Spac’s Adventures in Mercedes

Spac · 2020-09-16T06:11:19+00:00

Paid $200 for this including delivery. It is an M271.980, same as what’s in my car. 200,000km old, blown head gasket. I grabbed it because I figured it would...

Spac

I haven’t been working on cars because I got the poops with my shit-tip of a garage and have spent the last six days cleaning up…. And there’s still plenty more to do.

However, I made small progress on the rally car today, buying these:

These are W124 twin cam rear brakes. Still not vented, but 278mm up from the standard 258mm and are supposed to bolt straight on.

I also bought the front swaybar and calipers from the same car. Don’t really need the swaybar, but it was cheap enough to grab.

The 4-piston calipers are the same as what’s on the rally car already, but this pair will go onto one of the road cars.

Spac

I got #6 running yesterday. Swapped the fuel pump with the original from Kirin and it fired right up.

It seemed to run pretty well, although it smells fumey. Did a few laps of the backyard, got bogged twice…

Then it started to run terribly. Pretty sure that it has sucked more crap from the fuel tank into the pump/filter.

Now it is stuck in an annoying spot and I can’t move it. sigh

Although, seeing it with mud up the side was a big motivation boost to finish Kirin.

PaddlerEd

Saw this and thought of your collection...

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-germancars/mercedes-marks-40-years-of-the-190/46516

This thread always makes me smile, as one car my Grandfather wanted was a Mercedes 190E to replace his Audi 80 in the mid 1980s.

Spac

Having ignored all of the Mercedes stuff for a few months now, this was still an easy impulse buy:

Its an early W203 C200 Kompressor. Being an early one, makes it a M111 engine, which is the same family as the engine in the rally car - but this is a supercharged one, as the ebay intercooler hints.

The real reason I bought it is because it is a 6-speed manual.

The story is that old mate loved it, but it sat for a number of months while his licence was suspended, and then it wouldn’t start.

What he described sounds like the typical electronic ignition switch drama, but he hacked into everything and has made any further diagnosis/repair vastly more difficult.

The plan is to put the gearbox into the rally car (the six speeds have much closer ratios that the five speeds, as well as being more robust), and the engine can go into one of the W201 road cars with the 5-speed that’s currently in the rally car.

I honestly don’t know what I will do with the leftovers. It’s done as a road car, but I can see some potential as a track or maybe even a drift car.

Unexpected bonuses are:

Brembo brakes on the front…

… and some sort of coilovers. I think they are APs, which were ok in the black XR4.

A mate just bought a shabby AMG ML55 for a pittance, so I have been wondering about whether a Merc V6/V8 might bolt up to that Ssangyong 6-speed gearbox that I have. Sadly(?) it turns out that the ML55 isn’t buggered, so it will probably be fixed and sold, but it did plant the idea in my noggin.

It is all idle thoughts at the moment.

Spac

Actually made some progress on the 190E rally car today!

After months of blathering, I machined down the top of the strut from 19 to 18mm so they fit into the spherical bearings of the strut tops.

Spac

More progress of the spending money kind!

Almost new, but mistreated Sparco Circuit seats. Story is that they were in a movie car and someone saved them. I paid about 35% of the new price, so I can handle the tatty covers.

Especially when a couple of hours with the needle and thread made them a lot better…

I even kind of, sort of taught myself how to darn!?

I’m sure the ladies at the CWA would have a lot to say about this, but it’s a lot better than it was, so I’m happy.

I failed to take a photo of the whole seats, but the point of these is that they are winged, unlike the Sparco Evo2s that were going into Kirin.

I have been increasingly determined to not rally without winged seats, and reading the Targa Tas report has reinforced that belief.

Spac

Several months in the making, I finally dragged this home yesterday.

A mate’s daughter was given it as her first car, and was happily driving it until it refused to crank over one day.
Her dad is a very competent mechanic, but it has beaten him. I’m not sure that I will be able to fix it, but the deal is that if I can fix it I will pay him slightly more than the scrap value.
If I can’t fix it, then I’ll scrap it and give him the scrap value.

There’s a number of known electrical issues with these cars. He’s worked through them without luck - I will go through them again myself, and then take it to a mate who has the proper MB software if I need to.

It’s a pretty tidy car once I washed the tree scum off the paint.
This is the worst part of the paint/bodywork, by a long way. Should be easy enough to clean up if I can get it running .

Philia_Bear

I wish you luck!

jamesinc

W169 yeah? I remember the W168 when it first came to Australia, at one point practically every other car in Double Bay was an A-class. It's weird seeing them old and worn!

Spac

jamesinc Yep, its a169.

I saw a W168 at the wreckers today. My perception is that it older model was much smaller. This thing is huge next to the Mirage - probably not much longer, and only moderately wider, but the car has heaps more volume overall.

Spac

Overdue Mercedes update.

Lori sold to a mate a few weeks back. He got it through a blue slip, not sure if he’s registered it yet.

