Wgl2019

Sorted. A folded up bit of paper on top of the battery to press it down more has worked 😂

I normally make a mess when polishing dark coloured cars so I just went for Wax only this time around. I used Fuso 99 Soft. It came up very nicely.




The B and C pillar finishers were also flat so I did polish those. They came up well.

https://www.saabits.com/ are always a good shout...... there's a discount code knocking about on the UkSaab forum for 10% off. 4SSXWZ

6 hours in the Saab today. Amazing how comfortable and capable this 27 year old car is. Handled the whole journey there and back with ease, and I didn’t get in any way uncomfortable until I got stuck in a bit of traffic on the very last 15 minute to home and my clutch leg got tired. It’s true what they say about Saab’s legendary comfort! 
 
However, normally I see at least a few retro cars out and about. Today, the only other car from the 90s (or earlier) I saw was a K Reg Polo…. 

Another years ticket for the Volvo...... Has had the same advisory for 3yrs, thought I had sorted it before this test but may* have misremembered offside and nearside 🫢.. Cambelt and swirl flap replacement will be next on the cards.

We did a buy today . 
wcpgw

Another years ticket for the Volvo...... Has had the same advisory for 3yrs, thought I had sorted it before this test but may* have misremembered offside and nearside 🫢.. Cambelt and swirl flap replacement will be next on the cards.

Another years ticket for the Volvo...... Has had the same advisory for 3yrs, thought I had sorted it before this test but may* have misremembered offside and nearside 🫢.. Cambelt and swirl flap replacement will be next on the cards.

Another years ticket for the Volvo...... Has had the same advisory for 3yrs, thought I had sorted it before this test but may* have misremembered offside and nearside 🫢.. Cambelt and swirl flap replacement will be next on the cards.

Therein lies madness.
Either leave well alone and class it as 'charm/character' or replace the lot. You'll not be happy with a halfway job and mission creep will always rear its head, 'I'm changing the bush, might as well change the spring while I'm there'.

Looks like they were all interchangeable after 2002

I reckon they are a subtle attempt to piggyback on the proud name and quality reputation of Landsail!

It sounds absolutely fine, just still white clouds coming out the exhaust so hoping it’ll clear in time - spoke to the chap who did my chain and sent him a video, he reckons it sounds fine and the steam/smoke/white clouds will fingers crossed clear if I keep driving it….

https://amzn.eu/d/bfybxq2

That looks fab.... Well bought 👌

So, after six 190Es, two W202 C Classes and one W203, I was going to give Mercs a rest and was happily shopping for a nice, simple uncomplicated FWD hatch among Astra H and Js and MK2 Focuses (Focii?). I soon found 2 grand or so still doesn't get you a hell of a lot, and I started fancying something that was a bit retro but still usable. I started looking at MK1 Skoda Octavia VRSs again, my old black one was one of my favourite cars I've ever had, as well as one of the most reliable. Sadly, trying to find a nice, original one of those that hasn't been de-catted, with "300 brake pop & bang remap M8", and rattle canned knock-off Audi S4 alloys is near impossible, especially finding one that wasn't hundreds of miles away.
Then, while looking at older cars, I noticed that there were a lot of low mileage, tidy looking W202 C Classes coming out of the woodwork, now that a lot of the old rusty sheds are starting to die off. On the whole, apart from predictable rust issues, I hadn't really anything bad to say about the ones I had previously owned,

2.0 Esprit manual. Owned 2006-2008. Replaced a 190E. Low mileage, nice to drive and mechanically trouble free. Needed rust repairs at 8 years old! Replaced by another 190E...

Another one in Azurite blue, 2.0 Elegance auto. Owned 2018-2019, was a temporary car to get me out of the shit when the Octavia failed it's test. Was a great winter beater, and went on to be owned by a few more shiters on here.
And I fancied an older car again to do things like Drive It Day, and a few local shows. There's an old car show near me they do a couple of times a year, that you just turn up to and park up on the show field, and they're not snobby or arsey about what  they let in. I fancied a car I could maybe take there. Now the oldest W202s are over 30 years old, they're just about starting to be regarded as a classic-in- waiting, rather than a rusty disposable shed (and prices seem to be reflecting that.)
Problem was, there were still no prospective cars anywhere within a few hundred miles...

Until this showed up on eBay, in Stockton, 5 miles away! C180 Elegance manual.
Now, it was a grey, miserable day when I took the photos of this car., so they don't really do the colour justice. There were a lot of early W202s finished in red, but the old Imperial red is a bit darker. The later Magma red is so much brighter and more vibrant, I've only ever seen the Sport and Esprit models in this, it's such an unlikely shade for an Elegance, I love it!


Yes, something needs to be said about the comedy ride height. The previous owner took it in to a local garage late last year for a service and new discs and pads. They advised him that the (original) front coil springs were starting to show some surface corrosion  and the PO had them fit a new pair.

