Hey everybody – how you doing?
This is the first journal entry for my newly purchased 1994 E500 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Having had two 500E’s in the past in the UK (still have one in the family which my brother now owns – journal is on here - Matin), I’ve always wanted a genuine facelift car and really missed having a W124 since I came out here. I’ve always loved the 040 flat black colour so wanted an original 040 flat black car by VIN. I wanted a very low priced example so I could renew the parts myself and really make it perfect.
Please see a video of the car here which shows it's current state:
[video=youtube_share;gPNz_bKZ2w4]https://youtu.be/gPNz_bKZ2w4[/video]
Keen to hear initial observations, especially in the engine area.
Most of the cars for sale are pre-facelift 500Es and most come with either the silver paintwork or 199 blue-black. I had contemplated re-painting my 500E in the UK to 040 but that would destroy the originality of that car which is quite nice overall at the moment.
So the story goes I heard about this car over a year ago now and have been speaking to the seller on and off ever since. This E500 has unfortunately been quite neglected in the past and was subject to a very poor paint job at some point which has resulted in the paintwork blistering in several places. It has been sitting in the sun in Abu Dhabi (which has a very humid climate) for the last 3 years. Initially the owner wanted strong money for the car (around $8k) which I was not willing to pay given the condition. It seems like patience paid off and I managed to score a very good deal on the car in the end.
The car is quite odd because for an E500 it has quite low spec. I don't think I’ve seen an E500 with spec this low. No heated seats, no climate control, no rear blind, no memory seats, no centre wood box etc. Being the facelift, it does have the dual airbags though and I think electric seats are standard equipment on the E500. I am not too fussed about equipment, I am hoping to own this car long term so if I need any particular options I will simply retrofit them, the W124 is quite nice to work with like that and as you know there is a large community of us owners around the world.
This car seems like the perfect candidate for an in and out restoration. The underside of the car is solid and the engine checks out as the original, albeit in the need of a service and overhaul of many parts. The car sits on genuine 8.25J 124 part number Evo alloy wheels which are unmarked both on the faces and in the back but 17" I feel is quite small for the E500, the car needs 18" minimum in my view - so they will probably be going.
The interior has been subject to a VERY bad retrim – it appears the first UAE owner wanted to imitate the E500 Limited. He did however, get this very wrong and as you can see by the video, the colour and quality of the retrim is poor. The entire interior would benefit from being replaced including the wood trim and associated parts refinished. I still need to consider what type of direction I will go – it would be nice to have leather covered surfaces, including the dash, centre console etc. Labour is cheap here in the UAE.
What is nice however, is that the car has the original MB service book and maintained history from Japan/the UAE at the following intervals:
Mercedes service records from Japan at the following kilometres:
The mileage is currently 84,200km. The car was clearly imported into the UAE in 2012 and I assume this is when it was painted and subject to that horrendous retrim.
This is going to be a slow restoration due to personal commitments in my life at the moment which take precedent over cars.
The car is currently in the shop at the moment having a few fluids/parts replaced:
I am waiting to hear back from the garage regarding when I can collect it. I have shod the tyres with 245/45 ZR 17 Michelin PS4 tyres for now (previously had 225/55 tyres for some reason!) as the original tyres were dated 2013 and had visible cracking.
The next set of work will be front shocks, rear SLS shocks, springs (I have a set of H&R I may bring from the UK), engine mounts, gearbox mount, fan belt, distributor caps, rotor arms, insulators, brake discs/pads all around and brake fluid bleed, throttle cable, rocker cover gaskets, fuel pressure regulator and a full set of crankshaft breather hoses. I am collecting parts at the moment and have a few bits in UK so will pick them up the next time I head back. Oh, I also bought an AC compressor off here, so I will be fitting that when it comes through, along with a complete clean of the AC system in general.
I would love to hear the direction you think I should take with this car – please post below! I am tempted to modify the car with a bespoke interior, aftermarket exhaust, aftermarket alloys and ao big brake kit…what do you think? OR return this one to stock? I really don’t know. The issue is that they are becoming very collectable and valueable in OEM. However after a new paint job and rebuilding the interior, it will not be completely original. Anyway, the main priority at the moment is getting this car mechnically sound. After that I can start thinking about the cosmetic side of things.
This build is going to be quite slow - I am however sourcing parts so if anyone is hoarding anything please do send a PM!
I may head down to the garage later today and check the progress. If I do I will put another video up.
Many thanks for reading.
Cheers
Bill
ADMIN EDIT: Datacard / VIN info here: http://www.500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10843
This is the first journal entry for my newly purchased 1994 E500 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Having had two 500E’s in the past in the UK (still have one in the family which my brother now owns – journal is on here - Matin), I’ve always wanted a genuine facelift car and really missed having a W124 since I came out here. I’ve always loved the 040 flat black colour so wanted an original 040 flat black car by VIN. I wanted a very low priced example so I could renew the parts myself and really make it perfect.
