OWNER doolar

[doolar]

How did you separate the rear cover without breaking the slots on the main housing? I opened one of these years ago and IIRC multiple slots broke, despite being super careful...

Did the motor you tried opening by any chance be of the SWF brand? Because I opened one of them today, and all the tabs just simply broke just from me getting close with a screwdriver. There was no chance in hell to open that one without breaking every single one.

The Bosch's I've opened is a whole other story, when opened carefully most if not all tabs are ok, as long as you cut the dentation on the three bigger tabs (which the SWF does not have at all, all tabs are the same size and no dentations).

 

[gsxr]

Did the motor you tried opening by any chance be of the SWF brand? Because I opened one of them today, and all the tabs just simply broke just from me getting close with a screwdriver. There was no chance in hell to open that one without breaking every single one.

The Bosch's I've opened is a whole other story, when opened carefully most if not all tabs are ok, as long as you cut the dentation on the three bigger tabs (which the SWF does not have at all, all tabs are the same size and no dentations).

Great question. I am not sure... I will need to double check.

 

[doolar]

I had to move the car today, the bushings are incoming on Friday but I expected them yesterday, so there's no helping it, I had to put it together without the new bushings in place. The car's been with the worn bushings for years, so what's another couple of days do? It also meant that I could do a first assessment of ride height with the 1 dot spring pads, and do a rough adjustment of the SLS. I also didn't refit the plastic covers for the LCA's, I'll probably do the bushings Friday anyway.

So that's what I did, now the car sits on new stock springs and struts that have less than 10000 kilometers on them. Everything rubber/joint with the suspension is in good working order apart from the outer LCA bushings of course. I did a rough SLS adjustment, and drove the car about 12 kilometers home, and then I'll go to work tomorrow, same distance. I wont do any more adjustments until I've r&r'ed the bushings, when I'lll do the SLS adjustments before an alignment. I can't imagine doing the SLS adjustment without ramps or a grease pit.

VERY happy with the ride quality, the few kilometers I drove. The rear is really transformed. No more bumping and bouncing. But the stock springs are surprisingly stiff, I've never driven a E500E with stock suspension before. Wow is all I can say, and that is with toast outer bushings and an alignment that's totally wack.

A couple of pictures from an hour ago or so:

 

[doolar]

The car is back in the workshop, I've put it on jack stands, removed the wheels, loosened the inner LCA bolt and removed the rest of the fasteners to be able to remove the spring and lower down the LCA. So now I'm ready for the bushings arriving Monday (hopefully).

I had the SLS lever measurement to about 36 mm, and the ride height was at 360 mm with almost empty tank, so I adjusted it to 32 mm, and will take it from there, I think that will be a good start. After I've replaced the bushings I'll fill the tank fully and drive about for a while to assess if I need further adjustments. I'm looking for the stock setup look, so a little higher in the rear as they came from the factory.

Came home today to a package from a forum member who gifted me a pristine English Euro manual, so now I have a mostly complete set of Owner's documents. Thank you M! I hope I can find some really good parts for you in return for this very kind gesture.

 

[doolar]

The original 8-hole wheels for the 500E were stolen in the garage break-in, and I have closed the matter with the insurance company because I don't have the energy to fight for those wheels too. They were also in bad shape, and the tires totally shot, and since they are the same fitment as the R129, not hard to come by.

But everything 500E-related = prices through the roof, at least in Germany. In Sweden the market is small, but I've kept an eye on Blocket, Swedens equivalent to Craigslist. And yesterday I spotted "190E"-wheels for sale, 16" with 205 section studded winter tires, but I thought the tires looked stretched and asked the seller if he could check the stamps on the inside for ET34 and 8", and he confirmed that they were! Collected them today, and they're even the correct part no. 124 401 14 02!

Not in the best of condition though, they've been used as winter wheels and have some flaking paint etc. One day I'll restore them, but for now, they will serve as my beater wheels. Since we've had wheels stolen off the car, I'll swap to the Evo II's when I feel like it, it only takes about 20 minutes for me to swap wheels, and this way I'm not going to worry too much over having the wheels stolen off the car again.

Time for some cleaning, just took off the worst today, and I will need new tires on the rims too of course:



Best of all? I paid $100 for the entire set! With Mercedes original centre caps with all tabs in place too!

 

[doolar]

Got the rear bushings replaced today, and fitted the headlight washers and headlights back for trial, seems to work very good. Still not done with the light assemblies and the panels below the headlights needs paint. I also need to remove the front bumper to align it better.

