[Andyblue]

Oh they do look nice and they look to have made a very nice job of them 👍🏻

 

[G3 Matt]

A little bit of intensive cleaning therapy last night. I'm focusing on the boot area of the car, giving everything a deep clean before progressing to the rest of the car in stages, so last night i stripped the rear panel trim off, the rubber seal and the rear lights out, and there was an interesting amount of debris left behind after 32 years





Everything was cleaned, polished and put back together, looking much fresher, again never to be seen by most but I'll know it's clean..






The rear lights are being cleaned at the moment and I'm contacting Mercedes this morning to see if the slam panel trim is still available, as this ones marked.

Cheers

 

[G3 Matt]

Interesting call to Mercedes this morning, the inner boot slam panel trim is still available from Germany, for the princely sum of £26 including the VAT. Sellers on eBay selling used ones for £50 and upwards... madness.

Ordered two replacement boot lid buffers as well. When I go to collect the parts I'll make a large order for all of the other bits I need as well. Guy was super helpful which is a good sign.

 

[OldskoolRS]

I found similar a few years ago when I had an old 5 series BMW: Some parts at the main dealers were discounted due to being old stock, so were cheaper than Motor factors (didn't have eBay/Internet then).

Nice job on the boot area; at least you know it's all good and nothing growing or starting to rust under there. Plus we've all seen it too, so it hasn't gone to waste.

 

[G3 Matt]

Got the rear lights reassembled this evening, now got a bulb out warning which is the rear fog, must have knocked the bulb and it’s gone south.

Fitted the J reg Arlington plates, still waiting on the V5 so I can then get the private plate on, oh and I fitted the wheels, including the new spare in the boot.

 

[G3 Matt]

Got the front mudflaps on this weekend, the rears will be fitted when I've come up with a non invasive fixing solution...



I then removed the 31 year old original Arlington Mercedes rear window sticker, after all these years I thought it was an adhesive sticker but it was actually the self cling type, however it had fused to the glass so had to be gently picked off and the glass cleaned with wire wool and glass cleaner. New one then fitted...



Tax disc holder then fitted...



And to finish yesterday off I went for a decent drive in the evening, roads were quiet and the scenery in Shropshire was beautiful as ever.







Next job is to collect the inner boot panel from Mercedes this week at some point, then to complete the boot area, the boot carpet needs shampooing and extracting as there are minor marks on it then I will focus on other parts of the car bit by bit as the year goes.

 

[1richardwayte]

Hello Folks,

Following the sale of my 1969 Mk2 Mini, I was able to re-visit an itch I'd had a number of years earlier, the majestic W124 series Mercedes Benz.

The last model W124 I owned was back in 2006 and it was a facelift 1994 model E200 4dr Auto, in Blue Black with light grey leather. As I found out at the time the 1994 period for Mercedes-Benz was in the early stages (many say) of the declining quality of their vehicles and finishes and indeed I had to deal with a number of corrosion issues on the 1994 car that were simply not evident on earlier models.

So, the decision was made to hunt down a pre-facelift model no newer than 1990-1991, and I wanted a six cylinder petrol model, as they offer a nicer soundtrack over the four pots.

I found a 1991 model for sale with only two previous owners in it's 32 years, Sister and Brother it turns out, a glowing history file, sensible mileage and full leather, along with the 2.6 straight six engine.

Resplendent in solid Arctic White paint, with full (Miami Vice Era) blue leather, it was an expensive car in it's day, indeed it wasn't cheap by modern standards, but what is these days...?

Some pics from the dealers advert.







It's home now, tucked up in the garage awaiting a summer of gentle miles and sympathetic improvements.

It drives faultlessly, is smooth and subtle and will be a lovely companion for days out, shows ect.

Plans are -

Full decontamination and machine polish
Seats removal and deep clean inside
Refresh the leather - clean, feed and dye in certain areas
Full underbody clean, arches, floorpan and engine bay
Powdercoat cam cover and air box
New coolant header tank
New Servo pipe
Refresh coolant hoses
Fit my private plate on
Get some original spec dealer plates made with Arlington Motor Group Northampton Mercedes Benz on

I've already sourced a set of 15" 15 Hole alloys for the car, here they are as collected the other evening..



These have had the tyres removed and binned, and are being refurbished as we speak. A new set of Continental 195/65/VR15 tyres are on the way also.

I have found a set of used MB mudflaps as well so they will go on soon.

More updates as i get into the car properly.

Cheers

Matt

You're right about Mercedes quality. Got a new B-class through Motability last year as it was very good value regarding the advance payment and very high spec compared with other similar vehicles on the scheme. But ... its build quality and quality control was appalling. Three doors out of alignment, as was the bonnet, an incurable trim 'knock' from the rear interior somewhere and numerous rattles and squeaks. In 30 years of VW Group vehicles (from Seat, VW and Audi) never had anything like this—and ALL the panels on all of them aligned perfectly. I might have been lucky. Never another Merc though! I knew M-B was not what it used to be, so was under no illusion as to what to expect, but I thought it would be at least as good as the VW Group vehicles. Oh well..!

 

[OldskoolRS]

Lovely photos of it out and about in Shropshire.