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PWNER - gerryvz
- Thread starter gerryvz
- Start date
Nice one that will have the girls falling over their fanny batter in droves, like Bambi on ice.
I drove my friends C63 longroof (diaper express) many moons ago. An amazing engine indeed, probably one of the best sounding stock V8:s ever. Cold start is amazeballz. I want one.
I drove my friends C63 longroof (diaper express) many moons ago. An amazing engine indeed, probably one of the best sounding stock V8:s ever. Cold start is amazeballz. I want one.
Now don’t go burning the tires off of it.
Sadly and unexpectedly last Thursday, I received notice that my good friend in Germany of 20+ years and member @tgrevel passed away at the age of 72, that same day.
Thomas was the creator and driving force of the annual “Alpentours” that I drove in from 2004 onward. Many of my old “GVZ Euro Tour” posts here involved doing things together with Thomas.
It is hard to express how much of an influence and impact Thomas had on me over the years, in so many ways. Including buying my G-wagen 10+ years ago.
In his honor I created this remembrance for our group of German and international friends.
Thomas was the creator and driving force of the annual “Alpentours” that I drove in from 2004 onward. Many of my old “GVZ Euro Tour” posts here involved doing things together with Thomas.
It is hard to express how much of an influence and impact Thomas had on me over the years, in so many ways. Including buying my G-wagen 10+ years ago.
In his honor I created this remembrance for our group of German and international friends.
All of us have people who have had significant influence in our lives. Our parents, our professional mentors, our spouses, perhaps an aunt or an uncle. And for many, there are perhaps one or two people who wield a profound influence that is even larger than others.
Thomas was one of those people, for me. And from the very first time I met him.
I first met Thomas online in a Mercedes-related Internet forum in 2001-2002. He approached me (as many people did) with some occasional questions and conversation. In 2003, on my annual trip to Germany to visit friends and Mercedes-related contacts and the Techno-Classica show in Essen, Thomas suggested that we meet in person, for dinner, at the Castle restaurant in Dachau. I was staying with good friends in Landsberg/Lech, and Dachau was relatively half-way between Kranzberg and Landsberg.
Arriving in Dachau, I parked my car at the bottom of the hill, below the castle, and began walking up the hill. About half-way up, I heard the familiar rumble of a Mercedes 6.3-liter V-8 engine behind me. Turning around I saw Thomas and Sonny in their anthracite 1970 300SEL 6.3, similar to my own. I waved them down. They beckoned me to get into the back seat. After a quick greeting, we continued up the hill. Thomas mentioned that the tachometer in the center of the dashboard was not working, and it was perplexing him.
I reached forward between the front seats (Sonny was in the passenger seat) and twisted the chrome tachometer rim, and the needle sprang back to life. As I retreated back into the rear seat, Thomas let out his signature “Whaaaaa!” and had a look of wonderment and appreciation on his face.
And that simple gesture, within one minute of meeting him, was the first gesture in a genuine friendship that I truly treasured for the following 22 years.
Starting the next year, Thomas invited me to the “Alpentour,” and I attended and drove every single year from 2004 all the way to 2017, and again in 2024.
Over the years Thomas came to visit me a couple of times in Portland, Oregon where I lived, and then he and Sonny visited us later on in Houston. And I visited him and Sonny every year on my annual trips to Germany (which usually either began or ended with the Alpentour).
We had so many adventures together both in the US and in Germany. We went hiking several times in Oregon, climbing Beacon Rock and climbing to the top of Multnomah Falls, the second-highest waterfall in the USA. In Germany we went on many adventures and day trips near and far from Kranzberg. We visited the Porsche Museum and the Maybach Museum together. Thomas showed me his boyhood home near Stuttgart. One of my favorite memories was when we went to the Allershausen fall festival, walking 3 km from the Grevel Ranch through the forest to the festival grounds. In 2014 Thomas even took me to the Oktoberfest in Munich!
