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

[danthecapriman]

When I was in the garage we used a tool like this to test brake fluid.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166116867786?hash=item26ad563eca:g:yCcAAOSwPoRkbItr&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4EDpKZsHWnwYQflUc4CsB6mce2eNO9LBIzelH6cjunS9b2aM6gBL%2FpS6nAqb1lHa63LejmedhpV7AxIdD3pn5ZpyGG09DnR3F%2Fr2NtgeS9SBGlgLYo1CAeyHs5G75%2BMF0%2B2nzIeHpRkvW1h8hXd9TLCI%2F3aeXB1CTzYc%2BUeWXRUP382aw0lL5GHfcHwwOBUoCAWjoCB5p%2BZPRNn4L5EEFB5XOfvPZhAhCYQKt8U6AHNEWC5aSwQhhkcVeieY%2Bisd%2FPAd0s8dtWZ1h4x2mh6lzY70BeczBPq%2BHhVMKyGZgdV0|tkp%3ABFBMkoivnbpi

At the time they were much more expensive than this (I know because I got bollocked for breaking it!😆) 

You just dip the sensor into the reservoir and press start and it just heats up a tiny sample of the fluid inside the end in the reservoir. Once it was finished it gave you a numerical value for a boil point (in degrees) which you just compared against the figures for the type of fluid it was (usually DOT4). Below that figure and it became a recommended replacement but surprisingly few people bothered having it done! 
Of course, you could usually tell if it was likely to fail the test just by looking at the colour of the fluid.

[D.E]

4 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

 And these rules are determined by the EU, which does not like old cars.

They determined countries should have some sort of periodic test for motor vehicles, but they don't decide how exactly these tests should take shape iirc. If they did, all EU countries would have the exact same tests, which isn't the case.

I can remove all seats (except the driver's one, obviously) and the car will pass...

[Dyslexic Viking]

9 hours ago, D.E said:

They determined countries should have some sort of periodic test for motor vehicles, but they don't decide how exactly these tests should take shape iirc. If they did, all EU countries would have the exact same tests, which isn't the case.

I can remove all seats (except the driver's one, obviously) and the car will pass...

Yes countries probably have some over their own tests. But the test here recently became much stricter and that was thanks to new EU requirements.

But the Norwegian authorities have always been car haters and that will probably never change. And I have the feeling that the EU is the same.

[Matty]

15 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

The brake light switch doesn't seem to be the easiest thing to find but have found one from a newer Mercedes that looks almost identical and it's not expensive so have ordered it together with the brake hose and brake fluid and should get this next week. And all this was available from my usual Norwegian parts supplier.

And the brake switch on these is on the brake master, so it's easy to get to.

But fixing the lights in the instrument panel won't be fun as this has to come out and I suspect and hope the light bulbs are the fault.

It also rained a lot today, but the car handled it well.

I know this doesn't help, but that's not an insurmountable list. You'll have a full ticker in no time, nowt surer. Best to get it registered properly as being a 5 seater as well, will probably save you all sorts of buerocratic nightmares in the future.

[Dyslexic Viking]

15 minutes ago, Matty said:

I know this doesn't help, but that's not an insurmountable list. You'll have a full ticker in no time, nowt surer. Best to get it registered properly as being a 5 seater as well, will probably save you all sorts of buerocratic nightmares in the future.

Yes it's not a bad list it's just like I said the seat  problem that really gets me. I much rather be violently fucked with a cactus than having to deal with the road authorities.

[Sham]

Personally, I'd rather fill in a few forms - but you do you. With a cactus, if you wish. 😂

 

Good luck getting this wonderful car back on the roads where it belongs.

[Yoss]

2 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I much rather be violently fucked with a cactus than having to deal with the road authorities.

On the plus side your English is getting better. From that sentence you would never know English was not your first language. You may have been hanging around here too long.

[Six-cylinder]

19 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

 

I imagine they use a hygrometer, one of these: 

You can get them for about £5 online, although I imagine the exact tool they use will be calibrated and more expensive

What it actually measures is moisture content/contamination which has a direct relationship to the boiling point of the brake fluid

The higher the moisture contamination, the earlier the fluid will boil (lower boiling point) and fail under operation - also causes corrosion in the system

Brake fluid is definitely a highly neglected service item on modern cars. Most cars on the road are probably still running around on their factory brake fluid if the system hasn't been opened up for repair. 

