OWNER DerFuror

[DerFuror]

Build: 05/93; Delivered: 04Jun1993
Paint: 040U Black
Interior: 271 Black Leather
Mileage: 190,000 (305,775km)

I am the 3rd owner of this car. It spent the majority of its life in Texas, USA with also a couple years in California. The original owner was a Doctor; the second owner a software engineer/entrepreneur. I thank them for taking such good care of this car for me. The majority of mileage has been highway. It is stock except for the audio system, coolant temp sensor resistor & powerchip. Upon purchase, the only item that had to be replaced was the Starter Lockout Switch located on the transmission. It has been running like a scalded dog ever since.

I dreamed about this car when I was younger. I now have my dream come true. The only way I will part with this car is via a completely ridiculously high offer no mortal can refuse or via the Jaws of Life. I am amazed at the high-end automobiles this Benz crushes on the motorway whether thru sheer power or cunning…ahh, the silky sound of Fury unleashed from under the hood when mashing the accelerator pedal to the floor; hence its name, DerFuror. My heart rate is elevated just writing about this car…I gotta have a smoke…

 

[sheward]

Great looking rare to see triple black 036. Incredibly durable cars. love to see it.

 

[195910]

That Engine compartment is looking great after 305TKM. Signs of a well cared for 500E. Congrats.

 

[DerFuror]

Only Hell & Woman hath more Fury than a 500E driver scorned :evil: . I was pretty miffed over my surprise tranny leak, so that once I buttoned it up I promptly went out and captured this unsuspecting 1991 BMW 850i 500+HP 12 point Dinan V12. This dandy only has 30,000 miles & supposedly has the 2nd lowest miles on record for its type.

The Bimmer was held captive over the duration of a box of beer. Its release was granted only after I negotiated the rights to its basic maintenance at half the price of the previous provider. I guess winning is everything after all.

The most interesting feature of this car is the sensor built into the door handle recess. Upon sensing a hand reaching for the handle, the window automatically lowers approx 3/8 inch. Once the door closes, the window raises back to the closed position maintaining its wind-tunnel quality seal.

The most interesting story regarding this car concerns the Australian scumbag that lifted all the information on this car from ebay & ran a fraudulent auction which had bids lined up to $60,000 before a watchdog service alerted the owner & shut the scumbag and auction down (another scam to be aware of for those of you in the high-end autotrade).

 

[195910]

Congrads!

We call it "The Shark" here in Q8. Very few exist now as they were the most difficult and expensive BMW to maintain. But Design and status is timeless. The new 6th series has no class compared to this.
I like the E38 7th series (Now popular again in Europe), they were miles better than the newer Blubb shaped 7s.

The 80s & 90s were also BMW's best years.

 

[DerFuror]

A few more pics from Tranny Leak-Test Day...

 

[sheward]

Nice purchase DerFuror! I have always liked these cars as well. I ran into the owner of a rare M-8 at the Walter Mitty event a few weeks back. I didn't know BMW made these and now can"t even remember if it was an 8 or a 12 cyl. car. I especially liked the different front and rear lower facias.
Both your cars look like beautiful examples.

drew

 

[DerFuror]

We call it "The Shark" here in Q8. Very few exist now as they were the most difficult and expensive BMW to maintain.

It certainly does resemble a difficult & expensive shark. Access is difficult in the tightly packed engine compartment & the owner mentioned something of a $600 spark plug change quote...

Nice purchase DerFuror!...Both your cars look like beautiful examples.

Gads...I didn't buy it, I just held it for half the day. The owner is a good friend in need of guidance. I negotiated its basic mechanical maintenance (and some test driving). I learned a long time ago that in the long run, it is always better when your V12 is owned by someone else!

 

[sheward]

Pardon me while i wipe the sleep from my eyes. Ahhh... I see. And agree. Always great to drive someone elses.

drew

 

[DerFuror]

Eurovision

...the better to see you with!

 

[gerryvz]

Bragger !!!

 

[DerFuror]

Bragger !!!

Listen to you!

I'm gettin' jittery now.

City lights to fogs...

 

[Jelmer]

Awesome! I finally read your great stories of how you got this car, and the car looked simply stunning in the images. Except one thing: the USA headlights. Great that you're changing them, this car will look perfect.

 

[DerFuror]

Awesome! ... Except one thing: the USA headlights. Great that you're changing them, this car will look perfect.

Thank you, Jelmer. As mentioned in the roadtrip story, DerFuror was a Steal & I have never 2nd guessed my commitment to obtain it. This car is a bad (predominantly stock) mammajamma. I've heard of odometer roll-backs, but I've never considered an odometer roll-up until this car. I'm still trying to find 90Kmiles of wear on this car, let alone 190K!