Thomas and I bonded with our shared love of Mercedes-Benz cars, and we both owned a number of similar models – 300SEL 6.3, W126 chassis (Thomas – sedan, me – coupe), early 1990s G-wagens. It always gave us a basis for talking cars. Thomas indulged my lifelong love of World War II, and visiting important WW2 sites in Germany and all over Europe. We joked that my WW2 German military rank was “Obersturmbannführer.” In return, I named his custom, higher displacement Mercedes engine (which was a secret kept from the TÜV authorities) the “V-3” retaliation weapon.
But more important than all of that, was that Thomas knew me better than almost anyone ever has. Over the years he saw both the victories and the challenges that I’ve had, and I confided much in him. I also at several important points asked him for his counsel, which he willingly provided. He gave me comfort through my horrible divorce with my first wife, and during my father’s long descent into dementia. He met my girlfriend (now my wife) Laura and he and Sonny welcomed her.
Thomas was also one of only two men (the other being my father) I’ve ever known who were truly men of integrity. Both my father and Thomas were always like a rock. Always solid, well grounded, never losing control of their emotions, and telling the truth. Always strong. Always supportive. Always faithful. But also always pointing out problems they saw, or letting you know how you can do better, especially if asked.
Just a few weeks ago in December, Thomas asked me to help him fill in some “holes” in the US branch of his family tree. Over the course of a few days I was able to get all of the information that he needed, except a couple of birthdates for some very young child relatives. Over the Christmas holiday he sent me the records he had updated with the information I had provided, and was genuinely thankful for my assistance. It was my pleasure to help him, and I thought nothing of it.
And that was the essence of our friendship – we always helped each other, never thinking twice about it.
I will miss Thomas greatly. So greatly. But the memories that we made over the years I carry with me, and I have many photographs of. What Thomas did for me, and the generosity with which he did it, is something very rare and precious to me. I learned so much from – and through – Thomas. I am a better person for having had him as my friend, and watching the example he set.
Godspeed and thank you for everything, my friend.
Thomas was one of those people, for me. And from the very first time I met him.
I first met Thomas online in a Mercedes-related Internet forum in 2001-2002. He approached me (as many people did) with some occasional questions and conversation. In 2003, on my annual trip to Germany to visit friends and Mercedes-related contacts and the Techno-Classica show in Essen, Thomas suggested that we meet in person, for dinner, at the Castle restaurant in Dachau. I was staying with good friends in Landsberg/Lech, and Dachau was relatively half-way between Kranzberg and Landsberg.
Arriving in Dachau, I parked my car at the bottom of the hill, below the castle, and began walking up the hill. About half-way up, I heard the familiar rumble of a Mercedes 6.3-liter V-8 engine behind me. Turning around I saw Thomas and Sonny in their anthracite 1970 300SEL 6.3, similar to my own. I waved them down. They beckoned me to get into the back seat. After a quick greeting, we continued up the hill. Thomas mentioned that the tachometer in the center of the dashboard was not working, and it was perplexing him.
I reached forward between the front seats (Sonny was in the passenger seat) and twisted the chrome tachometer rim, and the needle sprang back to life. As I retreated back into the rear seat, Thomas let out his signature “Whaaaaa!” and had a look of wonderment and appreciation on his face.
And that simple gesture, within one minute of meeting him, was the first gesture in a genuine friendship that I truly treasured for the following 22 years.
Starting the next year, Thomas invited me to the “Alpentour,” and I attended and drove every single year from 2004 all the way to 2017, and again in 2024.
Over the years Thomas came to visit me a couple of times in Portland, Oregon where I lived, and then he and Sonny visited us later on in Houston. And I visited him and Sonny every year on my annual trips to Germany (which usually either began or ended with the Alpentour).
