Mercedes 129 titivation
Discussion
It has been a while but I finally got round to having the spare wheels refurbished by Lepsons. On the whole I was pleased. The service was excellent and the wheels look great. They are not perfect, but I am happy.
Newly refurbished, front and back. Note how they correctly leave the mating face unpainted. Most places just clag over this with paint.
However, very close, anally retentive examination reveals some remaining defects. A little bit of staining where the corrosion has not been entirely removed. A big dust nib. And a trace line on the leading edge of the spoke where the diamond cutting has been done aggressively, presumably to speed up the process.
Boy One and I coated the wheels inside and out with two layers of Auto Finesse's "Mint Rims". This smells very minty. It is also quite amazing. A month in and brake dust just rinses off, even off the inside of the rim. The wheels remain amazingly bright and glossy, in and out, with terrific beading.
I am quite impressed by Auto Finesse. There is a lot of expensive snake oil in the car polish game but this product works for us. I use the Iron Out as wheel cleaner on the other cars and it is a case of spray on, leave, hose off, wipe. Very easy and very effective. About two months ago I did the 129 properly, polishing the paint and then waxing with Auto Finesse Desire wax. I noticed this morning that it is beading beautifully. The year old Fabsil is doing a great job, too.
I am enjoying the car greatly at the moment. The only thing up is the air con is not working. It still has some pressure so maybe just needs a regas. No stored fault codes.
Newly refurbished, front and back. Note how they correctly leave the mating face unpainted. Most places just clag over this with paint.
However, very close, anally retentive examination reveals some remaining defects. A little bit of staining where the corrosion has not been entirely removed. A big dust nib. And a trace line on the leading edge of the spoke where the diamond cutting has been done aggressively, presumably to speed up the process.
Boy One and I coated the wheels inside and out with two layers of Auto Finesse's "Mint Rims". This smells very minty. It is also quite amazing. A month in and brake dust just rinses off, even off the inside of the rim. The wheels remain amazingly bright and glossy, in and out, with terrific beading.
I am quite impressed by Auto Finesse. There is a lot of expensive snake oil in the car polish game but this product works for us. I use the Iron Out as wheel cleaner on the other cars and it is a case of spray on, leave, hose off, wipe. Very easy and very effective. About two months ago I did the 129 properly, polishing the paint and then waxing with Auto Finesse Desire wax. I noticed this morning that it is beading beautifully. The year old Fabsil is doing a great job, too.
I am enjoying the car greatly at the moment. The only thing up is the air con is not working. It still has some pressure so maybe just needs a regas. No stored fault codes.
alec.e said:
How much did Lepsons charge for that job? I have heard mixed reviews of them. It does look like a decent job.
I have a local chap who does a perfect job at a bargain price I can recommend if you ever need them doing in the future.
£604 including carriage there and back, insurance and boxes for the return journey. And including VAT, of course: £100 of that price was tax, which everyone seems to forget and which is hardly the fault of the supplier. That was for five wheels.I have a local chap who does a perfect job at a bargain price I can recommend if you ever need them doing in the future.
I don't think thar Lepsons performed significantly better for your £120 per alloy than 'spit n polish' did for my £50/£60 per alloy. Granted, they collect/drop off at my tyre 'man', so no shipping costs incurred, but the lack of QC is an irritant.
I use Bilt Hamber Double Speed wax on my alloys, which performs well too.
Since Mr Shapps MP put paid to a wonderfully planned driving holiday to France, I may actually find time to detail my recently painted car.
I use Bilt Hamber Double Speed wax on my alloys, which performs well too.
Since Mr Shapps MP put paid to a wonderfully planned driving holiday to France, I may actually find time to detail my recently painted car.
Edited by bolidemichael on Saturday 15th August 10:47
The mating face/centre being masked off is a small but important detail. Several occasions I've had wheels refurbed and immediately had to file and wet/dry them to ensure they fit properly.
I paid 125 per wheel once and the quality did not justify the expense. It wasn't Lepson though.
I paid 125 per wheel once and the quality did not justify the expense. It wasn't Lepson though.
A bit more action here. The alignment of the bonnet, offside front wing, driver's door and 'A' pillar has always bothered me. The wing is not correctly aligned with the bonnet, but if brought into line it would then by out of alignment with the leading edge of the door, which would then need to be rehung. However, the 'A' pillar I suspected just was not affixed correctly.
Removal of the 'A' pillar trim is easy enough. Unscrew and remove the capping trim at the top then simply pull the 'A' pillar trim off from the windscreen side. It is held on by the big rubber seal that runs between it and the windscreen and a series of fixings.
I ordered new fixings from MB Newcastle, all available from Milton Keynes, pennies each.
