some Electrox for the jacking points.
I have ordered some Bilt Hamber Electrox (which I will have applied in two or three coats to the sills, the windscreen aperture and the loadspace window apertures) and also some Dynax-s50 (for the cavities and wheel arches). Does this sound sensible?
I think I will have the roof box painted smoke silver with a gloss finish.
I think I will have the roof box painted smoke silver with a gloss finish.
MJK 24 said:
Use Dynax UB (under body) inside the wheel arches. S50 is for use inside box sections. I've managed to get eight 750ml tins into an old Scirocco so don't be shy with your order!
That is very helpful, thanks. I have ordered a litre of the Dynax UB as well as 5litres of Surfex-HD. My intention is to strip the sills and inner wing areas of any grime and then apply two coats of the Dynax UB. I'll also put the Dynax UB on the inside of the new wings before they go on the car. I could also put the Dynax UB on the door bottoms. Basically everywhere that is covered with Sacco panels. The s50 can go inside the sills, inside the rear wings and inside the tailgate. I am not convinced there is any need to go bananas doing inside the doors as they seem pretty sound to me. What do you think?I will be visiting tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully more progress and more photos then.
This morning's update. The main progress last week was on the loadspace windows. These are now finished. They have been coated with a temporary primer to keep moisture out while work goes on elsewhere. I am very pleased with the job at this stage, particularly the inside of the offside window. Oh, the new rear door is on, too, but it needs lining up.
Here you see the inside of the offside loadspace window. This was full of holes and rot. Now patch up and grafted in, it is looking great in my view. I am very pleased with the result.
Finally, the dents on the offside rear have been pulled, bashed and filled and again are looking good:
Here you see the inside of the offside loadspace window. This was full of holes and rot. Now patch up and grafted in, it is looking great in my view. I am very pleased with the result.
Finally, the dents on the offside rear have been pulled, bashed and filled and again are looking good:
The body shop sent me some photos by text message today (this is seriously challenging my IT literacy). It looks like they have patched the hole in the offside front inner wing. Most 124s will have rot here; my last one did; and my SL has a bit as well. I'm guessing that on the engine bay side it is a shelf for dirt and moisture and on the underside it gets covered in wash from the road.
This first picture is looking down from the front of the car; the headlight is out and the bumper off (obviously). The hole is the the thing you can see the tyre through. You should not be able to see the tyre. Forgive me if I am stating the obvious.
Right, this next image is taken from within the engine bay, looking toward the offside front inside corner. The perfectly round hole is the air inlet for the engine: this is why late-model and turbo-diesels have vents in the offside front wing. The rather craggy hole beneath it is the one that ought not be there.
Now we are on the outside, adjacent to the offside front wheel, looking toward the car. The rusty lump is the offside front bumper bracket. It could be an awful lot worse than that!
Finally, the patch. Again, this is looking down from above the engine compartment. It looks a mess. They always do, that is nothing to worry about. This will all get sprayed with the Bilt Hamber Electrox zinc primer I dropped off yesterday. The underside will get either Dynac S50 or UB, I haven't decide which yet. I am reluctant to trap any corrosion under the UB.
This first picture is looking down from the front of the car; the headlight is out and the bumper off (obviously). The hole is the the thing you can see the tyre through. You should not be able to see the tyre. Forgive me if I am stating the obvious.
Right, this next image is taken from within the engine bay, looking toward the offside front inside corner. The perfectly round hole is the air inlet for the engine: this is why late-model and turbo-diesels have vents in the offside front wing. The rather craggy hole beneath it is the one that ought not be there.
Now we are on the outside, adjacent to the offside front wheel, looking toward the car. The rusty lump is the offside front bumper bracket. It could be an awful lot worse than that!
Finally, the patch. Again, this is looking down from above the engine compartment. It looks a mess. They always do, that is nothing to worry about. This will all get sprayed with the Bilt Hamber Electrox zinc primer I dropped off yesterday. The underside will get either Dynac S50 or UB, I haven't decide which yet. I am reluctant to trap any corrosion under the UB.
A few more updates from today.
The inner wing patches are done and the new front wings are loosely mounted. The front wings and nearside doors will be lined up this afternoon. The front wings have been treated with the Bilt Hamber Dynax S50 which my man prefers to the UB. He is very anti-underseal. He reckons the Dynax-S50 is lovely stuff and was very impressed with it. The windscreen aperture has been done and primed with the Bilt Hamber Electrox but I forgot to take pictures. The car will be in primer tonight.