But now the suspension is done, I’ve got a full tank of fuel now and will dial in the SLS, but I think I’m pretty close. Will do an alignment next week to let everything settle in first.

 

[a777fan]

Wonderful! Wipers are a ‘must’ to complete the front end look of a w124 IMHO!

 

[doolar]

Nothing new really, been using the car for transporting stuff from the garage to the recycling, with the roof racks and a ski box. Really impressed with the SLS, I probably had over 100kg in the trunk, plus another 50kg in the ski box, no problem at all, and the car stayed level (it drops a bit but that's how it's supposed to do when loaded in the rear).

I now sit at 360mm [~14.25"] front, 375mm [~14.75"] rear with 2/3 tank, unloaded. I think it looks really good, but I'll give it another week before I'm satisfied, and then I can get an alignment. I know lots of people will want to have it lower in the rear, but I think it's low enough to be a usable car. I also like the look of the slightly rear raised look for the 500E.

 

[744Brillantsilber]

A 500 with roof rack at the recycling center.
I don't know what the first thought would be if I would see this
Great you have it running again!

 

[doolar]

A 500 with roof rack at the recycling center.
I don't know what the first thought would be if I would see this
Great you have it running again!

Haha yea I had a ton of fun with this today. Did a full 90’s ensemble with Rage against the machine playing full blast on the CD while throwing out scrap metal, wood and old furniture

Got a few looks and some fun conversations including the obligatory “is it for sale?” question. I wonder if anyone saying that to a random person ever in the history of the world actually 1. had the money to buy 2. actually followed through.

 

[doolar]

Talking about doing the 90’s thing, now I have one of my dream cars of the nineties, I also own this, my dream mountain bike from the same era, the Cannondale Super-V 3000 in purple.

I’ve had this for many years now, it’s under restoration and the goal is to take it on the roof racks with the 500, and drive to the MTB park

 

[500AMM]

Talking about doing the 90’s thing, now I have one of my dream cars of the nineties, I also own this, my dream mountain bike from the same era, the Cannondale Super-V 3000 in purple.

I’ve had this for many years now, it’s under restoration and the goal is to take it on the roof racks with the 500, and drive to the MTB park


View attachment 187386

That's one of the most iconic vintage MTBs from that era!
The Super V was launched in 1993 and was among the first full suspension bikes out there. I have a 1993 Klein Fervor (hardtail) myself which I bought in 1994, have ran thousands of kilometers on it, mostly on challenging trails.

 

[doolar]

That's one of the most iconic vintage MTBs from that era!
The Super V was launched in 1993 and was among the first full suspension bikes out there. I have a 1993 Klein Fervor (hardtail) myself which I bought in 1994, have ran thousands of kilometers on it, mostly on challenging trails.

One of my friends at the time bought the Super V in 1994, and actually broke the frame, which was not uncommon with the early Super V's. I had an Alpinestars with a Manitou fork and elevated chain stays (all the rage for a minute) at the time, later I moved on to a fully hand built Bontrager frame with Rock Shox fork, also a hard tail. This Super V is actually my first full suss, I only ride very seldom these days on a low tier Specialized HT.

Love the Klein, they were a true dream bike too! Do share a pic if you have one

 

[doolar]

The old lower rear LCA bushings were…. quite worn:

 

[nocfn]

that should buff right out, no problem.

 

[TerryA]

The old lower rear LCA bushings were…. quite worn:

View attachment 187536 View attachment 187537

They look like mine that I took out a few years back. No special MB tool required. They were quite easy to change using a combo of a socket and washers on a long threaded bolt.

 

[gsxr]

The old lower rear LCA bushings were…. quite worn:

View attachment 187536 View attachment 187537

This is very common... they often look this bad. I've had to replace these bushings on pretty much every 124 that I've ever owned.

 

[doolar]

This is very common... they often look this bad. I've had to replace these bushings on pretty much every 124 that I've ever owned.

A first for me, can’t say I noticed anything different either, but when they’re that bad it must be tough on the other joints etc

 

[doolar]

Finished the right hand headlight assembly today. It turned out ok, it will not win any prizes for sure, but the assembly is watertight and looks alright.

I also installed the number plate filler that came standard on cars sold in Sweden, I think it looks better.

 

[doolar]

Started to try to better the paint work of the car, now I'm not a detailer, and there are a lot of other body work that needs to be performed too, but I hope I can get it a bit better.

