1963 Mercedes Benz 190DC Fintail. First start of 2026 and servicing.

[artdjones]

3 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Got hold of some other light bulbs and these fit, so now the main beam signal light works again.

The next thing was the left rear brake hose. And this went very well. Fortunately, someone before me did as I do and covered all brake pipe/hose connections with wax/underseal, which meant that the brake hose came off without a problem. I will again cover the connectors with wax/underseal when they are dry.

New one on

And things have gone too well now so of course something must go wrong now. When I had to loosen the left rear bleed nipple, it snapped right off without using any force. So new wheel cylinder are on the list of things to do.

So new wheel cylinders for all 4 corners and a complete brake set must be ordered and I think I'll take a little car break now. And I hate drum brakes.

Once you get it through the test and take it for a nice 50 km drive all the angst will melt away. 

[320touring]

Making grand progress on this @Dyslexic Viking!

 

Good work!

[Dyslexic Viking]

50 minutes ago, artdjones said:

Once you get it through the test and take it for a nice 50 km drive all the angst will melt away. 

It will. 

I'm just a little tired of everything now becoming much more work than expected.

[Dyslexic Viking]

I'm still waiting for parts, but had the electric trailer connector on it tested on my trailer today and the new connector works. So then one problem is fixed.

[Dyslexic Viking]

But of course since something has been fixed, something else has gone wrong, a brake pipe has now failed and it's leaking brake fluid now. Great just great.

I barely breathed on that brake pipe for it to fail. And all brake breathers are rusted solid, so the only solution is to replace all wheel cylinders. So I've got enough so when I get the parts I'll have this towed up to the local garage and let them fix it and go through the full brake system so I'll can get some confidence in it.

This is a 1 circuit braking system so I don't want to take any chances.

[Sham]

1 minute ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

This is a 1 circuit braking system so I don't want to take any chances.

Quite right - better to invest in parts that aren't strictly needed if they're available. It's not only your life on the line, so absolutely better to be safe rather than sorry.

[Scruffy Bodger]

2 minutes ago, Sham said:

Quite right - better to invest in parts that aren't strictly needed if they're available. It's the poor old Merc on the line, so absolutely better to be safe rather than sorry.

FTFY

[rusty_vw_man]

6 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

But of course since something has been fixed, something else has gone wrong, a brake pipe has now failed and it's leaking brake fluid now. Great just great.

I barely breathed on that brake pipe for it to fail. And all brake breathers are rusted solid, so the only solution is to replace all wheel cylinders. So I've got enough so when I get the parts I'll have this towed up to the local garage and let them fix it and go through the full brake system so I'll can get some confidence in it.

This is a 1 circuit braking system so I don't want to take any chances.

It seems to be fighting you all the way - how frustrating! It’s a horrible feeling when you put the spanner on and the bleed nipple just shears straight off. 

Single circuit brakes are worth getting right as you say. 

You seem to making excellent progress though, even if it doesn’t feel y it to you right now!! 

[Dyslexic Viking]

11 hours ago, rusty_vw_man said:

It seems to be fighting you all the way - how frustrating!

It is frustrating but is to be expected, the car is old has high mileage and has been poorly maintained in recent decades.

But is the lack of maintenance that really annoys me like I have never seen so much oil sludge come out of an engine as on this one. But things will improve with time, I believe and hope so. 

[egg]

I don't want to get too much into politics, but I'll risk asking this question - with a quarter of Norway's private cars now being electric - how is driving an old ICE car received? 

[rainagain]

Regarding your sound insulation still letting engine noise through, I’d say it sounds like (pardon the pun) there could be a poorly fitting grommet or other hole in the firewall that is letting noise through. Even a tiny hole can allow a lot noise through. 
 

Get a tonal generator for your phone and set it to a reasonable high note and then have someone wave it around in the engine bay while you get the great job of sticking your head in both footwells to see if you can hear any noise. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

47 minutes ago, rainagain said:

Regarding your sound insulation still letting engine noise through, I’d say it sounds like (pardon the pun) there could be a poorly fitting grommet or other hole in the firewall that is letting noise through. Even a tiny hole can allow a lot noise through. 
 

Get a tonal generator for your phone and set it to a reasonable high note and then have someone wave it around in the engine bay while you get the great job of sticking your head in both footwells to see if you can hear any noise. 

