Nullzwei

Indeed..
Amongst other gems*
 

Odd spec hearing aid beige 190d 2.0 auto. Keep fit windows all round, steels &trims 😍, a manual sunroof & black mirrors but then someone decided to splash out on some  headlamp wipers, rear headrests and an outside temp display.  Seems a bit steep at £2200 BIN without MOT. NIce bit of black tape over the abs warning light as well.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296225970183?itmmeta=01HPVMNAXKW1AMFETQ83MNDT9Z&hash=item44f8719807:g:hVMAAOSwSndlzZ50&itmprp=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4LzfEamj1Mi4eUqLkCmGnVSuNKgmDQDnRADICCMHTbdu0RxL%2FpXnHuvrJLs58n5%2B7s37guDZliXV%2BXsrr7Skk8p2NlDq1Ijyygph8ff7v0OaWQ%2BeIF5%2FTtGPLuaF2t2X0M4p8XoGkHoZsMvgBphU5wYDiNRoGei6hoGxb8PJQNgQWmxDMllklm2vLH32g3pEdtxow1ZO7QyghzfwtlnNwSmyZFOgLfQ5JAG3XSrOTBRp59V7WhynJY47CYDXtFKJ0lmT4Kdd8jIiSfgX7GeNQtiH6qwTg6qYk000uKw38uwU|tkp%3ABk9SR-yu1fS2Yw
 
 

Worth a click. The advert includes a 2-second clip of the seller doing the washing up

Odd spec hearing aid beige 190d 2.0 auto. Keep fit windows all round, steels &trims 😍, a manual sunroof & black mirrors but then someone decided to splash out on some  headlamp wipers, rear headrests and an outside temp display.  Seems a bit steep at £2200 BIN without MOT. NIce bit of black tape over the abs warning light as well.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296225970183?itmmeta=01HPVMNAXKW1AMFETQ83MNDT9Z&hash=item44f8719807:g:hVMAAOSwSndlzZ50&itmprp=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4LzfEamj1Mi4eUqLkCmGnVSuNKgmDQDnRADICCMHTbdu0RxL%2FpXnHuvrJLs58n5%2B7s37guDZliXV%2BXsrr7Skk8p2NlDq1Ijyygph8ff7v0OaWQ%2BeIF5%2FTtGPLuaF2t2X0M4p8XoGkHoZsMvgBphU5wYDiNRoGei6hoGxb8PJQNgQWmxDMllklm2vLH32g3pEdtxow1ZO7QyghzfwtlnNwSmyZFOgLfQ5JAG3XSrOTBRp59V7WhynJY47CYDXtFKJ0lmT4Kdd8jIiSfgX7GeNQtiH6qwTg6qYk000uKw38uwU|tkp%3ABk9SR-yu1fS2Yw
 
 

Odd spec hearing aid beige 190d 2.0 auto. Keep fit windows all round, steels &trims 😍, a manual sunroof & black mirrors but then someone decided to splash out on some  headlamp wipers, rear headrests and an outside temp display.  Seems a bit steep at £2200 BIN without MOT. NIce bit of black tape over the abs warning light as well.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296225970183?itmmeta=01HPVMNAXKW1AMFETQ83MNDT9Z&hash=item44f8719807:g:hVMAAOSwSndlzZ50&itmprp=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4LzfEamj1Mi4eUqLkCmGnVSuNKgmDQDnRADICCMHTbdu0RxL%2FpXnHuvrJLs58n5%2B7s37guDZliXV%2BXsrr7Skk8p2NlDq1Ijyygph8ff7v0OaWQ%2BeIF5%2FTtGPLuaF2t2X0M4p8XoGkHoZsMvgBphU5wYDiNRoGei6hoGxb8PJQNgQWmxDMllklm2vLH32g3pEdtxow1ZO7QyghzfwtlnNwSmyZFOgLfQ5JAG3XSrOTBRp59V7WhynJY47CYDXtFKJ0lmT4Kdd8jIiSfgX7GeNQtiH6qwTg6qYk000uKw38uwU|tkp%3ABk9SR-yu1fS2Yw
 
 