Sure enough, the wrong fixing (red) had been used in the lower mounting hole (should be a green one) and it had failed. The black splodges are Built Hamber Dynax UB underseal, intended to prevent corrosion resulting from any rubbing of the fixings.
The result still is not perfect but it is much better, much less obvious:
Removal of the 'A' pillar trim is easy enough. Unscrew and remove the capping trim at the top then simply pull the 'A' pillar trim off from the windscreen side. It is held on by the big rubber seal that runs between it and the windscreen and a series of fixings.
I ordered new fixings from MB Newcastle, all available from Milton Keynes, pennies each.
Sure enough, the wrong fixing (red) had been used in the lower mounting hole (should be a green one) and it had failed. The black splodges are Built Hamber Dynax UB underseal, intended to prevent corrosion resulting from any rubbing of the fixings.
The result still is not perfect but it is much better, much less obvious:
Well it doesn't seem to be leaking oil anymore and it is running strong; that and a change in financial circumstances for the worse means an engine swap is on the back burner.
I took it to Baister's lair today for a proper service including all 16 plugs and the transmission. It also needed front pads which he had in stock. He is getting expensive but nobody does it better. I do like Baister's. He hasn't heard of the smoking ban let alone lockdown. Ran it up to 130 on the test track on the way home. What a great car, 289,000 miles and it just gets better.
I took it to Baister's lair today for a proper service including all 16 plugs and the transmission. It also needed front pads which he had in stock. He is getting expensive but nobody does it better. I do like Baister's. He hasn't heard of the smoking ban let alone lockdown. Ran it up to 130 on the test track on the way home. What a great car, 289,000 miles and it just gets better.
r129sl said:
Well it doesn't seem to be leaking oil anymore and it is running strong; that and a change in financial circumstances for the worse means an engine swap is on the back burner.
I took it to Baister's lair today for a proper service including all 16 plugs and the transmission. It also needed front pads which he had in stock. He is getting expensive but nobody does it better. I do like Baister's. He hasn't heard of the smoking ban let alone lockdown. Ran it up to 130 on the test track on the way home. What a great car, 289,000 miles and it just gets better.
Love it.I took it to Baister's lair today for a proper service including all 16 plugs and the transmission. It also needed front pads which he had in stock. He is getting expensive but nobody does it better. I do like Baister's. He hasn't heard of the smoking ban let alone lockdown. Ran it up to 130 on the test track on the way home. What a great car, 289,000 miles and it just gets better.
A bit of fiddling around today and the usual one step forwards, two steps backwards.
I went to start it up. Flat battery. Charged the battery. Roof light and roll bar light came on so did the window reset. Driver's door window wouldn't go back up. It's so blooming tedious running an old car. I check the fuse (no. 2 in the boot), not that. I figure it is either the motor or the switch; I could hear a little click from the motor when I pressed the down side of the switch but nothing when I pressed the up side, so I figured it was unlikely to be the switch. I stripped the door card. Some bodger has been in here before, I suspect MB Newcastle when they did the bodywork under warranty back in 2008, all the clips were broken and the vapour barrier was a mess. I couldn't figure out anything much at all about the motor so thought I'd have a look at the switch. This means stripping the wooden dash panel which is a time consuming job. It was the switch, or rather, the wire connection to the switch.
I have decided to take the opportunity to tidy up the door. I have ordered a new vapour barrier and also a new electric seat switch (the number 1 memory button is broken on mine). It is all such a bore.
Here is the stripped door:
And here the broken switch. You can see how the number 1 button has collapsed. I pulled it all apart and various little plastic tabs had broken.
I went to start it up. Flat battery. Charged the battery. Roof light and roll bar light came on so did the window reset. Driver's door window wouldn't go back up. It's so blooming tedious running an old car. I check the fuse (no. 2 in the boot), not that. I figure it is either the motor or the switch; I could hear a little click from the motor when I pressed the down side of the switch but nothing when I pressed the up side, so I figured it was unlikely to be the switch. I stripped the door card. Some bodger has been in here before, I suspect MB Newcastle when they did the bodywork under warranty back in 2008, all the clips were broken and the vapour barrier was a mess. I couldn't figure out anything much at all about the motor so thought I'd have a look at the switch. This means stripping the wooden dash panel which is a time consuming job. It was the switch, or rather, the wire connection to the switch.
I have decided to take the opportunity to tidy up the door. I have ordered a new vapour barrier and also a new electric seat switch (the number 1 memory button is broken on mine). It is all such a bore.
Here is the stripped door:
And here the broken switch. You can see how the number 1 button has collapsed. I pulled it all apart and various little plastic tabs had broken.
I have ordered some new acoustic cloth and I am going to have a go at refurbishing the (frankly revolting) speaker covers on each door trim. The big lower cover detaches easily but the smaller upper cover looks more difficult.
