HMC- Lada back from exile

[HMC]

It’s (The s210) been looking a lot tidier since I did my usual w210 chassis  initial cosmetic de-rust on this tub; wire brush in angle grinder and then zinga followed by a touch up paint. Low skill but fairly effective at 10 paces. Despite tanzanite blue being special order it was available through my preferred e bay vendor to splodge over the zinc coating i applied. For want of a nail, a kingdom was lost @daimlerbenz
 

[320touring]

Glad you are taking care of my future automobile😀

[OM646]

5 hours ago, HMC said:

It’s (The s210) been looking a lot tidier since I did my usual w210 chassis  initial cosmetic de-rust on this tub; wire brush in angle grinder and then zinga followed by a touch up paint. Low skill but fairly effective at 10 paces. Despite tanzanite blue being special order it was available through my preferred e bay vendor to splodge over the zinc coating i applied. For want of a nail, a kingdom was lost @daimlerbenz
 

What ebay vendor do you use?

Ive been importing my touch-up paint from the UK, from Myldan Auto Design, and it's been great. 

This bumper corner was completely knackered and missing paint, from the previous owner. Ordered some Obsidian Black from that vendor and it matches pretty well

[Talbot]

On 2/27/2021 at 2:29 PM, Fumbler said:

Yeowch! Last place I expected rust would be at the tops of the passenger doors. They really do like to dissolve everywhere it seems.

S210 Rear doors (which are specific to the S210, W210 rear doors are very different) are well known for the top edge going like that.  Mine are on their way (although not that bad).

There's a fair few places that the S210 absolutely and categorically will be rusty.  Some matter, others not so much.  I will bet one shiny pound that this one is rusty:

• On the rear door tops (we know that already)
• In the spare wheel well, towards the front of the car.
• On the tailgate, usually at the lower edge of the glass, often around the high-level brake lamp.
• At the trailing end of the sills. (shared issue with W210)
• In the front wings ahead of the front wheel (also W210 shared issue)
• In the front spring perches (+W210 again)

The darker colour cars are worse for it.  Black is especially bad, with plain flat black (not metallic) being the absolute worst.  Silver cars seem to survive well, which I think is why so many W210/S210 left are silver.  There's some traction in the theory that as silver cars were more popular, the silver paint was used more often, hence had less bacterial growth in it and the associated pipework, meaning it was a better protector.  Less common colours had more bacterial growth in them as they weren't used as often, hence the cars rotted faster as the paint was less protective.  Certainly on a quick poll of all the 210s I've seen left, most of them are silver and any that aren't are significantly (sometimes spectacularly) rusty.

[Cookiesouwest]

Another theory is, they are all bad for rust and more silvers still exist, because they sold more in silver.

[HMC]

I have done a buy. It was going to be a convertible but the right car never seemed to come up at the right price. Instead I decided I needed another Mercedes 7 seater so have ended up buying an e280 that was local. Is buying blind a good idea on these? I’d normally say no. Will the Rear subframe be attached to the body shell? The vendor is long term, solid feedback And has looked after it for 6 years- time will tell! 
 

 

[wuvvum]

That's actually pretty decent value for an MOT'd S124 these days.

[BorniteIdentity]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

I have done a buy. It was going to be a convertible but the right car never seemed to come up at the right price. Instead I decided I needed another Mercedes 7 seater so have ended up buying an e280 that was local. Is buying blind a good idea on these? I’d normally say no. Will the Rear subframe be attached to the body shell? The vendor is long term, solid feedback And has looked after it for 6 years- time will tell! 
 

 

God damn I love these old Hectors. LPG too for the win! Two tickets please. 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

4 hours ago, wuvvum said:

That's actually pretty decent value for an MOT'd S124 these days.

Neighbour opposite ran one for a few years as a successor to her S123, then chopped it in for a W211 on the basis that the S124 wouldn't be ULEZ-compliant

[HMC]

I’ve been a bit rubbish with photos here as I’ve been busy with other things. Here the e280 is on the school run and showing it’s slightly delapidated patina. The actual metalwork is surprisingly solid- wings decent, rear / side windows, spring perches Surrounded by solid metal etc. A more thorough assessment will have to wait but I’m pretty happy with it. It’s even got an unworn driver seat bolster 👀

[OM646]

This is making my classic Merc itch come back, I'm fancying a 124 or 201 again...

[83C]

Oooh smoke silver S124. 

Fantastic 😎

[HMC]

Sit rep. S124 in daily use. Minor niggles include stiff accelerator and some minor electrical niggles. Sunroof inoperative, dash lights inoperative, central locking being wierd (more air related than electrical as the vacuum pump sounds like it’s working) 2.8 straight 6 is willing but not all that fast but makes a nice noise. I read 190bhp which feels about right; 2.2/4cyl is about 150bhp and IIRC 320/6 is 220bhp ish so slots in between.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the 320 but @richardmorris apparently the suspension bottom arms are so fiddly and expensive to replace/ bespoke to that model, one specialist uses that as one reason to avoid the 320. Unsure if pub lore or true.

