OWNER MikeinTampa

MikeinTampa · Aug 1, 2017

Hello gents,

I am new to this forum and I'm also a new 500E owner. Originally born in Poland, I have been a German car guy all my life. My favorite cars have always been air-cooled Porsches and box body benzes from the late 80's and early 90's. My German car obsession started as a teen, one of my best friends' dad, a German guy named Frank, had quite a few cars which were mostly Mercedes and Porsches. I always remembered him with his heavy German accent raving about his cars and taking me for rides I'll never forget in his 700+ Hp 993 twin turbo.

I also never forgot when he told me about the 500E. I had just got my drivers license and I was in the 11th grade in high school so this was sometime around 1994. He did not own a 500E, keep in mind at the time it was still a fairly new car and probably $80k+ but he told me the whole Mercedes/Porsche story and how "this sucka is so baaad" in his heavy German accent and how badly he wanted to own one but he hadn't been able to find one cheap enough yet. He was an interesting guy who had lots of toys.

Since that time in my life, "500E" was always in the back of my mind and I knew what the car was as most people did not. I always said to myself that one day I would love to buy one. Over the years as I went thru my 20's and 30's the 500E was sort of forgotten. In 2005 I bought my first Porsche, my 1984 930. This was also a car I dreamed of owning since I was a teen. 12 years and roughly $60k+ in work and numerous mods later, my porsche is here to stay. But enough about that, this is the 500E board so let's get back to the 500E. Several months ago, I came across a Jalopnik article on Facebook on the 500E. It was like I was reminded about the car I forgot all about. I said to myself this is the time to buy one for a decent price. I almost immediately started my search.

A few weeks ago back in June, I came across a for sale ad for a 1992 Mercedes 500E. At first I was a bit skeptical because of the mileage (211k) but I inquired anyway because the price seemed very fair. I soon realized after the first email that the sellers were also Polish. Seemed like a very nice couple who ran a small car lot. We started communicating back and forth, he told me a few things about the car and he sent me a few links to this forum. He also explained that the car was being sold on consignment and he put me in contact with the current owner at the time so I could get more info from him directly.

Suddenly, after going thru all the documented work done and additional info on this forum, the mileage didn't matter to me as much after seeing who the car was owned by and how well it had been taken care of over the years. I knew it would be a great car if I got it for the price I was willing to pay. After speaking with the owner a few times we made a deal. I was taking a bit of a risk, this was my first out-of-state vehicle purchase and I had not even seen the car in person. I had an idea what I was to expect but I also worried that maybe the car wasn't going to be as nice as it seemed in photos.

Within a week after inquiring about the car, it was on the way to Florida in an enclosed trailer transporter. The next day when the car arrived, I realized I got a hell of a nice car for much less than I thought I would pay for such a car and I couldn't be happier. This car is again in some good hands. I have some things planned for it, I've already done a few minor things maintenance wise and I will document everything else on this forum. I attached a couple of pics I snapped of the car on the day of delivery (June 23, 2017). Also, here are a couple of links to old threads/history on this car.

OWNER - DW SD | Owners and Their Cars

FOR SALE - FS: 1992 500E, Silver/Black, 200kmi, $19k (San Diego, CA) Beautiful condition, respray, full recent extensive maintenance | Cars for Sale - 500E / E500 ONLY

FOR SALE - FS: 1992 500E, Silver/Black, 212kmi, $13k (South Bend, IN) | Cars for Sale - 500E / E500 ONLY

sheward · Aug 2, 2017

Nice story. Welcome and congrats on acquiring what sounds like a great 036. Miles mean little on these cars when they are looked after. Nice to see it in good hands. I think you will enjoy it, keep us posted.

Drew

Jlaa · Aug 2, 2017

Welcome! I can totally relate to your story about lusting after the 500E while in high school / Uni.

RicardoD · Aug 2, 2017

Welcome! Your 930 must be a beast. You will love your 500E.

Maui · Aug 2, 2017

Congrats and you have come to the right place. No better forum on the net.

nocfn · Aug 2, 2017

It seems like a natural fit, welcome to the forum. You must love this car, not fix it...and it will love you back.

TerryA · Aug 2, 2017

Welcome Mikein,

I was in Tampa earlier this year. Spent a night there on my way driving down the west coast of Florida. I love everything about your state but the humidity but I keep coming back for more.