I can say that pretty much nobody books their car in for a standalone brake fluid change, it's usually done as an "upsell" upon recommendation. And even then, most of the time the recommendation gets ignored 🤷

I like that tester and have ordered one. 

[sdkrc]

@Dyslexic Viking, any plans to visit the UK for some shows once the car's MOTd? The northeast WD40 is on fairly soon. Would be good to catch you and this wonderful car one day in the future 

[Dyslexic Viking]

27 minutes ago, sdkrc said:

@Dyslexic Viking, any plans to visit the UK for some shows once the car's MOTd? The northeast WD40 is on fairly soon. Would be good to catch you and this wonderful car one day in the future 

I've done some stupid things, but trying to drive this on a 4,000km round trip across Europe would probably be the stupidest things I've done.

The car is old and tired, so I think it is most suitable for quiet trips around Norway now.

So no, unfortunately there will be no UK trips in this one.

But I've been thinking about buying another one and building it up to be more suitable for road trips. Then a newer one with disc brakes with a newer and more powerful diesel engine and a better ratio on the differential. That would be perfect.  

Would you take your old barge on a cross Europe road trip?

[sdkrc]

8 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Would you take your old barge on a road trip to Norway or Spain?

My house is like Auschwitz for cars unfortunately so none of my ropey cars are viable, but if I had your skills, the fintail and spare time, yes, 100%.

I drove the ropey Visa 400ish miles without any research or checks. I drove the Galaxie 100 or so miles with an unattached fuel neck. I towed that homemade trailer with no lights 200 miles. Pretty sure there'll have been far more retarded road trips by folks on here, risky trips are the best trips

[Matty]

22 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Would you take your old barge on a cross Europe road trip?

Fuck that. I'm going just north of Leeds and back on Sunday and I've already kissed the kids and written a will just in case.

[Rightnider]

I browse Finn.no from time to time, and it seems the Norwegian EU-kontrol  is much stricter than the equivalent besiktning in Sweden. And I find it amusing that it’s called EU-kontrol in a non-EU country. 😀

[Dyslexic Viking]

1 hour ago, sdkrc said:

My house is like Auschwitz for cars unfortunately so none of my ropey cars are viable, but if I had your skills, the fintail and spare time, yes, 100%.

I drove the ropey Visa 400ish miles without any research or checks. I drove the Galaxie 100 or so miles with an unattached fuel neck. I towed that homemade trailer with no lights 200 miles. Pretty sure there'll have been far more retarded road trips by folks on here, risky trips are the best trips

I drove a 740  5800km on a Scandinavian road trip 9 years ago. But it was less tired than this one and parts were easily available which is not the case with this one.

So I have driven old cars on longer trips before but I prefer to avoid risks if I can.

[Dyslexic Viking]

1 hour ago, Rightnider said:

And I find it amusing that it’s called EU-kontrol in a non-EU country. 😀

It was a nickname that stuck an came from being forced upon us from the EU.

There were no regular checks on cars here before this was required and started in 1996 or 1998, I don't remember the year.

[chodweaver]

I like that tester and have ordered one. 

Be aware that you need to take the battery out between uses. Otherwise every AAA you put in it will be flat in a week.
Also, the cover for the battery compartment is flimsy. Once the catch is broke, and it will break, you'll be holding it closed with electrical tape.

[hairnet]

7 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I've done some stupid things, but trying to drive this on a 4,000km round trip across Europe would probably be the stupidest things I've done

kristiansand eemshaven eemshaven hoek hoek harwich harwich cambridge A1 WD40

[hairnet]

6 hours ago, Matty said:

Fuck that. I'm going just north of Leeds and back on Sunday and I've already kissed the kids and written a will just in case.

yeah but thats nothing to do with the car

 

[mat_the_cat]

7 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I've done some stupid things, but trying to drive this on a 4,000km round trip across Europe would probably be the stupidest things I've done.

Would you take your old barge on a cross Europe road trip?