Clayed the entire car after a wash, then started to work on the trunk lid. I've only used the cutting compound here, so far from finished, but it's fun to see what can be done with little.

Before:



After:



I use a rotary Flex polisher (I'm old school, don't need a fancy oscillating machine), and products from Glare this time.

 

[a777fan]

Looks like a great improvement!

Resist the desire to get it 'perfect'. High probability of taking things too far and cutting through the clearcoat with that approach. Ask me how I know

 

[doolar]

Looks like a great improvement!

Resist the desire to get it 'perfect'. High probability of taking things too far and cutting through the clearcoat with that approach. Ask me how I know

Yea I’ll take it easy, and I’m definitely not chasing perfect anyway.

 

[500AMM]

Talking about doing the 90’s thing, now I have one of my dream cars of the nineties, I also own this, my dream mountain bike from the same era, the Cannondale Super-V 3000 in purple.

I’ve had this for many years now, it’s under restoration and the goal is to take it on the roof racks with the 500, and drive to the MTB park


View attachment 187386

One of my friends at the time bought the Super V in 1994, and actually broke the frame, which was not uncommon with the early Super V's. I had an Alpinestars with a Manitou fork and elevated chain stays (all the rage for a minute) at the time, later I moved on to a fully hand built Bontrager frame with Rock Shox fork, also a hard tail. This Super V is actually my first full suss, I only ride very seldom these days on a low tier Specialized HT.

Love the Klein, they were a true dream bike too! Do share a pic if you have one

Here is a couple of pics of my '93 Klein Fervor, size 20,5'', paint scheme Nebula Green. I ran pretty hard in the terrain 95% of the trips, so the entire equipment package was worn out in 1998. I rebuilt it with Shimano XTR gear & brakes, Syncros crankset & seat post, Selle Flite Titanium seat, titanium skewers+++. Put on a set of Cane Creek wheels, which was a design disaster, and replaced them later on with CrossMax ceramic. Fitted a Marzocchi Bomber Z2 as well, but has revert back to the original front fork now and funbike tires. This is a super strong alu.frame with close to no flex, which was the great thing at the time, the frame does still have plenty of response.



BTW, I paid $2900 for this bike back in 1994, and it was even a one year used MTB. That was a lot of money at the time!

 

[doolar]

A bit of a standstill now with the car and all things related, the car is in ok working order and I use it around town. 1.6 litres of petrol for 10 kilometres is the recent consumption, ok for a lot of city driving. Still mainly need to find out what’s causing the grumbling noise, it’s way less prominent now when it’s a lot warmer outside. I’m starting to suspect fuel pumps?

I’ve finally found a great workshop for my car(s) and motorcycles, I will start moving in there in June. It’s a shared unit with four other guys who are true petrolheads and I hope this will be really great.

So now I’m juggling three different locations… it’s a lot. But I’m really stoked for the new place, will share once I’m moving in.

I have still a couple of promises here to fulfill, headlight washing assemblies. Nobody is forgotten, I have even more sets now. And for transparency I want to say that I’ve not taken any payment for these items in advance. But I know some of you are (100% understandably so) eager, I will deliver, but I’m pressed for time right now.

 

[500AMM]

I got a growling fuel pump on my exLimited, it occured after a longer period of standstill. The noise was very prominent inside the car, so it might be something to check out for you.

Sounds great with that collective workshop, it's nice to be in a group of reliable wrenchers. I was close to do that myself several years ago, but the building caught fire just some days before both my 036s were planned to move over. Sh...!! This is what I call damn luck! | Off-Topic Discussions

It will be nice to get the headlight wiper assemblies, but don't stress with it - you know time is the best tool we have. I recently scored a pallet with 5 boxes of various 036 & 124 parts, among others the headlight enclosure buckets, so I am finally close to get those things sorted.

 

[doolar]

Just checking in I’m busy like hell with work, holiday, motorcycles and moving to a new garage. The 500 is going strong, I’m using it a lot now.

I’ll have further updates in the coming months

 

[Bahnstormer]

Just checking in I’m busy like hell with work, holiday, motorcycles and moving to a new garage. The 500 is going strong, I’m using it a lot now.

I’ll have further updates in the coming months

All positives...! Hope the new garage is HUGE!?

 

[doolar]

I just have to share this machine, also from my dads collection, a 1989/1991 Honda NSR125R! A 138 kilos wet, 28-30 hp, two stroke dream when I was 16! Couldn’t afford it back then and had a 1982 Kawasaki AR125 instead.

