1963 Mercedes Benz 190DC Fintail. MOT Pass!

[Dyslexic Viking]

I'm a little tired so I don't know if even my last post made sense. 

But I hope it did and that people don't get tired of seeing pictures of it all the time as I have little else to add of content to this thread currently.

[danthecapriman]

13 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I'm a little tired so I don't know if even my last post made sense. 

But I hope it did and that people don't get tired of seeing pictures of it all the time as I have little else to add of content to this thread currently.

Pictures are good! 
Both because I’m lazy and can’t be arsed reading much, but also because your car is gorgeous and you have a beautiful country. It’s never boring to see either👍

[Rightnider]

Nice trip! Keep posting!

[Datsuncog]

I could look at pictures of this wonderful car all day long.

Thanks for posting - and it's heartwarming for me when all the work and care put into recommissioning an old car like this results in being able to go out for a six hour drive with no drama!

[Dyslexic Viking]

Thanks all, have to ask as other threads here have interesting repairs or solutions to problems or nice welding repairs. What I have now is mostly driving and using it to mondane things so I was a little unsure if people actually wanted to read and watch this.

Back to the car. Had some time this morning to look over it after the long trip yesterday and everything is fine apart from the known things like a leak from the diff and a little slack in the wheel bearings.

And since I had time I replaced the fuel sender. I was lucky and was able to buy one from a Mercedes specialist at a reduced price. And it's weird, I've never seen a fuel sender like that before.

 

And after tearing off the sticker and removing a pin that I had to, I understand how it works inside the tube: there is a float and fuel comes in through the 2 small holes you see in the picture on its side.

 

And it went right in without any problems. The only thing is that the gasket that came with it is made of rubber and considering how bad rubber is today, I'm a little unsure how long it will last, but fortunately the tank sender is on top of the tank so I keep an eye on it and if necessary change to a cork gasket.

And now the fuel gauge reads more accurately and will hopefully be more stable while driving.

[Dyslexic Viking]

And what engine rpm calculator have people used? as I'm curious to find out. And struggling to find a good one.

[Dyslexic Viking]

22 hours ago, hairnet said:

vradal to treungen looks good

 

Much of Telemark county, especially in the western part, is quite nice.

Here are some radom Google Street View photos from the route I took.

 

[Six-cylinder]

On 08/07/2025 at 15:52, Dyslexic Viking said:

And I've arrived home. A total of about 6.5 hours with 3 breaks and about 265km done today. Most of the roads were slow with low traffic wich is where this car belongs, road 41 is faster and has a lot of traffic since summer and is not nice, and at 80kmh there is a lot of engine noise and combined with noise from open windows it is tiring. This car is the happiest and most comfortable to be in under 70kmh. And at such speeds it's a nice place to be and it covers distance well.

And this is the longest trip I've ever had in the car and probably the longest it's been driven in decades and it behaved perfectly. And 6 to 6.5 hours of driving is the maximum I can handle in a day now I am really tired.

So this old Mercedes has done well today.

When my dad had his 1965 220Sb, as a family we went to Austria. Linz to visit my grandmother and then Sieding near Neunkirchen, where my mother had an aunt she was evacuated to during WW2. The basic journey was over 2,000 miles covered in 2 weeks, then there were trips out and visits to family. We were close to being the fastest car on the Autobahn, but this was 1969 or 1970. 

We were in Vienna in 30ᵒ C+ heat and the horn came on for no reason while queuing in traffic. My mother reached over and gave the horn rim a good thump and it shut up and never bothered us again. Funny what you remember.

My memory was the car was large and quiet, but the blue MB-Tex seats burnt and patterned the legs of a child in shorts.

The picture is the only other one showing the W111 on the trip, even if was only the rear wing while photographing a friends Dachshund that was rather snappy.

[vtec-e]

Another vote to keep posting your updates. A stunning car in a beautiful country !

[Dyslexic Viking]

Haven't been driving much since being in a heat wave but was able to take this one out for a little drive early today before the heat set in. And got filled up with diesel. And the new fuel tank level sensor that looked like it was working doesn't. After filling 40 liters of diesel, the tank level remained unchanged and of all things, began sinking on the way home.

So this is the last time I'm trying to save some money on parts and buying something like this from eBay if I can avoid it. So when I can afford it, I'll buy a new one from a reputable Mercedes specialist instead and there will at least be hope that it will work then.

As the old Norwegian saying goes, pissing in your pants to stay warm is good there and then, but it passes quickly. And the same goes for trying to save money on car parts and repairs.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Another week and not much to write about. But got up very early today to escape the heat and took this one for a drive. And it was very nice, cool temperature and little traffic. Need to do this more in the summer.

[Dyslexic Viking]

This has had a small leak in the front part the differential for a while now. And today noticed that this has now evolved a bit so need to get this fixed.