It’s got the more robust 4 speed rather than extra extra cost option 5 speeder auto  which is known for being a bit more Flakey. The engine wiring loom has also been replaced; the ones on these later w124  280/320 6s are known for biodegrading or something like that. Mercedes 90s eco credentials all seem to have been epic fails as far as I can tell as far as product longevity is concerned (see also - water based paint)

I also took a few more pictures mainly so I could get a bete noir of lazy magazine captions thrown in.

HEWN FROM GRANITE @BorniteIdentity.  And a Mercedes.

 

[Cord Fourteener]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

I also took a few more pictures mainly so I could get a bete noir of lazy magazine captions thrown in.

Blends in nicely with the Welsh/Scottish/Lakeland/West Country Northern/Southern stone work, and will last about as long. 

How's that for a  magazine caption?

[richardmorris]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

Sit rep. S124 in daily use. Minor niggles include stiff accelerator and some minor electrical niggles. Sunroof inoperative, dash lights inoperative, central locking being wierd (more air related than electrical as the vacuum pump sounds like it’s working) 2.8 straight 6 is willing but not all that fast but makes a nice noise. I read 190bhp which feels about right; 2.2/4cyl is about 150bhp and IIRC 320/6 is 220bhp ish so slots in between.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the 320 but @richardmorris apparently the suspension bottom arms are so fiddly and expensive to replace/ bespoke to that model, one specialist uses that as one reason to avoid the 320. Unsure if pub lore or true.

It’s got the more robust 4 speed rather than extra extra cost option 5 speeder auto  which is known for being a bit more Flakey. The engine wiring loom has also been replaced; the ones on these later w124  280/320 6s are known for biodegrading or something like that. Mercedes 90s eco credentials all seem to have been epic fails as far as I can tell as far as product longevity is concerned (see also - water based paint)

I also took a few more pictures mainly so I could get a bete noir of lazy magazine captions thrown in.

HEWN FROM GRANITE @BorniteIdentity.  And a Mercedes.

 

Looks great. The 320 wishbones are integral with the balljoint so you have to replace the lot when the balljoint fails. To be honest it wasn’t that bad - I had to get it done at the main dealer and it was about £750.

 

i had the head gasket and parts of the loom replaced by a local specialist ( whose day job was at a main dealer)  for about £700.

 

Now it needs work to the rear suspension mounting and the other front wishbone. Mine is now on 130,000 after my 9years.

[richardmorris]

Re your dash lights. Try twiddling the trip odometer Reset button.

[Marm Toastsmith]

This is nice.

My mate had one for years which had a host of ongoing electrical gremlins. He eventually got fed up enough that he hired an auto electrician to do come out and do diagnostics - tracing the faults all down to one control module. I took a wild guess that it might have dry solder joints on the board and spent 15 minutes reflowing the joints. It sorted it for good.

[Jim Bell]

That looks mega mcsmart. Well bought man. 

[HMC]

Success in stages with this s124. I held high hopes that cleaning up the corroded fuses would help with random electrical issues. The clean up resulted in functioning fog lamps but little else. I pulled the instrument cluster pack out and found a broken joint in the panel light dimmer switch which should be an easy fix. I also found a copy of the factory build sheet hidden  there since september 1993....

 

[Lord Sterling]

Oh dear. I had one id these and loved it. It was cruely taken away from me one day 😢

First dibs?

[HMC]

24 minutes ago, Lord Sterling said:

Oh dear. I had one id these and loved it. It was cruely taken away from me one day 😢

First dibs?

I remember yours, wasn’t it ex @worldofceri and it had a colourful end? Looks a lot tidier than mine!

[worldofceri]

Yes. I bought it in the dark and only the day after I got it home realised it was absolutely hanging. Spent ages trying to clean it, after which  it took five of us on a week’s holiday to Denmark without missing a beat (although it did leave an oil trail).

 I didn’t have the stomach for the suspension work it needed, but LS managed to sort it reasonably cheaply, I seem to recall. It then rewarded him with collapsing front suspension, and once that was fixed, someone drove into him  and wrote it off.

[Lord Sterling]

2 hours ago, worldofceri said:

I didn’t have the stomach for the suspension work it needed, but LS managed to sort it reasonably cheaply, I seem to recall. It then rewarded him with collapsing front suspension, and once that was fixed, someone drove into him  and wrote it off.

That is indeed correct.  I did loads of stuff to that car and in the end someone just drove into me trying to pull a u-turn without checking their mirror.

I kept it for a while after thinking I coukd try and get it sorted but alas things got so tight I had to sell.

The best and most enjoyable car I ever had.

[twosmoke300]

Just to let you know @HMC - im looking to scratch the Merc itch soon - I await your for sale posts 🤣

[320touring]

18 hours ago, Lord Sterling said:

Oh dear. I had one id these and loved it. It was cruely taken away from me one day 😢

First dibs?

Sorry @Lord Sterling & @twosmoke300

 

I called dibs ages ago😂

 

it is a nice big bus!

[HMC]

W124 loaded and about to set off do a socially distanced deal with another shiter.

[HMC]

[Marm Toastsmith]

Pretty sure I know this car! it's. nice one.

[gadgetgricey]

43 minutes ago, marm said:

Pretty sure I know this car! it's. nice one.

Yep, fantastic front spotlights

[Marm Toastsmith]

Sure I saw it advertised locally a while back... unless it's just very similar.