Here is the offside inner wing patch, completed and primed with the Electrox primer:
And here is the nearside, too.
That is the good news. The bad news is that the jacking points are worse than feared. Patching and repair is required. This will be done either tomorrow or Friday. They will be primed with Electrox then painted body colour. The sills will then be coated with Dynax-S50 inside and out. Here are the holes.
This is the offside rear, by far the worst:
The nearside rear is a little better:
Nearside front:
And finally the offside front:
The news about the jacking points is the only bad news so far on the whole job and, absent cock up, I can't see there being any more. Progress seems very rapid since Monday afternoon. There was very little on the body that needed doing before it goes in the paint booth.
More news tomorrow, hopefully.
The inner wing patches are done and the new front wings are loosely mounted. The front wings and nearside doors will be lined up this afternoon. The front wings have been treated with the Bilt Hamber Dynax S50 which my man prefers to the UB. He is very anti-underseal. He reckons the Dynax-S50 is lovely stuff and was very impressed with it. The windscreen aperture has been done and primed with the Bilt Hamber Electrox but I forgot to take pictures. The car will be in primer tonight.
Here is the offside inner wing patch, completed and primed with the Electrox primer:
And here is the nearside, too.
That is the good news. The bad news is that the jacking points are worse than feared. Patching and repair is required. This will be done either tomorrow or Friday. They will be primed with Electrox then painted body colour. The sills will then be coated with Dynax-S50 inside and out. Here are the holes.
This is the offside rear, by far the worst:
The nearside rear is a little better:
Nearside front:
And finally the offside front:
The news about the jacking points is the only bad news so far on the whole job and, absent cock up, I can't see there being any more. Progress seems very rapid since Monday afternoon. There was very little on the body that needed doing before it goes in the paint booth.
More news tomorrow, hopefully.
220te said:
Thanks OP for a fantastic thread. This car will be amazing when finished. The level of detail is superb. At the end of the work you will have a vehicle that will last many more years and it will be enjoyed for many miles. I like them so much I recently bought another one with 391,000 miles on it for daily use :-), so I now own two. 1 diesel and 1 petrol. Definitely get the roof box sprayed/wrapped the same colour as the panels it will look great.All the best and hats off to you for giving her a second wind.I can't wait to see the finished article.
Thanks for this. I think I saw the 391,000mile car advertised on Ebay. I love a car with high miles: it must have so many journeys to tell of. If it's a diesel and if it hasn't had the vacuum pump changed, I recommend you look into changing it.Anyway, my man sent me some updates just now by text message: it looks like any bare metal has been primed with Electrox.
I'll pop over at lunchtime to see if there is any further progress.
I popped in at lunchtime and, while there had not been much progress, it has been rubbed down everywhere. That said, I think much of the shimmer is due to the use of "off the gun" finishes. We'll see. I am not paying a fortune for this job and so far I feel like I am getting good value. We agreed an extra £500 to cover the jacking points and inner wings so I am up to £2,500, of which £1,500 is paid.
As for parts availability, who knows. There was an article about this in the Merc Club Gazette recently. Apparently Merc have decided to stop making new parts for all 124s other than the 124.036 (the 500 E/E500) from 20years after the end of production (1995 for saloons, 1996 for estates and coupés and 1997 for cabriolets). But really this only affects trim, some of which already is NLA. Most everything else, especially consumables, is available on the high quality aftermarket and will be for a long, long time yet. And then you've got the dismantlers: they made over two million 124s and many of the parts were used in other models as well. I don't see owners of 123s or even /8s struggling for parts so I am sure all will be well for the 124.
As for parts availability, who knows. There was an article about this in the Merc Club Gazette recently. Apparently Merc have decided to stop making new parts for all 124s other than the 124.036 (the 500 E/E500) from 20years after the end of production (1995 for saloons, 1996 for estates and coupés and 1997 for cabriolets). But really this only affects trim, some of which already is NLA. Most everything else, especially consumables, is available on the high quality aftermarket and will be for a long, long time yet. And then you've got the dismantlers: they made over two million 124s and many of the parts were used in other models as well. I don't see owners of 123s or even /8s struggling for parts so I am sure all will be well for the 124.
Finally some progress. The car was painted last night and I went down this morning to have a look. I had very little time, so my photographs are few and not very artfully composed. It will be flatted and polished today.