Odd spec hearing aid beige 190d 2.0 auto. Keep fit windows all round, steels &trims 😍, a manual sunroof & black mirrors but then someone decided to splash out on some  headlamp wipers, rear headrests and an outside temp display.  Seems a bit steep at £2200 BIN without MOT. NIce bit of black tape over the abs warning light as well.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296225970183?itmmeta=01HPVMNAXKW1AMFETQ83MNDT9Z&hash=item44f8719807:g:hVMAAOSwSndlzZ50&itmprp=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4LzfEamj1Mi4eUqLkCmGnVSuNKgmDQDnRADICCMHTbdu0RxL%2FpXnHuvrJLs58n5%2B7s37guDZliXV%2BXsrr7Skk8p2NlDq1Ijyygph8ff7v0OaWQ%2BeIF5%2FTtGPLuaF2t2X0M4p8XoGkHoZsMvgBphU5wYDiNRoGei6hoGxb8PJQNgQWmxDMllklm2vLH32g3pEdtxow1ZO7QyghzfwtlnNwSmyZFOgLfQ5JAG3XSrOTBRp59V7WhynJY47CYDXtFKJ0lmT4Kdd8jIiSfgX7GeNQtiH6qwTg6qYk000uKw38uwU|tkp%3ABk9SR-yu1fS2Yw
 
 

Odd spec hearing aid beige 190d 2.0 auto. Keep fit windows all round, steels &trims 😍, a manual sunroof & black mirrors but then someone decided to splash out on some  headlamp wipers, rear headrests and an outside temp display.  Seems a bit steep at £2200 BIN without MOT. NIce bit of black tape over the abs warning light as well.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296225970183?itmmeta=01HPVMNAXKW1AMFETQ83MNDT9Z&hash=item44f8719807:g:hVMAAOSwSndlzZ50&itmprp=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4LzfEamj1Mi4eUqLkCmGnVSuNKgmDQDnRADICCMHTbdu0RxL%2FpXnHuvrJLs58n5%2B7s37guDZliXV%2BXsrr7Skk8p2NlDq1Ijyygph8ff7v0OaWQ%2BeIF5%2FTtGPLuaF2t2X0M4p8XoGkHoZsMvgBphU5wYDiNRoGei6hoGxb8PJQNgQWmxDMllklm2vLH32g3pEdtxow1ZO7QyghzfwtlnNwSmyZFOgLfQ5JAG3XSrOTBRp59V7WhynJY47CYDXtFKJ0lmT4Kdd8jIiSfgX7GeNQtiH6qwTg6qYk000uKw38uwU|tkp%3ABk9SR-yu1fS2Yw
 
 

Odd spec hearing aid beige 190d 2.0 auto. Keep fit windows all round, steels &trims 😍, a manual sunroof & black mirrors but then someone decided to splash out on some  headlamp wipers, rear headrests and an outside temp display.  Seems a bit steep at £2200 BIN without MOT. NIce bit of black tape over the abs warning light as well.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296225970183?itmmeta=01HPVMNAXKW1AMFETQ83MNDT9Z&hash=item44f8719807:g:hVMAAOSwSndlzZ50&itmprp=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4LzfEamj1Mi4eUqLkCmGnVSuNKgmDQDnRADICCMHTbdu0RxL%2FpXnHuvrJLs58n5%2B7s37guDZliXV%2BXsrr7Skk8p2NlDq1Ijyygph8ff7v0OaWQ%2BeIF5%2FTtGPLuaF2t2X0M4p8XoGkHoZsMvgBphU5wYDiNRoGei6hoGxb8PJQNgQWmxDMllklm2vLH32g3pEdtxow1ZO7QyghzfwtlnNwSmyZFOgLfQ5JAG3XSrOTBRp59V7WhynJY47CYDXtFKJ0lmT4Kdd8jIiSfgX7GeNQtiH6qwTg6qYk000uKw38uwU|tkp%3ABk9SR-yu1fS2Yw
 
 

Flying Scotsman at Killingworth on 1st May 1968

That was the year of the Hyundai Stellar! Completely by chance an unplanned, I spotted another on the end of a row when I arrived so parked next to it. Then @RayMK did the same!

My most recent W124 had a lovely blue MB-Tex interior.

The shad shed has had some later replacement plates…

 

 
Theyre in a blocky modern font and follow the love for black background plates. IIRC you can put these on anything up to a ‘79 now. To a number plate obsessive (raises hand awkwardly) this feels, and looks, all wrong.
Anyway- would a 71/72 k been on the more modern reflectives or the old plates? Maybe, maybe not. I wanted a bit of 70s modernist realism going on so ideally wanted a reflective set. 
Trouble is, the 7s and 8s are all wrong on these. I want an 8 to have an hourglass shape. Yes im aware this sounds pervy 😂 and a brand new number plate has no patina.
So i got hold of an old number plate that had the key older characters i was after, and added new old stock one of those that were missing.

 
I then aged the too-new looking NOS ones with some wet and dry, took it all to bits, and drilled and reassembled.
So the shad shed has a bit of a 70s sweeney / long good friday era look to it….

