Das Rüstbückette: Mein E-Klasse

[Partridge]

Well, the Partridge fleet is currently running at an all time peak number of literally 3 cars.

A friend of a friend has had this since 2002, and was going to scrap it. It's so beaten up and trashed, yet still pulls like a train and starts everytime.

I coulden't bare to see it be turned into bean cans, so £200 later it's mine.

 

And wow, what a bucket a of poo. The pictures really don't do it justice-it's far, far, far more shit. The paint is literally peeling off round the wheel arches, and I think it has ambitions of being Swiss cheese. Arches, sills, and bootlid all rotten.

I'm yet to get it up on jacks and look underneath...that will be the deciding factor in if I weld the old gal up the best I can and get a year out of her.

The bonnet is in fectching matt black, becuase the last owner never got round to painting it, after the last one oxydised, I assume in the space of 10 minutes.

 

I've done some solid* repairs to the wings, with the driver's side being done with superglue and an ice lolly wrapper to plug the gap. Might spray over it for a laugh...who says bodging is dead? 

Hell, might even try to get it an MOT next year.

 

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

This is amazing ! It's one of those cars that you can leave unlocked in the dodgiest car park in town, knowing that nobody will touch them and that all other drivers will park a minimum of three feet away

[Bobthebeard]

A comparison between middle aged German cars and middle aged German ladies possibly?

Hairy wheel arches but still do the job when asked.....

[Partridge]

This is amazing ! It's one of those cars that you can leave unlocked in the dodgiest car park in town, knowing that nobody will touch them and that all other drivers will park a minimum of three feet away

Thank you, Mr Fraud. I took it for a motorway drive today for the hell of it and people run in fear to the middle when I'm coming off the slip road. You get a lot of respect around town as well in this car! Nothing says "I have nothing to loose. I will ram you if you don't move." like this beastie.

[Bobthebeard]

Thank you, Mr Fraud. I took it for a motorway drive today for the hell of it and people run in fear to the middle when I'm coming off the slip road. You get a lot of respect around town as well in this car! Nothing says "I have no wheel arches left" like this beastie.

EFA

[Partridge]

To be honest, that's the least of its worries.

[chaseracer]

I like that.

 

[stormee]

Das Rüstbückette: Mein E-Klasse = Der Rosteimer: Meine E-Klasse

[Spiny Norman]

Funny how some of these can rust like a 70s Lancia while others can be relatively clean.

There's one even worse than that lives just down the woad from me, fuck knows how it got an MOT because the wheel arches are well scratchy, but the one I'm driving is quite clean, with only a little bubbling along the bottom of the driver's door to give away its 17 years.

 

 

 

It's quite a decent old bus to drive too, solid & rattle free with nice comfy seats, I wasn't immediately bowled over by it but after driving it for a couple of years it's definitely grown on me, and yes, it IS quite good at getting people to move out the way. I never get hassled by the 'black A3 Dizzler on the never-never' brigade in this.

[Lord Sterling]

Wow! That's is as rusty and badly bodged up as the (also) drivers side wing on my Rover Sterling:

 

[Paul Dupart]

Just for a laff, you could roll up at your local merc dealer in it, Dressed like Onslow/Greengrass/Rab C Nesbit (delete as appropriate) and enquire about their 30 year anti corrosion warranty...... 

[Partridge]

@ Studebaker Hawk.

It's not just my suspect driving which keeps people away then. Generally people give it a lot more respect than I'd have thought.

 

Lord Sterling, you ain't seen nothing yet. Wait until you see the other arch...

[Bren]

Do yourself a favour - get the front wheels off and get the car in the air - have a good look / poke around where the front suspension upright attaches to the body / inner wing.

 

There rot like fook and actually part company with the body - not good, especially when you are on the move. When this happens people assume it's the spring that gone when in fact it is much more serious.

 

A proper repair usually sends the car over the bridge - quite involved any not something you would let your neighbour have a go at with the buzzbox he bought from Aldi last week.

[Partridge]

You know, on visual inspection, those look alright. I did have a quick poke around last night and it is scabby in places but nowhere near as bad as the arches and sills.

If I decide to hang on to it, I will sort them though (stich in time and all that).

[Vince70]

As a previous poster had already said its weird how the E class can either be a complete rust-bucket or totally rust free.

 

My neighbour has an early a Jewish racing gold e class on an R reg and he bought it secondhand and its totally rust free and it doesn't get cleaned or waxed etc.

 

Yet a friend of mine from work bought a silver T plate Nearly new and the car just fell to pieces and he really did look after it and it was scraped before it had got to 80000 miles due to rust issues.

[Partridge]

Maybe it depends on where they were made? Wrongapedia says they were made in a number of different places. Did we get cars from only one factory or several?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_W210

[Junkman]

Mein Gott is this dreadful, a shame for the Vaterland.

So hey, well done!

[ProgRocker]

 

 

 

 

Good grief!   After the rock solid build quality of the W123s & W124s, how did Mercedes-Benz get it so wrong with this model?

[Sigmund Fraud]

Good grief!   After the rock solid build quality of the W123s & W124s, how did Mercedes-Benz get it so wrong with this model?

 

W123s were not particularly resistant to rust, actually. W124s were pretty good, but still far from immune to the tin worm.

[Partridge]

Well to be honest W123s and W124s could rust like good 'uns when they wanted. But from 1995 to 2001, Merc had a real problem with getting anti-corrosion right.

I assume it was thanks to the bean counters.

[Partridge]

Jinx, Mr Fraud. W124s love to go poruous around the front wings.

[Partridge]

Mein Gott is this dreadful, a shame for the Vaterland.

So hey, well done!

Thanks-I'm pervsersly proud of it.

[ProgRocker]

Well to be honest W123s and W124s could rust like good 'uns when they wanted. But from 1995 to 2001, Merc had a real problem with getting anti-corrosion right.

I assume it was thanks to the bean counters.

 

I wonder, was it the "Daimler Chrysler"-ication that caused it?

[brickwall]

Jinx, Mr Fraud. W124s love to go poruous around the front wings.

 

They're called "speed holes"

[cort16]

I've never really taken to these rusty fuglee E-Classes I always thought the E39 5 series was better in pretty much every way.

Merc must have really cut back on the rust proofing as most of them are hanging.

[Partridge]

Daimler Chrysler didn't come about until 1999 IIRC. But I doubt Yankee thinking would have helped matters...

[Partridge]

I've never really taken to these rusty fuglee E-Classes I always thought the E39 5 series was better in pretty much every way.

 

Totally agreed. The W210 is a substandard product that's badly made, rusty, foul handling and a total pile of crap.

[Junkman]

This gave me quite a rofflage, hence I've sworn to show it to every Mercedes owner:

 

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/celebrity/brand-used-a-mercedes-just-like-hitler-2013090679204

[Partridge]

 

I wonder if Hitler ever had this problem? It would be great to have him on Autoshite, as well.

[fiatdaft]

Early water based paint.