We had so many adventures together both in the US and in Germany. We went hiking several times in Oregon, climbing Beacon Rock and climbing to the top of Multnomah Falls, the second-highest waterfall in the USA. In Germany we went on many adventures and day trips near and far from Kranzberg. We visited the Porsche Museum and the Maybach Museum together. Thomas showed me his boyhood home near Stuttgart. One of my favorite memories was when we went to the Allershausen fall festival, walking 3 km from the Grevel Ranch through the forest to the festival grounds. In 2014 Thomas even took me to the Oktoberfest in Munich!
Thomas and I bonded with our shared love of Mercedes-Benz cars, and we both owned a number of similar models – 300SEL 6.3, W126 chassis (Thomas – sedan, me – coupe), early 1990s G-wagens. It always gave us a basis for talking cars. Thomas indulged my lifelong love of World War II, and visiting important WW2 sites in Germany and all over Europe. We joked that my WW2 German military rank was “Obersturmbannführer.” In return, I named his custom, higher displacement Mercedes engine (which was a secret kept from the TÜV authorities) the “V-3” retaliation weapon.
But more important than all of that, was that Thomas knew me better than almost anyone ever has. Over the years he saw both the victories and the challenges that I’ve had, and I confided much in him. I also at several important points asked him for his counsel, which he willingly provided. He gave me comfort through my horrible divorce with my first wife, and during my father’s long descent into dementia. He met my girlfriend (now my wife) Laura and he and Sonny welcomed her.
Thomas was also one of only two men (the other being my father) I’ve ever known who were truly men of integrity. Both my father and Thomas were always like a rock. Always solid, well grounded, never losing control of their emotions, and telling the truth. Always strong. Always supportive. Always faithful. But also always pointing out problems they saw, or letting you know how you can do better, especially if asked.
Just a few weeks ago in December, Thomas asked me to help him fill in some “holes” in the US branch of his family tree. Over the course of a few days I was able to get all of the information that he needed, except a couple of birthdates for some very young child relatives. Over the Christmas holiday he sent me the records he had updated with the information I had provided, and was genuinely thankful for my assistance. It was my pleasure to help him, and I thought nothing of it.
And that was the essence of our friendship – we always helped each other, never thinking twice about it.
I will miss Thomas greatly. So greatly. But the memories that we made over the years I carry with me, and I have many photographs of. What Thomas did for me, and the generosity with which he did it, is something very rare and precious to me. I learned so much from – and through – Thomas. I am a better person for having had him as my friend, and watching the example he set.
Godspeed and thank you for everything, my friend.
Here are a few brief memories of my good friend:
Packing the “500Eboard Group Buy” 500E headlight lenses for the trip back to the US, A number of you bought these lenses!!
Loading the custom-made 3.2L M103 motor into the G-wagon at the machine shop in Pfaffenhofen, Bavaria, Germany. I nicknamed this motor the “V-3” (Vergeltungswaffe-3) because it was kept a secret from the TÜV authorities — outward a standard M103 but packed a hidden punch).
Washing the 1970 four-speed manual Pagoda I drove for many years on the Alpentours.
Packing the “500Eboard Group Buy” 500E headlight lenses for the trip back to the US, A number of you bought these lenses!!
Loading the custom-made 3.2L M103 motor into the G-wagon at the machine shop in Pfaffenhofen, Bavaria, Germany. I nicknamed this motor the “V-3” (Vergeltungswaffe-3) because it was kept a secret from the TÜV authorities — outward a standard M103 but packed a hidden punch).
Washing the 1970 four-speed manual Pagoda I drove for many years on the Alpentours.
Thanks. I appreciate your reply Jon. I’ve had a tough time at several points over the past week. I think I’m going to head over to Germany for his service next Tuesday.
During March, I've had two business trips where I've flown out of Washington Dulles airport. It's a 150-mile round trip each time I go to Dulles and come back home.
Went to fill up the E500's gas tank today, and I noticed when I got home that the odometer hadn't changed from where I had recorded it at the gas station to update the fuel-up into the Fuelly app.