Then this came up as a freebie on Marketplace.

Somewhat difficult location (inland of Bega, coincidentally very close Candelo to where I picked up one the Magnas) meant that the previous owner had a hell of a time giving it away…

It’s another 93 model 180E. Automatic, 2.0 litre, 376,xxx km.
Was running, but has been parked in a paddock for a year or so - I presume a dead fuel pump.

I gave it a quick wash, and it seems to be quite straight and the paint seems saveable - another year in a paddock and I think the lichen would have taken over.

Quick hit with the 3000 grit wet and dry and then some polish on half the bootlid, and I’m feeling reasonably confident that the paint can be saved.

Manual window winders are always a relief with these things, but a black interior is a big, unexpected bonus.

I’ll try to fit a new fuel pump and see what happens.

Ex850R

Love these old Mercs but always wary .
Whats it going to sell for?
Is this the one that had the hot motor shoved in?

Spac

Ex850R This is the absolute bottom of the barrel as far as Australian spec ones go.

Its the 1.8 litre SOHC, with manual windows, no tacho, steel wheels, etc.
We didn’t get any carby ones (these have KE-Jetronic, which is a more electronically controlled version of K-jet), and I think all Aussie delivered cars came with air conditioning.
Apparently they were still more expensive than a Fairmont Ghia, but they came in under the luxury car tax…

In good running condition, with registration and no major faults, this would probably be a $4000₅₀₀₀ car. Probably at the lower end due to the kays.

Plans are to confirm that this one’s body is as good as I think, and then get it up and running.
Then the blue one can be stripped and scrapped.

Spac

The new addition has been christened Mogi, based on where it came from (Mogilla Rd).

I drained the fuel tank and replaced the fuel pump. The old fuel wasn’t too bad - much better than most - so it went into the Falcon.
Changing the pumps in these is always a tird of a job, with a 14mm ID hose gravity feeding into the pump, plus a typically over-complicated setup means that being showered in fuel is pretty much inevitable…

New fuel pump, new fuel, and is sounded like it was going to go… but didn’t.
Then I realised the new fuel pump wasn’t making pump noises…

Yep, Chinesium strikes again. Of course, I only figured this out after wasting a bunch of time pissing around with relays and so on…
Fortunately, I had ordered two pumps because I need one for #6…

Second new fuel pump, second lot of being drowned in petrol, and we have some sign of life.

But not enough. It fires and runs badly, but stalls. Assuming a problem with fuel delivery, I tried dribbling fuel into the intake manifold, but not change.

It does seem to blow a lot of smoke, and generally doesn’t give off a positive vibe.

There’s also a lot of oily sludge in the coolant reservoir…

So I am kind of assuming that it has a blown head gasket and/or is just worn out.

The original tyres we all bald, so I swapped on a set of decent 205/60s that came on a set of BMW wheels.

And a set of hub caps that were “in stock”.

This car definitely has the best body and paint of the triplet 180Es, but I think it’s more sensible to just register The First Twin and ignore the dent in the roof and the flaking clear coat (the white ones aren’t meant to have clear coat!!).

Spac

Mercedes Stocktake, 19-10-23.

Kirin, 1987 Japanese import. 75% finished rally car. Originally a 2.0 automatic, now has a later 2.2 twin cam and manual.

The Blue 180E, so 1.8. Parts car, will likely be stripped and scrapped.

Groldie. Another 1987 2.0 automatic Japanese import, although this one has a later twin row timing chain engine in it.
No plans. Should sell it, but I love the green interior too much, plus it’s the only other pre-update car I own.

The First Twin (aka TFT). 1992 1.8 auto. Lowish kays. Has an annoying dent in the roof at the top of the rear windscreen, and some idiot has put clear coat on a paint repair and now it is peeling.

#6. Another 1992 automatic 180E, and pretty much identical to TFT except it has a tan interior rather than light grey. Lived right near the ocean in the Shire, so is the rustiest by far, but not beyond saving.

The W201 C200K wreck. Supercharged 2.0 M111 with 6-speed manual . Just needs me to make the time to pull the good bits off and scrap the rest.

The W169 A200. Not running. If I can get it running, it will be my road car, and possibly The Boy’s first car (because it is the right combination of safety, fuel economy and slow for a teenage boy).

PaddlerEd

Spac.... a name that is known all around...

Got talking to the guy who owns this (very nice and very special) 190E 2.3-16...
Image description

Mentioned I had a mate Canberra way who had a thing for 190Es... he asked where abouts that way, and I said, and then said Spac... "Oh, I've had some conversations with him about a C-Class wagon roller"!

FFS...

Spac

PaddlerEd Oh, Greg Y!

He's also a mate of one of my long term rally mates, but I'm not sure if Greg has realised this yet.

PaddlerEd

Spac I'm really hoping he brings that up to our machinery club show - this was at Rusty Iron in Macksville that I saw him, and he's not far away (and has some good driving roads if they're clear) to come up to us.

« Previous Page