Schaefft's Bargain Barge Extravaganza - Fleet Update

[richardmorris]

My 320 is similar - a very heavy throttle pedal. It was even mentioned in press reports at the time so not an age issue. I learned to not touch the pedal in reverse or it went backwards very suddenly very quickly.

[NorthernMonkey]

I think it’s more of a Merc thing at this age. I’ve got a ‘91 124 coupe 300 too and that’s the same, although the acceleration isn’t quite as savage.

 

The 5.0 140s can be very deceptive with the speed and the weight of them. Once or twice, I’ve nearly been caught out when making satisfactory performance downhill and having to brake for a roundabout or junction.

[Rovorsche]

Regarding the landscaping, I had no issue converting my old garage and workshop to hard standing, but the driveway to my new garage at the bottom of the garden needs to be permeable.

That bit can wait, I want a two post lift more than I want a driveway.

 

This thread is like a 90's heritage thread and has absorbed much of my day.

[Schaefft]

This thread is like a 90's heritage thread and has absorbed much of my day.

 

I'm glad I my stories could provide some entertainment value, its crazy how much crap I have done on these cars in just the last two years and things will only get worse now that I can do this in the comfort of my own property. I really hope that Senator story won't repeat itself next week in the Merc though...

 

 

I think it’s more of a Merc thing at this age. I’ve got a ‘91 124 coupe 300 too and that’s the same, although the acceleration isn’t quite as savage.

 

The 5.0 140s can be very deceptive with the speed and the weight of them. Once or twice, I’ve nearly been caught out when making satisfactory performance downhill and having to brake for a roundabout or junction.

 

Yeah, I better get used to the weight, I'm expecting many downhill roads and tight turns on this trip!

[flat4alfa]

I love this Benz in Brun and would like to say FIRST DIBS, DANKE

[Schaefft]

I love this Benz in Brun and would like to say FIRST DIBS, DANKE

 

I'm afraid this car isn't going to go anywhere anytime soon without me being near it, I'm really liking it more the more I drive it! As hoped the ABS light has turned itself off and Im confident that it'll stay that way. No white smoke coming from the exhaust either, any condensation in the system has vaporized by now. The only concern I have is the fuel gauge needle reaching the orange glowly bit of the scale fairly quickly, I'll see if this will be changing for the better anytime soon, driving it like a maniac yesterday probably didn't help with fuel economy, but who needs that anyway.

 

Have a shot from above from this frosty morning:

 

 

I'm also making the first discoveries inside the car, apparently the previous owner was fan of the Rolling Stones:

 

 

Parking the S-Class in a narrow car park actually isn't so bad either. The rather blocky footprint makes it easier than parking the Lincoln.

 

 

So far things are going pretty well, even with that whining power steering pump hurting my soul a little every time I turn the wheel. Oh well!

[Dave_Q]

Fun fact: your W140 is almost exactly the same length as my van (L2 Fiat Scudo) and just 3cm narrower.

 

I'm not finding the van to be too bad to park in normal spaces either.

[Rovorsche]

I'm glad I my stories could provide some entertainment value, its crazy how much crap I have done on these cars in just the last two years and things will only get worse now that I can do this in the comfort of my own property. I really hope that Senator story won't repeat itself next week in the Merc though...

 

 

There is a good chance I met the guy you picked up in the Senator who takes cars to Gambia, especially if he runs the auctions down there.

I have done that trip a couple of times on a banger rally, the brief was to find something German, manual and Diesel so I took

 

Chevy G20 5.0 V8 with a wonky auto box and not much in the way of a reverse gear, the windscreen detached from the A-pillar on a washboard dirt road

Ford Aerostar 3.0 V6 with an almost fully composted interior that shat its alternator at night on a mountain road in Morocco.

The third, much more stupid vehicle became terminal in southern Spain and is in a barn, it has a starting handle and weights 6.5 tonnes

 

Co part had an apparently undamaged 60,000 mile RHD Cadillac STS 4.6 on a couple of months ago.

I was very tempted for another fix of Americana but wasn't sure if my work was going to dry up so hesitated.

[Schaefft]

There is a good chance I met the guy you picked up in the Senator who takes cars to Gambia, especially if he runs the auctions down there.

I have done that trip a couple of times on a banger rally, the brief was to find something German, manual and Diesel so I took

 

Chevy G20 5.0 V8 with a wonky auto box and not much in the way of a reverse gear, the windscreen detached from the A-pillar on a washboard dirt road

Ford Aerostar 3.0 V6 with an almost fully composted interior that shat its alternator at night on a mountain road in Morocco.

The third, much more stupid vehicle became terminal in southern Spain and is in a barn, it has a starting handle and weights 6.5 tonnes

 

Co part had an apparently undamaged 60,000 mile RHD Cadillac STS 4.6 on a couple of months ago.

I was very tempted for another fix of Americana but wasn't sure if my work was going to dry up so hesitated.

 

That sound hilarious, I don't think there are many cars that would look more out of place in Morocco than a freaking Aerostar. I prepared for the case of an alternator failure and already ordered the internals for an impromptu alternator rebuild if necessary.