Anyway I also lusted over the 500E for several years before finally getting one of my own. My 1st Benz was a 57 190SL that my wife wanted back in 1978. I paid only $6.5K for it. I was shocked how a 20 year old car had no rattles or creaks and ran fairly well. We kept it over 10 years and I restored it DIY style over that time. I rebuilt all of the drivetrain from the radiator to the back wheels. The trans and driveshaft I had done by others. Anyway in 1988 I sold it for $18K and it was flown to Japan the next day. Anyway, it got me started and I got the MBZ Bug real bad. After going thru several Benzs over the years I got my 500E in 2005 and am still loving it 13 years later.

Anyway, Mikein I hope you enjoy your new ride as much as I have enjoyed mine. Here on the 500eboard we have many real knowledgeable members who can assist you with any issues that pop up.

Good Luck

Take Care

MikeinTampa · Aug 23, 2017

It's been exactly 2 months since I've purchased my 500E so I figured I'd post an update on the progress. The car has come a long way since I took delivery and looks and feels like a different car. I've done quite a few things to the car so far since 6-23-17. First thing that was on the list.. brakes.

As soon as I drove the car for the first time I could tell right away that the brake rotors were warped. About a week later, I replaced them with new front and rear R1 concepts slotted rotors and Akebono Euro brake pads. The reason I like the R1C rotors is because I've been using them on my full size SUV for quite a few years. A while back I would buy standard rotors at the auto parts store and they always seemed to warp in less than a year. Since I switched to the R1 rotors, my pads wear out before the rotors ever warp. In fact, the only reason I had to buy new rotors last time because I let the pads get so low that they wore down to the metal and damaged the rotors. They are much thicker and stronger than standard rotors and never seem to warp and that's why I like them. Hopefully the one's I just put on the benz are just as good as the ones on my truck. The Akebono pads are great but the rears squeak when backing up. It may be because I had to remove the thin metal insulators in order for them to fit. Others have had the same issue as I've seen on one of the threads on this forum. Other than that, the brakes are much better and so far I'm happy with them.

I have several other updates to post but it's getting late. I will post more work done as I get the time to do so. :cheers1:

RicardoD · Aug 23, 2017

Cool update, some of your picture links are not working.

gsxr · Aug 23, 2017

Thanks for the tip on R1 Concepts.

https://www.r1concepts.com/geomet

Did you get their eLine or Geomet rotors? Does the box indicate a country of manufacture?

:apl:

MikeinTampa · Aug 23, 2017

gsxr said:
Thanks for the tip on R1 Concepts.

https://www.r1concepts.com/geomet

Did you get their eLine or Geomet rotors? Does the box indicate a country of manufacture?

I believe they are the E-Line rotors. Unfortunately I do not have the boxes anymore.

MikeinTampa · Aug 23, 2017

Front End

Next, I gave the car a facelift. I wasn't a fan of the S600 style grille as it looked a bit old and had some chipping. I replaced it with a new original grille as well as new grille emblem and hood ornament. I was also very fortunate and lucky enough to score a brand new set of proper Hella 500E headlamps and from what I was told, supposedly I bought the last right side headlamp on the planet. I'm very thankful to a member on this forum for making that happen as the timing was just right. You know who you are and thank you again very very much for your assistance with that!

Of course, since the only headlamps available were facelift version, I also purchased the proper lenses and swapped them out. I also contacted Christian Hoppe at Speed-Autoteile in Germany for an original set of Hella clear turn signals to go with the new headlamps. Popping those in and seeing how snug they are compared to the cheap aftermarket turn signals was very satisfying.

During the headlight installation I wanted to clean up all the connectors to get the best possible connection so I used a piece of 8-gauge power cable to clean all the contacts thoroughly, then Applied dielectric grease to all connections. I did this because with the aftermarket headlamps and turn signals, one of the headlamps would go dim and one of the front turn signals would not work unless I'd touch the connectors or move them around in order to get a proper connection. I did not want to have any issues and wanted to make sure the Hellas got plenty of current. So far all the lights work perfectly without any issues whatsoever.

janos_z · Aug 23, 2017

Looking great! Those headlights and the new grille make such a big difference!

MikeinTampa · Aug 23, 2017

janos_z said:
Looking great! Those headlights and the new grille make such a big difference!

