Hey all, hope everyone is well, been away in the UAE recently and not been able to post as much as i'd like to. As some members are aware I came out here to work long term but recently have been asked to move back to our London office to work on a new project.
Anyway, just after I left the UK I sold the apple of my eye - my 92 500e - I was approached by a massive car enthusiast who wanted it - as you could expect I instantly regretted it :wallbash: Unfortunatly I didn't have access to a garage at the time to store it and was being posted out here for the next few years at least. I did consider bringing it out here but the costs associated and the extremely hot summers did not make it worth it. Plus the heater matrix packed up and the AC was dead so it needed serious money throwing at it - of which I was actually willing to get sorted.
As i've been asked to come back to London I immediately thought of my 500E and the words 'why did I sell it?!' began to ring in my ears - my car was a result of searching for years and finally came across a rust free example and went through it, replacing lots and lots of parts with genuine MB bits (Terry at WG will tell you). Doh!
Anyway, fast forward a few days and I begin searching for another 500E, this time I wanted an E500 Limited. I nearly bought one in Japan but the deal fell through with additional costs it started becoming silly expensive. Anyway, the real requirement was that the car had to be black, rust free and in reasonably good condition. I have lots of experience with W124/500E's so I am willing to get my hands dirty and get things fixed (and of course, send it to Terry when I can't!).
Randomly scouring the every car website on the planet, I came across a nice 1992 500E in black, based in the UK. Turns out the seller is the same guy that sold me my silver car! (result!). Got straight on the blower, spoke at length about the car and thrashed out a deal. Deposit is down, car secured and ready for me to collect just after xmas. I'm over the moon and very lucky to have come across this motor.
Right, onto the car itself. It's a 1992 500E pre-facelift with a good service record, recent import from Japan. Interestingly this is a Japan originally supplied car from factory so has the indicators on the wings and lack of S/W mode on the gearbox. I think the Japan cars also had an oil cooler fitted from factory. The car should be 199 black but looks 040 in the photos, probably been repainted but the seller assures me it's mint and is a very good job if it has been painted. Also said it's like brand-new underneath, which was certainly the case with the last car I bought from him.
I think it'll need a few grand thrown at it as most of them have deferred maintenance (old at the end of the day) but lessons have been learnt from the last project and as a benefit I have tonnes of parts left over. This car will take a similar stance to the last one, replacement of anything suspect or old with original MB parts and add OEM+ touches onto the car. Don't want to detract from the originality of the car nor try to make it something it isn't.
Comments welcome. Photos below.:
I won't be going mad with this one mod wise. On the list:
- Orange indicators and tail lights
- Wood/leather steering wheel (smaller, sportline wheel)
- Tidy the interior, new mats, refinish any cracked wood, deep clean on carpets
- Full service and refresh of most consumables (including dizzy caps, arms, ignition cables, etc etc)
- Flush of all the fluids (brake, coolant, SLS)
- Nice set of AMG split alloys (I love the AMG I's off the R129) with Michelin tyres
- H&R suspension spring kit
- Uprated brake discs, pads and steel brake lines fitted (SL silver arrow kit if I can get one)
- Replacement of the entire exhaust system including fitment of front sport cats and bypass rear resonator
I suppose other things will probably pop up but thats all I can think of at the moment. If things like AC don't work and tracking needs doing i'll just get that sort of stuff done.
Cheers,
Bill
Anyway, just after I left the UK I sold the apple of my eye - my 92 500e - I was approached by a massive car enthusiast who wanted it - as you could expect I instantly regretted it :wallbash: Unfortunatly I didn't have access to a garage at the time to store it and was being posted out here for the next few years at least. I did consider bringing it out here but the costs associated and the extremely hot summers did not make it worth it. Plus the heater matrix packed up and the AC was dead so it needed serious money throwing at it - of which I was actually willing to get sorted.
As i've been asked to come back to London I immediately thought of my 500E and the words 'why did I sell it?!' began to ring in my ears - my car was a result of searching for years and finally came across a rust free example and went through it, replacing lots and lots of parts with genuine MB bits (Terry at WG will tell you). Doh!
Anyway, fast forward a few days and I begin searching for another 500E, this time I wanted an E500 Limited. I nearly bought one in Japan but the deal fell through with additional costs it started becoming silly expensive. Anyway, the real requirement was that the car had to be black, rust free and in reasonably good condition. I have lots of experience with W124/500E's so I am willing to get my hands dirty and get things fixed (and of course, send it to Terry when I can't!).
Randomly scouring the every car website on the planet, I came across a nice 1992 500E in black, based in the UK. Turns out the seller is the same guy that sold me my silver car! (result!). Got straight on the blower, spoke at length about the car and thrashed out a deal. Deposit is down, car secured and ready for me to collect just after xmas. I'm over the moon and very lucky to have come across this motor.
Right, onto the car itself. It's a 1992 500E pre-facelift with a good service record, recent import from Japan. Interestingly this is a Japan originally supplied car from factory so has the indicators on the wings and lack of S/W mode on the gearbox. I think the Japan cars also had an oil cooler fitted from factory. The car should be 199 black but looks 040 in the photos, probably been repainted but the seller assures me it's mint and is a very good job if it has been painted. Also said it's like brand-new underneath, which was certainly the case with the last car I bought from him.
I think it'll need a few grand thrown at it as most of them have deferred maintenance (old at the end of the day) but lessons have been learnt from the last project and as a benefit I have tonnes of parts left over. This car will take a similar stance to the last one, replacement of anything suspect or old with original MB parts and add OEM+ touches onto the car. Don't want to detract from the originality of the car nor try to make it something it isn't.
Comments welcome. Photos below.:
I won't be going mad with this one mod wise. On the list:
- Orange indicators and tail lights
- Wood/leather steering wheel (smaller, sportline wheel)
- Tidy the interior, new mats, refinish any cracked wood, deep clean on carpets
- Full service and refresh of most consumables (including dizzy caps, arms, ignition cables, etc etc)
- Flush of all the fluids (brake, coolant, SLS)
- Nice set of AMG split alloys (I love the AMG I's off the R129) with Michelin tyres
- H&R suspension spring kit
- Uprated brake discs, pads and steel brake lines fitted (SL silver arrow kit if I can get one)
- Replacement of the entire exhaust system including fitment of front sport cats and bypass rear resonator
I suppose other things will probably pop up but thats all I can think of at the moment. If things like AC don't work and tracking needs doing i'll just get that sort of stuff done.
Cheers,
Bill
in favour of a brand new set of Bilstein high performance shocks all around. I'm considering refitting the SLS shocks and getting new ones from MB as all the pipework exists so it shouldn't be too difficult to put back to stock. I like keeping cars original. 
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