W124 Coupe of the German Persuasion

[richardmorris]

Apparently the ones on my car are copies, but reasonably ok ones. Copies are pretty cheap (£60) but vary in quality. It's the pointy end next tot the bonnet, grill and headlamp you need to check. Feel your original ones, smooth and rounded. Copies are pointy and sharp.

[cort16]

I imagine a good 2nd had original would be better but trying to find out without the same issue maybe a problem.

For the rear I'd try to track one down in a scrappies and cut that section out. It's much easier welding in a whole part that making up repair panels yourself, which on the whole is a massive pain in the arse.

[doug]

I got the new front wing for my coop from ebay. It was a great fit. But cant find the suppliers name so not really much help!

[bigfella2]

While you have it in the air have a look at the where the rear subframe bolts to the underneath, this area can be notoriously rotten, but hidden well by the thick underseal used by merc. This area has sent many a w124 to the bridge.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

You'd think given there is some demand for them that someone would import rust free second hand front wings from somewhere dry, maybe from the USA's drier states?

[richardmorris]

Pattern ones are cheap, and to be honest even genuine new ones probably aren't so expensive it's worth importing.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

I didn't realise they are still available new.

[richardmorris]

I didn't realise they are still available new.

Everything is....at a price!

 

Edit, I don't think interior parts are, but body, mechanics, electrics, etc certainly are.

[hauserplenty]

M-B original or equivalent* parts are cheaper in the long run. Much less hassle to spend the extra cash and do the job only once. The testing of these cars, as well as thier "approved" parts, is well worth paying a bit extra for.

Cool Benz, that one.

Das beste oder nicht.

[NorthernMonkey]

Hmm, interesting! I'm going to pop over to the dealers next week to hopefully order a couple of the repair pieces for the jacking points...I'll enquire as to genuine wings whilst I'm there.

Not much done at the moment, other than make a start on removing the tint film...got the drivers door off in one piece then a wipe with some autosmart tardis and all the glue just came straight off. It looks so much better...I wouldn't mind but the glass has a nice tint as standard anyway so Christ knows why someone thought it'd look better with that crap stuck on?

[bigfella2]

I didn't realise they are still available new.

Mercedes are quite good in this respect. Mercedes are quite proud of there heritage unlike many other manufacturers. It's still Possible to buy parts for for 60's SL's from Benz no problem, BMW are also quite good like this too.

[richardmorris]

Of course, if you ask how much it will be, then you can't afford it!

Direct from mb I've had a fuel pump relay(£15), ovp relay(£85!), key(£35), cooling system radiator elbow piece (£4) and some jacking point repair sections (£25 for 4).

 

If you can get, and afford, original parts and want originality then go for it.

 

I was, according to roger Bradford, the cx specialist, the last person in the uk to order a brand new cx bootlid from Citroen. (£275 ish) in 2001. Which was 17 years after the last s1 was made. They're not so accommodating now as dollwobbler has found with the xm. This, to be honest, was the main reason I didn't buy one as an everyday car and plumped for the merc.

[hauserplenty]

Sometimes you can get parts from their original suppliers much cheaper than the "original M-B parts". Head gaskets, for example: M-B: $50, Victor Reinz: $35, Aftermarket scheissters: $20. If you ask at the parts counter, you may find, as in this case, that the M-B part is in fact a Victor Reinz. So spending time online researching by part #'s will definitely pay off. Simply type the part # into alphagooglebet.

The aftermarket parts are not tested, and often fail to work quickly, if at all. OVP relays and electrohydraulic actuators (EHA's) cost what they cost, and eBay can help in a pinch. A good look at benzworld will hip you to which parts to buy before you need them. Also there's an eBay seller called 124rescue who is quite good.

 

Check out www.benzworld.com

NO links on PHONE as I R LAZY so soz.

[NorthernMonkey]

When it comes to the mechanical bits, I always go for at least OE spec wherever possible...luckily I have a very good local factors and tend to find their prices for Gates belt kits, APEC brakes etc are less than the local Euro charge for ahem, quality pattern parts...having said that, if genuine MB bits are as affordable as people say, then it's a no-brainer, especially for safety critical stuff.

Body wise and cosmetically, I'll price up some wings from them but given that a pair from eBay come in at under a ton delivered, then that may well be the route to go. The thing is, it's done around 200k so it's never going to be a show queen...as long as it ends up being usable, tidy looking and reliable, then that's fine by me.

[hauserplenty]

200K? Barely broken in. But sometimes, parts is parts...

[NorthernMonkey]

While you have it in the air have a look at the where the rear subframe bolts to the underneath, this area can be notoriously rotten, but hidden well by the thick underseal used by merc. This area has sent many a w124 to the bridge.

I've had a good poke around there this morning...the underseal has lifted in one or two places but underneath it's still pretty solid...a bit of surface corrosion but nothing that won't clean up so that's another job for the (ever increasing) list!

[Peter C]

The only thing my MB dealer cannot provide for my W123 is interior trim. For odd bits I have to wait a few days until they are flown over from Germany. Amazing service.

 

Ditto for W124 parts. Be warned, genuine new front wings won't be cheap. That said, mint used ones are scarse and command high prices.

 

Considering the state of your motor go for pattern wings, they'll be just fine.

[Bear]

Eeep, I hadn't realised the front points were like that, sorry - I hadn't got that far! I did poke the subframe mounts at the back - had they been bad I wouldn't have kept it on the back burner. Nice work on the tints, does it reduced the appearance of scratches on the glass any? I'd get secondhand front MB wings and a secondhand bonnet if you can in the right colour.

My first planned work had been to clean the interior, though it's stripped from investigating lack of seat locking/headrest dropping which was traced to the vacuum spider under the windscreen - that's been fixed with a bike tyre repair patch, but in the long term I'd order new vacuum connectors.

[Bear]

IIRC new wings are around £280 each. Pattern wings do lack some of the precision, and weight, but some of that can be resolved when fitting - I'd dynamat behind pattern wings after painting, would probably feel just as solid.

[NorthernMonkey]

Don't worry about it....the jacking points are nothing that £15 of bits and an hours welding won't cure!

I've only stripped the drivers door glass so far but it looks a millionty times better...going to de-ox a couple of the crusty bits over Xmas when I'm allowed to escape to the workshop then start accumulating some bits for a mechanical refurb. Think I'm going to go down the pattern wing route but the bonnet isn't too bad. I'm going to paint both sides and the bonnet anyway but I'll coat the inside of the wings with loads of stonechip before fiitting so that should add a bit of substance to them. Are the seat tilting mechanisms somehow connected to the vacuum system then?

[Bear]

Yes, the vacuum system locks the seatbacks so when you park up, they can be tilted, but when you put the car in drive, they latch. MOT fail if they don't, IIRC. These do. The button is to release if you haven't switched the engine off.

 

Same initial supply also does the rear headrest release - they have to be lifted manually, but drop with the button

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

If this is the full extent of the rust and you don't find more when you have a poke about, then there really isn't much at all. Consider me impressed!