Thanks Janos, it really does look 100 times better!

MikeinTampa · Aug 23, 2017

500E Badge

At some point (maybe when this car was resprayed) the original 500E badge had been removed and the car remained badgeless. I felt like this car had to have a badge and I very soon realized how difficult it would be to find one. After searching the entire web for over a month with no luck I started getting a bit desperate. I knew I was gonna have to get creative, so I decided to make my own.

I'm pretty sure I saw someone mention doing this on a different thread but here's how I did it. There are a few different ways of doing this but I thought I'd share how I went about doing it. Was actually quite easy and only took about 30 minutes. The only tools needed were an exacto knife with a couple of fresh new blades and a dremel tool with a sanding bit.

I decided to go buy a brand new 300E badge and a 2.5 badge for a diesel on Ebay. I believe I paid around $40 total for both. Both badges are from the same era and have the same script with the line under it. The 3 in "300E" and the 5 in "2.5" both have the same shape on the bottom so I figured they would work best for my project.

I began by using my exacto knife. First, on the 300E badge, I carefully followed the bottom of the 3 where it meets the line using light to moderate pressure with the blade from one side to the other. The blade will only "dig in" very little because the badge is made of pretty hard plastic. Once the first line was made I continued going over the same line with the blade over and over again as it cut deeper and deeper until finally cutting all the way through. Once the 3 was removed I repeated the same process with the 5 on the 2.5 badge. It took some pressure with the blade to cut all the way thru and was a bit of a pain but worked out well. Finally, after both the 3 and 5 removed, I placed the 5 where the 3 was on the 300E badge and badabingbadaboom! Just needed a little sanding and fine tuning to completely cover the cut but came out better than I expected. The end result was total satisfaction!

nocfn · Aug 23, 2017

Sadly for the non facelifts, your method is it. The new ones are interchangeable but no line to support the numbers.

gsxr · Aug 23, 2017

The facelift badge is still available new, AFAIK:
http://partssearch.mercedes-benz-classic.com/parts/A1248176015?tt=automatic

The pre-facelift badge went NLA not long ago, so Mike's method may be the only way around it unless you can find a NOS badge on fleaBay or something.

:sawzall:

gerryvz · Aug 23, 2017

Correct: the facelift "E500" badge is still available.

There are still NOS examples of the 500E badge available if you search hard enough, but they would be expensive to buy. I know at least two sources who have NOS examples, but would only sell for high prices.

JC220 · Aug 23, 2017

Re: 500E Badge

MikeinTampa said:
At some point (maybe when this car was resprayed) the original 500E badge had been removed and the car remained badgeless. I felt like this car had to have a badge and I very soon realized how difficult it would be to find one. After searching the entire web for over a month with no luck I started getting a bit desperate. I knew I was gonna have to get creative, so I decided to make my own. (snip)

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oNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w

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ontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> An ingenious solution - I like it!!

MikeinTampa · Aug 23, 2017

Re: 500E Badge

JC220 said:
 An ingenious solution - I like it!!

Thanks!

MikeinTampa · Aug 24, 2017

Tail lights

With the front end complete with all original lights, I had to upgrade the tail lights as well. The lights that came on the car were not in bad shape, they were actually quite new looking but they were aftermarket Depo brand. Those had to go!

So I ordered an original set of used Hella tail lights from Germany. I don't know why but the original Hellas just look so much better even if the lenses aren't as shiny as a newer set of Depo's. Also, I believe the black frame around the originals is slightly thicker giving them a slightly larger appearance as well as less gap between the light and the body when mounted on the car. All of these very small differences actually make a big difference. It's almost like comparing a fake pair of sneakers or a fake Rolex watch with the original. You can just see the difference in quality and it looks just right to those who have a good eye for these things.. or maybe it's just the perfectionist in me!

TOP: Hella
BOTTOM: Depo

I cleaned up the Hellas of any dust inside and gave the lenses and rubber gaskets a nice wash. I also cleaned up any debris on the body while the lights were out. Once the new lights were mounted they gave the car a very clean look but I believe the lights came with the euro style light reflectors. They had the orange blinker covers attached to them which made the tail lights look a lot like the standard orange US tail lights. Even though they looked much cleaner I wasn't a fan of the orange.