Besides the trivial cosmetic replacement doo-dads I've b*tched about in my posts, the POs took care of the essentials that have this car exhibiting the characteristics of a 60-70K 500E.

 

[szvook]

Re: Eurovision

...the better to see you with!

About time...

 

[DerFuror]

Re: Eurovision

About time...

Yes sir. The time was right! Anybody who needs/wants Euro-specs & didn't take advantage of that price.....

 

[szvook]

Are you leaving the turn signals amber?

 

[DerFuror]

Are you leaving the turn signals amber?

Yes. They are OE in excellent shape & I love the way they look against 040.

 

[DerFuror]

Re: Euro city-vision

Left-side 5W city light to fog light switch activation tests OK. Right side next.

 

[DerFuror]

Re: Euro city-vision

The wiring of city lights to foglight circuit is complete & tests OK.

This method allows the corner/parking lights to remain as stand-alones. The 5 Watt city lights activate with a pull of the fog light switch & run in conjunction with the bumper-mounted fog/driving lights.

The citys/fogs will perform Daytime Running Light (DRL) duty when required. The headlights will only be used for night time driving (thereby keeping H4 bulb hours usage lower).

 

[sheward]

Nice job. Post some daytime pics and enjoy some safer nightime driving.

drew

 

[DerFuror]

Thanks, drew.
The car will remain garaged for a few more months. I like the character of headlight wipers on these cars & have a proper set of wipers & panels for the new Euro head lights. One of the next jobs will be detailing the wiper arms & panels with some wet-sanding & new paint.

 

[DerFuror]

SPIDER WEBS ON THE TRI-STAR!!

A definite sign that this car has been sitting a bit too long!

Time to get flogged or do something about it...

 

[szvook]

Tisk, tisk, tisk... for what did you buy the car, again?

 

[DerFuror]

Tisk, tisk, tisk... for what did you buy the car, again?

Exactly!!!

I may need an intervention to help cure my weakness in rejecting project scope creep...

A hard thing to do sometimes.

 

[gerryvz]

Derf's been spending too much time researching "chick-magnet" modifications and not enough time in the saddle.....

 

[DerFuror]

Derf's been spending too much time researching "chick-magnet" modifications and not enough time in the saddle.....

No, I've been waiting for Prime to answer his PM (but the spiders wait for no one...)

Re: Mods...Current research complete to date...don't want to over-do it.

 

[DerFuror]

Scored a proper low-mileage Bosch 150A alternator (010 154 83 02) for a good price.

Just passed all bench tests with flying colors. It will be installed whenever the serpentine belt gets replaced.

 

[gsxr]

SCORE! That looks like the correct one which should not need re-clocking to install on the M119. The terminals will be in a slightly different position (actually, easier to access than stock) but it will bolt right up. Check the pulley diameter, if different, you may want to swap it.

 

[DerFuror]

BTW, upgrading to the newer style oil filler cap (000 010 13 85) is an excellent recommendation.

It is the best upgrade you can do to your car for $5! (except for the gray settable switches, of course...)

Your hands & fingers will love you again during oil check & change times.

 

[gerryvz]

It's a crime that the oil caps don't have the poon-appeal that the gray switches do.

When "parking" with your partner, say on a nice romantic overlook spot ... one opens the door for a bit of fresh air ... and one can deftly and subtly pull the gray switch with a barely audible "ping" to outen the lights....so much more smooth than reaching up to turn off the interior lights via the overhead switch.....

I'll bet the good folks at MBUSA must be scratching their heads when they get sudden runs on parts like the gray switches and oil caps....

BTW, that 150-amp alternator is an excellent thing to have both for piece of mind and for submarined poon-appeal, simply because its' better output guarantees a better-charged battery ... helpful for those romantic evenings at said romantic overlook spot with the music playing on the radio [off the battery]. Better charged battery = longer "parking" time.... fewer worries about a weak battery.

 

[DerFuror]

I may need an intervention to help cure my weakness in rejecting project scope creep...

A hard thing to do sometimes.

Yup, project scope creep. It seems to always start out like this for me..."well, as long as I'm taking this apart I may as well do these things too".

This time it all started out as a simple '93 Euro headlight conversion. Lights have been done since February, but now I barely have enough room to tip-toe thru the shop.

At least everything that's been dismantled is getting addressed & completed...albeit kinda slowly.

Battle-scarred Euro wipers are refurbished & ready for installation.



Equally battle-scarred wiper panels are refurbished & awaiting final paint...



...which is awaiting the bumper I decided to disassemble & touch up as long as I had it off the car...



..and since the bumper was off, why not detail the fading, unloved air scoops that I've been forlornly staring at for a couple months, too?



