1984 Mercedes 500SEL Euro

[hi its me alec]

ALRIGHT!

Sorry I didn't update much, I didn't have internet since the beginning of June. That also means that I've been spending all my time working on the 126 instead of rotting away on the couch.



So, picking up where I left off, here it was in the garage during the timing chain/intake redo.



Here's the result of my first day drive with insurance on the car. Delicious BBQ



Found this bad boy



Here's a pic of my friend's 111. It has a heavily modified 4.5L with a 4 speed manual behind it. His guess is 340hp or so.



Drove around in 'diplomat limo status' for 4th of July.







View from my new patio





Since I've been daily driving the car all month, the ride height really got on my nerves quickly. After a week or so, I decided it was time to cut the springs. I also decided I needed to go big or go home, so I cut 3 coils off.






Yup, pretty damn low.




So I took a few jerk off pictures, knowing it wouldn't be this low forever. Not trying to worry about the oil pan or fuel system getting dragged away.






Buffed the front end for the 3rd time this month



And about a week ago, I swapped some new springs in. Only cut 1.5 coils this time and it sits perfect.




Euro front bumper should finally be painted tomorrow.







Loving the car even more than I expected to! It's a great daily driver. The three things I need to figure out next are 1. A/C, 2. Driver front window doesn't work, and 3. Stereo

[hi its me alec]

So here's one video, nothing special but at least it's proof that she runs!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=garXPTDEwhE

The car definitely has a miss at idle, but it seems to get better with it in gear, and it still accelerates smoothly. A combination of an exhaust manifold tick and noisy lifters is audible in the video.

Replaced the alternator tonight and the car is now taking a charge, plus the dash light is gone. Finally a little bit of luck with the car (if you can call it that) - we didn't want to deal with any wiring/gremlins.

[hi its me alec]

Went over there to have a couple beers, ended up doing a little bit of work. I buffed the car again with foam pad and polish (holy shit, was that needed!) and replaced the voltage regulator on the alternator. Brushes on the old one were extremely uneven.

My friend was working on the chain that whole time, it turns out that the new chain won't roll in on the spot because the timing is off at the crank, and something is catching or interfering, making the crank not rotate. So, he thinks that the timing is WAY off and the timing cover will be coming off tomorrow. As always, not the best case scenario. :/

Here's a pic of the first guide - broken as hell



And another one right before we left it for the evening - with the new chain half-rolled on.

[hi its me alec]

SO, I finally got going on the timing chain stuff. My friend is tackling it in his garage (he is a balleur) and will be rolling a new chain on tonight. Pics SOON!

[Bmwadkt]

This wonderful. German Uboats are awesome... Its literally 10ft long. Must ride soo nice.

[corey]

Yeah I'm really dead set on the wing. I do like the clean/sleek look, but once the car is lowered with some fat tires and exhaust, it will be begging for the wing IMO

Cant wait to see this! Already looking really good

[hi its me alec]

Got the gas door back, took a little longer than I expected!


Didn't want to risk it being damaged by flying around in my car or something, so I went to install it right away tonight. Unfortunately I had to sit down on a snowbank in order to do it.





Gas tank is all done also! Total cost to re-seal the tank from the inside out was $305 shipped. So now I'm just waiting for the shop again.

Damn snow storms

[hi its me alec]

Picked the tank up, it truly does sound like there's a bag of sand in there.



Took a wire wheel / 1200 grit / 2000 grit to the gas cap, then I stood a buffer upside down and used that to polish it. (wool pad at 1000 RPM, with 3M compound hand rubbed on the cap to prevent splatter)


It was REALLY nasty before after being exposed to the elements for so long, my gas door had about 14 layers of paint on it and is still off the car after several months, so it took a while to make it nice again. (see pic a few pages ago for reference)

Please tell me that's going into the dash... hahahaha

lol. Naww dude, what are you talking about? It would be for the passengers in that power reclining back seat to enjoy.

[MGW]

Please tell me that's going into the dash... hahahaha

[hi its me alec]

Also,

[hi its me alec]

SO, I had it towed to a new shop with tons of W126 knowledge, they actually did a ton of grey market conversions back in the early-mid 80s, so they knew exactly what to do. Useless things removed, useful things added, a couple hidden/unused vacuum lines plugged off 'just in case,' and the car now runs great when gas is fed manually into the engine. They drained the old gas out of my gas tank, and what came out looked a mix of gravel, tar, and gasoline. So the gas tank is dropped, and I'm about to drop the tank off at my local Tank Renu. Hopefully it will run on its own with that, a new fuel filter, and hopefully not a new pump (since the PO replaced it about 2 years ago now)








Assuming it runs after the refurbed tank is put back in, I'll trailer it to my friend's body shop. I'll put it on jack stands there (and get new tires for it while the wheels are off,) fix a couple spots on the underbody that have surface rust (thanks to sitting for so god damn long,) and paint at least the driver rear quarter panel and trunk. Plus PDR and a full/complete buff by yours truly.

This winter has been super brutal, the car sat outside until last week. I stopped to see it at least once a week, cleaned it when it was warmer (above 35F,) cleared snow off and dug it out at least 10 times, filled the tires a couple times, moved it back and forth, and bought a couple more interior parts that were 'lacking'

[hi its me alec]

Well, just a couple small things.

First, this render that I just did and am semi-proud of. I haven't lost the pshop skills after all these years!





Also replaced the trunk handle, pretty bad ding in the old one







I also pried the old badge off. Of course it was a cheap plastic knockoff. My OE 500SEL badge is metal and strong like bull.

[Bystrov]

Yeah I'm really dead set on the wing. I do like the clean/sleek look, but once the car is lowered with some fat tires and exhaust, it will be begging for the wing IMO

YEASSS.... i remember my w124... looked fine without the wing, but when i got the car done, and painted, the wing was a MUST......

[hi its me alec]

Yeah I'm really dead set on the wing. I do like the clean/sleek look, but once the car is lowered with some fat tires and exhaust, it will be begging for the wing IMO

[Marsss]

Is the wing something you're in love with? cause i reckon (personal opinion here) the car would look better without it