I finished it some weeks ago, now it passed inspection and is back on the street! My dad did a full engine rebuild, so I finished the rest. The bodywork is from a 1991, frame and engine 1989.

It’s almost finished mechanically, I’ll probably keep it like this for now. Lower fairings needs a lot of love. Probably taking it on track this weekend.



Sorry for the digress but if I know you lot, you’ll appreciate it. There will be updates on the 500E soon!

 

[doolar]

All positives...! Hope the new garage is HUGE!?

Unfortunately not huge at all, but it will be adequate.

 

[doolar]

Time for some minor updates on the car. First order of business, fog lights! Both lenses cracked, so new ones ordered. The left lamp is in good shape, the right has had some sort of trauma inflicted upon it. But with current prices, and keeping the theme of fixing rather than replacing (when possible and within reason) I'll repair the broken plastics.

Here's the damages:



Now I have to issue a warning, my repair is NOT pretty, but it will be strong and do the job. After a proper cleaning I wipe it all down with rubbing alcohol, then I glue the loose pieces together, and fill all the cracks with superglue. The capillary effect draws it into the crevices. When it's dried, I strengthen the joints with hot glue, and this is the messy and ugly part, mainly due to me struggling with the glue gun squirtiness:




The lenses are the original one's to the car, manufactured in May of 1992, so they are excused of their state:




The projector lamps themselves are in great condition, I disassembled the lights completely, cleaned everything and reassembled it all again:




Now I'm just waiting for the lenses to arrive from Denmark, after that I'll be ready to reinstall the fog lights on the car. Of course I'll be applying Lamin-X to them, I bought a full set from Gerry for the headlights and fog lights.

 

[doolar]

Next is some ICE fence jumping, one of my absolute strengths. I hold the title "Black Belt ICE swapper", I know.

Anyways, I've used the APS 30, but I miss such things as Bluetooth and the ability to keep music on a SD-card, I thought I could do without, but it's been annoying.

I kept the Pioneer HU I had in my E420, the nowadays legendary DEH-80 PRS. So I've installed that alongside my small Pioneer amp, the GM-D1004, which is a great little amp that tucks away nicely below the passenger footwell. I will upgrade the speakers too some day, they are aftermarket Clarions and they sound ok for now.

As some of you know, somebody deleted the radio antenna before my fathers ownership of the car, and the radio's been served with a crappy generic active FM/AM antenna mounted behind the rear view mirror. It barely get signal and there's a constant white noise and hunting for reception, so I needed to do something. I'm not opening up the hole in the rear fender reinstalling the original antenna, that'll have to wait until the day the car gets a full restoration.

But there are better active window antennas, and one of them is from Blaupunkt. So I ordered it from Amazon and installed it today, and it seems to have the same reception as a normal antenna. Sure - it's not the prettiest thing in the world, but it shows more in the images than IRL:



Since I already had to work in this are of the car, I decided to try out the ablagefach I ordered for my E420 many moons ago, but never installed. I'm not overly convinced that I will accept the look of it, but it is easily swapped back to the ashtray. I used an old ashtray harness to connect to the DIN outlet, so no cutting or splicing.



I have some repair work to do on the pleather as you can see, I'll tend to that in the winter.

That's it for today folks!

 

[doolar]

A little teaser...

 

[doolar]

Of course I managed to order the wrong fog light lenses, so they're going back. I can't seem to find the correct lenses for a reasonable price, so I've ordered complete assemblies instead. About $150 more for complete vs just the lenses, so that's a no brainer, even if it will be three times as much as I anticipated.

The car had its bi-annual inspection today (its every two years for cars 30 years or older here in Sweden, until they are 50 years, then they are exempt from inspection) and it passed with no remarks, so now the car is good for another two years.

 

[doolar]

Sigh received the fog lights today, one of them with a broken lens.

Well I’ll have to return it for a new one.

 

[doolar]

Fog lights sorted!



Also got the hood pad, it’s a good fit, quite tight but I expect it to soften after a while.

 

[doolar]

So the plan was to do up the 16" 8-hole wheels I bought earlier this year, just get them acceptable to fit on the car. But when I realised how much work it actually is, especially with these wheels that were more than just scuffed, I decided to have them redone professionally.

Dropped them off to a company local, and they sure delivered. They were then shod with Michelin Primacy 4+, probably the best tire I can get in this dimension.