So, finally after 150,800 miles, it seems that the odometer gears have given up the ghost, around 150 miles ago by my calculations per the last fuel-up in late February. So, my next job will be to replace the bad odo gear(s). Fortunately I bought a couple of sets from Garagistic about 10-11 years ago, and conveniently had them in my garage tool chest, sitting in one of several drawers containing my collection of MB special tools.
I also need to replace the headlight switch, of which I've had a brand new one for the past couple of years, but haven't bothered to do the job.
Also noticed that my front struts are now totally shot (they are originals as far as I know), so I will replace them too. Front suspension is REALLY rough when taking bumps (speed bumps, frost heaves in the road, and so forth). I have new factory MB 500E struts (with the internal limiting springs) in my parts stash, as well as new MB buffers and boots. I will also do the upper strut mounts, though the current ones don't have any cracks.
So, some maintenance is coming my way soon.
Coincidentally, I noticed that my E500's instrument cluster has a Stage 0 case of DDD on the inside. It's BARELY visible and not nearly at the point of needing remediation, but I will watch it, and when it hits stage 1+ or 2-, I will have to pull the cluster and take care of this. I won't let it get to Stage 3 or 4 (terminal DDD).
Went to fill up the E500's gas tank today, and I noticed when I got home that the odometer hadn't changed from where I had recorded it at the gas station to update the fuel-up into the Fuelly app.
So, finally after 150,800 miles, it seems that the odometer gears have given up the ghost, around 150 miles ago by my calculations per the last fuel-up in late February. So, my next job will be to replace the bad odo gear(s). Fortunately I bought a couple of sets from Garagistic about 10-11 years ago, and conveniently had them in my garage tool chest, sitting in one of several drawers containing my collection of MB special tools.
I also need to replace the headlight switch, of which I've had a brand new one for the past couple of years, but haven't bothered to do the job.
Also noticed that my front struts are now totally shot (they are originals as far as I know), so I will replace them too. Front suspension is REALLY rough when taking bumps (speed bumps, frost heaves in the road, and so forth). I have new factory MB 500E struts (with the internal limiting springs) in my parts stash, as well as new MB buffers and boots. I will also do the upper strut mounts, though the current ones don't have any cracks.
So, some maintenance is coming my way soon.
Coincidentally, I noticed that my E500's instrument cluster has a Stage 0 case of DDD on the inside. It's BARELY visible and not nearly at the point of needing remediation, but I will watch it, and when it hits stage 1+ or 2-, I will have to pull the cluster and take care of this. I won't let it get to Stage 3 or 4 (terminal DDD).
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Funny you mention DDD, when I followed your expert HOW-TO on the 126, I noticed the lower right corner of my case has some DDD. This cluster case is one I purchased when I got the car as the one original to the car was showroom perfect. It was removed and put in climate controlled storage the first week I got the car to preserve it.During March, I've had two business trips where I've flown out of Washington Dulles airport. It's a 150-mile round trip each time I go to Dulles and come back home.
Went to fill up the E500's gas tank today, and I noticed when I got home that the odometer hadn't changed from where I had recorded it at the gas station to update the fuel-up into the Fuelly app.
So, finally after 150,800 miles, it seems that the odometer gears have given up the ghost, around 150 miles ago by my calculations per the last fuel-up in late February. So, my next job will be to replace the bad odo gear(s). Fortunately I bought a couple of sets from Garagistic about 10-11 years ago, and conveniently had them in my garage tool chest, sitting in one of several drawers containing my collection of MB special tools.
View attachment 210533
I also need to replace the headlight switch, of which I've had a brand new one for the past couple of years, but haven't bothered to do the job.
Also noticed that my front struts are now totally shot (they are originals as far as I know), so I will replace them too. Front suspension is REALLY rough when taking bumps (speed bumps, frost heaves in the road, and so forth). I have new factory MB 500E struts (with the internal limiting springs) in my parts stash, as well as new MB buffers and boots. I will also do the upper strut mounts, though the current ones don't have any cracks.