There are quite a few dust nibs in the paint and two runs but I gather these will all come out with the polishing. Also there is a tiny bit of overspray on the roof bars. We didn't remove the remove bars because to do so would have required dropping the headlining and that is a miserable job. You have to draw the line somewhere. Again, I am told this will come off easily. I also noticed that there are still two tiny depressions in the nearside front door. I have to remind myself of the constraints of this project and the use the car is going to get. Overall I am very, very happy. I am looking forward to seeing it after it is flatted and polished.
The jacking points still need to be done. Then it needs to be filled with cavity wax. Then there is a re-assembly job. I have new tail lamps and new front indicators (I have bought US-style indicators which are predominantly white but with an amber side marker section). It has had new headlamp lenses recently.
Anyway, this is where we are at:
There are quite a few dust nibs in the paint and two runs but I gather these will all come out with the polishing. Also there is a tiny bit of overspray on the roof bars. We didn't remove the remove bars because to do so would have required dropping the headlining and that is a miserable job. You have to draw the line somewhere. Again, I am told this will come off easily. I also noticed that there are still two tiny depressions in the nearside front door. I have to remind myself of the constraints of this project and the use the car is going to get. Overall I am very, very happy. I am looking forward to seeing it after it is flatted and polished.
The jacking points still need to be done. Then it needs to be filled with cavity wax. Then there is a re-assembly job. I have new tail lamps and new front indicators (I have bought US-style indicators which are predominantly white but with an amber side marker section). It has had new headlamp lenses recently.
Anyway, this is where we are at:
Thanks for all the positive comments. For some reason I was feeling a little low about it all. I suspect because I am seeing it part way through the painting process.
I failed to mention that it received six coats of base paint and three coats of clear.
I quite like the idea of a photo shoot but I dislike the idea of paying for it. How much is a photo shoot likely to cost? I could potentially spunk another £500 but no more. I'd rather spend the money on a Jehnert speaker system. Can you recommend anyone in the north east of England who might do it?
I did a bit of googling (beats working, except in the crucial measure of earning potential) but I must say I am not that keen on the common style, i.e., aggressive poses, moody backdrops, lots of post-production. And anyway I could find nothing on price. I should just pick up the phone but I don't want to be embarrassed when they tell me it'll be six grand or something.
I have a R129 brochure from 1996 for which Mercedes commissioned the photography from three leading photographers, Clint Clemens, Dietmar Henneka and Anatol Kotte. (This was the brochure that got me into 129s: back in 1996 I found it lying round on a desk in my dad's office and slipped it in my bag. Other 19year olds were nicking Razzle: yours truly was pinching car porn.) I have scanned a few for your delectation. Anyway, the reason I have done this is because I am a sad b
d. No, no, that's not right: the reason I have done this is because I think this is some of the best car photography I have ever seen and thought I'd share it. If you're into R129s, I highly recommend this brochure: you can pick it up on Ebay for about a tenner, which seems a lot for something they gave away free, but is worth it.
Clint Clemens:
Dietmar Henneka:
Anatol Kotte:
Don't those AMG wheels look great? And I can confirm that driving at night with the top down is as good as it looks.
I failed to mention that it received six coats of base paint and three coats of clear.
I quite like the idea of a photo shoot but I dislike the idea of paying for it. How much is a photo shoot likely to cost? I could potentially spunk another £500 but no more. I'd rather spend the money on a Jehnert speaker system. Can you recommend anyone in the north east of England who might do it?
I did a bit of googling (beats working, except in the crucial measure of earning potential) but I must say I am not that keen on the common style, i.e., aggressive poses, moody backdrops, lots of post-production. And anyway I could find nothing on price. I should just pick up the phone but I don't want to be embarrassed when they tell me it'll be six grand or something.
I have a R129 brochure from 1996 for which Mercedes commissioned the photography from three leading photographers, Clint Clemens, Dietmar Henneka and Anatol Kotte. (This was the brochure that got me into 129s: back in 1996 I found it lying round on a desk in my dad's office and slipped it in my bag. Other 19year olds were nicking Razzle: yours truly was pinching car porn.) I have scanned a few for your delectation. Anyway, the reason I have done this is because I am a sad b
d. No, no, that's not right: the reason I have done this is because I think this is some of the best car photography I have ever seen and thought I'd share it. If you're into R129s, I highly recommend this brochure: you can pick it up on Ebay for about a tenner, which seems a lot for something they gave away free, but is worth it.Clint Clemens:
Dietmar Henneka:
Anatol Kotte:
Don't those AMG wheels look great? And I can confirm that driving at night with the top down is as good as it looks.
