Thursday 29 December 2016

Wiring Loom build - Planning

I have started to plan the wiring loom rebuild, for this I will need a few tools, wire, connectors and tape.

Most of the loom will need junior timer connectors so I will need a crimping tool, I have gone for a dedicated crimper and not an all in one tool so that the crimps are as good as they can be.


Then to remove the existing crimped wires you need the removal tool


The tape that I will use to wrap the harness in is from this manufacturer Certoplast

I will go with thin walled cable for the loom as this supports a broad range of temperatures from -40C to 105C.

Finally the connectors I will try to reuse, those that are damaged are available from Mercedes Benz.  I am just finishing off the change of front brake pads on my W123 and I will swap the E280 Estate into the garage to start removing the loom.

Which Caliper type do I have on my W123?

I was inspecting my brake pads today on my W123 and I wondered how do you know which caliper type you have when they are all rusted out?  It is not strictly relevant to the pads as they both support the same type on the post 1979 cars but just for the record here is how.

The ATE caliper has the cross shaped spring to hold the pads in place, the BENDIX has the two clips and has cotter pins on the insert pins into the caliper.

ATE Caliper


BENDIX Caliper


Coupe Radiator

I investigated the 300CE coolant issue, I saw that it dropped in the expansion tank by about 1/4 each time I was driving.   I checked over the expansion tank it was the original, so I ordered a replacement tank, now not everyone agrees with this but I will use non Mercedes parts for some work on my cars.  In this instance the expansion tank I bought was fine, it was exactly the same and was easy to swap out.  When I removed the old tank the braided hose from the expansion overflow to the overflow bottle in the wing had perished and split, so I replaced this with a length of automotive grade rubber tubing.  Sourcing the braided original hose was just too difficult or expensive.

Next I moved onto the radiator itself, a little look over it showed it was tired, fins were bent and there was years of debris stuck in the front. It was clear this should be replaced as good measure.  I used an OE radiator from BEHR, the replacement process is straightforward enough, you need to purchase the drain plug and correct coolant as this is very important.

Replacement is a few clips and the connectors for the automatic transmission, take care not to bend these or get any dirt inside the pipes, that would not be good for the transmission.

Once replaced and the coolant added, I started the car and allowed any air to burp out the radiator cap, topped up and took a drive.  On return the level in the expansion tank was the same, no loss of fluids, the temperature of the car was normal on idle.

Friday 23 December 2016

W124 300CE Coupe

I bought my first W124 Coupe in 2015, I had started looking on Ebay and I could see the price of a coupe was in my range. Now I will be clear here that I don't buy cars at the higher end of things, it is not that I have anything against doing that, if you have the money then get the best car you can.  I however like a bargain, I am a fan of doing my own work, I like to roll the dice in life and I have a limited budget most of the time.

So I figured I can spend up to £1500 on a car.  As you do with Ebay I got carried away and paid £1800 for it.  It was down in Essex so I arranged the collection with some work the business had down there, got a colleague to drop me off while he went to the site and I joined him later.

The seller in this case was about as private as the front page of the Daily Mail, he was a dealer operating from his home.  The car was straight to be fair to him, it had broken air vents inside across all vents but it was pretty much as described and it started from cold.  I paid him his money and took it away.

Here is the car outside my house.


I was able to drive the car home that day, around 180 miles and it was  fine.  Always nice when you pick up a car and it does not start to fall to bits 10 minutes after you get in it.  Problems found were

  • 2-3 starts required to start engine from cold.
  • Broken vents on dash.
  • Scruffy alloys.
  • NS Indicator cracked with ingress of water.
  • Climate Control not cold.
  • Paint work dull.
  • Seatbelt Butler triangle snapped resulting in flapping belt.
  • Original Radio not working.
  • Coolant level dropping while driving, around 2cm per 4 hours of driving.
  • Passenger seat small split in leather at join.
Not too bad a list I thought really for a car from 1988, my main concern was the cold start issue and the spluttering engine on first pull away, throttle needed to avoid a stall.  That said to me distributor and HT leads for the start so I planned to replace these first.


Wednesday 21 December 2016

A bit of history. Part 2

So my first young timer or modern classic was a 1982 W123 Saloon, this was almost the exact car that had made me first love Mercedes when I was on holiday in Tenerife 1982.

Below is the W123.



Now compare this to some Tenerife taxis and you will see what I mean.


When I first saw a W123 I thought this was the car of Ambassadors and Royalty, this is where I had seen Mercedes before and they were so rare in the UK to see on the roads.  I had no idea that in Europe the W123 was the go to Taxi car!


Monday 19 December 2016

A bit of history. Part 1

I bought my first Mercedes in 2000, it was a 1990 W124 E200.  I do have a photo somewhere, its a photograph on paper in the old school way and I intend to dig it out from my parents house to put on here.  The car was pretty basic specification, cloth trim, no sunroof, no air con, but it did have all electric windows and 15 hole alloys.  Back then I had not got a clue what a VIN was I just knew I had a Mercedes and I loved it, my clients used to ask why I had an old mans car but I knew I was on the right path.

I went through a few different cars to where I am today, but they did include a W220 320 CDI, W208 CLK 320, W123 230E and W124 300CE before ending up where I am today.

W220 320 CDI - Almandine Black. This had Brabus styling all over, factory option added by a Sheik who had bought the car in Monaco.


W208 CLK 320 - Vivante Green.  This was actually a really good drive, the V6 is a great engine and the CLK a good drive.  These cars are unloved and are a good buy right now, watch out for rust and you can get a bargain couple or cabriolet.


Saturday 17 December 2016

1995 W124 E280 Estate

So here is the car itself now on my drive. This is a 1995 E280 Estate with over 265000 miles on the odometer.  It runs and drives but has no MOT at present. The car cost me £250 and the shipping was £210 to get it back so all in it owes £460.