It is several grommets missing and the plan is to get this fixed and some are where the heater hoses go. So it probably lets a lot of noise through, as you say, a lot of heat also gets through. And they are easy to spot in the engine compartment, but a good tip you have there to finding the holes, thanks.

[Dyslexic Viking]

2 hours ago, egg said:

I don't want to get too much into politics, but I'll risk asking this question - with a quarter of Norway's private cars now being electric - how is driving an old ICE car received? 

If the source is correct, the share of electric cars was 21 percent at the turn of the year 2022/2023 here. So there are still many ICE cars on the road and will be for a long time to come. With the exception of the crazy green weirdos in our cities, driving an ICE car is nothing wrong and normal for normal people here.

[egg]

Cool, another Norwegian myth de-bunked by our northern correspondent!

[Dyslexic Viking]

Finally got parts today. In my frustration with Autodoc's glacial pace, I found and ordered another brake light switch on ebay and I'm glad I did as it turned out to be a Bosch one and it fit! So then the brake lights work again.

 

I also got the brake parts and think they will fit but am a bit unsure about the brake shoes, will do some research on those and other parts to be sure. Got these from my usual Norwegian parts supplier nice that they could get parts for this.

And have spoken to the local garage and they will take on the brake work on this one and had free time on the 14th of September so it will go in then.

I have also been given an appointment with the authorities on 28 September for the seating.

So if all goes well, this will be approved and on the road again at the end of September so I can drive it a bit before winter storage.

[Dyslexic Viking]

The brake shoes I received are of course wrong. Strange for 3-4 different pages list these parts for these but they are actually parking brake shoes for newer Mercedes.

So the correct ones are ordered from a Mercedes specialist for a frightening amount of money. But what can one do, hope they arrive in time.

[Dyslexic Viking]

The rear brake drums are easy to remove so took one off and you can clearly see how wrong the brake shoes I got are.

But the brake shoes that are there still have a lot of life in them but want a new set so the garage is not stuck due to a lack of parts if new ones are needed. 

The spring and accessory kits also appear to be wrong. But some parts may fit and have ordered what I could from the Mercedes specialist and am considering looking at kits for the MB TN as they may have drums at the back. So with all this, hopefully it's enough for them to get something to work.

 

I will be very happy and relieved when all this is over and the car has passed the MOT and I can drive it again.

[egg]

Keep up the good work, nice to see your perseverance. 

[320touring]

Making great progress! Keep going @Dyslexic Viking😁

[rainagain]

That’s not a brake shoe, this is a brake shoe

[captain_70s]

Just to make you feel better about yours, here is what a fintail looks like and costs in Scotland...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335004337203?hash=item4dffd08433:g:L~kAAOSwlRRk6e3D

"Restoration", weird way of saying "sweep into the bin".

[Dyslexic Viking]

43 minutes ago, captain_70s said:

Just to make you feel better about yours, here is what a fintail looks like and costs in Scotland...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335004337203?hash=item4dffd08433:g:L~kAAOSwlRRk6e3D

"Restoration", weird way of saying "sweep into the bin".

Yes that's a parts car, start poking at it and there wont be much left.

And the price is a bit high but not too bad. For comparison, the one below is now the cheapest one in Germany and it is 1,500 euros.

https://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/details.html?id=370408075&damageUnrepaired=NO_DAMAGE_UNREPAIRED&grossPrice=true&isSearchRequest=true&makeModelVariant1.makeId=17200&maxFirstRegistrationDate=1968-12-31&maxPrice=50000&minFirstRegistrationDate=1960-01-01&pageNumber=1&scopeId=C&sortOption.sortBy=searchNetGrossPrice&sortOption.sortOrder=ASCENDING&fnai=prev&searchId=e7f65fc9-3d77-a44e-e2e9-f7025a27e05f&ref=srp

And this is the cheapest 6cyl W111 in Germany 4900 euros.

https://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/details.html?id=335797195&damageUnrepaired=NO_DAMAGE_UNREPAIRED&grossPrice=true&isSearchRequest=true&makeModelVariant1.makeId=17200&maxFirstRegistrationDate=1968-12-31&maxPrice=50000&minFirstRegistrationDate=1960-01-01&pageNumber=3&scopeId=C&sortOption.sortBy=relevance&fnai=next&searchId=4a361957-c503-0961-17e8-5731dbbe9be8&ref=srp

[juular]

1 hour ago, captain_70s said:

Just to make you feel better about yours, here is what a fintail looks like and costs in Scotland...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335004337203?hash=item4dffd08433:g:L~kAAOSwlRRk6e3D

"Restoration", weird way of saying "sweep into the bin".