Today was also my first time ever driving a 036 on stock wheels. It is a pretty good and balanced fit, I must admit. Sure, if you're pushing the car, the Evo's are probably the better choice, but for normal driving, or for that matter the kind of driving the 036 was built for, the original wheels are a well thought out dimension.

A few images, first of the finished wheels (before condition can be found further back in the thread) and then mounted on the car. I'm very happy with how they look on the car.

 

[doolar]

An update on my latest project, I've been terribly busy at work and personally, so there's been too little time for little else, but now I'm onto the following, ever since my father bought the car back in 2008, it's been stored in his garage. It also was out of commission for many years, never used. This in combination with a very humid condition in the garage set the stage for a few problems, one being that there was mold inside the car.

I thought I would be able to clean and air it out, but have also always known that the interior will need a proper cleaning at some point, so I reasoned that I'll combat the mold (I've done it many times before successfully) and deal with the cleaning later. More than a year's passed since I've had the car, and it still stinks of mold. I have a colony growing somewhere. I also found traces of mice living in the car - that smell when you dissolve their excrements is sickening. Smells like death mixed with piss.

I could pretty much conclude that the growth will be under the carpet, since that is the most likely and the one surface I haven't been able to inspect. So I had a little think about it, and decided, ok, let's do it properly. I also looked at my sagging headliner and thought about the sunroof refurbishment and all of the associated benefits of doing all of this at once.

So I pulled out all of the interior bar the instrument panel and the parcel shelf. And yikes it was way worse than I ever imagined. The horrible mold was full on aggressive, it even looks alien, and it smelled horrible. Even though I worked with a mask, I had a headache and felt sick the entire next day.







So all of the textiles have been washed, treated with biocides and subjected to ozone treatment. Every single surface inside the car is washed, treated with biocides and right now the ozone machine is doing it's work inside the car.



A note on ozone - I use a professional machine, and they are very potent. So when it comes to textiles and more importantly anything rubber och plastic, you have to be carful not to overdo it. The ozone can easily turn foam backing into powder, or make rubber just fall to pieces.

The headliner and sunroof liner were pulled out and left at the upholstery shop here in town, I opted for a material that is very high quality and resembles the original material colour very well.

The sound deadening below the driver's seat had failed, so I removed all of it and reinstalled new deadening.

Sunroof is being refurbished following the excellent How-to made by @JC220 a huge thank you for the guide.

 

[doolar]

A lot of little "while you're in there's" are being taken care of too:

• The nose and the motor for sensing interior temperature for the AC
• Removing old sins like previous alarm install cables, radio cabling etc.
• Lubricating all moving parts inside the car, seats etc
• Cleaning of seatbelts
• Checking drains and waterproofing inside the car
• Replacing bulbs and polishing reflectors for interior lights
• Fixing as many broken plastic things as possible

 

[nocfn]

I did this on my c126 - that is strip it down to metal and clean everything - remove any (asbestos?) heat shielding sound deadening etc etc. Did not encounter any rust but if there was a scratch on the metal it got treated as prevention. All my plugs were good and I replaced sunroof drains when I installed the assembly off another model with glass version. Used today's sound proof stuff and she is much quieter.

 

[500AMM]

The headliner and sunroof liner were pulled out and left at the upholstery shop here in town, I opted for a material that is very high quality and resembles the original material colour very well.

The sound deadening below the driver's seat had failed, so I removed all of it and reinstalled new deadening.

Sunroof is being refurbished following the excellent How-to made by @JC220 a huge thank you for the guide.

Great job ongoing there now!

What material did you use for the new sound deadening?

 

[doolar]

Great job ongoing there now!

What material did you use for the new sound deadening?

Biltema actually. It is not rocket science and perfectly adequate IMO. There are better alternatives, but then I’d like to replace all of it, and I had to draw the line somewhere.

 

[doolar]

It took a week, but now I’ve defeated all the smell in the interior. A week in the ozone chamber for everything I removed, plus I had the ozone machine in the car over the weekend.







I’ve ordered some parts for the sunroof, and I’ve still got to clean the sunroof cutout.

It sure needs a proper cleaning:





I have the seatbelts to clean as well, and behind the door cards. Apart from that I’m waiting for the roof liner to be finished, I don’t really want to reassemble the interior without the roof in place.

 

[a777fan]

Way to go Thomas! I appreciate the 'nuclear' approach you took. Anything less and you'd be second guessing yourself later.

 

[doolar]

Way to go Thomas! I appreciate the 'nuclear' approach you took. Anything less and you'd be second guessing yourself later.