I searched online and found some really nice facelift tail light reflectors. When I got them I was amazed to see the condition they were in. They must've come off a very low mileage donor because the looked brand new, perfect chrome reflector inserts and everything. I was very satisfied to say the least. I also installed chrome amber turn signal bulbs in both the front and rear turn signals to get that clean white look I was going for.

gsxr · Aug 24, 2017

Mike, that looks GREAT! BTW, if you don't want the Hella reflectors with the yellow piece, please shoot me an email or PM. If you plan to keep them for possible future use, no worries...

:gor-gor:

MikeinTampa · Aug 24, 2017

gsxr said:
Mike, that looks GREAT! BTW, if you don't want the Hella reflectors with the yellow piece, please shoot me an email or PM. If you plan to keep them for possible future use, no worries...

Thanks Dave, yea I wouldn't mind getting rid of some of these parts laying around. The car and parts boxes are at my other house as I'm in the process of remodeling a new house we're moving into. Got a nice 3 car garage now at the new place so most of my stuff is already over there. I have a growing mountain of Porsche and now 500E parts that I'll be selling since my 930 is nearing completion as well after being in the shop for over a year undergoing extensive modifications. Anyway, the new place is only a few miles from my current house so I'll pass by there today or tomorrow and snap a few pics for you.

MikeinTampa · Aug 24, 2017

These are the tail light reflectors I swapped out. I'm assuming they are euro reflectors?

MikeinTampa · Aug 24, 2017

New shoes

New set of wheels and tires installed and alignment done last Friday. 18x8.5/18x10 SL600 2pc. BBS splits wrapped with Hankook Ventus V12 Evo2 235/40/18 - 275/35/18. :e500launch:

Eno · Aug 24, 2017

Beautiful combo, silver on silver [emoji106]
BTW, what is the spring pad number in the rear?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Stevester 500E · Aug 25, 2017

+1 Silver on silver split faces, doesn't get any better !
Nice !

MikeinTampa · Aug 25, 2017

Eno said:
Beautiful combo, silver on silver [emoji106]
BTW, what is the spring pad number in the rear?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks, I believe the stock Mercedes wheels must be painted with the 744 silver because the color match couldn't be any more perfect. What do you mean by spring pad number?

Stevester 500E · Aug 25, 2017

Re: Tail lights

Is there another brand out there that look similar to the Hellas?
I saw a pair once t have a Hella logo or a Depot logo.

MikeinTampa said:
TOP: Hella
BOTTOM: Depo
View attachment 66908/QUOTE]

MikeinTampa · Aug 25, 2017

Stevester 500E said:
+1 Silver on silver split faces, doesn't get any better !
Nice !

I agree, thanks!

MikeinTampa · Aug 25, 2017

Re: Tail lights

Stevester 500E said:
Is there another brand out there that look similar to the Hellas?
I saw a pair once t have a Hella logo or a Depot logo.

MikeinTampa said:

TOP: Hella
BOTTOM: Depo
View attachment 66908/QUOTE]

Click to expand...

Bosch maybe?

Stevester 500E · Aug 25, 2017

Re: Tail lights

Where is the Hella logo on the tail light lense?
Thanks.

MikeinTampa said:
Stevester 500E said:

Is there another brand out there that look similar to the Hellas?
I saw a pair once t have a Hella logo or a Depot logo.

Bosch maybe?

Click to expand...

MikeinTampa · Aug 25, 2017

Re: Tail lights

Stevester 500E said:
Where is the Hella logo on the tail light lense?
Thanks.

In the center near the bottom.

Stevester 500E · Aug 25, 2017

Re: New shoes

Those wheels are worth their weight in Gold ! It's just a saying, don't quote me on it.
I will take the wheels over the gold!

View attachment 66962 View attachment 66963 View attachment 66964 View attachment 66966 View attachment 66967 View attachment 66968 View attachment 66969 View attachment 66970 View attachment 66971[/QUOTE]

Eno · Aug 25, 2017

I meant the nipples on the rear spring pads, is it a 3-nipple thickness?
It might look better if you place a 1-nipple pads in the rear in my opinion.
Are these wheels still avail and if/when you have time can you post part numbers of front and rear wheels?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

MikeinTampa · Aug 25, 2017

Eno said:
I meant the nipples on the rear spring pads, is it a 3-nipple thickness?
It might look better if you place a 1-nipple pads in the rear in my opinion.
Are these wheels still avail and if/when you have time can you post part numbers of front and rear wheels?

