Conrad D. Conelrad

Not intentionally!

Upthread I complained about my wheel trims and @AndyW201 mentioned that he had a set. Well, now I have a set. And what a difference they make! A side by side comparison with one of the old ones... they really were shamefully tatty. I'm loving how it looks now.

He bought a red one because he likes Rovers of blood

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235478903284

Ford: The radio has numberplate display AND keycode AND detatchable face plate! 1997 chavs:

The decline of traditional media has caused so many problems. Last time I needed to mask up my car, I had to print out a load of Reddit posts.

Continental fuses are awful. Fiddly to remove, fiddly to insert, and like to blow without looking like they've blown. Maybe the ceramic ones are better, but I doubt it. Even if you buy them from Mercedes they're the plastic type.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/156057024453

Have you tried running with it unplugged? To rule it out as a cause if nothing else?

Here we go again. Potentiometer number two has failed. With this one it would occasionally idle too low, stalling when put into drive. After stalling, it would be very difficult to restart. So I've unplugged it. I'm finished with potentiometers, it works better with it unplugged. Cheap AliExpress OVP? Brilliant. Faultless. Cheap AliExpress potentiometer? Work for one week. I have been having some silly recurring thoughts about selling it and buying @jmsguzzi's 300E. I was mad jealous when Ghosty bought that thing, it's so nice. However, while on the motorway last night I was thinking about how much I've come to like the leather upholstery, and how much I enjoy being in the 190. It's one of those rare cars where everything just feels 'right' when you're sitting in the driver's seat. But I will keep having intrusive thoughts about SLK320s and that 300E.

Interesting article from 1959 asking why Americans are buying foreign cars: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=KdwDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA98&dq=popular mechanics foreign cars&pg=PA98#v=onepage&q&f=false also, lol

Big red CAUTION signs over the top of it, lol

noooooo!! Go and view that Mercedes instead.

Whoa whoa whoa. Don’t bring people who overpaid for shit 190s into this.

Could even double your money by stencilling the phrase "OLD SKOOL" across the rear window.

It's not all that bad. I've just spent a while on eBay and the other classifieds looking for a better, cheaper Sierra and I don't think they exist. A bit of paint, touchup and polish will transform it. The interior looks great, which I think is actually more important than the bodywork since Sierra interiors (mostly the MK1s tbf) self-destruct like no other in a way that can only be fixed by sourcing unobtainium new bits.

It's been in daily use, but no, it's not had a really good proper long run. Longest run probably no more than 70 miles. Maybe I should take it somewhere tomorrow. I didn't check, I just flung a new one on (I ordered three, assuming this might happen). Unfortunately it started to pelt down with rain before I could get the car up to temperature so I haven't tuned it with the multimeter yet, just placed it physically where the old one was. Car runs perfectly again. You know, for a week or so. If I'd known it was going to rain, I wouldn't have wasted 20 minutes getting the plug leads back into their plastic guides! Quite happy with it though. I've been cleaning up the engine bay as best I can - I don't have any before photos but when I bought the car it'd been driven with a leaking valve cover gasket and a split oil breather, so everything on that side of the bay was caked with old oil. It was horrible. On a less complicated car I'd've just doused it in Gunk and taken it to the jetwash, but I imagine this thing would be immobilised for a month if I sprayed water on it so it's been a lot of solvent and toothbrush action. This area in particular was an oil bath. There's still a lot to be cleaned but it's so much nicer. Plus, there no more burning oil smell gently wafting through the vents into the cabin. More important work done - I replaced the shifter selector bulb. I despise burnt out bulbs! I've just noticed that the window switches are handed. They made two different switches. I also went to a toy fair. There was a white 190 in the car park, and this much smaller one inside, which came home with me.

Fuel economy, if you're interested. When I'm doing my commute it averages 24mpg. Last week, when I wasn't, it averaged 31.2mpg. There was still a fair bit of town use there. I can see how, if driven sympathetically, you could coax 35mpg out of it on a long run.

You have been summoned for jury duty, because it's MERCEDES ON TRIAL GUILTY of STALLING AGAIN!! GUILTY of stalling once at some lights and me pretending maybe that didn't happen! GUILTY of stalling in the car park at The Trafford Centre, causing me to have to be at the Trafford Centre for several minutes longer than necessary! GUILTY of stalling while turning around in a cul-de-sac and then not starting again, ironically blocking a driveway containing a W124 300E! (photo taken by passenger) Mercedes is hereby sentenced to SHIT CHINESE PIECE OF SHIT POTENTIOMETER THAT ONLY LASTED LIKE A FUCKING WEEK to be UNPLUGGED (*gavel bangs*)

I LOVE the colour of that Golf!

You too?

Don't worry, I paid the extra 30p for the high quality version. Comparing the cheap one with the genuine one, it doesn't feel or look inferior. The proof will be in the pudding, but I'm willing to take a chance on it since I know I can still drive home if it fails 200 miles from home. The calibration was very simple - I painted around the old one with acrylic paint before removing it, so I could install the new one in exactly the same place. Then it just needed the tiniest of taps to get the voltage right on the multimeter.

Glad to say there's not been much to report. The evil salt!! After deciding the potentiometer was the cause of the random stalling, I ordered a new one. Should I get the genuine Bosch one.... or there's the slightly cheaper option... ...although if you're worried that's too cheap this seller also offers a "high quality version" for an additional 30p. Anyway, I'll leave it to your imagination which of the three I bought. It arrived this afternoon, and installation is almost simple - the fuel pressure regulator blocks access to one of the bolts so a couple of fuel lines have to be disconnected, but otherwise it's an uncomplicated job. The car drove nicely enough with it unplugged, but with the new one it is a lot easier to pull away from cold (with it unplugged you had to feather the throttle for a minute until it got its bearings). The old one was most certainly bolloxed. Look at the wear. That whole segment should be uniform grey. Scary how a tenth of a gram of material can bring a 1200kg car to a halt.