 

Also features in my favourite Tintin scene of all time.

NE film trivia. Terry from the Likely Lads feature film had a flat there. Bob's red Chevette HTM 10N got its wheels nicked in the flats car park. 😛
https://www.reelstreets.com/films/likely-lads-the/

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..

I had one of those rare cases today where my brain bothered to function properly so I came up with a plan for to make the bushings for the alternator mount.
I took a 13mm socket and made 2 new bushings out of it. And it worked! Now the alternator mout is fixed properly. Next challenge is the alternator the new one I have bought is not working as well as I thought so have another one I want to try instead and hoping it will fit better.

cool wood and picket range rover built for Peter Sellers


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235402474591

It's good to have fun.

 

Saw this tonight.  It was beautiful.  I nearly left my number on it.
 

My setup is less complex but also significantly slower and less gooder than @Talbot's gold standard filtration.
When I get unfiltered bottles of oil the first thing I do is leave them outside for about a month to settle. In the winter I add 10-15% petrol first and give them a good shake to mix it in, which helps both the settling process and cold weather running.
After this period of time you can clearly see the layers form in the bottle as the water and solids settle to the bottom. In a sense the oil is now partially passively filtered.
I then pump the top 80% of the bottle straight into the car through a series of filters.
In the bottle is a mesh inline filter that attaches to 10mm clear hose. I put a clip on the hose so that it sits at the right level in the bottle to avoid the water and solids at the bottom.

I use an electric fuel pump attached to a battery which then pushes the oil through a paper inline carburettor filter and then a 5 micron diesel filter.

The remaining 20% of the oil goes into a bottle reserved for dregs. Eventually that bottle settles too and can be used.
It's quite effective and the filters don't block frequently as the settling process has removed most of the crud.
Generally only the paper filter gets bits in it. I simply take it off and backflush it with a bit of petrol in a syringe. Or replace it, they are very cheap. The final diesel filter doesn't really block and I have used one for many hundreds of litres.
The advantage I find from this setup is you don't need any permanent installation or any intermediate processing and storage. It's also portable and relatively cheap. It's a good thing if you aren't 100% committed to the lifestyle and can't make space for it.
The downside is that it simply isn't as thorough as doing it properly like Talbot does.
In the real world it meant that I had to change fuel filters on the car more regularly with an associated time and money cost. Typically I'd change the filter every 3000-4000 miles.
The other downside is time to refuel. Instead of just tipping a bottle into the car, you have to wait around 10 minutes to refuel about 20 litres. At least you can walk away and leave it completely unsupervised.
I did also make alterations to the 205 I was using.
Firstly I upsized all of the fuel lines from 8mm to 10mm to try to make it easier on the pump to lift the thick fuel. 
 I fitted a fuel-coolant heat exchanger from some VAGshite. This makes the warm-up time significantly shorter in cold weather and helps prevent any kangarooing when the engine is cold.

I then replaced the standard plastic XUD fuel filter housing with a filter for a Rover L series diesel. The XUD housing is prone to leaks and with veg is known to suck air into the fuel lines. The L filters are simpler, cheaper and easier to change on the go.

Last modification was to significantly advance the injection pump. And of course wind in the fuel screw for maximum lolz.
I enjoyed #veglyf and hope to return to it when I get the BX on the go.

Now for upstairs.
There are more bikes about but I didn't take pictures of many of them. I'm not a bike person, soz.








































 

Mercedes 190e for spares that has had a bump up the backside. Interior is in perfect brown MB Tex and the doorcards look unblown. If only this car was nearer etc. May suit one of the many w201 owners on here who live anywhere near Ascot Berkshire. £550 BIN.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325950905056?hash=item4be4301ae0:g:kA8AAOSwGxdlksHx&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4C8BILSfEyApBnAk0PoHmFkh%2B2w8BrF6upg1U9hWgL1Q71tPz3ZU0BIRRmlvz0zK8J1A%2BMP%2BAlQBOuaSM6hxAPJMaSd3YRcbQjfFrsfAAR9dLMKTcslYQk6oGUFg9eyCMgspIp38nNUMwGhCbdX%2FLmWrOw6Imh%2Bf%2ByjIp412Q0g%2BxzZc5OjY5MJkOYzNprlSYi4tFD1DznX7whlhkrwURCNpXPY6ZDQWnbeJqhgvQYGNCDmK9grjuGHBRhKNJaVZX6KnCHZa%2B%2BOm3bsKuGwc5ho%2FbFKHoFyUgVDn6Qr%2FykSl|tkp%3ABk9SR6TDi9mYYw