 

Caddy STS keep popping up on my radar. I'm not the biggest fan of them but sub-£1000 prices and the heightened chance of OMGHGF, I can't see a reason why you wouldn't? Owning one Northstar powered vehicle in the UK probably is enough already though...

[puddlethumper]

Regarding the landscaping, I had no issue converting my old garage and workshop to hard standing, but the driveway to my new garage at the bottom of the garden needs to be permeable.

That bit can wait, I want a two post lift more than I want a driveway.

 

This thread is like a 90's heritage thread and has absorbed much of my day.

I've been working on a new build where the permeable off 

road parking and drive to garage is made of honeycomb

plastic squares that interlock. Each piece is about 500mm square

and you can fill the honeycomb with small gravel or soil. With soil

you can grow grass in it but still drive over it with a car, or mower.

[Schaefft]

The plan is to build a 3 or 4 car garage eventually, the drive would still be used to park cars on there though, possibly with a carport like structure that will give them a roof to be under. That also means that there cannot be any grass or soil underneath, basically anything that would soak up moisture. I am not sure yet how drainage could be working out in this particular case, but I have a friend who basically designs these on a daily basis and there will be a solution for any problem.

 

In Mercedes news, this might be a reason for concern. I might need a second mortgage after this trip!

[loserone]

Wow. That's a tank!

[spike60]

My son spied your Merc this week near where he works in Gosforth, he has previously sent me a pic of your Lincoln wjth different wheels in the same place.

[Jim Bell]

Is that even a full tank?

Don't the pay at the pump ones cut off automatically at £99?

[Pete-M]

Mercedes throttle pedals are like that. Even my C32 AMG needs a decent prod to get properly flying.

 

If your 500 has ASR then resetting the throttle adaptation will make it feel more lively and responsive

[flat4alfa]

Looking at the gauge, it's shy of a full tank

[Schaefft]

Indeed, 99 quid wasn't able to fill the tank, a scary sight I didn't even have to endure while driving the Lincoln.

 

@spike: you gotta send me those pictures, if it's my parking bay at work next to regent centre tell him to watch out for other obscurities that might pop up there over time. I've switched from the 20 spoke directional wheels that originally came with the car to 10 spoke directionals that replaced them as optional wheel a little later. I prefer these over most over factory wheels you could get for the Mark VIII, had them on the car for probably 2 years now.

[loserone]

Have you got far dude?

[Schaefft]

Have you got far dude?

I just drove 170 miles to a friend's place near Birmingham where I'm going to stay over night before we leave for Dover tomorrow morning at 5... Including a few trips around town on Friday the needle was close to half a tank when I filled up down here. Ouch.

 

So far no issues though! The car cruises brilliantly at 75mph, we had to add some washers under the driver side hood latch that wouldn't work before and the key fob now works with fresh batteries. Pretty good start for the journey I'd say!

 

"Average" indicated fuel economy at indicated speed:

[loserone]

No bad, good job you have a helpful passenger to lean over you like that

[Sir Snipes]

If that was my c4 it would be doing nearly 4000rpm and only claiming another 10-15 mpeegees.

 

Maybe I'll blow my half of the holiday savings on something less soul crushing.

[Schaefft]

Just got on the ferry in Dover. Wheel bearing might cause a bit of noise (or something else catching on the brake disc) but no other problems so far! Used 39l on my way from my friends place to Dover which was a little over 210 miles, that equates to 24.6mpgUK, not bad considering the noisy pump and wheel bearing probably cause some additional friction.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Is that even a full tank?

Don't the pay at the pump ones cut off automatically at £99?

Yes, Mrs N's ML has never been full of diesel since we've had it. This is due to Tesco's policy of not letting you go over £99 and my policy of only paying at pump on a Friday (for the 3 days interest free credit) and the fact she won't put fuel in the fucking thing.

[spike60]

I feel a bit inadequate , my SEC only holds 90L. It has never been full mainly because of a fear of the arse falling out the ancient tank or the garden hose size pipe that comes straight out the bottom crumbling........   

[Schaefft]

Some impressions from today. We arrived in Ventron with no major issues apart from the power steering leak.

 

EDIT: I'm having issues uploading the other photos, more to come!

[Schaefft]

Sorry for lack of updates, internet was crap at our Airbnb and I was rather busy enjoying my holidays and this magnificent automobile.

 

The first part of my journey is over now, France was amazing and the car absolutely brilliant, its unreal. I will do a proper post with proper pictures a little bit later (maybe tonight), but just a warning, it will be a long one. For now, have the Mercedes after almost 2000 miles of traveling in just 6 days:

 

[Jim Bell]

Glad it's behaving itself man. It looks lovely.

[Schaefft]

I'm still not back to Newcastle but I think its a good time to sum up my trip all the way to France and report how well the S-Class fared in the week I've been there.

 

As you can see above, our first stop was the ferry port in Dover. It turned out to be the most convenient route for us as a friend of mine was living on my way there and we could stick together until we arrive in Ventron, a small village in rural Alsace with a name straight from the Transformers universe. The drive there was fairly uneventful, the Merc ate the miles with absolute ease, nothing but a faint whine of a power steering pump breaking through the silence at an average speed of what must have been around 75mph (incl. French motorways).