So, some maintenance is coming my way soon.
Coincidentally, I noticed that my E500's instrument cluster has a Stage 0 case of DDD on the inside. It's BARELY visible and not nearly at the point of needing remediation, but I will watch it, and when it hits stage 1+ or 2-, I will have to pull the cluster and take care of this. I won't let it get to Stage 3 or 4 (terminal DDD).
Some views of the top black odometer gear. Looks like 3-4 teeth were gone. Replacement took about 30 minutes. I applied some VERY LIGHT dabs of gleitpaste to the teeth, but not much at all.
Will reinstall the cluster and test things out after dinner.
Will reinstall the cluster and test things out after dinner.
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Re-installed everything and went out for a three-mile test drive. Everything is working A-OK with no issues. Odometer and trip odo are all back to normal operation. Glad I had a set of new gears in my parts stock (I also recall replacing a gear on my 560SEC some years back, so I also had some remnants from that gear kit).
I ordered a couple of new sets of gears from Garagistic (they are currently having a 25% off sale on odometer gears) for the future, just in case I need to change more gears again either on the SEC or the E500. I have a hunch that I haven't seen the last of this problem.
Here are some close-ups of my cluster, after I re-installed the speedo in the center. You can see that the DDD is Stage 0+ / 1-, and not at all bad at this point in time. But, it will relentlessly advance in the coming years, no question. Accelerated if I still lived in Houston humidity.
I posted large photos, so you can blow them up to see the DDD around the warning light row better.
The SEC has been holding up excellently since I did the HOW-TO on DDD remediation and gauge face replacement.
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I had my speedometer rebuilt by Palo Alto Speedometer in January and had a good experience - although expensive.
I think Jouser currently only has 124's in his fleet with mechanical speedos... would be interesting to know what Palo Alto did, and what it cost!
Took the E500 out again yesterday for about a 10-mile run to do some errands, and everything is working excellently with the odometer and trip-odo. So I'll chalk this one up to being fixed. I need to do the headlight switch. Maybe I'll have the motivation to do it after work today.
Re-installed everything and went out for a three-mile test drive. Everything is working A-OK with no issues. Odometer and trip odo are all back to normal operation. Glad I had a set of new gears in my parts stock (I also recall replacing a gear on my 560SEC some years back, so I also had some remnants from that gear kit).
Time sure does fly, I have the invoice from October, not January...I think Jouser currently only has 124's in his fleet with mechanical speedos... would be interesting to know what Palo Alto did, and what it cost!
My issue was that my trip meter would eventually reset, but I had to punch the reset button like a gorilla a few times or else the meter would not FULLY reset to "000.0" causing clicking noise heartache (this was like this when I bought the car in 2015 @ 217k miles...) Eventually, the manhandling needed to reset to 0 became greater and soon enough the Odometer just stopped working, likely not related, but could be.
I can recommend Palo Alto Speedometer because of the following story:
1. Dropped the ODO off for a rebuild and when I got it back I still had that weird trip ODO reset issue when placed back in the instrument cluser, but not when it was out of the instrument cluster.
2. I brought them a different spare (used) plastic case cluster and swapped the ODO unit and that did not fix my issue.
2b. We narrowed the issue down to the metal pin arm on the rebuilt unit.
3. I brought in (2) spare ODOs (thanks Jeremy Nichols for selling me Diesel #2, Liesl - with a plethora of PnP parts)
4. One of the units had a good face and the other did not, so they rebuilt the known working one...
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I had ordered a few spare sets of Garagistic odometer gears recently, which arrived a couple of weeks back. They are safely in my stash of spare parts for when they will be needed in the future.
I'll be driving my E500 starting this weekend on the 150-mile round trip to Dulles Airport, so hopefully my odometer gear repair job will prove to be good
