1963 Mercedes Benz 190DC Fintail. First start of 2025.

[Dyslexic Viking]

I am now sitting outside the road authorities office and waiting. The nearest office did not have available hours, so I had to go to this one, which is a bit more of a drive. And the alternator has stopped charging, the belt was tight this morning before leaving. Hope I have enough power to get this started again.

Updates later.

[Dyslexic Viking]

I was called into the control hall a little early and the guy seemed nice at first, but that quickly changed. After searching for the chassis number and finding it, he checked the seats and it went quite well with a bit of waiting while he filled in forms, but then he shifted his focus to the seat belts, which have clearly been installed recently. And the installation of seat belt fasteners must be done according to strict rules and must be approved etc. So he wanted to know who had carried out the work and wanted the necessary papers on it. And I panicked as this could become a nightmare, fortunately this work was carried out at an approved body workshop earlier this year and I had a receipt for this in the car but it was not good enough.

So he first said that I had to drive down to the people who carry out the work now and get all the necessary papers for this. Which would involve 2 hours of driving round trip in heavy traffic in heavy rain with no charging system. But luckily he agreed to call them and disappeared with the receipt for quite a while. And luckily the body shop really saved me, they were willing to send all the necessary papers and after a while the car was approved. And got MOT pass and changed seats from 6 to 5.

I'm exhausted but the car is now road legal for 2 new years and I can't explain how relieved and happy I am now.

And the 2 big heroes today were the body shop and the car's battery which managed 2 hours with lights and wipers and 4 starts of the engine without going flat. And the car got to try the steepest hill I know of in a large area and it didn't like it. Barely made it in 3rd gear and with low speed at the end with the engine temperature rising and an irritated truck driver behind me. So this is slower on the hills than a fully loaded truck which is fun.

[Sham]

Nice one, so now all that's left is the charging system before it can be properly used once more?

That should be easy* enough.

You should feel very pleased with yourself for getting this magnificent machine this far.

[junkyarddog]

Well done👍👍

[Dyslexic Viking]

  On 28/09/2023 at 10:02, Sham said:

so now all that's left is the charging system before it can be properly used once more?

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Yes, but I can't afford to do it now, and the wiring to the alternator is now so bad that I'm afraid it will catch fire. So the battery is disconnected. So because of this, when the weather gets better next week, it will be washed and driven for a short trip and then parked for the winter.

[AnnoyingPentium]

Congratulations on the MOT pass. Wishing you all the best with the Merc. 👍

[junkyarddog]

  On 28/09/2023 at 09:59, Dyslexic Viking said:

the car got to try the steepest hill I know of in a large area and it didn't like it. Barely made it in 3rd gear and with low speed at the end with the engine temperature rising and an irritated truck driver behind me.

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That would make a good film.😉

[dome]

So happy you have a pass now! Relax and you can work away at it over winter👍

[Datsuncog]

That's excellent news! Road legal, and in much better condition than it was at the start of the year. You've done well.

Enjoy the last few weeks of driving it before winter weather sets in, and hopefully you can work on the alternator wiring system before spring comes.

I love reading the updates on this car. Top work.

[rusty_vw_man]

Great work - glad they saw sense about the seatbelts and seats. Must be a great sense of relief. 

Rewiring the charge system sounds like a nice job for over winter, whilst you count down the days until it’s spring and you can get it out again. 

[camryv6]

  On 28/09/2023 at 10:15, junkyarddog said:

That would make a good film.😉

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They made one called The Duel..............................................oh

[egg]

How cold does it get in your part of the world? (I'm glad the bureaucrats saw sense about the seats)

[Dyslexic Viking]

  On 28/09/2023 at 15:07, egg said:

How cold does it get in your part of the world?

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It has been down to minus 30 here, but it varies greatly from winter to winter, around minus 20 tends to be the coldest. Looked at the notes and December 16 2022 was the coldest of last winter with minus 20.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Excellent news on the pass.