 

The center console storage is perfectly sized for my lunch box:

 

 

Also have some snow in mid April...

 

 

I calculated my fuel consumption on the way to Dover, apparently at around 70mph the car uses 11.6l/100km, or in the queens gallons, a bit over 24MPG, which matches Mercedes' estimates. Needless to say that this is quite a bit worse than what I get in any of my other cars at those speeds, including the Lincoln which would get above 25MPG UK easily. There was a strange ticking noise that would depend on the car's speed that came and went for a little while, since its pretty much gone now it probably wasn't anything serious...

 

Once the ferry arrived in Calais we continued our trip, having a quick fuel-up stop in Luxembourg, the land of low taxes and not much else since I apparently didn't take any photos while being there. Google maps said it would take about 6.5h for the roughly 400 miles to our Airbnb. After about 5 hours sitting at around 110km/h which should equate about 70mph, something that is totally unacceptable in a car like this, I said enough is enough and chose a more appropriate speed for the last few miles, something that was helped by a large portion of speeding cameras apparently being disabled/smashed up by the locals in the weeks prior. This would be the theme for the next 5 days.

 

Arriving in Ventron, we were greeted by the local chod, some of which included an Opel Tigra and this beautiful totally not fucked Citroen C5.

 

 

To avoid this post getting too long, here's a short summary of some of the events that happened next:

 

Blasting around (very) tight and bumpy mountain and forest roads at suicidal speeds in a 17 foot 2-ton long wheelbase S-class (while keeping up with almost anything else that joined us on the trip, which included an Integra Type-R and new MX-5s (which to be fair weren't driven at their limit most of the time, yet way beyond any legal speed limit). There have been more than one occasion where I was worried about the front tire coming off the rim in some of these tight turns...

 

 

A day riding as a passenger in a Suzuki Cappuccino (which is a very nice car and much more comfortable than you'd expect, even on coilovers), visiting local sights and historic towns for rally type event, including a cheese and a booze "museum". Having one of the world's tiniest sports cars and one of the biggest luxury cars in one group, of course we couldn't let this opportunity slip:

 

 

More blasting around windy roads in a completely unsuitable car, surprising pretty much anyone including the local bikers

 

 

Visiting a cave with obscene shapes and cheese ads inside, because France. Also this emergency "exit":

 

 

 

More blasting around while burning ungodly amounts of fuel

 

Winning a "quiz" consisting of questions that nobody can know the answer of, resulting in me having to drive around with this on the car (I'm sure the locals loved it, almost received a second one for entertaining the other group members with my driving style):

 

 

A bit more sight seeing and the long drive back to Germany at an appropriate speed (140mph was easily possible even though the car gets noticeably more floaty,  average cruising speed on the Autobahn was 90-100 which is a spot the car feels very comfortable being in).

 

In those 5 days I have put around 1800 (partially very rough) miles on this S-Class, a car that has been off the road since early 2016 and needed little more than a sensor, oil and filters to reliably get me across 5 countries and half of central Europe in supreme comfort, without asking for anything but a little ATF (for the power steering). While I was a little worried initially that things might not go as smoothly as they did in the end, I'm immensely impressed by how well it fared over the duration of this trip. Not only has it turned out to be much more agile than anyone would have expected from this mammoth, it has also never caused any issue that would have been reason for real concern, something I cannot claim from most of the other, younger cars I have taken on trips like this previously - or even some brand new cars as one of our group member rented a new 540i M-Sport for this occasion, a few hours in and it had to be returned as it went into limp mode being driven too hard, something that this 27 year old Mercedes doesn't seem to know.

 

I genuinely enjoyed my time in France and driving the Merc was a big part of it. It has already become one of my all time favorite cars I have experienced and I'm looking forward to spending as much time in it as I can. I'll get that chance again tomorrow and on my trip to Amsterdam on Sunday morning, taking my ferry back home to Newcastle.

 

 

Oh, and there might also be an article about it getting published in a Hungarian classic car mag soon...

 

(doing the photoshoot right next to a French WW1 memorial was completely incidental btw...)

 

More about the car coming soon, I've already started fixing stuff!

[spike60]

Good to see it behaved itself after being laid up, my 2nd laid up S class has not been as faultless but it is older and it was parked for longer so not entirely a surprise. I'd like a w140 and liked the SEC 500 you posted on Ebay tat but no room at the inn at the moment, I need to lose a car or two before buying anything else. Nice car  you've got!

[Schaefft]

I had to make some room for this one as well but I think it really was worth it. Even without much service history coming with it I can tell that the previous owner put a lot of care into the car, thats probably one of the main reasons why recommissioning wasn't too hard. There are a few things to sort out (fixed the softclose function yesterday) but similar to my E39, pretty much every common issue has been documented for these cars already, so diagnosing and repairing them for reasonable money isn't too hard. I think rust is the biggest risk for mine, it will most likely need some welding in the future but its worth spending a little money on it all day long. I'd get one as long as they are cheap in the UK, it'll be the last country where you can buy something like this for under 2 grand.