Edited by r129sl on Wednesday 26th March 21:02
E65Ross said:
Have you ever driven an R230? Would be interested to hear the main differences. Now I'm sure the R129 feels much more solid but I'm guessing a fair bit less refined. Is the SL more refined than the W124?
My brother is on his second R230 SL500. I've driven a short way in both. I also had a ride just the other day in a SL55 AMG. They're nice, they really are. The cockpit is a nice place to be. The difference isn't massive, that's what struck me. In the R230, you sit even lower and even further back (or so it seems) and the cowl seems quite high. The R230 is definitely more refined: much less NVH although I also felt more insulated, perhaps unsurprisingly. The perceived quality is very high. I think they're underrated by the market. Of course, people are scared by the ABC suspension, the SBC brakes and that roof, but it's not like they're made of chocolate and you certainly don't see rusty ones. I'm not completely sold on the shape but even I would concede it is the best-looking tin top roadster (with the possible exception of the first generation R170 SLK). The SL55 AMG was immense.E65Ross said:
I like your analogy and it's rather true. I must see what the fuss is about with these W124s. I think CharlesdeGaulle said he'd take me out as he's not toooooo far away from me, about an hours drive.
I've been in an E65 730d and whilst a good car I do feel the 4.4 V8 really adds to the experience. The only old Merc I've been in is a 190e and whilst very nice I wasn't totally bowled over by it.
Failing that, R129sl did you say you'd come to Mercedes-Benz world Sunday service? Where do you live
If up North that's one long drive for a morning out! Though we could always go out for a drive and a drink somewhere and make a day of it.
The 4.4 V8 really adds to the experience: understatement of the week.I've been in an E65 730d and whilst a good car I do feel the 4.4 V8 really adds to the experience. The only old Merc I've been in is a 190e and whilst very nice I wasn't totally bowled over by it.
Failing that, R129sl did you say you'd come to Mercedes-Benz world Sunday service? Where do you live
If up North that's one long drive for a morning out! Though we could always go out for a drive and a drink somewhere and make a day of it.
We're coming down to the MB World Sunday Service with the 124. Watch this space... We live in Northumberland so we're making a weekend of it.
The qualities of all these old Mercs are somewhat mystical and only become apparent with time and use. On first acquaintance, it is hard to see what the fuss is about. But when you've had one for a while, you won't want to be without one for long.
The body shop is in Gateshead. I have not given its identity but will provide it privately to anyone who is interested. He just does this work as "fill in" work: it is not his main line of business.
Remember also that the parts are on top of the £2,500 agreed and are likely to amount to the thick end of a grand (wings £373, lights £200, seals £175, mirrors £100, windscreen £150, plus clips and bits, hmm that's more than a grand); remember also that I am paying as we go along, £500 every Monday morning.
Prices are quite a lot cheaper up here. I have a London-based friend who has brought his r107 and s123 up, leaving them with my mechanic (the legendary Phil Baister at Staithes Garage: rough as a badger's arse, ex-Mercedes-Benz, he can diagnose any Mercedes fault blindfolded from 100 yards, he is an astonishing man, when the main dealer is stumped, they go to Baister) for a month or six weeks at a time to have a long list of jobs carried out. Friend and his family spend a weekend with us either end of the job and I keep an occasional eye on progress. If you can be arsed to drive the car up and can spare the time, the cost of the petrol and an off-peak return is nothing compared to the savings.
Remember also that the parts are on top of the £2,500 agreed and are likely to amount to the thick end of a grand (wings £373, lights £200, seals £175, mirrors £100, windscreen £150, plus clips and bits, hmm that's more than a grand); remember also that I am paying as we go along, £500 every Monday morning.
Prices are quite a lot cheaper up here. I have a London-based friend who has brought his r107 and s123 up, leaving them with my mechanic (the legendary Phil Baister at Staithes Garage: rough as a badger's arse, ex-Mercedes-Benz, he can diagnose any Mercedes fault blindfolded from 100 yards, he is an astonishing man, when the main dealer is stumped, they go to Baister) for a month or six weeks at a time to have a long list of jobs carried out. Friend and his family spend a weekend with us either end of the job and I keep an occasional eye on progress. If you can be arsed to drive the car up and can spare the time, the cost of the petrol and an off-peak return is nothing compared to the savings.
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