Thank you, I really didn’t have any option if I want it gone for good.

Today I removed the steering wheel and had everything cleaned and looked after the leather too. I’ve spent about 30 hours on this project now, it’s really a lot of work. I find small things every time I work on the car that either really needs attention, or just are things I want done while in there.

But I’m starting to see the end of cleaning, and beginning of reassembly. Hopefully the roof lining is done next week, if so I might have the car back together next weekend. I’m also waiting for the parts I ordered for the sunroof, I expect to have them before this weekend.

I still have to remove the door cards and clean behind them, clean seat belts and the sunroof gutters.

 

[doolar]

Seat belts washed and the sunroof gutter, rails and guides cleaned.

 

[doolar]

Still fighting the sunroof cable, something is stuck in the tube. I'll continue with it tomorrow. At least the parts are here, so I only need the cable to operate properly to finish off the sunroof.

The roof liner is ready for pick up next week, so now I want to finish everything sunroof and interior, so I can put the car together again.

Today I decided to remove the original stereo harness from the trunk. All of it, amplifier cable, speaker cable the lot. I also had a previous idea that I wanted to try, to just skip using the rear speakers, and connect my amp to the door speakers and front speakers, configuring the door speakers as subwoofers, but with a higher Mhz cutoff. I tried it today, and it actually sounds pretty good, and a lot better than using the rear speakers, so this is what I'm going for now. I kept the speaker wires for the door and front speakers, and removed the rest of the harness. A lot of dead cable that is gone! It will free up space behind the HU, as well as in the cable channels. No more loose ends there. I also cleaned up the rest of the installation and cables - way more tidy now, really happy with that. I still have proper cables to the rear speakers, that are still in place, in case I want to use them in the future.

I adjusted the rear bumper while I was in the trunk working, it sits a bit better now, still not perfect though.

Really looking forward to having this all done!

 

[doolar]

Ok so the tubing for the sunroof cable was so clogged with old lubricants. I ended up having to remove it from the car, not fun at all. I used isopropyl alcohol to dissolve the old lubrication, and presto the cable runs smoothly in the tube. I ended up destroying the plastic sheathing and will use some high quality shrink tube to make a new plastic sheathing, hopefully that works, if not I’ll replace the cable.

Tubing suspended and filled with alcohol, a nice pool of slippery goo is accumulating in the bag below. Nasty stuff!





This simple job became a big one, but at least I will know what I’ve done, and the sunroof should be good for a good while ahead.

 

[doolar]

Progress!! All channels for cabling and ventilation in place, after that the carpet had to come in along with the sound deadening behind the rear seat bench. Several smaller items done too, such as ventilation outlets and the passenger airbag is back in.

Also cleaned both front seats, I've given them a quick once over before, but OMG they were so dirty. A really thorough cleaning, and of course the rear seats will be done too, as well as the door cards.

Cleaned the dash board and door cards and frames with citric acid and then interior cleaning. Made quite the difference.

Sun roof is completed, I'll report back on that in a separate post and in the HOW-TO so I can share my findings and learnings.

 

[doolar]

Making progress, I’m still waiting for the head liner, there’s been delays and wrong fabric delivered etc etc.

Doesn’t look like much in the photos, but the difference is massive:



Really looking forward to finish this job now.

 

[doolar]

Finished! Turned out well, I had to do some glueing and assembly for the headliner panel.

Made a big mistake in not checking and cleaning out the bottom of the sunroof tray, I did clean it really well a a couple of weeks ago, but forgot to check it again before inserting the sunroof lining. Unfortunately some Gleitpaste had dripped, and made its way to the panel.

I’ll see if I can remedy it tomorrow, worst case I’ll have to retrim the sunroof lining, but it’s not too bad. VERY happy with the roof and everything in the end though.

Turned this plastic piece upside down, then it gripped the fabric well, and I could bend in the tabs and it is very secure:



A good way of keeping as little force as possible on the rear glued metal piece is to hold the forward parts up with cable ties:



Some random pictures from todays work:



Installed the rest of the parts, no drama there. Finished the day off with Meguiars Air Freshener, I heard it was good. The car just smells of industrial cleaning products now, so I thought I’d give it a go. ”New Car Scent” - I suspect nobody at Meguiars ever bought or sat in a new car, because it smells good, but definitely not new car.



I’ll post some pictures of the interior tomorrow, and of course of my failings with the roof insert. I’ll get it fixed one way or the other anyway.