Elbenzo // Bagged '92 190E Project

[loekaaz]

Also blew my fuse for my radio, map light/dome light and antannae when I was fiddling with what was left over from my broken visor mounts. Turns out the little metal pieces that hang out will short out when touched against the mounting screw. Who knew.

Lol. Had exactly the same thing when installing mine hahaha

[JDMexican]

Said fuck it and installed the grill anyway. Sharpie'd the spot that wasn't fully painted black.

Super easy to remove the OEM piece and install this one. Things didn't fit perfect, but honestly they were close enough. I figured the only way I'm going to get one better than this is to buy an actual S600 grill and chop it up. Which honestly I don't think is worth it.

Avant-Garde Grille by David Arellano, on Flickr

Really makes the car look much less dated and a bit classier overall in my opinion.




Also blew my fuse for my radio, map light/dome light and antannae when I was fiddling with what was left over from my broken visor mounts. Turns out the little metal pieces that hang out will short out when touched against the mounting screw. Who knew.

[JDMexican]

So I ordered an Avant Garde / S600 style grill this week, from eBay (shoot myself in the foot). Unfortunately that's the only place I can find them and they all look really cheap, so I picked the best one. I really really like how it classes up and updates the car a bit.

I got it yesterday, and of course it has paint flaws and 4 of the small tabs were broken off before even opening it.

This really only bothers me because when I go to take pictures of my car I'm going to notice it every single time. Yay for cheap ass eBay parts. I really wish I could get a genuine or at least one that has some quality to it. But for now I'm going to ask for a replacement without the flaws and issues this one had. Good luck to me (fuck I despise cheap shit ).

Elbenzo - Avant Garde Grille - Broken by David Arellano, on Flickr

Elbenzo - Avant Garde Grille - Broken by David Arellano, on Flickr

Elbenzo - Avant Garde Grille - Broken by David Arellano, on Flickr

Elbenzo - Avant Garde Grille - Broken by David Arellano, on Flickr

Elbenzo - Avant Garde Grille - Broken by David Arellano, on Flickr

Elbenzo - Avant Garde Grille - Broken by David Arellano, on Flickr

BTW for all those wondering when all this is going down. I'm still waiting on my wheels. I don't see any reason to put the bags on unless I have cool wheels to go with it. No point in more wear and tear on the new suspension bits unless they're actually serving a real purpose (looking cool with the wheels).

[Respect Till Death]

pretty sure I'm also following you on IG alongside the 80s benzlord @190evan - been making heaps of notes about this for my own 190 build. Jealous that you guys don't have to pay AUD on everything haha!

[JDMexican]

^^ ask your mechanic to check the things I stated above!

He did start checking those things. He listed off those exact items plus some before he told me it could get very labor intensive and asked if I was okay living with a slightly rough start (not really that bad anymore). I'll take care of it later down the road.

Take a look under the car, on the driver's side of the transmission you'll see a green (or red or white, depending on the year) round thing. There should be a vacuum line on that. Sometimes it just gets unplugged and you'll see it hang there. If it's the case, just reconnect it. That is the vacuum modulator and it controls how hard the transmission shifts. It is also adjustable.

That's some very helpful information! I'll have to tackle that with the help of one of my friends on a weekend. I just found out he was a certified Mercedes Mechanic not long ago and actually worked at the dealership and the first shop I took the car to to be inspected.

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Another one of these annoying mini updates!


Received my SS-5 bags from AVS! Easy to order, prompt shipping and they arrived looking BRAND NEW! Weird... right?
Slam Specialties SS-5 by David Arellano, on Flickr

Slam Specialties SS-5 by David Arellano, on Flickr

Slam Specialties SS-5 by David Arellano, on Flickr

Slam Specialties SS-5 by David Arellano, on Flickr

Clean threads!?
Slam Specialties SS-5 by David Arellano, on Flickr



Additionally. I got in touch with the dude building my wheels. The supplier sent him the wrong parts so he's been trying to get the right ones. But they keep telling him it's going to be a week to two weeks out. I'm losing my patience. I just want my damn car to be cool already before the season is over.

[Rocambolesque]

Take a look under the car, on the driver's side of the transmission you'll see a green (or red or white, depending on the year) round thing. There should be a vacuum line on that. Sometimes it just gets unplugged and you'll see it hang there. If it's the case, just reconnect it. That is the vacuum modulator and it controls how hard the transmission shifts. It is also adjustable.

[190Evan]

^^ ask your mechanic to check the things I stated above!

[JDMexican]

Mini-update again:

• UAS bags were received by Bagriders and I received a full refund. Immediately purchased a set of Slam Specialties SS5 bags upon receipt of the refund. Hopefully they arrive soon, then I just need to sort out my fittings.

Got the car back from Dick the mechanic (his name is actually Dick) yesterday. He was able to handle some items for me and without breaking the bank!