For some bizarre reason it seems quite difficult to get acoustic cloth at short notice: it all comes form China and takes about 21 days. The best stuff seems to be from German (surprise) supplier Akoustikstoff but they do not supply the UK. They do 42 colours and I identified three that might be right but unfortunately no supply. Hey ho. A shame because it is water, oil, stain and fire resistant. https://www.akustikstoff.com/Acoustic-Cloth-2-0-li...
Anyway, I have ordered some "sand yellow" and some "beige" coloured generic acoustic cloth but I think the former will be too dark and the latter too light.
I have also ordered a used right seat backrest from a LHD car to replace my tired and worn backrest.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114620121060
This cost a fair bit of cash but I am hoping it will significantly improve the interior. My seat base is less than perfect but the cushion is new (ish) and I think it cleans up OK. Later in the spring I will have to give the interior a thorough clean.
For some bizarre reason it seems quite difficult to get acoustic cloth at short notice: it all comes form China and takes about 21 days. The best stuff seems to be from German (surprise) supplier Akoustikstoff but they do not supply the UK. They do 42 colours and I identified three that might be right but unfortunately no supply. Hey ho. A shame because it is water, oil, stain and fire resistant. https://www.akustikstoff.com/Acoustic-Cloth-2-0-li...
Anyway, I have ordered some "sand yellow" and some "beige" coloured generic acoustic cloth but I think the former will be too dark and the latter too light.
I have also ordered a used right seat backrest from a LHD car to replace my tired and worn backrest.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114620121060
This cost a fair bit of cash but I am hoping it will significantly improve the interior. My seat base is less than perfect but the cushion is new (ish) and I think it cleans up OK. Later in the spring I will have to give the interior a thorough clean.
It probably is possible to dye the cloth but then I'd have to find the right dye. I suspect it is the German stuff that I can't readily get.
Anyone, one of the joys of Amazon is you can order stuff at about 9pm on a Saturday and it will be delivered on Sunday afternoon. So it proved with my new polythene sheeting (I have ordered far too much), mounting tape and wiring harness tape. And also a wonderful Casio F-91W that cost less than £10 (not being able to afford fancy watches, I kid myself that I like cheap ones).
It didn't take too long to fit the vapour barrier. The super-sticky mounting tape wasn't, so having tacked it to the door, I went over it with a heat gun. Funny things heat guns. Nothing... nothing... nothing... s
t, it's about to catch alight. I am not really sure what the point of the vapour barrier is. It has so many holes for wires and such like. And for the loudspeaker assembly. I am quite pleased with the job I have done.
I cannot figure out how to remove this upper speaker cover (having removed the worn out tan cloth already). It seems to be affixed with one-time-only plastic rivets. I am not sure what I am going to do about this. I have kept the old cloth and will use it as a pattern. Then I will stuff the new cloth around the back of the trim (hopefully) and glue it on the reverse side.
While I was at it, I repaired the wiring harness tape on the loom to the washer bottle. Even I couldn't screw that up, though my back has not thanked me for ten minutes' stooping over it. Some nasty rust on the slam panel, I see.
Anyone, one of the joys of Amazon is you can order stuff at about 9pm on a Saturday and it will be delivered on Sunday afternoon. So it proved with my new polythene sheeting (I have ordered far too much), mounting tape and wiring harness tape. And also a wonderful Casio F-91W that cost less than £10 (not being able to afford fancy watches, I kid myself that I like cheap ones).
It didn't take too long to fit the vapour barrier. The super-sticky mounting tape wasn't, so having tacked it to the door, I went over it with a heat gun. Funny things heat guns. Nothing... nothing... nothing... s
t, it's about to catch alight. I am not really sure what the point of the vapour barrier is. It has so many holes for wires and such like. And for the loudspeaker assembly. I am quite pleased with the job I have done.I cannot figure out how to remove this upper speaker cover (having removed the worn out tan cloth already). It seems to be affixed with one-time-only plastic rivets. I am not sure what I am going to do about this. I have kept the old cloth and will use it as a pattern. Then I will stuff the new cloth around the back of the trim (hopefully) and glue it on the reverse side.
While I was at it, I repaired the wiring harness tape on the loom to the washer bottle. Even I couldn't screw that up, though my back has not thanked me for ten minutes' stooping over it. Some nasty rust on the slam panel, I see.
To remove the upper grill grind the head off of those plastic rivets. To refit, use some Tiger Seal or Sikaflex around the remaining rivet stubs to bond them into the holes on the door panel. Use a book or something to keep pressure on the grill whilst the adhesive dries (generally overnight).
It will be a real game trying to trim with the plastic in place.
It will be a real game trying to trim with the plastic in place.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff