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I've been wanting to post a build thread for some time now but didn't want it to turn into one of those incomplete dead builds... But now that the car is past the point of no return, the time has come to share the rest of the journey with you all here.
I always wanted to do a cool 190e build, but I never could figure out what to do that would (in my eyes) be unique...until I found some inspiration in a place where things go to die. There is a decently long story about this car and how it all started so I will try to make this as quick and painless for you as I possibly can.
So before this I had a W124 estate, which was good but I was ready to move on to something else. While the car was for sale and I was looking for what was next I got a lead that there was a very rare interior in a 190e at a local junkyard (a car I didn't even have yet) but when opportunity presents itself sometimes you just need to wing. So I did. I went up the next day and low and behold there it was, a 1993 Avantgarde Rosso with complete interior. Most of you may have no clue to what that is and to be honest why would you, but I will give you a little info about it...ITS RARE... very rare to the point that it is the only set in the US. So what did I do?
I pulled it and took it home with me, every single piece I would need. But I still don't have a car for it so I started hunting down what I needed. I got lucky and a friend with a black on black 2.6 5 speed 190e was willing to trade me for my wagon, and within that week I went and did the deal. Now great, I got the car we're done right?? Not as easily as I had hoped... The car needed work, so much work intact that It was easier to just buy another normal 190e and swap and build one good complete car...and thats exactly what I did. I scoured craigslist until I found just what I was after a 1989 190e 2.6 auto in blue black metallic.
After months of swapping things over, tinkering, fixing and buying parts the car is finally on the home stretch and at this point I will share some pictures.
Enjoy!
Here is the interior the day I got it home, and my Old wagon in the back.
The first 190e
Then the second 190e
I decided to buy some coil overs from Catuned
Suspension installed but not yet dialed in on the old wheels
Bought a set of some RS 198's and added my Design Line caps I had sitting around
Got my tires in from Toyo
Found a genuine BBS 3 spoke steering wheel along with the matching hub and had it shipped from Norway.
Steering wheel installed (don't mind the auto, the manual still needs to be swapped in but thats delayed for other reasons)
Wheels mounted on, still need to fine tune the height and do some fender magic to get it right.
There is a good bit left that needs to be done, and a few more parts that need to be sourced , but as of now thats what I got.
Thanks!
I always wanted to do a cool 190e build, but I never could figure out what to do that would (in my eyes) be unique...until I found some inspiration in a place where things go to die. There is a decently long story about this car and how it all started so I will try to make this as quick and painless for you as I possibly can.
So before this I had a W124 estate, which was good but I was ready to move on to something else. While the car was for sale and I was looking for what was next I got a lead that there was a very rare interior in a 190e at a local junkyard (a car I didn't even have yet) but when opportunity presents itself sometimes you just need to wing. So I did. I went up the next day and low and behold there it was, a 1993 Avantgarde Rosso with complete interior. Most of you may have no clue to what that is and to be honest why would you, but I will give you a little info about it...ITS RARE... very rare to the point that it is the only set in the US. So what did I do?
I pulled it and took it home with me, every single piece I would need. But I still don't have a car for it so I started hunting down what I needed. I got lucky and a friend with a black on black 2.6 5 speed 190e was willing to trade me for my wagon, and within that week I went and did the deal. Now great, I got the car we're done right?? Not as easily as I had hoped... The car needed work, so much work intact that It was easier to just buy another normal 190e and swap and build one good complete car...and thats exactly what I did. I scoured craigslist until I found just what I was after a 1989 190e 2.6 auto in blue black metallic.
After months of swapping things over, tinkering, fixing and buying parts the car is finally on the home stretch and at this point I will share some pictures.
Enjoy!
Here is the interior the day I got it home, and my Old wagon in the back.
The first 190e
Then the second 190e
I decided to buy some coil overs from Catuned
Suspension installed but not yet dialed in on the old wheels
Bought a set of some RS 198's and added my Design Line caps I had sitting around
Got my tires in from Toyo
Found a genuine BBS 3 spoke steering wheel along with the matching hub and had it shipped from Norway.
Steering wheel installed (don't mind the auto, the manual still needs to be swapped in but thats delayed for other reasons)
Wheels mounted on, still need to fine tune the height and do some fender magic to get it right.
There is a good bit left that needs to be done, and a few more parts that need to be sourced , but as of now thats what I got.
Thanks!
I was going to 3.6 swap it but Im trying to keep cost down since this is just a cheap little fun project for me. My fun car is the one in my signature.
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