The car actually sits level, in some photos the car was probably sitting on uneven ground or it had just been lowered off the jack making it appear as if it sits higher in the rear. The rear pads were actually already done.

See post #24 in this thread:
http://www.500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3593

Also, these wheels are not available thru MB.

MikeinTampa · Aug 26, 2017

Commercial break

Not 500E related but I just had post an update on the 930. I stopped by the shop this week to check on the status of the beast and I was amazed at the amount of progress made in the past couple of weeks. It's literally starting to look like a piece of art. Unfortunately, its looking like this car will not be driven anymore.. 500E is the new driver! :124fast:

MikeinTampa · Aug 26, 2017

Today's Project

I had a little bit of time today so I decided to clean the car up a little more be removing the old window tint. I used the 409 method which works amazingly well. I took a couple of extra steps to protect the interior of the car but here's a quick step-by-step on how I removed all the window tint without any mess or glue left behind. Its also a great method for removing tint without any damage to the rear defroster.

1. Cover all areas with plastic underneath windows having tint removed to avoid any potential chemical stains or damage to your interior.

2. Cut pieces of plastic slightly larger than the area of each window you're going to be removing tint from.

3. Spray down each window throughly and apply the plastic evently over the wet window using a small wedge to make sure the entire surface is covered completely as much as it can be. (I also lowered the window slightly as I covered the top then raised the window up again as I covered the entire bottom).

4. Let the 409 penetrate for at least an hour as the car sits in the sun. If its cloudy outside or your car is in a garage or carport, a heat gun also works well to heat up the window slightly before removing tint.

5. When ready to start removing, heat up the window with your heat gun if your car was not sitting in the sun. Find a corner where you can grab the window tint with your fingernail and begin lifting the tint. It should slowly peel off like butter without leaving any glue behind!
Do the same for all windows and that's it, you're done!

I love how much cleaner the car looks without tint. Nice interior needs to be seen! This car has come such a long way in just over 2 months since I took delivery. It's starting to look like a totally different car! Each day it just gets better and better..

sheward · Aug 26, 2017

Was the film applied on the inside of the windows or out? Your photos seem to show plastic on both sides.

Drew

MikeinTampa · Aug 26, 2017

sheward said:
Was the film applied on the inside of the windows or out? Your photos seem to show plastic on both sides.

Drew

The plastic was first trimmed to size on the outside. That way when you apply it over the tint you don't have a lot of excess plastic.

nocfn · Aug 26, 2017

I have found that a basic wallpaper steamer works very effectively. Good work on your end!

MikeinTampa · Aug 27, 2017

nocfn said:
I have found that a basic wallpaper steamer works very effectively. Good work on your end!

Interesting, I would've never thought of that. Does a steamer also keep the glue on the tint leaving the window completely clean?

nocfn · Aug 27, 2017

I think it is wise to protect the door card. But yes starting at the top, you can have a controlled peal back. The tip came from
Slownrusty and he doesn't
Post here much. There may be his how to: here on c126 section

MikeinTampa · Aug 31, 2017

Fog Lights

Not too much to update lately. We've had a lot of rain here in Florida as well in the past week so the car's been spending a lot of time indoors. I bought a set of new fog lights from Naperville a couple of weeks ago to replace the ones on the car because the lenses were looking a bit old and had some rash. I covered them with Lamin-x and installed them. I think it turned out quite well and the car is really starting to stand out.

Jlaa · Aug 31, 2017

Quite Smart! Is that a facebook w124 sticker?

MikeinTampa · Aug 31, 2017

Jlaa said:
Quite Smart! Is that a facebook w124 sticker?

Thank you! Yes it is a W124 Enthusiasts decal.

MikeinTampa · Sep 1, 2017

Re: Fog Lights

A few more pics.

Matin · Sep 1, 2017

Looks really, really good Mike! Nice one.

MikeinTampa · Sep 2, 2017

Matin said:
Looks really, really good Mike! Nice one.

Thank you! I appreciate that.

MikeinTampa · Sep 2, 2017

Good morning from Cars and Coffee at Reeves Tampa!

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