OWNER henrycg

[henrycg]

Hi guys, I've been on the forum for a for a year or so but never got round to starting an owners thread so here it is-

1991 500E Euro, Silver, face-lift
WDB1240361B467309

Bought the car a year ago for a real bargain- it ran great mechanically but needed a lot of work on everything other than engine & drive train and I'm about half way through restoring it at the moment.

I don't know much about the car's history other than checking the VIN online and finding that it was in Germany in 2008 so it must have been shipped to the UAE some time after that (also found a 10:1 ratio of German to UAE coins under the carpets so it's definitely spend a lot of time in Europe). The previous owner didn't know much about it either hence the just over $5k price tag; so it was a calculated risk as the transmission and engine seemed solid- it turned out to be a good buy. I got it with 115k on the clock and then the clock stopped a few weeks later at 118k... I haven't got round to sorting that out yet, but I'd say its done about 20k since then as it is a daily driver. No major issues other than the old electrical gremlins. Wiring harness is 2006 which i found out a few days ago by looking at the label near the CAN box, very relieved. Engine has plastic cam oil tubes even though it is a 1991 model which is supposed to have metal ones so my theory is maybe the engine has been changed.

Here are some pics from the day of purchase. Ignore the grille- I am looking for an original or s600 one in the scrap yards. The chrome interior trim has since been removed too. I might take off the AMG badge soon as it doesn't belong there although i haven't so far because it nicely matches along side the E55.








Any comments or information about this car from what you can see would be appreciated

 

[henrycg]

What i have done so far on the interior:

1. Removed the entire sunroof enclosure since it was jammed shut, and then repaired it myself with new railing kit from ebay for $99. This job was mission impossible.
2. Repaired electric antenna and wired it up to stereo
3. Fixed rear headrests
5. Installed rainbow speakers in the front and waiting for 2 more to arrive for the back; also removed tons of junk wiring from dodgy repair jobs and wired sound system through original wiring correctly.
6. replaced all interior bulbs
7. polished all the wood which is very cracked
8. Leather seats are out and i have removed clear coat and am re-painting them original black color. i will do a more detailed post on the leather work.
9. Have repaired interior lights as none of them worked.
10. glued back every piece of trim

Still need to sort out the dreaded HVAC system and fix the headlight wipers & washer fluid, but other than that, everything now works!

Engine needs a new cam oiler tube, some bushings need to be replaced, and some body panels and the rims need a respray and repair. Other than that its almost finished.


The car right now:








The original door speakers were missing.. These cheap JVCs were there. I don't like them much but they fit and sound decent and will be invisible anyway.

 

[gsxr]

Engine has plastic cam oil tubes even though it is a 1991 model which is supposed to have metal ones so my theory is maybe the engine has been changed.

The original engine number should be #000418. See if there is a number stamped in the "late" area up front, if not, you'll need to try and read the "early" area behind the driver side cylinder head:

Early:


Late:

 

[henrycg]

Just got hold of an original grill off a parts e220. I prefer it because it's high quality and looks proper although the old one did have a fun look to it.

Old:

New:

Sorry about the lighting- will get some better pics soon when the car is finished still driving around with just a drivers seat at the moment!

 

[Jelmer]

Excellent! This looks much better imho, and helps with surprising people - it's a sleeper again

Nice avatar, by the way...

 

[henrycg]

Thanks! Yes I agree, and it makes the car look alot less immature.

Guys I've been restoring my seats with the help of a friend who is an expert in leather restoration. I didn't replace any of the leather; all still original. Check it out:

From this:

To this:

I pushed a piece of flexible fibre material into the hole and glued one side of the ripped leather to it with leather glue. Then when that was dry I pulled the other side over tightly and glued that to the fibre, thereby closing the gap. When it was dry I smoothed filler over the cracks and holes and used a knife to try and maintain as much of the shape of the seem as possible. After adding about 3 layers of filler I sanded it down with 800 sand paper until you couldn't feel any difference. Then I painted it.

 

[sheward]

Nice work! Owner KarlC performed a similar repair with very good results. There is a good write up on how he accomplished it as well.

drew

 

[henrycg]

 

[henrycg]

Yesterday my AC compressor's wires lost their rubber sheath and touched causing it to short circuit and cease and smoke wildly. The AC went off just after I'd floored it on the highway and so I decided to stop under a bridge as it was 45 Celsius, hoping it was just a fuse. I opened to hood to a strong smell of compressor clutch and smoke and it wouldn't start as the belt struggled to turn.

Bought a second hand one that evening for 300aed ($80) and had my mechanic install that this morning (too hot to work on car myself atm would rather pay) and now it works better than before as my old one's clutch was going anyway.