Yes, but I admit I'm prone to do stupid things. But the feeling of satisfaction if a long trip is completed is proportional to the risk taken...

[DSdriver]

On 7/4/2023 at 1:48 PM, Dyslexic Viking said:

Got caught in a rain shower while driving this today and unsurprisingly discovered that the wipers are not good. But after looking a bit I can't find new chrome windshield wipers, so does anyone have any ideas?

You might be able to get stainless steel wipers meant for boats.

[Datsuncog]

9 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Would you take your old barge on a cross Europe road trip?

Yes!

Guess how that went?

2/10, would not recommend.

[somewhatfoolish]

Orl Voxhals r shite.

[Datsuncog]

They really are. 

Or, at least this one was after I'd cooked it for three hours on the M6, at what turned out to be terminal speed...

We did make it down to the Mediterranean, and back again, but a new engine was needed afterwards.

[Dyslexic Viking]

47 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Or, at least this one was after I'd cooked it for three hours on the M6, at what turned out to be terminal speed...

We did make it down to the Mediterranean, and back again, but a new engine was needed afterwards.

That's what I'm afraid of on this one. It is a low geard diesel so at 80 km/h the engine is already at high revs, hours on the motorway at motorway speed will probably kill the engine.

So is not something I want to do. This is most suitable and happiest on rural roads with speeds of 80 km/h and lower.

[DSdriver]

56 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

That's what I'm afraid of on this one. It is a low geard diesel so at 80 km/h the engine is already at high revs, hours on the motorway at motorway speed will probably kill the engine.

So is not something I want to do. This is most suitable and happiest on rural roads with speeds of 80 km/h and lower.

And it is so much nicer taking the back roads instead of the motorways, you get to see so much more of the places you would otherwise wizz past.

[Dyslexic Viking]

The MOT work has started

I'm glad I looked at the instrument clusters on these before i started this because I quickly found the wing nut holding it and after a bit of prying I got the instrument cluster out.

I'm very glad that Mercedes made this easy, I thought the dash board had to be disassembled.

And as suspected, the light bulb for the high beam warning light is dead. Have to get new ones and then a defect from the MOT is fixed

And I've looked at the brake hose that caused a defect

And it has rubbed on the diff breder and the damage is clear

So it will be replaced as soon as I get the parts. But I find it a little strange that there is a brake bleeder near this hose in the middle of the car, I have never seen this before. Anyone know the reason?

[Shite Ron]

On 8/8/2023 at 3:15 PM, Dyslexic Viking said:

Would you take your old barge on a cross Europe road trip?

I would but my cars are younger than yours. For my holidays I always choose old cars as they are far more enjoyable to drive. I drove to Spain and back in a £300 Cortina approx 1996, to Gibraltar and back in 2004 in a £400 Cortina 2.3 Ghia Estate (4000 miles in 2 weeks) Several years of LeMans in various old Cortina’s. Cortina’s to Cortina in various old Cortina’s(2002,2007,2012 and 2022) plus other holidays in Cortina’s, so I would be the wrong person to ask this. Would I do it again? 1000% yes!


 

I hope you get your car back on the road soon as I enjoy your updates and think the MOT tester was particularly harsh especially over the number of seats. I do not know how he can sleep at night, I am sure karma will get him!

[hairnet]

8 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

That's what I'm afraid of on this one. It is a low geard diesel so at 80 km/h the engine is already at high revs, hours on the motorway at motorway speed will probably kill the engine.

 

diff from a 123 or 114 would work no?

 

[Dyslexic Viking]

2 minutes ago, hairnet said:

diff from a 123 or 114 would work no?

 

Not sure if they fit. Doubt it. Maybe the W111 has better ratios? But the engine has too little power to change it. I think this has 3.80 or 3.90 the petrol version I think has 4.20.

[hairnet]

so i might have put this in the grin

want to go back to norway and this guy normally does scottish videos on trains and buses

he does euro stuff too 

and did this

i dont think i want to drive there now  do that one way off the plane then fly back to oslo

hes a gruff scotsman tho the guy on the phone woulda been told to STFU in lots of languages very quickly  if itd been me

there are a lot of tunnels tho is that just a coastal thing cos of course mountains so its not really a surprise

kim?