Then there's all the junk in the trunk that has to get reinstalled before I start the next "little" project...which is already in progress.



Incorrigible.

 

[DerFuror]

It's a crime that the oil caps don't have the poon-appeal that the gray switches do.

That's cuz nobody can see the voluptuous curves & brightly colored hieroglyphics of these new-style caps incarcerated under the hood.

 

[gerryvz]

If you're going to go to the trouble of installing a retrofitted Euro underhood mood light, I'd also install a Euro underhood SPOTlight to highlight said cap + heiroglyphics... the underhood spotlights were only offered/available in Mediterranean countries, not even in Germany.

 

[Jelmer]

I still can't believe no-one has mentioned this chick-magnet.

 

[Prime]

No, I've been waiting for Prime to answer his PM (but the spiders wait for no one...)

That bright blue "notifications" button at the top of the page is just too subtle to be noticed!

 

[DerFuror]

I'm still mulling over whether to send my wiper panels & bumper to the paint shop, or just DIY paint the panels this time around & get driving...undecided. I'm right at the point to go either direction.

Finally...

I decided to move in the right direction. A while back, I sent the front end parts to my friend’s body shop for proper painting. I had done most of the body work & priming on these items, but then concluded that a rattle-can spray job wouldn’t do the bumper or the car justice. Anybody need a big unused can of APS Tower 040 black paint?

The wiper panels & bumper are now installed. I’m loving the look. Cosmetically, the previously road-blasted bumper was the only feature of this car that really bugged me (I got along with the US Spec headlights, but once the Euros became available, the US Specs quickly became history). The project that began as a Euro headlight conversion is now complete.

Along the way,
• City light circuit was connected to fog light circuit (to function as daytime running lights) leaving parking lights as stand-alones.
• New headlight washer hoses (black ones), connectors & grommets were installed
• Refurbished MY94 headlight wipers installed
• Any missing or beat miscellaneous bumper hardware was installed/replaced
• New drop-in front dash speakers were installed
• New trim cover for driver’s seat right side installed

…and probably a few other things I no longer remember doing.

It's hard to capture in pictures how good the front end now looks, but in person it looks good.

 

[gsxr]

Anybody need a big unused can of APS Tower 040 black paint?

Hmmm. Is the Tower 040 can for plastic parts (with flexing agent), or the standard stuff for metal...?

 

[DerFuror]

Is the Tower 040 can for plastic parts (with flexing agent), or the standard stuff for metal...?

SprayMax 2K type. No flex agent that I'm aware of.

 

[bing]

Derf, all you need now is an Avantgarde Grill to set off the front in full flow.

 

[DerFuror]

Derf, all you need now is an Avantgarde Grill to set off the front in full flow.

:idea: Thanks for the suggestion. Certainly a possibility for a grille insert. I need to research the item (starting with a real good picture of one on a .036).

 

[bing]

Check with the Szvookster for a close up picture. Some links below of german suppliers . Think 1st one is where Gerry got his from.





http://www.eris-car.com/shop/index.php?cPath=159_183&sort=2a&page=4

http://www.evospeed.de/shop/mercede...rgrill-mercedes-benz-a-c-w-s124-e-klasse.html

 

[126v8]

IMHO gen 1 500Es look better with the original style grilles rather than the avantgarde.Get a new original grille!!

 

[DerFuror]

...Get a new original grille!!

Before anyone starts a poll...I now have both (picked up a German-made pre-facelift W124 avantgarde grille for a decent price a few months ago). The inserts can be switched out as desired.

 

[szvook]

Derf, the avantgarde grille looks great. Did buy only the grill insert? For my car, I only bought the gril insert, as I saw no need to buy a whole new grill.

The avantgarde gril insert you have now is identical to mine.

 

[szvook]

IMHO gen 1 500Es look better with the original style grilles rather than the avantgarde.Get a new original grille!!

The original grill insert is too dull looking, even when painted. The avantgrade grill insert does serve a purpose for better air intake and it does look more sportier. With Euro headlights, the car looks mismatched with the OEM insert. If one keeps the car completely stock, then sure, keep the original look. But how many of us, .036 owners, keep their cars stock?

 

[DerFuror]

...Did buy only the grill insert?..

A complete grille.

 

[szvook]

A complete grille.

That must have cost a pretty penny...

 

[JordiC]

There are pictures on this board, I can't remember exactly who posted them, of a repainted original grill and it looks great. A nice black semi gloss makes it stand out and contrast much better than the dull gray. I actually think that the original grill looks better with the amber indicators and the avantgarde grill has a slight edge with clear indicators.

 

[sheward]

Nice score on the Avantgard grill. Here is a pic of my stock grill painted black.

drew