Old and new:


New:
View attachment 41234





P.S. If anyone in the UAE ever needs body, mechanical or interior parts then inbox me.

 

[e500.org]

Hi mate, good to see progress on this. I am going out to the UAE shortly for the foreseeable future and will be based in Dubai. It'd be good to meet you and see your E500. I wonder if there are anymore in Dubai - spotted any?

Unfortunately I have to leave my 500E behind in the UK where it will be mothballed but if I like Dubai and stay for a long period I guess I could import it?

 

[henrycg]

Hi mate, good to see progress on this. I am going out to the UAE shortly for the foreseeable future and will be based in Dubai. It'd be good to meet you and see your E500. I wonder if there are anymore in Dubai - spotted any?

Unfortunately I have to leave my 500E behind in the UK where it will be mothballed but if I like Dubai and stay for a long period I guess I could import it?

Yes I would be happy to meet when you come out here. I know of around 10 E500E's here and a couple of E60's, and it's pretty easy to get hold of parts since all the owner's help each other out. You could bring yours out here although if you have the cash I'd recommend investing in a Japanese import as the last few clean ones are still trickling in at reasonable prices. There is also a collector who has two 500E's for sale at the moment and 2 other E60's for sale from private owners. Inbox me your number when you get one and we'll get in contact.

Sent from my GT-I9190 using Tapatalk

 

[henrycg]

Experts- I'm looking for this part as my replaced engine does not have the oil cooler system that the VIN states it should have. I have found a used oil cooler in the UAE which is probably from a 129; the seller does not have the oil filter housing though.

Please advise on the part numbers of items in the pic below. Also if anyone has this system or the housing for sale do let me know.

 

[gsxr]

Experts- I'm looking for this part as my replaced engine does not have the oil cooler system that the VIN states it should have. I have found a used oil cooler in the UAE which is probably from a 129; the seller does not have the oil filter housing though.

Please advise on the part numbers of items in the pic below. Also if anyone has this system or the housing for sale do let me know.

All the major parts are still available new, however two the mounting brackets have one side NLA which will be a problem. The 129 cooler won't work, AFAIK... pretty sure it's a different size? It will cost somewhere around $1500 USD to buy all the pieces needed. There might be a complete parts list in an older thread on the forum.

EDIT: Henry sold this car in Jan-2018, details here: https://www.500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12141

 

[henrycg]

Hi guys - not sure who's still here from 2015? Say hi if we have chatted previously or just say hi anyway!

I had a silver 1991 as above, which I loved and restored, and drove flat out at 260kph on dubai roads every day for 2 years - but had to sell it in 2018 when I needed the money to get married.

Anyway just bought this and picking it up this in a few days, this time in Scotland where I currently live!

It's a 1992 in Bornite I think it is? Been out of the game for a while now so my knowledge is a bit rusty - any info comments or questions, fire away!

It's GREAT to be back

 

[gsxr]

I had a silver 1991 as above, which I loved and restored, and drove flat out at 260kph on dubai roads every day for 2 years - but had to sell it in 2018 when I needed the money to get married.

I'm so jealous. 260kph every day! Here in the colonies, that is a "go directly to jail" offense.

Anyway just bought this and picking it up this in a few days, this time in Scotland where I currently live! It's a 1992 in Bornite I think it is? Been out of the game for a while now so my knowledge is a bit rusty - any info comments or questions, fire away!

It's GREAT to be back

Bornite with black interior - one of my favorite combos. Looks great! Is it a Euro-spec model with oil cooler, or did it come from Japan where they didn't get the oil cooler?

 

[henrycg]

I'm so jealous. 260kph every day! Here in the colonies, that is a "go directly to jail" offense.

Oh shame - same here in the UK its culterally frowned upon to speed here.
Different from the good old days in dubai when speeding fines were a socially acceptable tax. I was once, in my insolent youth, advised by a compassionate officer worried about the number of points I had accumulated, to bring a friend and pay them to take the points. What an idea that was!

Bornite with black interior - one of my favorite combos. Looks great! Is it a Euro-spec model with oil cooler, or did it come from Japan where they didn't get the oil cooler?

I believe it was imported from Germany to the UK in 2001 so hopefully it has the oil cooler - not that that'll be needed in Scotland! (it will be dry stored over winter obviously)

Once I get it home ill check it out properly.

I may have forgotten to mention the number plate that was thrown into the deal

 

[henrycg]

Finally out of the body shop fully restored and everything works perfectly!

Who else in the UK has a 500E? No-one here understands... Even with the plate, people just think its a nice old merc I feel so alone!

 

[sheward]

A nice old Merc in a unique color. Looks fantastic!