[auntiemaryscanary]

  On 28/09/2023 at 15:14, Dyslexic Viking said:

It has been down to minus 30 here, but it varies greatly from winter to winter, around minus 20 tends to be the coldest. Looked at the notes and December 16 2022 was the coldest of last winter with minus 20.

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So very cold then!

Very pleased you got the pass. Great work and all through your perseverance.

[hairnet]

5000 nok tonite m8

excellent - sort the wiring - fire doesnt bear thinking about

 

[LightBulbFun]

Awesome to hear of the MOT pass, glad you managed to win out against the bureaucracy of it all in the end  

[Blue 850]

  On 28/09/2023 at 09:59, Dyslexic Viking said:

. And the car got to try the steepest hill I know of in a large area and it didn't like it. Barely made it in 3rd gear and with low speed at the end with the engine temperature rising and an irritated truck driver behind me. So this is slower on the hills than a fully loaded truck which is fun.

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I spoke to the owner of a  W115 200D from the South West here in Ireland. He said on some of the mountain roads in Cork and Kerry he had to leave it in 1st gear!

[Dyslexic Viking]

  On 28/09/2023 at 16:54, Blue 850 said:

I spoke to the owner of a  W115 200D from the South West here in Ireland. He said on some of the mountain roads in Cork and Kerry he had to leave it in 1st gear!

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Not surprised if that's true. I probably should have downshifted to 2nd gear as I pushed the engine too hard today. And I feel a little bad about it.

Lesson learned for next time is not to care if I annoy others with how low my speed is because that's just the way it is.

[RayMK]

  On 28/09/2023 at 17:02, Dyslexic Viking said:

Not surprised if that's true. I probably should have downshifted to 2nd gear as I pushed the engine too hard today. And I feel a little bad about it.

Lesson learned for next time is not to care if I annoy others with how low my speed is because that's just the way it is.

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I would really enjoy being stuck behind a beautiful old Mercedes like yours.  

[RoverFolkUs]

  On 28/09/2023 at 10:15, junkyarddog said:

That would make a good film.😉

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Fast and furious? 

No, I know, slow and frustrated 😄

[Wibble]

Brilliant news! Good luck with the electrickery 🤞

[Nibbler]

Well done! Congratulations!

[320touring]

@Dyslexic Viking congratulations on the pass!

 

Top work!

[Rightnider]

Top work!

[danthecapriman]

Well done👍🥳 fantastic result and richly deserved too.

 

They do sound like a right bunch of jobsworths though in your part of the world for MOT’s!

 

[Westbay]

Well done … lovely …👍

[Dyslexic Viking]

I have looked a bit over the wires to the alternator and the reason why it stopped charging was that 1 wire had fallen off, the contacts are also loose on the alternator itself, so there are 2 wires that have almost no contact and one has fallen off, the rest of the wiring that someone has bodged together is also not good. So I disconnected everything except for the wire I made earlier as it is still fine. So now I don't have to be afraid of something bad happening.

And the weather is great today and the road is dry, so the conditions are perfect for washing a car. So this was washed, I try to avoid driving this in the rain but I have now been forced to do so a few times so it was really dirty.

 

So after washing it was wiped off and taken for a drive to help with the drying. And is now clean and quite dry.

Then it was back to the garage.

I've tried to come up with something after all the nice comments here on Thursday, but I'm not good with words so I've failed. But I just have to thank you all, I never thought this car would be so well received and well liked here, which makes owning it even better, so thanks again for that. 

[hairnet]

  On 30/09/2023 at 12:33, Dyslexic Viking said:

 

 

Ibut I'm not good with words so I've failed.

oss også så det er ok

so thanks again for that. 

nej takk - vær så god

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[juular]

I haven't been online in a bit and completely missed the momentous occasion.

Well done @Dyslexic Viking! So glad to see this on the road. It's a beautiful car.