The most amusing thing about that is that they bothered to wash it, rather than keep the magical barn dust that adds £3k to the asking price.

I suspect it was more intact before they ran a hose over it.

[captain_70s]

I've just spotted it was taxed/MOT'd until 2007!

[Dyslexic Viking]

12 minutes ago, juular said:

I suspect it was more intact before they ran a hose over it

Parts did fall off it during the wash

[DodgeRover]

2 hours ago, captain_70s said:

Just to make you feel better about yours, here is what a fintail looks like and costs in Scotland...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335004337203?hash=item4dffd08433:g:L~kAAOSwlRRk6e3D

"Restoration", weird way of saying "sweep into the bin".

Good lord, Ive seen and posted better fintails offered by banger racers at a quarter of that price!

[Dyslexic Viking]

I finally got the last brake parts today. So then it is ready to go to the garage next week. They are doing me a big favor by taking on the brake job on this, few let the customers bring parts here and few want to work on cars like this. So I have done everything I can to make it as nice as possible for them. So have bought everything in the brake system apart from the drums and master  so they won't be missing parts and have labeled/marked and organized everything.

 

The only downside to this is the cost. Below is one of 4 front brake shoes, they cost 96 euros plus VAT per piece. This should give you an idea of how bad this is.

 

This has been a rough year financially thanks to this car and could probably done things a bit cheaper but will not cut corners on it as want everything done to it to be done right.

But it has affected my mood and made me consider why I'm doing this to myself if I'm honest, but most of us probably get to that point sooner or later. But next year will hopefully be better, just have to spend the winter to figure out how to pay for all this.

[juular]

21 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

but most of us probably get to that point sooner or late

Absolutely this is the case.

Also, you have an appreciating asset, rather than an old shitter that's being nursed along that's going to eventually be worth nothing.

[artdjones]

2 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I finally got the last brake parts today. So then it is ready to go to the garage next week. They are doing me a big favor by taking on the brake job on this, few let the customers bring parts here and few want to work on cars like this. So I have done everything I can to make it as nice as possible for them. So have bought everything in the brake system apart from the drums and master  so they won't be missing parts and have labeled/marked and organized everything.

 

The only downside to this is the cost. Below is one of 4 front brake shoes, they cost 96 euros plus VAT per piece. This should give you an idea of how bad this is.

 

This has been a rough year financially thanks to this car and could probably done things a bit cheaper but will not cut corners on it as want everything done to it to be done right.

But it has affected my mood and made me consider why I'm doing this to myself if I'm honest, but most of us probably get to that point sooner or later. But next year will hopefully be better, just have to spend the winter to figure out how to pay for all this.

Make sure to keep the old shoes. They can be relined, probably for less than €500. 

Edit:This sort of place.

http://www.radiuscomponents.ie/html/relining.html

[Semi-C]

On 9/7/2023 at 5:27 PM, Dyslexic Viking said:

I finally got the last brake parts today. So then it is ready to go to the garage next week. They are doing me a big favor by taking on the brake job on this, few let the customers bring parts here and few want to work on cars like this. So I have done everything I can to make it as nice as possible for them. So have bought everything in the brake system apart from the drums and master  so they won't be missing parts and have labeled/marked and organized everything.

 

The only downside to this is the cost. Below is one of 4 front brake shoes, they cost 96 euros plus VAT per piece. This should give you an idea of how bad this is.

 

This has been a rough year financially thanks to this car and could probably done things a bit cheaper but will not cut corners on it as want everything done to it to be done right.

But it has affected my mood and made me consider why I'm doing this to myself if I'm honest, but most of us probably get to that point sooner or later. But next year will hopefully be better, just have to spend the winter to figure out how to pay for all this.

Liked for the progress, not the financial hobbling!

Keep the faith DV, your efforts to keep this car making history are inspiring.