• Recharge AC: ✓ Recharged
  
  
• Inspect Rough Start: Unresolved - He said he has a few different ideas (valves, sensors, etc.) but didn't want to do it just yet because it could mean my car was MIA for a while. It will be taken care of later on when I have a chance to do without my car.
  
  
• Inspect Rough Idle: ✓ Turns out it was just my engine mounts that had blown out, now she feels nice and smooth.
  
  
• Inspect Transmission (hard shifting): Same as with rough start, didn't want to start digging in to it without having all resources/parts in case something takes a long time.
  
  
• Lube Antannae: ✓ Lubed
  
  
• Oil Change: ✓ Changed (Mileage: 104,XXX)
  
  
• Replace Rotors and Pads: ✓ No more wobbly rotors

Will most likely be ordering some euro headlights and clear corners (because I **** amber) here soon. Still waiting on the wheels and I don't really want to bag it unless I have the wheels here as I see no point in it.

One day... one day this car will be cool and it'll be something worth looking at.

[190Evan]

• Recharge AC
• Inspect Rough Start
• Inspect Rough Idle
• Inspect Transmission (hard shifting)
• Lube Antannae
• Oil Change
• Replace Rotors and Pads

Rough start is probably your coolant temp sensor, describe the symptoms. Rough idle could be your OVP relay or your ICU (Idle control unit). Have you replaced either of those or checked if they are working properly? Also if your injectors haven't been cleaned I would give them a cleaning or replace them as a whole because that was a problem I had with my M102. Hard shifting culprit is most likely a vacuum leak on the trans or your shift linkage bushings. What's your cold start like?

[JDMexican]

Dammit, much interesting things on here. Can't wait to see more man, keep it up!

Thank you sir! I can't wait until I actually get to the part where the car gets interesting.

Mini-update: Today I'm leaving for Wuste (in Vegas) which is a pretty large euro show and the largest one within a reasonable distance from where I live (Utah). This is the show that I planned to have Elbenzo debuted at, but obviously that didn't pan out since my wheel builder didn't meet my deadline. Plus the whole issue with the bags I received from Bagriders being in shitty condition.

• Bags have been sent back for a full refund from Bagriders (after many many emails). I will then be buying some SS5 bags from anyone other than Bagriders.

• Wheel lips and barrels have been put on order. 2.5" lips, 7" barrel. Final spec will be 17x9.5+20 which should be just about perfect.

I'm going to be leaving the vehicle at a Mercedes specialist shop, actually the same mechanic that serviced this car for much of its life. I have a couple things I'm going to have him address while I'm out of town. (Some of these things I can do no problem but figure it may as well all be done at once)

• Recharge AC
• Inspect Rough Start
• Inspect Rough Idle
• Inspect Transmission (hard shifting)
• Lube Antannae
• Oil Change
• Replace Rotors and Pads

[Laef]

Dammit, much interesting things on here. Can't wait to see more man, keep it up!

[JDMexican]

Here's the things I got from the Bulgaria.

Hella Magic Color smoked tailights! Hella brand, that is. Picked these up off of eBay when I had absolutely no intention of getting new tail lights yet. But then I saw these and I had to buy them, if it wasn't these it was going to be the cheap smoked ones but I still like having genuine items.

Also, I'm going to start searching up pricing for chasing LED conversions and these very well may be the basis for that conversion. Hopefully I don't upset too many purists by doing that. (Really I don't care)
Hella Magic Color Tail Lights by David Arellano, on Flickr

Hella Magic Color Tail Lights by David Arellano, on Flickr

Hella Magic Color Tail Lights by David Arellano, on Flickr

Hella Magic Color Tail Lights by David Arellano, on Flickr

Hella Magic Color Tail Lights by David Arellano, on Flickr

Neat
Hella Magic Color Tail Lights by David Arellano, on Flickr

[JDMexican]

I think you're going to need ss5/6's.

A friend of mine has the OCD kit and ended up swapping over to ss6 bags because the UAS bags were too wide. Same situation for me but I have the gnar low kit.

Yeah I told Bagriders that if we didn't receive a reply from UAS today that I would be swapping them out for the SS5's. The diameter difference isn't huge but I'm sure it's enough to give the clearance difference at some spots.

Got the same coilovers on my 135i. Love them!

Awesome car dude. Goes for both of them.

Much thanks! Funny you mention the coilovers. They're actually being sold this coming week to a fellow in Toronto. Haven't had any luck trying to find a buyer so I'm selling some of the more expensive items off the car.

Verry nice parts

Thanks! I'm trying to do things right the first time around.

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Speaking of nice parts! I got some new parts in the mail yesterday, all the way from Bulgaria. Can't wait to take some shots of what I got and show it to you guys!

[Gab87]

Verry nice parts

[TechnoV]

Eltegra | Race Prepped DC2 by David Arellano, on Flickr
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Got the same coilovers on my 135i. Love them!

Awesome car dude. Goes for both of them.