mercedade

I have more respect for someone who can do this, than someone whose whole approach is "ha LOL no idea I just pay someone". Anyone who can bodge/make do gets a doffed cap from me - and same goes for people who know when they're beat. No joke about it man - you're doing it more right than you realise.

Paid, but entirely funlessly - soz. I save my funs for the wins.

Also, are you sure it even has ABS? My Mk1 SLi didn't and that was positively luxurious in comparison. I ask because I remember fretting that someone had disabled my ABS light, possibly hiding a fault with the system. Then someone asked if I'd actually checked if it was fitted...

Because absolutely feck-all changed in any meaningful sense across the 800 range for 15 years, it'll be the same as on my 97. You can improve the bleeding experience by tilting the calipers. On the front pair, the bleed nipple isn't quite at the highest point, leading to a little pocket of air. So bleed with them swung up out of the way (with a clamp on the piston) and you'll massively improve the pedal feel. Brilliant.

I'm absolutely certain that spare parts are more readily available for that kind of Vitesse...

End of November 2018 I'm missing a few updates here (just not had time, if I'm entirely honest), but I'll skip to the end - MOT pass! A couple of jobs I need to get sorted ASAP . a) rear discs b ) A bigger one - with the car up in the air (where it's clear just how sensationally clear of rust it really is), it's obvious that there is a mismatch between front a rear springs. This isn't the usual 'the nose looks high because of the tall arches at the front' - this is a demonstrable slope at the towards the rear, incredibly obvious when seen on a 4 poster ramp. It appears it has lowering springs at the rear? It certainly has red springs - which causes me two issues. The car feels very light at the front, not well planted at all - this is obviously a potential source for this vagueness. First up, anyone know of a decent set of springs? And what differences are there? I really need to identify what I've got, before I can decide where I want to go - I'm not wild about lowering the front, mainly concerned about ride quality, but I wonder if I've got Sterling springs up front making it a bit wobblier than the rear? Note - I've still not sorted the springs, nor the tracking. That'll conclude today's update. There's another 4 months of ballache to provide here, but I'll come back to that....

November 2018 Time to change the clutch slave cylinder. Thankfully, I had a spare one in my stash so I could crack straight on. Unbolting the old one was stressless - two bolts, a clevis pin and a hydraulic pipe. Old vs new So yeah, definitely in need of a refresh. Got the new one fitted, and pulled through some pretty miserable looking hydraulic fluid in the process of getting it plumbed in and bled. Ah yes. And 'bled'. I'll be honest, it was probably my most successful clutch bleed ever, but still something I'd feel the need to apologise for to any other driver. My technique was as much frantic pumping of the pedal as possible for a couple of minutes (obviously the pedal just goes to the floor, so this had to be done by hand), before moving under the car. I use a vacuum bleeder combined with compressing the piston as far as I possibly can. Pump the vacuum Compress the piston Unlock the bleed nipple (thus drawing fluid through on the vacuum from the bleeder) Close the nipple Slowly release the cylinder. This mainly requires three arms or some careful planning, but it has mostly worked. Clutch is significantly improved over its previous, where it was millimetres of travel off the floor before engaging.

Other stuff from today is: I've fitted the missing n/s/r mudflap from my spares stash Fitted the rear-view mirror (although I strongly suspect I'll have to give in and get proper rear view mirror glue) Carried on cleaning. No pictures of that though - we all know what they look like . And my reward? A bloody water leak! Voiceover - I wonder, dear reader, if he'll remember to do anything about this....? I say leak, it looks to be coming from the vicinity of the water pump, but after about 4 mins it just stopped. Coolant level is decent, and what's coming out wasn't greasy and didn't smell like coolant. Could possibily be connected to the massive rain we had over the last week (this is the first time it's been started since then), but I'm not confident. I'm also not too worried as I'm flushing, dropping and changing the coolant anyway so I'll have plenty of time to inspect for leaks - but it is annoying.

Still September 2018 (back when I had the mojo, clearly) It wasn't until I was doing a walk around lightbulb check that I even realised this was happening. With the engine running, you can't hear it. With the engine off, it turns out the headlight level adjuster was constantly powering - either jammed, or broken. This racket is purely from the headlight. Video I briefly considered investigating, but I had a spare set of headlights, and that seemed a much easier way to do it. And now I have silent headlights again (plus the Osram Nightbreaker bulbs from my old Vitesse, so better output too).

Look at the state of that scuttle panel I have a couple going spare, thankfully. So after a brisk rub down with the plastic/wire brush attachment on my drill, I was able to give it a coating of some old school (and definitely toxic) rust preventer Fast forward a few days and I could give it a paint: Compare with the old one: Fastfoward another 48 hours: Whilst I was there, I also gave the wiper arms an (extremely superficial) blast with the black aerosol paint and it all looks much tidier

September 2018 (still) Easy stuff: Missing both the plastic ring, and the rubber donut. Not any more

I don't like the washed out beige grill: I have a black grill: The Rover badge in the black grill had a massive stone chip right in the centre, the cream one didn't, so: The nuts on both were a little seized - on each one, the same threaded stud pulled itself out of the plastic moulding on the grill, but ultimately, it doesn't matter: I actually noticed it was a little off straight after taking this photo, so it is now properly lined up!

September 2018 I'm absolutely thrilled with it. The engine is just as willing and eager as my last, albeit not quite as whisper quiet as that one (it really was sensationally quiet). The bodywork is many order of magnitude better than my last. I think, as personal taste, I prefer the Recaro seats from the standard trim over the leather of this 'lux' version, but I've no intention of changing them. I drove it back from Suffolk to Manchester on a lovely, sunny Sunday afternoon and had a genuinely wonderful time. Brief shakedown of what's needed: TrackingClutch slave (bleed or refurb and bleed - I have a seal kit)Re-attach interior mirrorResolve intermittent hot-start problem (extra cranking needed, but only if started in the 10-15 minute window after getting warm. Straight away it was fine, and after a slight cooldown, fine) - Future mercedade foreshadowing warningFit manual boost controller and boost gaugeGlue some wayward trim (imagine dashlift, but around the glove box, corner trim etc)Replace radio (currently an original, including working 6 disc changer in the boot, but has an intermittent amplification problem and, quite frankly, I want something more modern)New speakers! All four are various degrees of rotten.Replace rear bumperHoover itFlush and replace coolantRefit air-con condenser, and risk a re-gasID and fix exhaust blow (knowing my luck, it'll be the flipping flexi section again)Resolve exhaust-ish smell in the cabin (potentially linked to above, but I doubt it)Various bits of trim.

I absolutely (and criminally) neglected to follow this up, so I'll try and catch up on the last 6 months of progress (and sadly regression). A lot of copying and pasting to follow...

One random please please please. Bloody glorious, that.