[auntiemaryscanary]

My 14 yr old daughter says she likes your car. She can't believe it was made in 1963. I explained it had done many things including being a taxi for many years. She likes cars but thinks that means Lamborghini/Porsche/McLaren/Ferrari However she thinks it's nice enough to offer you £30. 

Erm, I said I don't think he'd take that. Yes, she's been to Norway.

[JMotor]

On 28/07/2025 at 16:31, Dyslexic Viking said:

This has had a small leak in the front part the differential for a while now. And today noticed that this has now evolved a bit so need to get this fixed.

This can't be helped because older car things. Plus it means it has oil there as it can leak it! Silver lining and that innit. 

I do enjoy reading your updates and I do like this car. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

MOT tomorrow. So yesterday I did some prep work on this which was made more difficult by food poisoning so a lot of time was spent running between the garage and the toilet and I was pretty weak and broken but I got it done. Took off the right rear wheel which almost killed me due to lack of strength and took off the brake drum to see how things looked with the axle seal that is leaking and things looked really good the oil seems to just drain straight out through the drain holes in the bottom of the back plate and drips out so the inside of the rim was covered in oil which was cleaned. Although it didn't look necessary I also cleaned the brake parts.

The next thing was to just wipe off some oil on the engine as it has some small leaks. The next thing was to just check things and mark where everything is on the dash board so the tester can easily figure it out. The next thing was to check the lights and everything worked except for a front parking light that I struggled with but got it fixed now, it was a bad ground and both the old light bulb and the first new one were broken but with another new light bulb and fixed ground this workes now and this one is ready for the test tomorrow.

I will post the test results when I have time.

[Homersimpson]

On 28/07/2025 at 16:31, Dyslexic Viking said:

This has had a small leak in the front part the differential for a while now. And today noticed that this has now evolved a bit so need to get this fixed.

Its not leaking oil its just sweating power!

[Westbay]

MoT = 🤞

[junkyarddog]

Best of luck!

🍀

[bangernomics]

Lovely looking Mercedes, she won’t let you down, yes she’s a bit leaky downstairs these days but she can still put a smile on your face.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Thanks everyone. And I don't think it will get a pass tomorrow because of the oil leaks and 3 out of 4 wheel bearings have play in them. They were within the rules last time but at least one has gotten worse since then. But it's nerve-wracking, from what I know, this will go through just as rigorous a test as a 4-year-old car with the exception of emissions so it's challenging.

[Matty]

Just caught up @Dyslexic Viking. Been a bit crap recently with threads I'm supposed to follow. Excellent work pal, everything seems to be going well and nice to see you out and enjoying it.

I can only echo the comments on previous pages. Don't doubt your own ability. I do mechanical work for a job and 90% of success is taking time, a pragmatic approach and walking away for a bit and doing something else if things aren't working out. Your attitude and approach are spot on. Best of luck with the MOT 👍

[Dyslexic Viking]

I can't believe it but this one now passed the MOT with a clean pass without any faults or defects! How is that possible? And the wheel bearings that I was sure would fail were still within spec.

[danthecapriman]

Nice! Always a bonus when you’re expecting the worst. 
Certainly takes the pressure off the sort out the issues too.

[loserone]

4 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

passed the MOT

Sounds like a successful day man!

[Dyslexic Viking]

This was a good day and the Mot result was not expected and I had already bought new wheel bearings since I was sure some of them would fail but they didn't so they will have to be shelved until later. And the oil leaks to the rear axle need to be fixed in the near future but since money is a little tight this fall I will wait until next year.

And after the MOT I meet @juular and @MrsJuular in the village and they really are the nicest people I have ever met and I really enjoyed meeting and talking to them. So with this and the MOT result, this is my best day this year without a doubt.

 

And I got to try a exotic new thing today also.

[loserone]

9 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

they really are the nicest people

This is also true.

[dome]

35 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

This was a good day and the Mot result was not expected and I had already bought new wheel bearings since I was sure some of them would fail but they didn't so they will have to be shelved until later. And the oil leaks to the rear axle need to be fixed in the near future but since money is a little tight this fall I will wait until next year.

And after the MOT I meet @juular and @MrsJuular in the village and they really are the nicest people I have ever met and I really enjoyed meeting and talking to them. So with this and the MOT result, this is my best day this year without a doubt.

 

And I got to try a exotic new thing today also.

Congratulations on the MOT pass and meeting some shiters of the finest order.

Although, if they were really good they'd have brought you some square sausage too. Maybe next time...

[JakeT]

Brilliant! I hope you sent them off with a couple of cans of Villa, for a slightly unique tasting drink swap.

[vtec-e]

Always good to get another pass, well done ! 

[Dyslexic Viking]

18 minutes ago, JakeT said:

Brilliant! I hope you sent them off with a couple of cans of Villa, for a slightly unique tasting drink swap.

The only thing I can think of that is called Villa and is a drink here is the one below which is a soft drink if that right and that is what Americans call a Soda.

And from what I can remember, this is quite similar to the Scottish one in taste.