So something has gone awry, my guesses are either,
1) using generic, non -genuine springs with the wrong rating for the bottom spec  1.8 engine.
2) front wishbones have been torqued up on a ramp with the wheels off the ground
                                         or
3) Front shocks on their way out, I've seen it happen on these and 190s, as the springs are so long and under so much tension, when the shocks are knackered, the springs push the front of the car right up.
Does seem like something to do with those new springs though, 

This is a pic from the dealer that the PO bought the car from a year ago and it looks a lot happier on its original springs. I'll get it in to my tame mechanics soon and get it looked at . (That dealer was asking 5 grand for it, although it only had 44k miles on then. I certainly didn't pay that!)
So, it's a three elderly owner, 50,000 genuine mile example. Real giffer spec for one of these, someone really wanted a top of the range C Class but weren't prepared to tick any of the option boxes, so as well as the non-metallic paint, we have,

Manual gearbox,

No air-con (leccy sunroof though),

Cloth seats. Check out those mint bolsters though!

Ordered new from North Riding Garages of Pickering (Bangers & Cash country!). Pleasingly, the original dealer plates remain, old style font FTW!

It does have history to back up the mileage, although it does seem to have been serviced on a mileage basis, rather than time. It also seem to have spent some periods being laid up, and has also obviously  spent a lot of time being garaged as the paint is in really good condition, still vibrant, shiny, largely fade free, and no laquer peel whatsoever.
Bodywork is, really really good for one of these, probably near-mint in fact. Considering how 1998-onwards cars like to eat their own front wings, this front wing is near perfect apart from some slight bubbling behind the mudflap, hasn't broken the paint yet though.


There's a small area of bubbling (less than fingernail size) at the very leading edge of this wheel arch, right above the bumper.



Door bottoms are mint, even on the inside

Rear arches are as clean as a whistle, even inside the inner lips. Want to get this thing Lanogarded to within an inch of its life though.

Drivers side lower dogleg section has a thumbnail sized area of bubbling that will need sorting.
And the usual top corner of the number plate recess (TADTS).
So far though, that is it for bodywork blemishes. I think that for a 25 year old one of these, it's one of the better ones out there.

Wheels were refurbished late last year, when the car was serviced, tyres were replaced at the same time, they're off-brand (Tracmax. No, me neither...) but are all-weather apparently....

The grey cloth interior is again, practically faultless. The seat pattern is still vibrant, carpets have been protected by the original ribbed Merc mats and rubber mats on top of those.

Vibrant orange instrument needles! always used to be a cause of excitement in 190 circles in showing that a car had been garaged away from UV rays...


Nice period window stickers, still in good condition. I do want to find a nice, period Blaupunkt stereo for it eventually, the modern Pioneer one currently fitted is good, but a bit out of place. Interesting how Blaupunkt re used their old stickers by just laying  a picture of a keycard not very subtly over the old "CODE" logo...


Nice and clean under the bonnet,


And inside the boot.

So, unexpectedly, back in an older Merc, but so far, small niggles aside, I'm very happy with it..

One of the Merc forums recommended chain grease for mountain bikes to lube them with.  Silicon chain grease perhaps?  

It was a fiver for a toothpaste tube sized amount from Halfords.  I levered mine open a bit and squirted the lot in, hoping it would make a difference.  And that it did!  Must faster and no more juddering!

Would you have listened though? 🤣

Would you have listened though? 🤣

Would you have listened though? 🤣

Surely it's a project by definition of being 35 years old and not sold as 'fully restored'? 
I can't think of a car that you'd buy of that age that isn't a project. Unless it's advertised as 'complete rebuild' and costs five figures. 
I mean think about @4wheeledstool's Mk2 Cavalier. Total nut and bolt rebuild, welded, sprayed, fettled - the works. That's now a bona-fide turn-key classic where (I guess) there's no work to do except routine servicing, just drive and enjoy it.
Everything else of this age is, well, showing its age. There's always something to fix. It can feel overwhelming to begin with but you need to categorise the jobs:
- Jobs I can do quickly. You could polish the paint, change the oil, hoover the interior. 
- Jobs I can do slowly. Maybe these need more time and research, some part hunting or workshop manual info. Eg suspension bushes, replacement diff, fix an electrical issue. 
- Jobs I need to farm out. Like me, I expect you don't have access to a spray booth. If there's welding, filling and spraying that needs doing, you might want to start finding local specialists who can repair for £££. Plan to get this done in the winter months when you're likely to be not using the car. 
All of the above depends on the time and money you have available for the project.
In the case of my Maestro, I bought it around 18 months ago. It's usable and driveable now but I've still got various jobs planned to stave off long-term decline, like removing rear beam and front subframe for de-rusting and paint.
Those jobs aren't urgent so I can enjoy it, but they'll take some planning. And with the purchase price of the car plus bodywork and parts spend I'm probably £5-6k poorer. 
Tl;dr: Hang in there. Do some planning, it's fun and a useful way of filling dark, cold evenings until better weather arrives. 

Just had a look on Autotrader for new cars between £35-40k...... It doesn't get you much for all that cash! I had a Merc Cla as a courtesy car a while ago and that was quite nice (1.3 turbo auto), just comes in under budget. I would have guessed it would be nearer 30k though.

A couple of interesting spots from around the Atherton area....... I drive past these occasionally on the way to work.

A couple of interesting spots from around the Atherton area....... I drive past these occasionally on the way to work.

These do some quite entertaining shite reviews in amongst other content and it works well (imo anyway)