Please see a video of the car here which shows it's current state:
[video=youtube_share;gPNz_bKZ2w4]https://youtu.be/gPNz_bKZ2w4[/video]
Keen to hear initial observations, especially in the engine area.
Most of the cars for sale are pre-facelift 500Es and most come with either the silver paintwork or 199 blue-black. I had contemplated re-painting my 500E in the UK to 040 but that would destroy the originality of that car which is quite nice overall at the moment.
So the story goes I heard about this car over a year ago now and have been speaking to the seller on and off ever since. This E500 has unfortunately been quite neglected in the past and was subject to a very poor paint job at some point which has resulted in the paintwork blistering in several places. It has been sitting in the sun in Abu Dhabi (which has a very humid climate) for the last 3 years. Initially the owner wanted strong money for the car (around $8k) which I was not willing to pay given the condition. It seems like patience paid off and I managed to score a very good deal on the car in the end.
The car is quite odd because for an E500 it has quite low spec. I don't think I’ve seen an E500 with spec this low. No heated seats, no climate control, no rear blind, no memory seats, no centre wood box etc. Being the facelift, it does have the dual airbags though and I think electric seats are standard equipment on the E500. I am not too fussed about equipment, I am hoping to own this car long term so if I need any particular options I will simply retrofit them, the W124 is quite nice to work with like that and as you know there is a large community of us owners around the world.
This car seems like the perfect candidate for an in and out restoration. The underside of the car is solid and the engine checks out as the original, albeit in the need of a service and overhaul of many parts. The car sits on genuine 8.25J 124 part number Evo alloy wheels which are unmarked both on the faces and in the back but 17" I feel is quite small for the E500, the car needs 18" minimum in my view - so they will probably be going.
The interior has been subject to a VERY bad retrim – it appears the first UAE owner wanted to imitate the E500 Limited. He did however, get this very wrong and as you can see by the video, the colour and quality of the retrim is poor. The entire interior would benefit from being replaced including the wood trim and associated parts refinished. I still need to consider what type of direction I will go – it would be nice to have leather covered surfaces, including the dash, centre console etc. Labour is cheap here in the UAE.
What is nice however, is that the car has the original MB service book and maintained history from Japan/the UAE at the following intervals:
Mercedes service records from Japan at the following kilometres:
- 12,053 on 21 07 1997
- 22,478 on 11 02 2000
- 28,372 on 27 02 2002
- 38,826 on 12 07 2005
- 43,958 on 29 08 2007
- 57,038 on 14 09 2009
- 63,822 on 21 01 2012
- 67,946 on 17 03 2012
- 73,624 on 14 01 2013
- 78,496 on 21 10 2013
- 82,476 on 24 07 2014
The mileage is currently 84,200km. The car was clearly imported into the UAE in 2012 and I assume this is when it was painted and subject to that horrendous retrim.
This is going to be a slow restoration due to personal commitments in my life at the moment which take precedent over cars.
The car is currently in the shop at the moment having a few fluids/parts replaced:
- Coolant flush
- Thermostat replacement
- New coolant hoses
- Shock mounts
- LCAs with ball joints
- Tie rods and drag link
- Rear suspension control arms
- Steering damper
- ARB bushes front
- Viscous fan clutch
- Spark plugs
- Ignition cables
- Air filters
- Oil service
I am waiting to hear back from the garage regarding when I can collect it. I have shod the tyres with 245/45 ZR 17 Michelin PS4 tyres for now (previously had 225/55 tyres for some reason!) as the original tyres were dated 2013 and had visible cracking.
The next set of work will be front shocks, rear SLS shocks, springs (I have a set of H&R I may bring from the UK), engine mounts, gearbox mount, fan belt, distributor caps, rotor arms, insulators, brake discs/pads all around and brake fluid bleed, throttle cable, rocker cover gaskets, fuel pressure regulator and a full set of crankshaft breather hoses. I am collecting parts at the moment and have a few bits in UK so will pick them up the next time I head back. Oh, I also bought an AC compressor off here, so I will be fitting that when it comes through, along with a complete clean of the AC system in general.
I would love to hear the direction you think I should take with this car – please post below! I am tempted to modify the car with a bespoke interior, aftermarket exhaust, aftermarket alloys and ao big brake kit…what do you think? OR return this one to stock? I really don’t know. The issue is that they are becoming very collectable and valueable in OEM. However after a new paint job and rebuilding the interior, it will not be completely original. Anyway, the main priority at the moment is getting this car mechnically sound. After that I can start thinking about the cosmetic side of things.
This build is going to be quite slow - I am however sourcing parts so if anyone is hoarding anything please do send a PM!
I may head down to the garage later today and check the progress. If I do I will put another video up.
Many thanks for reading.
Cheers
Bill
ADMIN EDIT: Datacard / VIN info here: http://www.500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10843
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